Quick answer: SMTP pricing in 2026 ranges from $0.10 per 1,000 emails (Amazon SES) to over $1.50 per 1,000 on lower-volume plans. The listed price is rarely the full cost: dedicated IPs, overages, support tiers, and missing dashboard features add to every major provider’s real monthly bill. This guide shows actual pricing for SendGrid, Mailgun, Amazon SES, Postmark, MailerSend and SureContact, including what each plan doesn’t include.
The number on an SMTP pricing page is almost never the number you pay.
SendGrid shows $19.95/month on its Essentials plan. But that plan runs on shared IPs. If you need a dedicated IP for reliable deliverability, you’re on the Pro plan at $89.95/month. Exceeding your monthly limit by 20% adds 30 to 40% in overage charges. SendGrid also replaced its permanent free plan with a 60-day trial in 2025.
Amazon SES shows $0.10 per 1,000 emails, the cheapest rate in the industry. But SES provides no dashboard, no bounce handling UI, and no support at the base tier. The tooling required to operate SES reliably adds to the real monthly cost.
This guide shows what six major SMTP services actually cost in 2026: listed price, what’s not included, and the realistic monthly bill at common sending volumes.
How does SMTP pricing actually work?
Most SMTP services price in one of two ways: by monthly email volume (a fixed allowance you pay for whether you use it or not) or by actual emails sent (pay-as-you-go credits).
Volume-based pricing (SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark) gives predictable costs at consistent sending volumes. The risk is overage fees when you exceed your allowance and paying for unused capacity when volume is irregular.
Pay-as-you-go pricing (Amazon SES, SureContact credit packs) means you only pay for what you send. The risk is less predictability on a variable bill, though it’s usually cheaper for occasional senders.
Within both models, the real variables are what’s included at each tier: dedicated vs shared IPs, bounce handling, a usable dashboard, support access, and whether contact management is bundled in or billed separately.
SMTP pricing at a glance: six providers compared
The table below shows the entry price, emails included, and effective per-email rate at entry-tier capacity. The last column is what typically adds to the bill beyond the listed price.
| Provider | Entry price | Emails included | Rate at entry | What’s not in listed price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon SES | $1.00/mo | 10,000 | $0.10/1K | Dashboard, support, bounce handling UI |
| MailerSend | $5.60/mo | 5,000 | $1.12/1K | CRM, campaigns, marketing sends |
| SureContact | $5.90/mo | 10,000 | $0.59/1K | Nothing — CRM included at all tiers |
| Mailgun | ~$15/mo | 10,000 | ~$1.50/1K | Dedicated IP, CRM, campaign builder |
| Postmark | $15/mo | 10,000 | $1.50/1K | Marketing email sends |
| SendGrid Essentials | $19.95/mo | 50,000 | $0.40/1K at full capacity | Dedicated IP (needs Pro), overages |
What does SendGrid actually cost?
SendGrid’s pricing in 2026: Essentials from $19.95/month, Pro from $89.95/month. The permanent free plan was replaced with a 60-day trial in 2025.
The Essentials plan ($19.95/month) covers up to 50,000 emails per month on shared IPs. For a WooCommerce store sending 15,000 emails per month (order confirmations, shipping updates, password resets), the effective cost is $1.33 per thousand because you pay for 50,000 whether you use them or not. At full 50,000-email capacity, the effective rate is $0.40 per thousand.
The Pro plan ($89.95/month) is where most growing businesses land. It’s required for a dedicated IP, SSO, and subuser management. Overage charges apply to both plans: exceeding your monthly limit by 20% can increase your bill by 30 to 40%. Dedicated IP add-ons cost $30 each per month beyond what’s included in the Pro plan.
Realistic monthly cost for 50K emails: $19.95/month on shared IPs. For a dedicated IP: $89.95/month minimum. Median contract spend across 122 real deals tracked by Vendr: $502 per year.
What does Mailgun actually cost?
Mailgun’s pricing is volume-tiered, starting at around $15/month for 10,000 emails. At 100,000 emails per month, the rate drops to around $0.80 per thousand, which is competitive with SendGrid at similar volumes.
The listed price doesn’t include a dedicated IP (available as an add-on), a CRM for managing contacts, or a campaign builder. Mailgun is an API-first service. The dashboard covers delivery data but not contact management or campaign building. For teams that need both, Mailgun’s real cost includes whatever contact management tool runs alongside it.
Mailgun’s free tier is now a trial period rather than a permanent free plan. All ongoing plans require a paid subscription.
What does Amazon SES actually cost?
Amazon SES production pricing is $0.10 per 1,000 emails. At scale, nothing else on this list comes close on raw per-email rate.
The real cost question is what SES doesn’t include. There’s no built-in dashboard. Delivery data runs through CloudWatch or requires a third-party tool. There’s no bounce handling UI. You configure AWS SNS notifications and process them via Lambda or a third-party service. AWS basic support doesn’t cover SES-specific issues. Paid AWS support plans start at 3% of your monthly AWS bill.
SES also doesn’t separate transactional and marketing sending infrastructure. When both run through the same stream, marketing campaigns can affect the reputation of transactional traffic.
Realistic monthly cost for 100,000 emails: $10 in sending fees, plus a dashboard tool ($10 to $30/month) plus engineering time for setup and ongoing maintenance. The true monthly cost is typically $40 to $80, closer to SureContact and Mailgun than the SES pricing page suggests.
What does Postmark actually cost?
Postmark prices by transactional email volume: $15/month for 10,000 emails, $50/month for 50,000, $75/month for 125,000. The per-email rate runs from $0.15 to $1.50 per thousand depending on volume.
Postmark includes managed IPs monitored for reputation, a clean delivery dashboard, and a focus on inbox placement for time-sensitive transactional messages. The pricing is higher than SES and SendGrid Essentials at equivalent volumes, but managed deliverability is included rather than requiring additional configuration.
Postmark’s important constraint: it handles transactional email only. Marketing campaigns and newsletters require a separate platform. For teams that want transactional and marketing infrastructure kept completely separate, this is a deliberate design choice that improves deliverability for both.
What does MailerSend actually cost?
MailerSend starts at $5.60/month for 5,000 emails on paid plans, scaling to around $34/month for 100,000 emails. The free tier covers 3,000 emails per month permanently, the most generous permanent free tier on this list for low-volume transactional sending.
MailerSend doesn’t include a CRM or marketing campaign builder. At $34/month for 100,000 emails ($0.34/1K), it’s competitive with SendGrid Essentials at full capacity, with managed deliverability and a clean dashboard included.
What does SureContact SMTP actually cost?
SureContact SMTP pricing in 2026:
- Starter: $5.90/month for 10,000 emails ($0.59 per 1,000)
- Growth: $29.90/month for 50,000 emails
- Scale: $49.90/month for 100,000 emails ($0.49 per 1,000)
- Credit packs (non-expiring, launch price): 50,000 emails for $29.50, 100,000 emails for $54.50
What’s included at every plan level:
- Managed shared IPs monitored for reputation
- SPF, DKIM, and DMARC setup wizard
- Bounce and complaint handling
- Open and click tracking
- Send-time optimisation
- Full SureContact CRM: contacts, automations, email sequences, campaigns, landing pages, and native forms
There are no add-ons required for managed deliverability, no overage structure beyond moving to the next plan tier, and no separate tool to buy for contact management. The price on the plan is the price you pay.
At 100,000 emails per month, SureContact Scale ($49.90) sits between Amazon SES ($10 sending plus $30 to $70 in tooling) and SendGrid Pro ($89.95/month). The $49.90 includes everything you’d otherwise be paying for separately.
Which SMTP service gives you the best value for your volume?
The right answer depends on your sending volume, technical setup, and whether contact management needs to be part of the same account.
| Sending volume | Best value option | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Under 3,000/mo | MailerSend free tier | Permanent free plan, real dashboard included |
| 3,000 to 10,000/mo | SureContact Starter ($5.90) | Managed IPs, bounce handling, full CRM at $5.90 |
| 10,000 to 50,000/mo | SureContact or Brevo | SureContact if CRM needed; Brevo if free tier first |
| 50,000 to 100,000/mo | SureContact Scale ($49.90) | Undercuts SendGrid Pro by $40/mo, CRM included |
| 100K+, dev team available | Amazon SES | Cheapest rate; plan for $40-80/mo real total cost |
| 100K+, WordPress site | SureContact Scale | Only managed option with native WordPress, no plugin |
For WordPress sites: SureContact is the only provider on this list with native WordPress integration, no plugin required, and contact management included at every tier. At 100,000 emails per month, it’s the only managed option that undercuts SendGrid’s dedicated IP tier.
The cheapest SMTP provider per email is rarely the cheapest total solution. Add tooling costs, setup time, and the price of a separate CRM before comparing numbers across pricing pages.
If you’re on SendGrid or SES and want to see whether SureContact fits your setup, you can check current plans at surecontact.com/smtp.
Frequently asked questions
Is SendGrid pricing worth it in 2026?
SendGrid Essentials at $19.95/month is reasonable if you consistently send close to the 50,000-email monthly limit. At lower volumes, the effective per-email rate climbs quickly. The Pro plan at $89.95/month is required for a dedicated IP and is where most growing businesses land. For WordPress users with CRM needs, SureContact Scale ($49.90/month for 100,000 emails, CRM included) is better value than SendGrid Pro.
What is the cheapest SMTP service?
Amazon SES at $0.10 per 1,000 emails is the cheapest raw sending rate. For WordPress users who need a dashboard and managed deliverability, MailerSend’s free tier (3,000 emails/month) or SureContact’s Starter plan ($5.90/month for 10,000 emails with CRM included) are the most cost-effective paid options.
Does SendGrid have a free plan in 2026?
No. SendGrid replaced its permanent 100 emails/day free plan with a 60-day trial in 2025. After the trial, the minimum paid plan is Essentials at $19.95/month for up to 50,000 emails per month.
How much does it cost to send 100,000 emails per month?
Costs at 100,000 emails/month: Amazon SES $10 (plus $30 to $70 in tooling), SureContact $49.90 (CRM included, no add-ons), SendGrid Pro $89.95, Postmark $75 (transactional only). MailerSend runs around $34/month at that volume without a CRM.
