SendGrid vs Sparkpost
Compare SendGrid and Sparkpost 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500M+ | 2nd of 10 → | 8 | 24 |
| <1M | 10th of 10 ↑ | 1 | 5 |
From April 13th to July 12th, Knock routed 500M+ messages through SendGrid and <1M through Sparkpost. SendGrid reported 24 status page updates over the last 90 days, while Sparkpost reported 5.
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 April 13th to July 12th. The top-line number is an average of these daily values: SendGrid averaged 22ms compared to 281ms for Sparkpost. SendGrid's highest daily p50 was 31ms; Sparkpost's was 312ms. SendGrid is 259ms 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, SendGrid has a p90 of 78ms compared to 471ms for Sparkpost. The highest daily p90 was 88ms for SendGrid and 574ms for Sparkpost. SendGrid handles these slower requests 393ms 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, SendGrid reached 287ms at p99 while Sparkpost reached 622ms. The highest daily p99 was 2789ms for SendGrid and 768ms for Sparkpost, 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% | 0.02% | May 8 | 90 | 1 |
| 0.00% | 0.42% | May 4 | 90 | 1 |
Averaged across the date range, SendGrid shows a 0.00% daily error rate compared to 0.00% for Sparkpost. The highest single-day error rate was 0.02% for SendGrid and 0.42% for Sparkpost. 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 SendGrid incidents
Recent status page incidents for SendGrid
Ongoing since Jul 29, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Jul 29, 09:00 - 12:00 PDT Jul 9, 05:10 PDT Scheduled - On July 29, 2026 at 9:00 AM PT (originally planned for July 22), SendGrid incident and maintenance notifications will move to the Twilio Status Page: https://status.twilio.com. Your existing SendGrid Status Page subscription will be migrated. Depending on how you currently receive notifications, you may need to confirm your subscription to continue receiving updates. What to expect: EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS: You will
Started Jul 11, 2026 — Resolved Jul 11, 2026
Jul 11, 13:35 PDT Resolved - Our engineers have monitored the fix and confirmed the issue has been resolved. All services are now operating normally at this time. Jul 11, 13:07 PDT Monitoring - Our engineers have implemented a fix and are monitoring system performance. We will provide another update in an hour or as soon as more information becomes available. Jul 11, 12:23 PDT Identified - Our engineers have identified the issue and are working toward a fix. We will provide another update
Started Jul 9, 2026 — Resolved Jul 9, 2026
Jul 9, 12:36 PDT Resolved - Our engineers have monitored the fix and confirmed the issue with global open and clicks engagement Stat delays has been resolved. This did not impact EU region stats, and mail send was not impacted. All services are now operating normally at this time. Jul 9, 11:50 PDT Monitoring - Starting around 1:16 AM PDT on July, 9 2026, our engineers began investigating an issue with global open and clicks engagement Stat delays. This does not impact EU region stats. How
Started Jun 30, 2026 — Resolved Jun 30, 2026
Jun 29, 19:13 PDT Resolved - Our engineers have monitored the fix and confirmed the issue with Microsoft Feedback Loop has been resolved. All services are now operating normally at this time. Jun 29, 16:59 PDT Monitoring - Our engineers have implemented a fix and are monitoring system performance. We will provide another update in an hour or as soon as more information becomes available. Jun 29, 15:52 PDT Update - Our engineers are continuing to actively work on applying a fix for the iss
Started Jun 24, 2026 — Resolved Jun 24, 2026
Jun 24, 11:54 PDT Resolved - Our engineers have monitored the fix and confirmed the issue with Click Tracked links from EU Regionalized Senders has been resolved. All services are now operating normally at this time. Jun 24, 11:19 PDT Monitoring - Our engineers have implemented a fix and are monitoring system performance. We will provide another update in 30 minutes or as soon as more information becomes available. Jun 24, 11:15 PDT Update - Our engineers have implemented a fix and are mo
Recent Sparkpost incidents
Recent status page incidents for Sparkpost
Started Jun 29, 2026 — Resolved Jun 29, 2026
Jun 29, 12:46 EDT Resolved - This incident has been resolved. Jun 29, 12:05 EDT Monitoring - There was a combination of events that caused a short period of slowdown. That slowdown has already recovered and we are monitoring to ensure we do not see it again. Jun 29, 11:58 EDT Investigating - We are investigating the delay and the impact. We will post once we know more.
Started May 12, 2026 — Resolved May 12, 2026
May 12, 09:38 EDT Resolved - This incident has been resolved. May 12, 09:10 EDT Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results. May 12, 08:48 EDT Identified - We’re currently investigating an issue that prevented some customers from updating their payment details. The root cause has been identified, and a fix is being implemented.
Started May 11, 2026 — Resolved May 11, 2026
May 11, 16:02 EDT Resolved - This incident has been resolved. May 11, 15:46 EDT Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results. May 11, 14:55 EDT Identified - We are experiencing an elevated level of errors and latency on the Suppression List API for some SparkPost customers. Please retry any 5xx error. Note: This issue does not impact SparkPost customers hosted in the EU.
Started May 9, 2026 — Resolved May 9, 2026
May 9, 18:17 EDT Resolved - This incident has been resolved. May 9, 18:05 EDT Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results. May 9, 17:50 EDT Identified - The issue has been identified and a fix is being implemented. May 9, 17:39 EDT Investigating - We are looking into why some messages are seeing delayed delivery.
Started May 8, 2026 — Resolved May 8, 2026
May 8, 07:31 EDT Resolved - This incident has been resolved. May 7, 06:49 EDT Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results. May 7, 05:31 EDT Investigating - We are currently investigating this issue.
Pros and cons
SendGrid
Sparkpost
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
Pros
- Delivers nearly 40% of all commercial email worldwide
- Subaccount support for isolated sending streams under one billing account
- On-premise mail sending solution available for very high volume workloads
- Great analytics tools with predictive health scores for email deliverability
Cons
- Extended email activity history requires a paid add-on
- Pricing can become complex at higher volumes
- Support response times vary by plan tier
Cons
- Documentation can be hard to navigate with less beginner-friendly getting started content
- Higher price point than basic providers
- Now part of Bird (formerly MessageBird), which may affect product direction
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between SendGrid and Sparkpost?
SendGrid is a cloud-based email delivery platform owned by Twilio, known for high-volume transactional and marketing email. SparkPost is a data-driven email delivery platform with advanced analytics and predictive tools for high-volume senders. SendGrid is best suited for high-volume transactional + marketing, while Sparkpost is geared toward data-driven, high-volume.
Which is cheaper, SendGrid or Sparkpost?
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. Free tier includes 500 emails per month with community support. Paid plans start at $20/month for 50,000 emails with premium deliverability features. The best value depends on your sending volume. Use the pricing calculator above to compare costs at your expected volume.
Which is faster, SendGrid or Sparkpost?
Based on real-world data from Knock, SendGrid has a median API response time (p50) of 22ms compared to 281ms for Sparkpost.
Which is more reliable, SendGrid or Sparkpost?
From April 13th to July 12th, SendGrid showed an error rate of 0.00% while Sparkpost 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, SendGrid or Sparkpost?
On the Knock platform, SendGrid handled 500M+ messages from April 13th to July 12th compared to <1M for Sparkpost. SendGrid volume has remained stable, while Sparkpost is trending upward.
Can I use both SendGrid and Sparkpost together?
Yes. Knock enables you to integrate multiple email providers into a single notification workflow. You can use SendGrid and Sparkpost 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 SendGrid vs Sparkpost?
SendGrid strengths include comprehensive documentation with sdks for most major languages and rich analytics tools with programmatic api access to engagement data. Sparkpost strengths include delivers nearly 40% of all commercial email worldwide and subaccount support for isolated sending streams under one billing account. On the other hand, SendGrid drawbacks include extended email activity history requires a paid add-on, while Sparkpost drawbacks include documentation can be hard to navigate with less beginner-friendly getting started content.
Use either provider with Knock
Knock enables you to integrate SendGrid, Sparkpost, or any combination of email providers into a single notification workflow. Manage templates, orchestrate cross-channel delivery, and switch providers without changing your code.