Mailtrap vs Twilio SendGrid
We give Mailtrap and Twilio SendGrid the same GPA: 2.6 out of 4.0. They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Mailtrap
Email API and SMTP for sending, with a sandbox for testing emails
Twilio SendGrid
Twilio's email API and SMTP service, priced by monthly email volume
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAMailtrapGood | 2.6GPATwilio SendGridGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BGraded on 50,000 emails a month: Basic is $20 at that volume, in the cheaper quarter of this category, with 3 users and 5 domains. There's no yearly discount on sending, and dedicated IPs, SSO and live chat need Business at $85. | BGraded on 50,000 emails a month: Essentials is $19.95 for exactly that, in the cheaper quarter of this category at that volume. It's thin for the money, with 1 teammate and 3 days of activity, and Pro at $89.95 is where dedicated IPs and SSO start. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree for good: 4,000 emails a month, but only 150 a day, with 1 user, 1 domain and 3 days of logs, and no extra emails allowed. Handy for a side project, tight for a live app. | CNo lasting free plan, but a 60-day trial with no card: 100 emails a day, enough to wire it into your app and test. After that you're paying. |
| Features | BAPI and SMTP with SDKs, templates, webhooks, a separate bulk stream, inbound email, analytics by mailbox provider and a sandbox for test emails. It covers the whole job, though the sandbox is a separate plan and no address validation is on record. | BAPI and SMTP, event webhooks, an inbound parse webhook, dynamic templates, domain authentication, address validation and EU data residency. That covers the whole job. Testing credits, subusers and dedicated IPs wait for Pro. |
| Ease of use | CJudged on how fast a developer sends a first email: SDKs for five languages and SMTP, once a domain is verified, and the sandbox lets you test without emailing anyone. No rating on record. | CJudged on how fast a developer sends a first email: client libraries, interactive API docs and a setup guide on every plan, but you'll authenticate a domain before mail goes out properly. No rating on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with an API, SMTP and SDKs, plus Supabase, Vercel, Claude, Cursor, Windsurf and Antigravity. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top. | BWeb, with a REST API, client libraries, SMTP and webhooks, so anything that speaks SMTP can use it. The listing names no ready-made integrations, and there's no desktop or phone app, so B is the top. |
| Best for | testing and sending email from one provider | app email for teams already on Twilio |
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: Mailtrap and Twilio SendGrid. How we grade
Price against what you get
Mailtrap starts at $15 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Twilio SendGrid starts at $19.95 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Mailtrap starts $4.95 a month lower. Of the other email sending services on the chart, none scores higher than Mailtrap for less, and none scores higher than Twilio SendGrid 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
- Mailtrap starts at $15 per month for 10,000 emails. Twilio SendGrid starts at $19.95 per month for 50,000 emails.
- Mailtrap has a free plan. Twilio SendGrid does not, though it has a free trial.
- Mailtrap also covers email campaigns.
- Twilio SendGrid also covers email verification.
At a glance
| Mailtrap | Twilio SendGrid | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $15 per month for 10,000 emails | $19.95 per month for 50,000 emails |
| Free plan | 4,000 emails a month, limited to 150 a day, 1 user, 1 sending domain and 3 days of email logs, through the API or SMTP. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 60-day free trial with 100 emails a day, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Railsware | Twilio Inc. |
| Price read from | mailtrap.io | twilio.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Mailtrap
- Developers who want testing and sending from one provider
- Small teams sending up to 4,000 emails a month for free
- Companies moving from SendGrid, Mailgun or Amazon SES
Twilio SendGrid
- Developers adding transactional email to an app
- Teams that also use Twilio for text messages or voice
- Growing senders who will need dedicated IPs and subusers
Worth knowing
Mailtrap
- Basic has no dedicated IP and keeps 5 days of logs; dedicated IPs, SSO and live chat support start with Business at $85 a month.
- The free plan caps sending at 150 emails a day and allows no overage.
- Email Sandbox for testing and Email Marketing for campaigns are priced separately; marketing starts at $15 a month for 10,000 contacts.
- Overages are capped, so senders far above their plan's volume are told to upgrade.
Twilio SendGrid
- There is no lasting free plan: the free trial ends after 60 days and allows 100 emails a day.
- Essentials has a single teammate and keeps 3 days of email activity; dedicated IPs, subusers and SSO need Pro at $89.95 a month.
- Sending past the plan's volume can add overage charges, which the pricing page does not list.
- Email campaigns are a separate product, Marketing Campaigns, from $15 a month for 5,000 contacts and 15,000 emails.
Key features
Mailtrap
- Email API and SMTP
- Send through a REST API with SDKs for Python, PHP, Ruby, Node.js and Java, or through SMTP, with hosted templates and webhooks for opens, clicks and bounces.
- Bulk stream
- Bulk and marketing email goes out on a separate stream, by API or SMTP, so it does not affect the reputation of transactional sending.
- Email Sandbox
- A fake SMTP server catches emails from dev, QA and staging, with HTML and spam checks, sold as separate plans from free for 50 test emails a month.
- Inbound email
- Dedicated inbound addresses, real-time webhooks and API access let your app or AI agents receive email.
- Deliverability analytics
- Stats for each mailbox provider, bounce categories and feedback-loop complaint data, with reputation alerts and dedicated IPs from Business.
- Security and accounts
- Two-factor sign-in and API key permissions on every plan, IP allowlisting from Basic, and SSO and subaccounts from Business.
Twilio SendGrid
- Email API and SMTP relay
- Send through a REST API with client libraries or through SMTP, with interactive API docs and a setup guide on every plan.
- Deliverability tools
- SPF and DKIM domain authentication, link branding, reverse DNS and suppression management on every plan; Pro adds dedicated IPs, IP pools and automated IP warm-up.
- Webhooks and analytics
- Event webhooks report deliveries, opens, bounces and blocks, and an inbound parse webhook turns received email into data your app can read.
- Email address validation
- A validation API checks addresses before you send; Pro includes 2,500 free validations and Premier 5,000.
- Dynamic templates and testing
- A template editor on every plan, and from Pro, 60 email testing credits a month for previews before sending.
- Security and compliance
- Two-factor sign-in, TLS encryption, IP access management, SOC 2 Type II and an EU data residency option, with single sign-on from Pro.
Plans
Mailtrap
Free$0
4,000 emails a month and 150 a day, 1 user, 1 domain, 3 days of logs, no extra emails.
Basic$15
per month for 10,000 emails
3 users, 5 domains, 5 days of logs, email support on weekdays. Extra emails $1 per 1,000. $20 a month at 50,000 emails and $30 at 100,000.
Business$85
per month for 100,000 emails
100 users, 100 domains, 15 days of logs, dedicated IP with warm-up, SSO, subaccounts, 24/7 chat. Extra emails $0.88 per 1,000.
Enterprise$750
per month for 1,500,000 emails
Unlimited users and domains, 30 days of logs, priority support. Extra emails $0.55 per 1,000; $1,250 at 2.5 million, custom above.
Twilio SendGrid
Essentials$19.95
per month for 50,000 emails
SMTP and API sending, analytics, 1 teammate, 2 event webhooks and 3 days of email activity. $34.95 a month at 100,000 emails.
Pro$89.95
per month for 100,000 emails
1 dedicated IP, subusers, SSO, 1,000 teammates, 2,500 email validations, testing credits and 7 days of activity. $249 a month at 300,000 emails.
PremierCustom
Custom volume, 5,000 email validations and expert email program management, sold through sales.
