SendGrid vs Sparkpost
Compare SendGrid and Sparkpost based on observed API performance, features, and pricing
Live performance comparison
Real-world performance data from messages sent through Knock
| Provider | Message volume | Growth | Status page updates (30d) | Status page updates (90d) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100M–500M | 2nd of 10 → | 25 | 25 |
| <1M | 10th of 10 → | 2 | 4 |
From June 3rd to September 1st, Knock routed 100M–500M messages through SendGrid and <1M through Sparkpost. SendGrid reported 25 status page updates over the last 90 days, while Sparkpost reported 4.
Response time
Response time measures how long each provider takes to accept an API request from Knock, including connection overhead and any automatic retries. Lower values mean faster message hand-off.
The chart above shows each provider's daily median response time (p50) from June 3rd to September 1st. The top-line number is an average of these daily values: SendGrid averaged 15ms compared to 487ms for Sparkpost. SendGrid's highest daily p50 was 21ms; Sparkpost's was 574ms. SendGrid is 472ms faster at the median, which can add up at high volumes.
The 90th percentile (p90) captures the slowest 10% of requests, revealing how each provider handles moderate stress. Averaged across all days, SendGrid has a p90 of 35ms compared to 569ms for Sparkpost. The highest daily p90 was 66ms for SendGrid and 722ms for Sparkpost. SendGrid handles these slower requests 534ms faster, suggesting more consistent performance across the board.
The 99th percentile (p99) represents the long tail — the slowest 1% of requests. Averaged across all days, SendGrid reached 107ms at p99 while Sparkpost reached 732ms. The highest daily p99 was 149ms for SendGrid and 1427ms for Sparkpost, indicating the worst-case response time during spikes or provider-side congestion. SendGrid shows a tighter tail, which may matter for time-sensitive notifications like one-time passwords or real-time alerts where even rare delays can impact user experience.
Error rate
Error rate tracks the ratio of 5xx responses and timeouts to total requests. Knock automatically retries failed requests, so transient provider errors rarely affect end-user delivery.
| Provider | Avg. daily error rate | Highest daily rate | Peak error date | Zero-error days | Days above 0.01% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00% | 0.00% | Jun 3 | 91 | 0 |
| 0.00% | 0.00% | Jun 3 | 91 | 0 |
Averaged across the date range, SendGrid shows a 0.00% daily error rate compared to 0.00% for Sparkpost. The highest single-day error rate was 0.00% for SendGrid and 0.00% for Sparkpost. Both providers show similar reliability levels, with error rates well within acceptable thresholds. Knock automatically retries failed requests to both providers, minimizing the impact of transient errors on end-user delivery.
About these metrics: Data represents messages sent through Knock during the specified period. Response time measures time from Knock to provider acceptance. Error rate includes only provider 5xx responses and timeouts.
Recent SendGrid incidents
Recent status page incidents for SendGrid
Ongoing since Oct 16, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Oct 16, 14:00 - 22:00 PDT Jul 29, 00:27 PDT Scheduled - Twilio will perform scheduled network maintenance in our IE1 region during an 8-hour window from 16 October 2026 at 14:00 PDT to 16 October 2026 at 22:00 PDT. During this window, customers may experience a brief service interruption of up to 90 seconds affecting the following: Interconnected Customers: All IE1 interconnected customers will experience a brief interconnection service interruption of up to 90 seco
Ongoing since Oct 1, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Sep 30, 20:00 PDT - Oct 1, 00:00 PDT Aug 12, 11:57 PDT Scheduled - Twilio is conducting a planned maintenance from 30 September 2026 at 20:00 PDT until 01 October 2026 at 00:00 PDT. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays or failures delivering SMS and MMS to and from United States and Canada handsets via subset of long codes, short codes and toll free numbers.
Ongoing since Sep 30, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Sep 30, 13:00 - 17:00 PDT Sep 1, 07:31 PDT Scheduled - The Tele2 network in Russia is conducting a planned maintenance from 30 September 2026 at 13:00 PDT until 30 September 2026 at 17:00 PDT. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays delivering SMS to Tele2 Russia handsets.
Ongoing since Sep 28, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Sep 28, 13:00 - 17:00 PDT Sep 1, 07:30 PDT Scheduled - The Tele2 network in Russia is conducting a planned maintenance from 28 September 2026 at 13:00 PDT until 28 September 2026 at 17:00 PDT. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays delivering SMS to Tele2 Russia handsets.
Ongoing since Sep 24, 2026
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Sep 23, 20:00 PDT - Sep 24, 00:00 PDT Aug 12, 11:57 PDT Scheduled - Twilio is conducting a planned maintenance from 23 September 2026 at 20:00 PDT until 24 September 2026 at 00:00 PDT. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays or failures delivering SMS and MMS to and from United States and Canada handsets via subset of long codes, short codes and toll free numbers.
Recent Sparkpost incidents
Recent status page incidents for Sparkpost
Started Aug 27, 2026 — Resolved Aug 27, 2026
Aug 27, 18:56 EDT Resolved - The Apple bounce levels have maintained at pre incident levels during our monitoring phase. Our clean up of the bad suppressions has finished. This incident is resolved. Aug 27, 15:28 EDT Monitoring - We have seen recovery of the Apple private relay domain to pre-event bounce levels. Our team is actively working on automatically removing any suppressions that were created by this event. We anticipate the cleanup to be completed by 6PM EDT. Aug 27, 15:10 EDT
Started Aug 19, 2026 — Resolved Aug 19, 2026
Aug 19, 15:58 EDT Resolved - This incident has been resolved. Aug 19, 15:44 EDT Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results. Aug 19, 14:52 EDT Investigating - We are investigating an increase in delivery latency for some outbound messages. (NOTE: This does not impact our customers hosted in the US.)
Started Jul 24, 2026 — Resolved Jul 24, 2026
Jul 24, 14:44 EDT Resolved - This incident has been resolved. Jul 24, 13:29 EDT Update - We have implemented additional tuning to handle the significant influx of mail due to the AWS network outage and we are seeing improvement in delivery rates We are seeing significant recovery and expect most mail to be fully delivered in the next 30-35 minutes. Estimated time for full recovery is 80-90 minutes. We are continuing to look for additional optimizations and monitor the issue. Jul 24, 09
Started Jun 29, 2026 — Resolved Jun 29, 2026
Jun 29, 12:46 EDT Resolved - This incident has been resolved. Jun 29, 12:05 EDT Monitoring - There was a combination of events that caused a short period of slowdown. That slowdown has already recovered and we are monitoring to ensure we do not see it again. Jun 29, 11:58 EDT Investigating - We are investigating the delay and the impact. We will post once we know more.
Pros and cons
SendGrid
Sparkpost
Pros
- Comprehensive documentation with SDKs for most major languages
- Rich analytics tools with programmatic API access to engagement data
- Strong focus on deliverability with AI-powered intelligent delivery
- Trusted by Uber, Booking.com, and Yelp for high-volume sending
Pros
- Delivers nearly 40% of all commercial email worldwide
- Subaccount support for isolated sending streams under one billing account
- On-premise mail sending solution available for very high volume workloads
- Great analytics tools with predictive health scores for email deliverability
Cons
- Extended email activity history requires a paid add-on
- Pricing can become complex at higher volumes
- Support response times vary by plan tier
Cons
- Documentation can be hard to navigate with less beginner-friendly getting started content
- Higher price point than basic providers
- Now part of Bird (formerly MessageBird), which may affect product direction
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between SendGrid and Sparkpost?
SendGrid is a cloud-based email delivery platform owned by Twilio, known for high-volume transactional and marketing email. SparkPost is a data-driven email delivery platform with advanced analytics and predictive tools for high-volume senders. SendGrid is best suited for high-volume transactional + marketing, while Sparkpost is geared toward data-driven, high-volume.
Which is cheaper, SendGrid or Sparkpost?
Free tier includes up to 100 emails per day for 60 days. Paid plans start at $19.95/month for 50,000 emails on the Essentials plan, with an Essentials 100K tier at $34.95/month. Pro plans with dedicated IPs start at $249/month for 300,000 emails. Free tier includes 500 emails per month with community support. Paid plans start at $20/month for 50,000 emails with premium deliverability features. The best value depends on your sending volume. Use the pricing calculator above to compare costs at your expected volume.
Which is faster, SendGrid or Sparkpost?
Based on real-world data from Knock, SendGrid has a median API response time (p50) of 15ms compared to 487ms for Sparkpost.
Which is more reliable, SendGrid or Sparkpost?
From June 3rd to September 1st, SendGrid showed an error rate of 0.00% while Sparkpost showed 0.00%. Both rates are within acceptable thresholds for production email delivery, and Knock automatically retries failed requests to minimize the impact of transient errors.
Which is more popular, SendGrid or Sparkpost?
On the Knock platform, SendGrid handled 100M–500M messages from June 3rd to September 1st compared to <1M for Sparkpost. SendGrid volume has remained stable, while Sparkpost volume has remained stable.
Can I use both SendGrid and Sparkpost together?
Yes. Knock enables you to integrate multiple email providers into a single notification workflow. You can use SendGrid and Sparkpost side by side, route traffic between them, or migrate from one to the other without changing your application code.
What are the main pros and cons of SendGrid vs Sparkpost?
SendGrid strengths include comprehensive documentation with sdks for most major languages and rich analytics tools with programmatic api access to engagement data. Sparkpost strengths include delivers nearly 40% of all commercial email worldwide and subaccount support for isolated sending streams under one billing account. On the other hand, SendGrid drawbacks include extended email activity history requires a paid add-on, while Sparkpost drawbacks include documentation can be hard to navigate with less beginner-friendly getting started content.
Use either provider with Knock
Knock enables you to integrate SendGrid, Sparkpost, or any combination of email providers into a single notification workflow. Manage templates, orchestrate cross-channel delivery, and switch providers without changing your code.