SendGrid alternative · facts checked October 20, 2026

A SendGrid alternative with one plan for every email.

Start free with Cresca See the comparison

A SendGrid alternative for teams that send app email and marketing campaigns. Cresca's transactional API and AI-designed marketing campaigns share one plan and one monthly email allowance, sent from your own verified domain.

Cresca at a glance

AI agentDesigns the whole email
36 templatesStyled with your brand
26 design themesSwitch in one click
Fact-checked copyNo invented claims
Own-domain sendingGuided SPF and DKIM
AI agentDesigns the whole email
36 templatesStyled with your brand
26 design themesSwitch in one click
Fact-checked copyNo invented claims
Own-domain sendingGuided SPF and DKIM

Gmail tab estimateBefore you hit send
CSV importFields and tags mapped
Campaign reportsOpt-in opens and clicks
30 days freeNo credit card
Gmail tab estimateBefore you hit send
CSV importFields and tags mapped
Campaign reportsOpt-in opens and clicks
30 days freeNo credit card

Every part of Cresca, in one place.

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AI agent

Comparison

Cresca and SendGrid, side by side

How the two platforms differ for transactional and marketing email, based on public information from SendGrid.

Feature

Cresca

SendGrid

Built forTeams of every size sending app email and marketing campaigns from one accountEmail API and Marketing Campaigns, part of Twilio

PlansOne plan covers API email and campaigns; API email shares the monthly allowanceCresca edgeEmail API and Marketing Campaigns are purchased as separate plans

Transactional APIREST API with batch sends (up to 100 per request), scheduling up to 30 days ahead, attachments and idempotency keysEmail API and SMTP relay

Marketing email designAI agent designs complete on-brand emails from a brief, with 36 templates and a design editorCresca edgeMarketing Campaigns with responsive templates

Templates for API emailTemplate editor with variables, test emails and version history; send by aliasDynamic templates with an editor

Getting started30-day Free plan with no credit card, API included60-day free trial with 100 emails per day

Webhooks and SMTPOn the roadmap: outbound webhooks and SMTP relay. Today, read each email’s status as last_event or in the dashboardEvent webhooks and SMTP relay

Built for

Cresca: Teams of every size sending app email and marketing campaigns from one account

SendGrid: Email API and Marketing Campaigns, part of Twilio

Plans

Cresca: One plan covers API email and campaigns; API email shares the monthly allowance

SendGrid: Email API and Marketing Campaigns are purchased as separate plans

Transactional API

Cresca: REST API with batch sends (up to 100 per request), scheduling up to 30 days ahead, attachments and idempotency keys

SendGrid: Email API and SMTP relay

Marketing email design

Cresca: AI agent designs complete on-brand emails from a brief, with 36 templates and a design editor

SendGrid: Marketing Campaigns with responsive templates

Templates for API email

Cresca: Template editor with variables, test emails and version history; send by alias

SendGrid: Dynamic templates with an editor

Getting started

Cresca: 30-day Free plan with no credit card, API included

SendGrid: 60-day free trial with 100 emails per day

Webhooks and SMTP

Cresca: On the roadmap: outbound webhooks and SMTP relay. Today, read each email’s status as last_event or in the dashboard

SendGrid: Event webhooks and SMTP relay

SendGrid information is based on publicly available sources as of October 20, 2026. Plans and features change, so check SendGrid’s own website for current details. Compare other platforms

Transactional API

App email and campaigns, one account

Send password resets, receipts and alerts through the Cresca API, from the same verified domain and plan as your campaigns.

A plain REST API. JSON over HTTPS at api.cresca.xyz/api/v1. Send one email or a batch of up to 100 per request, from any language that can make an HTTP call. Docs
Your own verified domain. Every email goes out from a sender on a domain you verified in Cresca, with SPF and DKIM in place. Docs
Idempotency keys. Send an Idempotency-Key header and a retried request returns the first result instead of a second email. Docs
Templates with variables. Design an email in the template editor, publish it, and send it by alias with your own values. Every published version is kept. Docs
Status for every email. The API returns each email’s latest status as last_event, and the dashboard shows its full event timeline. Docs
Limits that grow with your plan. Requests per second depend on the plan, and API email shares the plan’s monthly email allowance with your campaigns. Docs

Send an email

curl -X POST 'https://api.cresca.xyz/api/v1/emails' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer cr_live_xxxxxxxxx' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'Idempotency-Key: password-reset/user-123' \
  -d '{
  "from": "Acme <hello@acme.com>",
  "to": "user@example.com",
  "subject": "Reset your password",
  "html": "<p>Click <a href=\"https://acme.com/reset?token=abc\">here</a> to reset your password.</p>"
}'

Response 200

{
  "id": "4ef9a417-02e9-4d39-ad75-9611e0fcc33c"
}

How Cresca transactional email works · Quickstart

Why teams switch

What changes when you leave SendGrid

Each part of the email program, handled in one workspace.

Subscription usage
Professional · $29 per month
Contacts1,840 / 5,000
Emails this month4,120 / 7,500
Flat monthly price for your plan.
1
One account for app email and campaigns. Password resets, receipts and newsletters share one plan, one monthly allowance and the same verified domains.
2
AI that designs your marketing email. Describe a campaign in one sentence. The AI agent picks a theme, writes the copy and lays it out with your brand.
yourdomain.com
Sending domain · Verified
TXTOwnership Verified
CNAME × 3DKIM Verified
MX + TXTMAIL FROM and SPF Verified
Sender: hello@yourdomain.com
3
Your own domain for every send. Verify a domain once with guided SPF and DKIM records, then use it for API email and campaigns alike.
4
Delivery you can check. Every API email has a status the API returns as last_event, and the dashboard shows its event timeline.

Start to finish

From brief to report, in one workspace

Spring sale for returning customers
Brief
Describe the campaign in one sentence.
- Modern
- Editorial
- Bold
- Minimal
- Ocean
- Forest
Design
The agent picks a theme and applies your brand.
- Newsletter subscribers2,368
- Repeat customers814
Audience
Choose the lists that should receive it.
- Delivered1,184
- Unique clicks96
Report
Deliveries, bounces and opt-in opens and clicks.
Send from your own domain
Cresca shows the exact DNS records to add, or adds them for you on Cloudflare, then checks them and marks the domain ready.
- TXTOwnership Verified
- CNAME × 3DKIM Verified
- MX + TXTMAIL FROM and SPF Verified

Switching

Move from SendGrid in three steps

01
Verify your domain
Add the DNS records Cresca shows you, or connect Cloudflare and let Cresca add them. Then add a sender on that domain.
02
Create an API key
Create a sending-access key for production servers and keep it in your server’s environment.
03
Update your send call
Send each email with POST /emails, using from, to, subject and html or a published template.

Design

Beautiful emails, with or without AI

The agent and the editor work on the same email, so you can mix both.

AI agent or hands-on editor
Let the agent design the email from a brief, then fine-tune any block yourself. Both edit the same email.
26 design themes, your brand colour
Switch between themes like Modern, Editorial, Bold or Minimal in one click; your brand colour is applied on top.
Gmail tab estimate
See whether Gmail is likely to file the email under Promotions, and what is pushing it there, before you send.
Send from your own domain
Verify your domain with guided SPF and DKIM records, set up automatically if your DNS is on Cloudflare.

Pricing

Simple, flat monthly pricing

Free

Try everything first

$0 for 30 days

50 contacts
50 emails
AI agent and 36 templates
1 sending domain
Campaign reports

Start free

Professional

Flat monthly price

Growing lists

$29 per month

5,000 contacts
7,500 emails/month
AI agent and 36 templates
3 sending domains
Priority support

Choose Professional

Bigger list? Premium is $49/month for 25,000 contacts and Ultra is $99/month for 55,000. Compare all plans

Why Cresca

Choose Cresca if you want…

What Cresca does differently from SendGrid for app email and campaigns.

01
A transactional email API and AI-designed marketing campaigns in one account
02
API email that shares your plan’s monthly allowance, with no separate marketing plan
03
One plan and one allowance for API email and campaigns, not two products to buy
04
Idempotency keys, so a retried request never sends a second email
05
Templates with variables, test emails and version history
06
An AI agent that designs the whole campaign email from one sentence
07
Sending from your own domain, with guided SPF and DKIM setup
08
Email support on every plan, with priority support on paid plans

Free for 30 days with no credit card. Paid plans from $29 a month.

Start for free

FAQs

Frequently asked questions

What teams ask before moving from SendGrid. Still have a question?

Start free Contact us

Yes. Cresca sends transactional email through a REST API from your own verified domain, and in the same account an AI agent designs and sends your marketing campaigns.

No. Every Cresca plan covers both: API email and campaigns draw on the same monthly email allowance and use the same verified sending domains.

Not yet. Outbound webhooks and an SMTP relay are on the roadmap. Today you check each email with GET /emails/{id}, which returns its latest status as last_event, or in the dashboard timeline.

API email shares your plan’s monthly email allowance with your campaigns. Professional is $29/month for 7,500 emails and 5,000 contacts. API requests per second depend on the plan, from 2 on Free to 100 on Enterprise.

Yes, for 30 days with no credit card: 50 contacts and 50 emails, with the API, the AI agent and all 36 templates included.

Design your next email in minutes.

Free for 30 days, no credit card. Verify your domain, create an API key and send your first email the same day.

Start free with Cresca See pricing

A SendGrid alternative with one plan for every email.

Every part of Cresca, in one place.

Cresca and SendGrid, side by side

Built for

Plans

Transactional API

Marketing email design

Templates for API email

Getting started

Webhooks and SMTP

App email and campaigns, one account

What changes when you leave SendGrid

From brief to report, in one workspace

Brief

Design

Audience

Report

Send from your own domain

Move from SendGrid in three steps

Verify your domain

Create an API key

Update your send call

Beautiful emails, with or without AI

AI agent or hands-on editor

26 design themes, your brand colour

Gmail tab estimate

Send from your own domain

Simple, flat monthly pricing

Free

Professional

Choose Cresca if you want…

Frequently asked questions

01Is Cresca a SendGrid alternative?

02Do I need separate plans for API email and campaigns?

03Does Cresca support webhooks or SMTP?

04How is API email priced?

05Can I try Cresca for free?

Design your next email in minutes.