Resend vs SendGrid
Compare Resend 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1M–10M | 1st of 10 → | 13 | 13 |
| 100M–500M | 2nd of 10 → | 25 | 25 |
From July 4th to October 2nd, Knock routed 1M–10M messages through Resend and 100M–500M through SendGrid. Resend reported 13 status page updates over the last 90 days, while SendGrid reported 25.
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.
The chart above shows each provider's daily median response time (p50) from July 4th to October 2nd. The top-line number is an average of these daily values: Resend averaged 87ms compared to 15ms for SendGrid. Resend's highest daily p50 was 96ms; SendGrid's was 21ms. SendGrid is 72ms 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, Resend has a p90 of 133ms compared to 34ms for SendGrid. The highest daily p90 was 3594ms for Resend and 66ms for SendGrid. SendGrid handles these slower requests 99ms 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, Resend reached 1157ms at p99 while SendGrid reached 107ms. The highest daily p99 was 11263ms for Resend and 148ms for SendGrid, indicating the worst-case response time during spikes or provider-side congestion. SendGrid 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% | 0.09% | Oct 1 | 77 | 7 |
| 0.00% | 0.00% | Jul 4 | 91 | 0 |
Averaged across the date range, Resend shows a 0.00% daily error rate compared to 0.00% for SendGrid. The highest single-day error rate was 0.09% for Resend and 0.00% 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 Resend incidents
Recent status page incidents for Resend
Started Oct 1, 2026 — Resolved Oct 1, 2026
Status: Resolved We have resolved the underlying issue and service has been resumed Affected components General API (Operational)
Ongoing since Oct 1, 2026
Status: Complete All systems are now fully operational Affected components Dashboard (Operational) Website (Operational)
Started Sep 26, 2026 — Resolved Sep 26, 2026
Status: Resolved We have resolved the underlying issue and service has been resumed. Affected components Webhooks (Operational)
Started Sep 24, 2026 — Resolved Sep 24, 2026
Status: Resolved We have resolved the underlying issue and service has been resumed. Affected components General API (Operational) Scheduled Emails (Operational) Single Email (Operational) Dashboard (Operational) Broadcast Emails (Operational) Batch Emails (Operational)
Started Sep 22, 2026 — Resolved Sep 22, 2026
Status: Resolved We have resolved the underlying issue and service has been resumed. Affected components Email Events (Operational) General API (Operational)
Recent SendGrid incidents
Recent status page incidents for SendGrid
Ongoing since Nov 19, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Nov 18, 21:00 PST - Nov 19, 03:00 PST Sep 30, 16:04 PDT Scheduled - Our SMS carrier partner in the United States is conducting a planned maintenance from 18 November 2026 at 21:00 PST until 19 November 2026 at 03:00 PST. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays delivering SMS to and from United States handsets via subset of United States long codes.
Ongoing since Nov 17, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Nov 16, 21:00 PST - Nov 17, 03:00 PST Sep 30, 13:34 PDT Scheduled - Our SMS carrier partner in the United States is conducting a planned maintenance from 16 November 2026 at 21:00 PST until 17 November 2026 at 03:00 PST. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays delivering SMS to and from United States handsets via subset of United States long codes.
Ongoing since Oct 29, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Oct 28, 20:00 PDT - Oct 29, 00:00 PDT Sep 29, 08:15 PDT Scheduled - Our SMS and MMS carrier partner in the United States is conducting a planned maintenance from 28 October 2026 at 20:00 PDT until 29 October 2026 at 00:00 PDT. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays delivering SMS and MMS to United States handsets via subset of United States long codes.
Ongoing since Oct 29, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Oct 28, 20:00 PDT - Oct 29, 00:00 PDT Sep 4, 00:24 PDT Scheduled - Twilio is conducting a planned maintenance from 28 October 2026 at 20:00 PDT until 29 October 2026 at 00:00 PDT. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays or failures delivering SMS and MMS to and from United States and Canada handsets when sending via long codes, short codes and toll free numbers.
Ongoing since Oct 28, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Oct 28, 13:00 - 17:00 PDT Oct 2, 07:46 PDT Scheduled - The Tele2 network in Russia is conducting a planned maintenance from 28 October 2026 at 13:00 PDT until 28 October 2026 at 17:00 PDT. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays delivering SMS to Tele2 Russia handsets.
Pros and cons
Resend
SendGrid
Pros
- Beautiful documentation with attention to detail and great developer experience
- Created and maintain React Email, the go-to framework for building email templates in React
- Minimalist, developer-optimized platform that avoids bloat with a focused UI
- Transparent observability with real-time visibility into sends, failures, and engagement
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
- Newer and less battle-tested compared to incumbents like Mailgun or SendGrid
- Fewer enterprise features than established providers
- Limited marketing email capabilities
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 Resend and SendGrid?
Resend is a modern email API built for developers, with React Email support and a focus on simplicity. SendGrid is a cloud-based email delivery platform owned by Twilio, known for high-volume transactional and marketing email. Resend is best suited for developer-first, react teams, while SendGrid is geared toward high-volume transactional + marketing.
Which is cheaper, Resend or SendGrid?
Free tier includes 3,000 emails per month and 100 emails per day. Paid plans start at $20/month for 50,000 emails with overages at $0.90/1K on Pro, scaling down to $0.46/1K on Scale 2.5M. 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, Resend or SendGrid?
Based on real-world data from Knock, Resend has a median API response time (p50) of 87ms compared to 15ms for SendGrid.
Which is more reliable, Resend or SendGrid?
From July 4th to October 2nd, Resend 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, Resend or SendGrid?
On the Knock platform, Resend handled 1M–10M messages from July 4th to October 2nd compared to 100M–500M for SendGrid. Resend volume has remained stable, while SendGrid volume has remained stable.
Can I use both Resend and SendGrid together?
Yes. Knock enables you to integrate multiple email providers into a single notification workflow. You can use Resend 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 Resend vs SendGrid?
Resend strengths include beautiful documentation with attention to detail and great developer experience and created and maintain react email, the go-to framework for building email templates in react. 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, Resend drawbacks include newer and less battle-tested compared to incumbents like mailgun or sendgrid, while SendGrid drawbacks include extended email activity history requires a paid add-on.
Use either provider with Knock
Knock enables you to integrate Resend, 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.