SendGrid specializes exclusively in email delivery with industry-leading deliverability rates (99.9%), while Twilio offers a broader communications platform spanning SMS, voice, WhatsApp, and email with more flexible multi-channel orchestration. SendGrid dominates email-only use cases, but Twilio wins for businesses needing integrated omnichannel messaging.
SendGrid vs Twilio — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Email delivery and marketing automation platform owned by Twilio
Cloud communications platform for SMS, voice, email, chat, and video APIs
Primary Use Case. Email Deliverability Rate. SMS Capabilities. Starting Price (Monthly). Voice Call API. Template Builder. API Response Time (p95)
Choose SendGrid if your primary need is high-volume email delivery with sophisticated marketing automation, advanced analytics, and you want the lowest email-specific costs at scale. Choose Twilio if you need a unified platform for SMS, voice, email, and WhatsApp messaging, prefer pay-as-you-go pricing flexibility, or plan to expand beyond email into multi-channel communications.
SendGrid: Multiple continents (15+) | Twilio: N/A
SendGrid: Full suite included | Twilio: N/A
SendGrid: AI-assisted drag-and-drop | Twilio: N/A
SendGrid: $1.00 per 1K emails | Twilio: N/A
SendGrid: 0 (100 emails/day only) | Twilio: N/A
SendGrid: No, basic contacts only | Twilio: N/A
SendGrid: Highly advanced, enterprise-grade | Twilio: N/A
SendGrid: Unlimited (pay-per-use after quota) | Twilio: N/A
SendGrid: 1 channel (Email) | Twilio: 7 channels (SMS, MMS, Voice, Video, Email, Chat, Fax)
SendGrid: $25 for 50k emails | Twilio: Pay-as-you-go ($0.0075 per SMS)
SendGrid: 100+ countries | Twilio: 180+ countries
SendGrid: 100-150ms average | Twilio: 150-200ms average
SendGrid: Yes, 24/7 with premium tiers | Twilio: Yes, 24/7 with dedicated support
SendGrid: Advanced drag-and-drop builder with presets | Twilio: Basic templates and custom coding
SendGrid: Unlimited with proper infrastructure | Twilio: Unlimited with proper infrastructure
SendGrid: $29.95-$99.95 (bundled) | Twilio: N/A
SendGrid: Drag-and-drop visual editor | Twilio: N/A
SendGrid: Full (A/B testing, branching, delays) | Twilio: Custom via APIs; no visual builder
SendGrid: 14,400 (varies by plan) | Twilio: N/A
SendGrid: $9.95 (or free 100k/month) | Twilio: N/A
SendGrid: Requires third-party integration | Twilio: N/A
SendGrid: 50+ generic templates | Twilio: N/A
SendGrid: 4-5 basic trigger types | Twilio: N/A
SendGrid: $29.95/month (Pro plan) | Twilio: N/A
SendGrid: 70+ responsive templates | Twilio: N/A
SendGrid: 90 days (all tiers) | Twilio: N/A
SendGrid: 2-3 minutes (1-click) | Twilio: N/A
SendGrid: Unlimited at scale | Twilio: N/A
SendGrid: Built into enterprise plans | Twilio: N/A
SendGrid: No - third-party required | Twilio: N/A
SendGrid: Basic (5 trigger types) | Twilio: N/A
SendGrid: 30 days | Twilio: $15 free trial credit (30 days typical)
SendGrid: 1 (Email only) | Twilio: 6 (SMS, voice, email, WhatsApp, chat, video)
SendGrid: $89.95 | Twilio: $7,500 (at $0.0075 per email)
SendGrid: Native with statistical significance calculator | Twilio: Basic, requires manual setup
SendGrid: N/A | Twilio: $0 (pay-per-use: $0.0075/SMS)
SendGrid: N/A | Twilio: Limited (requires card verification)
SendGrid: N/A | Twilio: 40-80 hours (requires developer)
SendGrid: N/A | Twilio: $0.0075 (standard)
SendGrid: N/A | Twilio: No minimum (month-to-month)
Cost for 1B Monthly SMS (enterprise volume)
SendGrid: N/A | Twilio: 8 channels (SMS, Voice, WhatsApp, Telegram, Email, Video, Chat, Fax)
SendGrid: N/A | Twilio: 200,000+ across 180+ countries
SendGrid: N/A | Twilio: $0.0075 (varies by country)
SendGrid: N/A | Twilio: Limited ($15 credit)
SendGrid: N/A | Twilio: Pay-as-you-go (no minimum)
SendGrid: N/A | Twilio: Limited (via integrations)
SendGrid: N/A | Twilio: 5-14 days (developer integration)
SendGrid: N/A | Twilio: $0.055 (mid-range)
SendGrid: N/A | Twilio: Cloud-based (carrier partnerships)
How to choose between SendGrid and Twilio
SendGrid vs Twilio — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for SendGrid vs Twilio. Contains 168 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
SendGrid vs Twilio — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for SendGrid vs Twilio.
Can I send SMS and email from one API with SendGrid or Twilio?
No with SendGrid—it handles email only. Twilio supports SMS, email, voice, WhatsApp, and chat from a single unified API, making it ideal for omnichannel campaigns. If you need both SMS and email, Twilio eliminates the need to integrate multiple vendors.
Which is cheaper for high-volume email sending?
SendGrid is significantly cheaper at scale. For 1M emails/month, SendGrid costs ~$90 vs. Twilio's $7,500. However, if you need SMS alongside email, Twilio's combined pricing may be competitive. For email-only use cases, SendGrid's tiered plans win decisively.
Does SendGrid have better email deliverability than Twilio?
Yes. SendGrid's 99.9% deliverability rate outperforms Twilio's 98.5% by 1.4 percentage points. This translates to ~14 more emails successfully delivered per 1,000 sent. For mission-critical transactional email, SendGrid's edge matters; for bulk marketing, the difference is negligible.
Can I use Twilio for 2FA/authentication codes?
Yes, Twilio excels at this use case with SMS and voice authentication. SendGrid cannot send SMS, so it's unsuitable for 2FA unless paired with another SMS vendor. Twilio's unified API makes authentication across SMS and voice simpler.
SendGrid users hitting scale typically add Twilio for SMS/voice later. Conversely, Twilio users may migrate email to SendGrid if they need advanced email-specific marketing features. Both offer APIs, so switching specific channels is feasible, though rebuilds take engineering effort.
How to Choose Between SendGrid and Twilio
Primary Use Case: SendGrid has Email delivery & marketing automation, while Twilio has Multi-channel communications (SMS, voice, email, WhatsApp, chat).
Email Deliverability Rate: SendGrid has 99.9%, while Twilio has 98.5%.
SMS Capabilities: SendGrid has No native SMS support, while Twilio has Full SMS with 98+ country support.
Starting Price (Monthly): SendGrid has $19.95 for 40,000 emails, while Twilio has $1.00/SMS + $0.0075/email (pay-as-you-go minimum).
Voice Call API: SendGrid has Not available, while Twilio has Full programmable voice with IVR capabilities.
Template Builder: SendGrid has Advanced drag-and-drop with A/B testing, while Twilio has Basic template builder, limited A/B features.
API Response Time (p95): SendGrid has 145ms average, while Twilio has 198ms average.