Email & SMTP
Sending email is easy and being delivered is not. What separates these tools is deliverability reputation, how much of the DNS and authentication setup they handle for you, and whether marketing and transactional email live in one place or two.
6tools
- HQBaseYour team's email, running on your own Cloudflare accounthqbase.io
- LoopsMarketing and transactional email for SaaS in one placeloops.so
- PlunkOpen-source email platform that sends through your own AWS SESuseplunk.com
- PostmarkTransactional email chosen almost entirely for deliverabilitypostmarkapp.com
- ResendTransactional email with React components instead of HTML table soupresend.com
- SendGridHigh-volume sending at enterprise scale, now under Twiliosendgrid.com
Head to head
Email & SMTP, compared
Who owns the sending infrastructure decides both the bill and the deliverability risk.
| Tool | Sends through | Marketing email | You operate it | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HQBase | Your Cloudflare account | No | Yes | Team mailboxes you own |
| Loops | Their infrastructure | Yes | No | Lifecycle and campaigns together |
| Plunk | Your AWS SES | Yes | Optional | SES rates without the wiring |
| Postmark | Their infrastructure | Separate product | No | Deliverability above all |
| Resend | Their infrastructure | Broadcasts | No | React-based templates |
| SendGrid | Their infrastructure | Yes | No | High volume at scale |