Amazon SES vs SendGrid
Compare Amazon SES and SendGrid based on observed API performance, features, and pricing
Live performance comparison
Real-world performance data from messages sent through Knock
| Provider | Message volume | Growth | Status page updates (30d) | Status page updates (90d) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25M–100M | 3rd of 10 ↑ | 0 | 0 |
| 500M+ | 2nd of 10 → | 0 | 0 |
From January 22nd to April 22nd, Knock routed 25M–100M messages through Amazon SES and 500M+ through SendGrid. Amazon SES reported 0 status page updates over the last 90 days, while SendGrid reported 0.
Response time
Response time measures how long each provider takes to accept an API request from Knock, including connection overhead and any automatic retries. Lower values mean faster message hand-off.
| Provider | Median (p50) | p90 | p95 | p99 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 151ms | 199ms | 227ms | 431ms |
| 22ms | 75ms | 80ms | 463ms |
The chart above shows each provider's daily median response time (p50) from January 22nd to April 22nd. The top-line number is an average of these daily values: Amazon SES averaged 151ms compared to 22ms for SendGrid. Amazon SES's highest daily p50 was 172ms; SendGrid's was 24ms. SendGrid is 129ms faster at the median, which can add up at high volumes.
The 90th percentile (p90) captures the slowest 10% of requests, revealing how each provider handles moderate stress. Averaged across all days, Amazon SES has a p90 of 199ms compared to 75ms for SendGrid. The highest daily p90 was 241ms for Amazon SES and 98ms for SendGrid. SendGrid handles these slower requests 124ms faster, suggesting more consistent performance across the board.
The 99th percentile (p99) represents the long tail — the slowest 1% of requests. Averaged across all days, Amazon SES reached 431ms at p99 while SendGrid reached 463ms. The highest daily p99 was 488ms for Amazon SES and 1255ms for SendGrid, indicating the worst-case response time during spikes or provider-side congestion. Amazon SES shows a tighter tail, which may matter for time-sensitive notifications like one-time passwords or real-time alerts where even rare delays can impact user experience.
Error rate
Error rate tracks the ratio of 5xx responses and timeouts to total requests. Knock automatically retries failed requests, so transient provider errors rarely affect end-user delivery.
| Provider | Avg. daily error rate | Highest daily rate | Peak error date | Zero-error days | Days above 0.01% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00% | 0.01% | Feb 4 | 89 | 0 |
| 0.00% | 0.02% | Feb 18 | 84 | 2 |
Averaged across the date range, Amazon SES shows a 0.00% daily error rate compared to 0.00% for SendGrid. The highest single-day error rate was 0.01% for Amazon SES and 0.02% for SendGrid. Both providers show similar reliability levels, with error rates well within acceptable thresholds. Knock automatically retries failed requests to both providers, minimizing the impact of transient errors on end-user delivery.
About these metrics: Data represents messages sent through Knock during the specified period. Response time measures time from Knock to provider acceptance. Error rate includes only provider 5xx responses and timeouts.
Recent Amazon SES incidents
Recent status page incidents for Amazon SES
No incidents reported in the last 90 days
Recent SendGrid incidents
Recent status page incidents for SendGrid
No incidents reported in the last 90 days
Pros and cons
Amazon SES
SendGrid
Pros
- Delivers billions of emails per year for Netflix, Reddit, and Amazon
- Lowest cost per email among major providers with simple pay-as-you-go pricing
- Deep integration with the AWS ecosystem and SDKs in all major languages
- Highly scalable with no sending limits after warmup
Pros
- Comprehensive documentation with SDKs for most major languages
- Rich analytics tools with programmatic API access to engagement data
- Strong focus on deliverability with AI-powered intelligent delivery
- Trusted by Uber, Booking.com, and Yelp for high-volume sending
Cons
- Setup is complex with documentation that can be difficult to navigate
- New accounts are sandboxed to 200 messages per 24-hour period
- Accessing analytics requires additional AWS services like SNS and Lambda
Cons
- Extended email activity history requires a paid add-on
- Pricing can become complex at higher volumes
- Support response times vary by plan tier
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Amazon SES and SendGrid?
Amazon SES is a cost-effective, cloud-scale email service built on AWS infrastructure. SendGrid is a cloud-based email delivery platform owned by Twilio, known for high-volume transactional and marketing email. Amazon SES is best suited for cost-sensitive, high-volume, while SendGrid is geared toward high-volume transactional + marketing.
Which is cheaper, Amazon SES or SendGrid?
3,000 free emails per month for the first 12 months. After that, $0.10 per 1,000 emails with additional charges for attachments and dedicated IPs. Free tier includes up to 100 emails per day for 60 days. Paid plans start at $19.95/month for 50,000 emails on the Essentials plan, with an Essentials 100K tier at $34.95/month. Pro plans with dedicated IPs start at $249/month for 300,000 emails. The best value depends on your sending volume. Use the pricing calculator above to compare costs at your expected volume.
Which is faster, Amazon SES or SendGrid?
Based on real-world data from Knock, Amazon SES has a median API response time (p50) of 151ms compared to 22ms for SendGrid.
Which is more reliable, Amazon SES or SendGrid?
From January 22nd to April 22nd, Amazon SES showed an error rate of 0.00% while SendGrid showed 0.00%. Both rates are within acceptable thresholds for production email delivery, and Knock automatically retries failed requests to minimize the impact of transient errors.
Which is more popular, Amazon SES or SendGrid?
On the Knock platform, Amazon SES handled 25M–100M messages from January 22nd to April 22nd compared to 500M+ for SendGrid. Amazon SES is currently trending upward in adoption, while SendGrid volume has remained stable.
Can I use both Amazon SES and SendGrid together?
Yes. Knock enables you to integrate multiple email providers into a single notification workflow. You can use Amazon SES and SendGrid side by side, route traffic between them, or migrate from one to the other without changing your application code.
What are the main pros and cons of Amazon SES vs SendGrid?
Amazon SES strengths include delivers billions of emails per year for netflix, reddit, and amazon and lowest cost per email among major providers with simple pay-as-you-go pricing. SendGrid strengths include comprehensive documentation with sdks for most major languages and rich analytics tools with programmatic api access to engagement data. On the other hand, Amazon SES drawbacks include setup is complex with documentation that can be difficult to navigate, while SendGrid drawbacks include extended email activity history requires a paid add-on.
Use either provider with Knock
Knock enables you to integrate Amazon SES, SendGrid, or any combination of email providers into a single notification workflow. Manage templates, orchestrate cross-channel delivery, and switch providers without changing your code.