Bird Email
SparkPost's successor: Bird's email API, paid from a prepaid balance
Bird Email report card
Good · out of 4.0 · graded Oct 18, 2026
Best for email, SMS and WhatsApp through one API
Bird Email is what SparkPost became: an email API, SMTP and SDKs from Bird, with mailboxes for AI agents and the same send call for SMS and WhatsApp. You don't buy an allowance; you pay a monthly deposit into a balance and each email costs $0.40 per 1,000 on Startup, so 50,000 emails work out at $20. Old SparkPost code needs reviewing before you move over.
Who Bird Email is for
- Great if your app sends texts or WhatsApp messages as well as email
- Handy when you want to give AI agents mailboxes of their own
- Good for SparkPost customers working out what comes next
Who Bird Email is not for
- Skip it if you want a fixed monthly allowance, since every email draws on a balance
- Pricey if you need a dedicated IP, which starts with the $250 Growth plan
- Tight if you're staying free, at 50 emails a day and 1 sending domain
Why Bird Email gets a 2.6
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- BValue for moneyGraded on 50,000 emails a month, worked out from the listed rate: Startup charges $0.40 per 1,000, so that's $20 of balance a month, more than its $15 deposit covers. Unused balance carries forward. That's in the cheaper quarter of this category at that volume.
- CFree plan and trialFree for good: 1,000 emails a month, but only 50 a day and 1 sending domain, and sending simply stops at the limit. Enough to try the API, not to run an app on.
- BFeaturesAPI, SMTP, typed SDKs, a CLI and an MCP server, inbound email and mailboxes, signed webhooks, DKIM and DMARC setup, templates and broadcasts, with SMS and WhatsApp on the same API. It covers the whole job; dedicated IPs start at $250.
- CEase of useJudged on how fast a developer sends a first email: SDKs for TypeScript, Python, Go and PHP plus a CLI, once a domain is set up. No rating on record. Coming from SparkPost means a new API, which Bird says to review with its team.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb, with an API, SMTP, SDKs, a CLI and an MCP server, plus Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Replit, Lovable, v0 and Bolt. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Bird's own pages on 18 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
Make Bird Email? Put this grade on your site
Paste this where you want the badge. It links here and follows the grade if it changes. About badges
<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/sparkpost#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/sparkpost.svg" alt="Bird Email: 2.6 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Bird Email stands among email sending services
Bird Email's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 6 of the 11 other email sending services we grade, and level with 4.
It stands best on value for money (B, above 6 of 11) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $15 a month, against a middle price of $15 for the category: 2 of the 10 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 12 email sending services we grade, cut by the letter each got. Bird Email’s own letter is outlined.
- BValue for moneyAbove 6 of 11, level with 4
- CFree plan and trialAbove 1 of 11, level with 10
- BFeaturesAbove 2 of 11, level with 9
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 11, level with 11
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 11, level with 11
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 11 email sending services. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
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
Keep Bird Email, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Bird Email you would be making mail servers with a good name among inbox providers. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It costs $180 a year.
What you could not
- Mail servers with a good name among inbox providers.
- Newsletters sent to thousands of people that still reach the inbox.
- It plugs into other products, Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor among them, and has an API.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Bird Email’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Bird Email?
Bird Email is the email API from Bird (formerly MessageBird), which says SparkPost is now Bird Email. It sends transactional email and campaigns through an API, SMTP relay, SDKs, a CLI or an MCP server, receives inbound email, and gives AI agents mailboxes of their own. Paid plans are monthly deposits into a Bird balance that each email draws from at a published rate per 1,000.
Bird Email has a free plan. Paid plans start at $15 per month, deposited to your Bird balance. See every plan
Good for
- Existing SparkPost customers planning their next integration
- Teams that also send SMS or WhatsApp through one provider
- Developers giving AI agents their own email mailboxes
Worth knowing
- Bird Email has its own API: Bird says SparkPost integrations should be reviewed with an account team before moving traffic.
- Paid plans are deposits, not allowances: every email is charged at the plan's rate, and other Bird products draw on the same balance.
- Dedicated IPs and IP pools start with the $250 Growth plan.
- The free plan is limited to 50 emails a day and 1 sending domain.
Key features
- Email API, SMTP, SDKs and MCP
- Send through the API or SMTP relay, with typed SDKs for TypeScript, Python, Go and PHP, a CLI and a hosted MCP server for AI assistants.
- Mailboxes for agents
- Mailboxes that send, receive and store email for your app or AI agents: 5 on Free, 10 on Startup, 25 on Growth and 100 on Scale.
- Deliverability controls
- DKIM signing, SPF alignment, DMARC setup, suppression lists and managed dedicated IPs warmed over about 30 days, from the Growth plan.
- Analytics and signed webhooks
- Delivery, bounce, complaint, open and click data by domain, inbox provider and IP, plus signed, replay-protected webhooks for every event.
- Templates and campaigns
- Send raw HTML or React Email templates, and run broadcasts to opted-in audiences from the same platform.
- One API for other channels
- The same send call and webhook format cover Bird's SMS, WhatsApp and voice products, so a code can fall back from email to text.
Bird Email pricing
- Starts at
- $15 per month, deposited to your Bird balance
- Free plan
- 1,000 emails a month, limited to 50 a day, 1 sending domain, 5 mailboxes and 3 webhook endpoints. Sending stops at the limit.
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 1,000 emails a month and 50 a day, 1 sending domain, 5 mailboxes, inbound email and templates. |
| Startup | $15per month, deposited to your balance; email at $0.40 per 1,000 | About 37,500 transactional emails if the whole deposit goes on email. 10 sending domains, 10 mailboxes, no daily limit; unused balance carries forward. |
| Growth | $250per month, deposited to your balance; email at $0.45 per 1,000 | About 555,555 emails from the deposit. 500 sending domains, up to 5 dedicated IPs and IP pools, 25 mailboxes, 10 webhook endpoints. |
| Scale | $1,000per month and up, deposited to your balance; from $0.35 per 1,000 | Deposits of $1,000 to $10,000 a month with rates falling to $0.20 per 1,000. 1,000 domains, up to 10 dedicated IPs, 100 mailboxes. |
Read from bird.com on Oct 18, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Bird Email before you buy.
Works with
Bird Email alternatives
- Bird Email vs Twilio SendGrid
Free trial · from $19.95/mo
- Bird Email vs Mailgun
Free plan · from $15/mo
- Bird Email vs Amazon SES
Free trial
- Bird Email vs Postmark
Free plan · from $15/mo
- Bird Email vs SMTP.com
From $25/mo
Common questions
Is Bird Email free?
Bird Email has a free plan. 1,000 emails a month, limited to 50 a day, 1 sending domain, 5 mailboxes and 3 webhook endpoints. Sending stops at the limit. Paid plans start at $15 per month, deposited to your Bird balance.
How much does Bird Email cost?
Bird Email lists 4 plans. Free: $0. Startup: $15 per month, deposited to your balance; email at $0.40 per 1,000. Growth: $250 per month, deposited to your balance; email at $0.45 per 1,000. Scale: $1,000 per month and up, deposited to your balance; from $0.35 per 1,000. Prices were read from bird.com on Oct 18, 2026.
What platforms does Bird Email work on?
Bird Email is available on Web.
Does Bird Email have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Bird Email is listed for Web.
Does Bird Email have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Bird Email is listed for Web.
Is Bird Email open source?
Bird Email is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 18, 2026.
Does Bird Email have an API?
Yes. Bird Email offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Bird Email integrate with?
Bird Email's listing names Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Replit, Lovable, v0 and Bolt. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Who makes Bird Email?
Bird Email is made by Bird B.V.
What are the alternatives to Bird Email?
The closest alternatives to Bird Email in our directory are Twilio SendGrid, Mailgun, Amazon SES, Postmark and SMTP.com. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with Bird Email.
How does Bird Email compare with other email sending services?
Bird Email's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 6 of the 11 other email sending services we grade, and level with 4. It stands best on value for money (B, above 6 of 11) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).
Is Bird Email good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Bird Email B for value for money. Its paid plans start at $15 a month, against a middle price of $15 for the category: 2 of the 10 others that charge start lower. On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.
Could I make my own version of Bird Email?
To replace Bird Email you would be making mail servers with a good name among inbox providers. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. It costs $180 a year. What you could not make: Mail servers with a good name among inbox providers. Newsletters sent to thousands of people that still reach the inbox. It plugs into other products, Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor among them, and has an API. The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job. This is a judgement from its listing. We have not built one.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 18, 2026.