Head to head / SendGrid
Checked on October 13, 2026
Mailburger vs SendGrid
Twilio SendGrid sells two separately billed products: an Email API and SMTP relay for developers, and Marketing Campaigns, a no-code tool for newsletters and automation. Mailburger is a focused email marketing tool with automations, A/B tests and a REST API from €5 a month, priced on subscribed contacts only.
The bill
Side by side, at your list size
Mailburger kitchen · ticket #0001
Mailburger
Pro plan
- Contacts included
- 50,000
- Emails a month
- 500,000
- Automations
- Included
- A/B tests
- Included
- Signup forms
- Included
- Team members
- Unlimited
- Single sign-on (SAML)
- Included
- REST API
- Included
Total€20/ month
For comparison
SendGrid
Marketing Campaigns · Advanced 10K
- Contacts included
- 10,000
- Emails a month
- 50,000
- Automations
- Included
- A/B tests
- Included
- Signup forms
- 15 forms
- Team members
- Up to 1,000
- Single sign-on (SAML)
- Included
- REST API
- Separate Email API plan
Total$60/ month
Basic 10K is $25 but has no automations.
Prices in each vendor's own currency, monthly billing, from their public pricing pages on October 13, 2026. Taxes not included.
Where Mailburger wins
- Automations from €5 on Grow; SendGrid needs Advanced, $60 at 10,000 contacts
- Unsubscribed and bounced contacts never count toward your plan
- A free plan with 500 contacts and 2,500 emails a month
- Agency plans with up to 25 white-label client workspaces
Where SendGrid wins
- An Email API and SMTP relay for app email, from $19.95 for 50,000 emails on a separate plan
- A dedicated IP included on Marketing Campaigns Advanced
- Up to 1,000 teammates and up to 15 subusers on Advanced
- Email content testing credits for inbox rendering, spam and link checks
Watch out for
- No free plan since May 2025; new accounts get one 60-day trial at 100 emails a day
- Every contact stored or uploaded in a month counts, even if you delete it, and teammates count as contacts
- Email API and Marketing Campaigns are separate plans with separate send counts
- Going over a contact or send cap is billed per contact or email, at $0.0023 to $0.0075
Switching
Moving from SendGrid, step by step
Moving your marketing email from SendGrid Marketing Campaigns takes a CSV export and a list of the automations you rely on. Your app email can stay exactly where it is.
1. Export your contacts
In SendGrid Marketing Campaigns, export the contacts you want to keep as a CSV, including the custom fields you personalise with. Only bring people who agreed to hear from you; leave out unsubscribed contacts and keep that export as a record.
2. Recreate custom fields and audiences
Create your custom fields first under Audience → Custom fields. Then create an audience for each list you send to separately and import each CSV into it, mapping the columns to first name, last name and your custom fields. Tags can be added during the import, which is a quick way to remember which SendGrid list a contact came from.
3. Translate merge tags
SendGrid Marketing Campaigns uses Handlebars-style tags such as {{first_name}}, with fallbacks written as {{insert first_name "default=there"}}. Here the first name stays {{first_name}}, the fallback becomes {{first_name|there}} and custom fields become {{custom.your_field}}. See merge tags.
4. Rebuild segments and automations
Recreate your segments with the segment builder, then rebuild each automation in automations, starting with the welcome series. Triggers include subscribing, a tag being added, a form submission, a date field and a custom event from the API. Steps include delays, if/else branches, waits for an open or click, and goals.
5. Keep the Email API for app email
Mailburger sends marketing email only. Keep SendGrid's Email API, or another API provider, for receipts and password resets. Point your signup flows at our REST API instead of Marketing Campaigns: POST /api/v1/contacts upserts by email, so you can send every signup without checking first.
6. Verify your domain and warm up
Verify your sending domain with SPF, DKIM and DMARC records. A subdomain such as mail.yourbrand.com keeps marketing reputation apart from your app email. Send the first campaigns to your most engaged contacts and grow volume gradually; our guide on warming up a domain explains how.
Questions
Asked at the counter
Is Mailburger a cheaper alternative to SendGrid?
For marketing email, on list price, yes. SendGrid Marketing Campaigns with automation starts at $60 a month for 10,000 contacts (Advanced 10K), while Mailburger Pro covers 50,000 contacts and 500,000 emails a month for €20. SendGrid lists prices in US dollars and Mailburger in euros.
Does SendGrid still have a free plan?
No. Twilio retired the free Email API and Marketing Campaigns plans in May 2025. New accounts get a 60-day trial with up to 100 emails a day, once per account, and the Marketing Campaigns trial holds up to 100 contacts.
Do unsubscribed contacts count toward the bill?
On SendGrid Marketing Campaigns every contact stored or uploaded during the month counts, even if you delete it before the month ends. On Mailburger only subscribed contacts and contacts pending double opt-in count; unsubscribed and bounced contacts do not.
Which SendGrid plan includes automations?
Marketing Campaigns Advanced and Custom. Basic, which starts at $15 for 5,000 contacts, has no automation. On Mailburger automations start on Grow at €5 a month.
Can Mailburger send password resets and receipts?
No. Mailburger is for marketing email. Keep SendGrid's Email API, or another API provider, for app email and use Mailburger for newsletters and automations.
How do I move from SendGrid to Mailburger?
Export your Marketing Campaigns contacts as CSV, recreate your custom fields, import the file into an audience and rebuild your automations. The step-by-step guide is on this page.
Sources
Your first campaign is on the house.
Start free with up to 500 contacts.