MailerSend vs Resend
MailerSend and Resend are both popular choices in the transactional email service space. MailerSend is the more affordable option at $7/mo — that's $13 less per month than Resend's $20/mo entry point. Both offer free plans to get started. MailerSend has the edge with A/B testing, SMS marketing, advanced analytics. Both tools work well for new and rising.
Quick Verdict
MailerSend wins on price, integrations.
Resend wins on deliverability.
Best for most users: MailerSend (developers building transactional email flows).
MailerSend
Developer-friendly transactional email by the MailerLite team
MailerSend is a transactional email service built by the team behind MailerLite, launched in 2020 with over a decade of email deliverability expertise. It offers a polished developer experience with a full API, SMTP relay, drag-and-drop template builder, and SMS capabilities, making it an ideal choice for SaaS and app developers who need reliable transactional email delivery without the complexity of AWS.
Resend
Modern email API for developers with React Email and TypeScript-first SDK
Resend is a modern, developer-first email API founded in 2023 by Zeno Rocha, backed by Y Combinator. It stands out with its React Email framework that lets developers build email templates using React components, TypeScript-first SDKs across 11+ languages, and a clean API design that feels native to modern web development stacks.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | MailerSend | Resend |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.2/5 | 4.2/5 |
| Starting Price | $7/mo | $20/mo |
| Free Plan | 500 emails/month (100/day max), 1 domain, 1 template | 3,000 emails/month, 100 emails/day, 1 custom domain |
| Founded | 2020 | 2023 |
| Email Templates | 90 | 0 |
| Integrations | 29 | 15 |
| Deliverability Rate | 86.8% | 98% |
| Marketing Automation | ✕ | ✕ |
| A/B Testing | ✓ | ✕ |
| Landing Pages | ✕ | ✕ |
| Segmentation | ✕ | ✕ |
| Drag & Drop Editor | ✓ | ✕ |
| SMS Marketing | ✓ | ✕ |
| Ecommerce Features | ✕ | ✕ |
| API Access | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-Language | ✕ | ✕ |
| Web Push Notifications | ✕ | ✕ |
| Live Chat | ✓ | ✕ |
| Advanced Analytics | ✓ | ✕ |
MailerSend: Pros & Cons
Pros
- +Excellent developer experience with SDKs for Node.js, Python, Java, Laravel, PHP, Go, and Ruby
- +Strong deliverability averaging 86.8% inbox placement in EmailToolTester third-party tests (2nd best tested)
- +Intuitive drag-and-drop email builder with 90+ pre-built content blocks for quick template creation
- +Built by the MailerLite team with 10+ years of email deliverability expertise behind the platform
- +Includes SMS API for US and Canada on Starter plans and above at no extra base cost
Cons
- −Free plan reduced from 3,000 to just 500 emails/month in October 2025, with 100/day cap
- −No marketing automation or campaign features; purely transactional and lacks segmentation tools
- −Starter and Professional plans both start at $25/month for same 50,000 emails, confusing tier differentiation
- −Some users report sudden account suspensions for high bounce rates with no refunds offered
- −Pricing can become expensive at scale compared to Amazon SES or Elastic Email ($0.90 per 1,000 overage)
Resend: Pros & Cons
Pros
- +Best-in-class developer experience with official SDKs for Node.js, Python, Ruby, Go, Java, Rust, PHP, .NET, and Elixir
- +React Email integration lets developers build email templates using React components and JSX instead of raw HTML
- +Generous free tier with 3,000 emails/month — significantly more than Postmark's 100 or Mailgun's daily-capped plan
- +Clean, modern dashboard and API design that feels native to modern developer workflows and toolchains
- +Fast setup — most developers can send their first email within minutes thanks to clear documentation and simple API
Cons
- −Relatively new platform (founded 2023) with a smaller track record and fewer enterprise references than established competitors
- −Some users report occasional sending delays, with confirmation messages taking over a minute to arrive per G2 reviews
- −No marketing email features — no automation, A/B testing, segmentation, or list management capabilities
- −Limited pre-built templates; you must build your own with React Email or HTML from scratch
- −No public affiliate program and limited enterprise compliance certifications (no HIPAA, limited EU data residency options)
The Verdict
MailerSend and Resend are closely matched — both score within 0.0 points of each other in our overall rating. Your decision should come down to specific needs rather than overall quality. On deliverability, Resend reports 98% compared to 86.8% for MailerSend — a meaningful difference if inbox placement is critical for your campaigns.
| Criterion | Weight | MailerSend | Resend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | 30% | $7/mo | $20/mo |
| Deliverability | 25% | 86.8% | 98% |
| Rating | 25% | 4.2/5 | 4.2/5 |
| Integrations | 10% | 29 | 15 |
| Free Tier | 10% | Yes | Yes |
Weights determine how much each criterion counts toward the final score. See full methodology
Choose MailerSend if…
- + You want lower starting costs ($7/mo)
- + You need SMS marketing
- + You need A/B testing
- + You need advanced analytics
Choose Resend if…
- + You're a modern web developers
- + You're a react nextjs teams
- + Best-in-class developer experience with official SDKs for Node.js, Python, Ruby, Go, Java, Rust, PHP, .NET, and Elixir