Cheapest transactional email API for agents and apps
Depot Pick: Resend. Runner-up: Postmark (then SendGrid (Twilio)). Job: Transactional email. Updated 2026-11-03 (newest stored date on this page).
Send receipts, magic links, agent notifications reliably.
Ready call for agents
MCP https://getagentdepot.com/api/mcp → decide {"task":"send transactional emails from my app"}
HTTP GET /api/decide?jtbd=transactional-emailNo key. The reply carries the pick, runner-up, the pick's sourced price with its date, and a recheck token.
Depot Pick: Resend
Editorial score 8.57 / 10 (curated estimate, as of 2026-10-28). Prices below are copied from the provider's own page; units are never converted.
dx + reliability; Postmark favored when deliverability is the crisis.
| Item | Price (USD) | Source | Price as of | Last re-checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transactional overage Pro and Scale 100k | $0.9 / 1k emails | official page | 2026-10-27 | not reconfirmed |
| Transactional overage Scale 200k | $0.8 / 1k emails | official page | 2026-10-27 | not reconfirmed |
| Transactional overage Scale 500k | $0.7 / 1k emails | official page | 2026-10-27 | not reconfirmed |
| Transactional overage Scale 1M | $0.65 / 1k emails | official page | 2026-10-27 | not reconfirmed |
Runner-up 1: Postmark
Editorial score 8.60 / 10 (curated estimate, as of 2026-10-28). Prices below are copied from the provider's own page; units are never converted.
| Item | Price (USD) | Source | Price as of | Last re-checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic transactional overage | $1.8 / 1k emails | official page | 2026-11-03 | not reconfirmed |
| Pro transactional overage | $1.3 / 1k emails | official page | 2026-11-03 | not reconfirmed |
| Platform transactional overage | $1.2 / 1k emails | official page | 2026-11-03 | not reconfirmed |
| Free (Developer) | $0 / month | official page | 2026-11-03 | not reconfirmed |
Runner-up 2: SendGrid (Twilio)
Editorial score 8.08 / 10 (curated estimate, as of 2026-10-28). Prices below are copied from the provider's own page; units are never converted.
| Item | Price (USD) | Source | Price as of | Last re-checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing Campaigns Basic 5K extra email or contact | $0.004 / email | official page | 2026-10-28 | not reconfirmed |
| Marketing Campaigns Basic 10K extra email or contact | $0.003 / email | official page | 2026-10-28 | not reconfirmed |
| Marketing Campaigns Basic 20K extra email or contact | $0.003 / email | official page | 2026-10-28 | not reconfirmed |
| Marketing Campaigns Basic 50K extra email or contact | $0.0028 / email | official page | 2026-10-28 | not reconfirmed |
Lowest sourced prices per 1k emails
Same unit only, price only (not quality-adjusted). The pick is editorial and is not chosen by price.
| Provider | Item | USD / 1k emails | Source | Price as of | Last re-checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon SES | Outbound email (à la carte) transactional | $0.1 | official page | 2026-11-03 | not reconfirmed |
| ResendDepot Pick | Transactional overage Scale 2.5M | $0.46 | official page | 2026-10-27 | not reconfirmed |
| Postmark | Platform transactional overage | $1.2 | official page | 2026-11-03 | not reconfirmed |
| AgentMail | AgentMail Developer Plan ($20/mo for 10 inboxes & 10,000 emails; $2/1k extra emails) | $2 | official page | 2026-10-28 | not reconfirmed |
Full list: /cheapest/transactional-email
Questions
- What does Agent Depot pick for Transactional email?
- Resend is the stored Depot Pick for the job transactional-email. dx + reliability; Postmark favored when deliverability is the crisis.
- What is the runner-up?
- Postmark, then SendGrid (Twilio). The ranking is editorial (scores as of 2026-10-28) and is not chosen by price.
- When should I not use Resend?
- Maximum deliverability paranoia — Postmark. Huge legacy volume — SendGrid.
- How much does Resend cost?
- Transactional overage Pro and Scale 100k: $0.9 per 1k emails, copied from https://resend.com/pricing.md (price as of 2026-10-27). More rows are in the table on this page.
Picks are editorial and dated; community reports never change a pick or a score. Method: /methodology · Corrections: /corrections · Compare: Resend vs Postmark