Knock vs Resend (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Resend: it is first in our ranking of email sending services, and it grades higher too, 2.6 against 2.2.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Knock grades higher on the free plan. Resend grades higher on value for money and features. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Knock
Cross-channel notification and messaging workflows for products
Resend
Developer email API with React Email templates and a free tier
Which one is for you
Pick Knock if
- Fits if you're a product team and want one workflow to reach email, in-app and chat
- Works for apps that already have an email provider and need preferences and batching on top
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a service that sends email by itself: it needs a provider you connect
- Pricey if you outgrow free, because the next step is $250 a month
- Tight if you want the Knock branding gone, as that needs Starter or higher
- Watch out: email client previews, SAML SSO, SCIM and translations sit on dearer plans, and the HIPAA BAA is Enterprise only
Pick Resend if
- Fits if you build in React or Next.js and want emails written as components
- Works for apps or AI agents that need inboxes that send and receive by API
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you need a dedicated IP, at $30 a month on top of the $90 Scale plan and over 3,000 emails a day
- Tight if you need SSO, which is a $150 a month add-on on Scale
- Skip it if you want to pay yearly for a discount, since billing is monthly only
- Watch out: the free plan stops at 100 emails a day, and the next step up is Pro at $20
- Watch out: marketing email is priced separately by contacts, from $40 a month for 5,000
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAKnockFair | 2.6GPAResendGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$250 a month for Starter, plus $0.005 for each message past 50,000. Email sending tools start around $9, the dearest tenth begins at $68. | BGraded on 50,000 emails a month: Pro is $20 for exactly that, in the lowest-priced quarter of this category at that volume, with 10 domains and no daily limit. There's no yearly discount, and extra emails are $0.90 per 1,000. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree plan with 10,000 messages sent a month, unlimited workflows, profiles and team members, and no card needed. One small product could stay on it. | CFree for good: 3,000 emails a month, but only 100 a day, with 3 domains, 1 webhook and 30 days of logs. Marketing email is free up to 1,000 contacts too. A launch day with more than 100 sign-ups hits that daily cap. |
| Features | CCross-channel workflows, broadcasts, in-app guides, batching and preferences. Email goes through SendGrid, Postmark or SES, so it isn't a sending service on its own. | BAPI, SMTP, SDKs, React Email templates, inbound email and inboxes for AI agents, signed webhooks, a test mode and broadcasts. It covers the job. No address validation is on record, and dedicated IPs need Scale. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You wire it into your app and connect providers before anything sends. | CJudged on how fast a developer sends a first email: SDKs for most languages and React templates for web developers, and test mode fakes events without emailing anyone. You still verify a domain first. No rating on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb dashboard with SDKs and an API, plus connections to SendGrid, Postmark, Amazon SES, Mailgun, Slack and others. | BWeb, with an API, SMTP, SDKs and MCP, and it works with Next.js, Remix, Nuxt, Express, Hono and Astro. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top. |
| Best for | product notifications on many channels | developers building with React and Next.js |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Knock and Resend. How we grade
Price against what you get
Knock starts at $250 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Resend starts at $20 a month and scores 2.7.
Resend scores higher and starts $230 a month lower. Of the other email sending services on the chart, 15 score higher than Knock for less, and none scores higher than Resend for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Knock also covers workflow automation.
- Resend also covers email campaigns.
At a glance
| Knock | Resend | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $250 per month, plus usage beyond 50,000 messages | $20 per month for 50,000 emails, billed monthly |
| Free plan | Up to 10,000 messages sent, 500 guide recipients and 500 agent credits a month, with unlimited workflows, profiles, channels and team members. | 3,000 transactional emails a month, limited to 100 a day, 3 domains, 3 inboxes, 1 webhook endpoint and 30 days of logs. Marketing email free up to 1,000 contacts. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Knock Labs, Inc. | Resend |
| Price read from | knock.app | resend.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Knock
- Knock is an orchestration layer, so email delivery goes through a provider you connect; it is not a standalone sending service.
- The jump from Free to Starter is $250 a month, with messages beyond 50,000 billed at $0.005 each.
- Removing Knock branding, email client previews and priority email support need Starter or higher.
- Custom roles, SAML SSO, SCIM, translations and the HIPAA BAA are listed on Enterprise only.
Resend
- Billing is monthly only; there are no annual plans or yearly discounts.
- There is no plan between Free and the $20 Pro plan, and the free plan caps sending at 100 emails a day.
- Dedicated IPs cost $30 a month and need the Scale plan and more than 3,000 emails a day; SSO is a $150 a month add-on on Scale.
- Marketing email is priced separately by contacts, from $40 a month for 5,000; broadcasts do not use the transactional quota.
Key features
Knock
- Cross-channel workflows
- A workflow is a single type of message, such as a user invite, that can branch, delay and route across email, in-app, push, SMS and chat.
- Broadcasts and in-app guides
- Broadcasts send a one-time message to an audience on any channel. In-app guides cover banners, modals, cards and tooltips rendered with your own components.
- Batching and preferences
- Batch and digest notifications to cut frequency, and let recipients manage preferences by channel, notification and category.
- Email through your own provider
- The integrations list names email providers including SendGrid, Postmark, Amazon SES, Mailjet, Mailgun, Mailtrap and MailerSend.
- Agent and MCP access
- Workflows, templates, guides, broadcasts and audiences can be managed from Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and Slack, through a remote MCP server or the Knock CLI.
- Multi-tenancy
- Built-in multi-tenancy is listed on every plan, and per-customer branding and preferences on Enterprise.
Resend
- API, SMTP and SDKs
- Send through a REST API or SMTP relay, with official SDKs for Node.js, Python, Ruby, PHP, Go, Rust, Java, Elixir and .NET, plus batch sending and scheduling.
- React Email templates
- Build email templates as React components with TypeScript and Tailwind through the open-source React Email library, instead of hand-written HTML tables.
- Inbound email and inboxes
- Receive email through webhooks, parse content and attachments, and give your team or AI agents inboxes reachable by API and MCP; 3 are included.
- Webhooks and test mode
- Signed webhooks report deliveries, opens, clicks, bounces and complaints, and a test mode simulates events without emailing real people.
- Broadcasts and automations
- A visual editor, contact lists, segments and broadcast analytics for marketing email, sold as separate plans priced by contacts.
- Deliverability tools
- DKIM, SPF and DMARC setup, automatic suppression lists, bounce details, region choice and managed dedicated IPs on Scale.
Plans
Knock
Free$0
Up to 10,000 messages sent, 500 guide recipients and 500 agent credits each month. No credit card required.
Starter$250
per month, plus additional usage
Includes 50,000 messages (then $0.005 each), 2,500 guide recipients and 2,000 agent credits. Removes Knock branding; adds email client previews.
EnterpriseCustom
Annual agreements with volume-based pricing, custom roles, SAML SSO, SCIM, enterprise SLAs, HIPAA BAA and priority support over Slack, email and calls.
Resend
Free$0
3,000 emails a month and 100 a day, 3 domains, 1 webhook endpoint, ticket support.
Pro$20
per month for 50,000 emails, billed monthly
No daily limit, 10 domains, 5 webhook endpoints, 100 AI credits. $35 a month at 100,000 emails; overage $0.90 per 1,000.
Scale$90
per month for 100,000 emails, billed monthly
1,000 domains, Slack support, urgent response SLA; dedicated IP and SSO as add-ons. $160 a month at 200,000 emails. Overage $0.90 per 1,000, less at higher tiers.
EnterpriseCustom
For 1 million or more emails a month: volume pricing, dedicated IPs, SSO, 99.99% uptime SLA and a dedicated success manager.
Ways to pay less
Knock
No public discounts listed.
Resend
- Nonprofit
50% off for nonprofits
Registered nonprofits can apply for 50% off paid plans. Resend says it does not offer education pricing.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Knock or Resend?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Resend is cheaper to start with: $20 a month, against $250 a month for Knock. Knock starts at $250 per month, plus usage beyond 50,000 messages, and Resend starts at $20 per month for 50,000 emails, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Knock or Resend?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Knock and Resend have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.