Last updated: October 2026 | Pricing and ratings checked on October 28, 2026 | 10 min read
SparkPost was once one of the biggest names in email delivery. Today it’s part of Bird (formerly MessageBird), and sparkpost.com pricing now redirects to Bird Email. Plans have been replaced by monthly deposits that turn into a Bird balance, and SparkPost’s review scores have slipped (1.5 on Trustpilot).
If you’re reviewing your options, we compared eight SparkPost alternatives on price at 10,000, 50,000 and 100,000 emails, free plans, API and SMTP support, logs and review ratings, all checked on October 28, 2026.
Quick Answer: The Mailercloud Email API is the best SparkPost alternative in 2026 for most teams: SMTP and REST sending for $10/month for 50,000 emails, with email marketing in the same account. Amazon SES is cheapest at scale ($0.10–$0.16 per 1,000), Mailgun is best for logs and inbound email, Postmark for fast transactional mail, and SMTP2GO for simple SMTP relay.
Table of Contents
Why Look for a SparkPost Alternative?
- It’s now Bird Email. SparkPost pricing redirects to Bird, and the old Test, Starter and Premier plans are gone.
- Deposit-based billing. Paid plans are monthly deposits ($15, $250 or $1,000) that become a Bird balance at $0.35–$0.45 per 1,000 emails.
- Small free allowance. The free plan sends 1,000 emails a month, capped at 50 a day.
- Review scores. SparkPost rates 4.0 on G2, 3.7 on Capterra and 1.5 on Trustpilot.
SparkPost (Bird Email) today
Pricing now: free for 1,000 emails a month (50 a day); Startup $15/month deposit (about 37,500 emails at $0.40 per 1,000); Growth $250/month; Scale $1,000/month. Dedicated IPs cost $24.95 a month.
How We Compared
- Price at 10,000, 50,000 and 100,000 emails, from each provider’s pricing page.
- Free plan or trial.
- API and SMTP relay support.
- Logs and analytics.
- G2, Capterra and Trustpilot ratings.
SparkPost Alternatives at a Glance
| Alternative | Best For | 10,000 | 50,000 | 100,000 | Free Option |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mailercloud Email API#1 Pick | Most teams | $10 | $10 | $100 (500K plan) | 14-day trial |
| Amazon SES | Scale on AWS | $1–$1.60 | $5–$8 | $10–$16 | AWS credits |
| Mailgun | Logs and inbound | $15 | $35 | $75 | 100/day |
| SendGrid | Ecosystem | $19.95 | $19.95 | $34.95 | 60-day trial |
| Postmark | Fast transactional | $15 | $55 | $115 (125K) | 100/month |
| Resend | Developer experience | $20 | $20 | $35 | 3,000/month |
| SMTP2GO | Simple SMTP relay | $10 | — | $75 | 1,000/month |
| Brevo | Free daily relay | $9 (5K) | — | — | 300/day |
Monthly prices from each vendor’s site on October 28, 2026. “—” means the tier isn’t published.
The 8 Best SparkPost Alternatives
1. Mailercloud Email API — Best Overall
The Mailercloud Email API is the best overall pick for most teams. It costs $10/month for 50,000 emails, $100 for 500,000 and $450 for 2.5 million, with SMTP relay and a REST API on every plan. SparkPost’s Startup deposit of $15 buys about 37,500 emails, so Mailercloud costs less for more, without a prepaid balance.
Unlike most sending APIs, the same account includes Mailercloud’s email marketing platform, so newsletters, automation and transactional email share one domain setup and one bill. You can also clean lists with the email verifier before importing them.
The trade-offs: the SDK and plugin ecosystem is smaller than SendGrid’s, and there’s a 14-day trial rather than a permanent free plan.
Key features
- SMTP relay and REST API
- $10/month for 50,000 emails
- SPF, DKIM and DMARC setup for your domain
- Delivery logs and analytics
- Email marketing and verifier in the same account
✅Mailercloud Email API Pros:
- $10/month for 50,000 emails; $100 for 500,000; $450 for 2.5M
- SMTP relay and REST API on every plan
- Email marketing in the same account
- Email verifier available from the same account
- 14-day free trial
❌Mailercloud Email API Cons:
- Smaller SDK and plugin ecosystem than SendGrid
- At exactly 100,000 emails you need the $100 plan (500,000)
- No permanent free plan
💰Pricing: $10/month for 50,000 emails; $100 for 500,000; $450 for 2.5M. 14-day free trial. See API pricing.
Best for: Teams sending up to 2.5 million emails a month who want low, flat pricing and marketing email in one account.
Try the Mailercloud Email API — SMTP and REST, $10/month for 50,000 emails, with a 14-day free trial.
2. Amazon SES — Cheapest at Scale
Amazon SES is the cheapest option at high volume. À-la-carte pricing is $0.10 per 1,000 emails, and the new Essentials plan (the default for new accounts since July 2026) is $0.16 per 1,000. Dedicated IPs cost $24.95 a month. See Amazon SES vs SendGrid for a full comparison.
The cost is engineering time. New accounts start in a sandbox until AWS approves production access, and logs and dashboards need extra AWS services.
Key features
- $0.10 per 1,000 (à la carte) or $0.16 (Essentials plan)
- API, SMTP and AWS SDKs
- Managed dedicated IPs
- Virtual Deliverability Manager
✅Amazon SES Pros:
- Lowest price per email
- Scales to very high volume
- Fits naturally into AWS
❌Amazon SES Cons:
- Sandbox and approval before you can send freely
- No built-in activity feed
- Developer-heavy setup
💰Pricing: $0.10 per 1,000 (à la carte); $0.16 on Essentials; dedicated IP $24.95/month.
Best for: Engineering teams on AWS sending high volume.
3. Mailgun — Best for Logs and Inbound Routing
Mailgun is a developer favourite with a strong API, SMTP relay, flexible inbound routing and email validation. Log retention grows with your plan: 1 day on Basic, 5 on Foundation and 30 on Scale.
The free plan allows 100 emails a day. Basic costs $15 for 10,000 emails, Foundation $35 for 50,000 or $75 for 100,000, and Scale $90 for 100,000. See our Mailgun alternatives for more options.
Key features
- Inbound routes
- Email validation
- Template builder on Foundation
- 30-day logs on Scale
✅Mailgun Pros:
- Powerful API and inbound routing
- Free plan (100/day)
- Unlimited users from Basic
❌Mailgun Cons:
- Short logs on Basic (1 day)
- More expensive than Mailercloud at 50,000 emails
💰Pricing: Free (100/day); Basic $15 (10K); Foundation $35 (50K); Scale $90 (100K).
Best for: Developers who need inbound email and detailed logs.
4. SendGrid — Best Ecosystem
SendGrid (Twilio) has the largest ecosystem of SDKs, plugins and integrations. There’s a 60-day trial at 100 emails a day. Essentials costs $19.95 for 50,000 emails or $34.95 for 100,000, and Pro $89.95 for 100,000 with a dedicated IP. Compare it head to head in SendGrid vs Mailgun.
Key features
- Dedicated IP on Pro
- Event webhooks
- 2,500 validations on Pro
- Marketing Campaigns available
✅SendGrid Pros:
- Widest integration support
- Dedicated IP included on Pro
- Up to 1,000 teammates on Pro
❌SendGrid Cons:
- No permanent free plan
- Only 3–7 days of searchable activity
- Very low Trustpilot score
💰Pricing: 60-day trial; Essentials $19.95/month (50K); Pro $89.95 (100K).
Best for: Teams that rely on integrations built for SendGrid.
5. Postmark — Best for Fast Transactional Email
Postmark is built only for transactional email, with separate Message Streams for transactional and broadcast mail and 45 days of message history. The free plan includes 100 emails a month.
Basic costs $15 for 10,000 emails, $55 for 50,000 and $115 for 125,000. Pro and Platform add more domains and longer retention.
Key features
- Message Streams
- 45-day retention (up to 365 on higher plans)
- DMARC monitoring add-on
- Dedicated IP from 300K/month
✅Postmark Pros:
- Excellent speed and reputation
- Clear logs and long retention
- Strict separation of mail types
❌Postmark Cons:
- Costs more than Mailercloud at 50,000 emails
- Strict content rules for broadcasts
💰Pricing: Free (100/month); Basic $15 (10K), $55 (50K), $115 (125K).
Best for: Teams whose password resets and receipts must arrive in seconds.
6. Resend — Best Developer Experience
Resend is a modern email API launched in 2023, with SDKs in nine languages and React Email for building templates in code. The free plan sends 3,000 emails a month (100 a day) and never expires.
Pro costs $20 for 50,000 emails or $35 for 100,000, and Scale starts at $90 for 100,000. Every plan keeps 30 days of logs. See how it stacks up in Resend vs SendGrid.
Key features
- React Email
- Inbound email
- 30-day retention on all plans
- Broadcasts for marketing
✅Resend Pros:
- Free plan that never expires
- Modern API and SDKs
- 30-day logs on every plan
❌Resend Cons:
- Dedicated IP only on Scale ($30/month)
- Smaller ecosystem
💰Pricing: Free (3,000/month); Pro $20 (50K) or $35 (100K); Scale from $90.
Best for: Developers building new apps.
7. SMTP2GO — Best Simple SMTP Relay
SMTP2GO makes SMTP relay easy for business software, websites and devices. The free plan covers 1,000 emails a month (200 a day), Starter costs $10 for 10,000, and Professional $75 for 100,000 including a dedicated IP. For more relay options, see our SMTP2GO alternatives.
Key features
- Free plan: 1,000/month
- 30-day reports on paid plans
- Unlimited users
- Data centres in the US, EU and Australia
✅SMTP2GO Pros:
- Very easy setup
- Highly rated on G2, Capterra and Trustpilot
- Dedicated IP on Professional
❌SMTP2GO Cons:
- Costs more per email at higher volume
- No marketing features
💰Pricing: Free (1,000/month); Starter $10 (10K); Professional $75 (100K).
Best for: Small businesses relaying email from everyday software.
8. Brevo — Best Free Daily Allowance
Brevo includes a transactional API and SMTP relay with its marketing plans. The free plan sends up to 300 emails a day, and Starter costs $9/month for 5,000 emails. SMS and WhatsApp are available too.
Key features
- Transactional API, SMTP and webhooks on all plans
- Free plan: 300 emails/day
- SMS and WhatsApp
- Marketing automation
✅Brevo Pros:
- Free relay for up to 300 emails a day
- Transactional and marketing in one account
- SMS and WhatsApp
❌Brevo Cons:
- Daily cap on the free plan
- Priced by emails sent, which adds up for frequent senders
💰Pricing: Free (300/day); Starter from $9/month (5,000 emails).
Best for: Small sites that want a free relay plus marketing tools.
How to Switch Without Hurting Deliverability
- Authenticate the new provider first. Gmail and Yahoo require bulk senders to authenticate with SPF (RFC 7208), DKIM (RFC 6376) and DMARC (dmarc.org), keep spam complaints low and support one-click unsubscribe (Google’s guidelines, Yahoo’s best practices). Track your domain reputation in Google Postmaster Tools.
- Move one message type at a time, starting with low-risk notifications. Our guide to transactional email best practices helps you prioritise.
- Warm up gradually if you’re moving to a dedicated IP.
- Watch bounces and complaints for two weeks; see our guide to hard vs soft bounces.
- Use TLS on port 587 or 465; see choosing the right SMTP port.
For wider comparisons, see the best transactional email services, our SMTP relay services roundup and Postmark alternatives.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best alternative to SparkPost?
The Mailercloud Email API is the best SparkPost alternative for most teams in 2026: $10/month for 50,000 emails with SMTP, REST and marketing in one account. Amazon SES is cheapest at very high volume.
Is SparkPost still available?
SparkPost is now part of Bird, and its pricing redirects to Bird Email. Plans are monthly deposits that become a Bird balance.
How much does SparkPost cost now?
Bird Email is free for 1,000 emails a month; Startup is a $15 monthly deposit (about 37,500 emails), Growth $250 and Scale $1,000.
What is the cheapest SparkPost alternative?
Amazon SES is cheapest per email ($0.10–$0.16 per 1,000). Among services with a full dashboard, Mailercloud is cheapest at 50,000 emails ($10).
Which SparkPost alternative has the best free plan?
Resend (3,000 emails a month) and SMTP2GO (1,000 a month) offer permanent free plans, and Brevo allows 300 emails a day.
Final Verdict
With SparkPost now folded into Bird’s deposit-based pricing, it’s a good time to compare. The Mailercloud Email API gives you SMTP and REST for $10/month for 50,000 emails, with marketing in the same account. Choose Amazon SES for the lowest cost at scale, Mailgun for logs and inbound routing, Postmark for fast transactional mail, and SMTP2GO for simple relay.
Send 50,000 emails for $10 — try the Mailercloud Email API
★★★★★ 4.5 on G2 · 4.7 on Capterra · 4.4 on Trustpilot · Trusted by 35,000+ businesses
14-day free trial · SMTP & REST API · Marketing in the same account
As a Marketing Director, I develop and implement marketing strategies, conduct market research, and manage a team of marketing professionals. With a successful track record of launching campaigns that drive revenue growth, I bring my marketing expertise to blog writing, creating engaging content that promotes the brand and its products/services.
