Top 10+ Transactional Email Services in 2024

Transactional emails are automated emails that are sent to an individual recipient following a specific action or trigger. The interest in these emails have been growing (See Google Trends graph) and there many transactional email providers with various features and pricing options to choose from.

We aim to analyze top transactional email providers while comparing their pricing options, key features, advantages and shortcomings to give a comprehensive analysis about the market.

Top 12 transactional email providers comparison

The above table is sorted based on the number of reviews except from our sponsor. Sources:

• B2B user reviews from G2 and Capterra.
• Pricing information is gathered from the vendor websites.

Vendor selection criteria

We included vendors with:

• at least 40 reviews from B2B review platforms to present public and verifiable data on the transactional email providers,
• more than 20 employees as stated by LinkedIn,
• providing core features such as sending trigger-based personalized emails, API integration, SMTP relay services, and dedicated IP addresses.

Detailed evaluation of each vendor

SMTP.com

SMTP is a transactional email and SMTP relay service mainly focusing on financial, eCommerce, tech start-ups, publishers, media and travel industries.

Reputation Defender: With its add-on Reputation Defender feature, SMTP supports domain and IP reputation by constantly monitoring email lists to boost delivery rates.

SMTP integrations: SMTP enables integration with Google Workspace tools including Google Sheets, Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Forms, Google Docs and lead form extensions as well as Slack, Airtable, Trello, Shopify, and WordPress for managing the automated processes.

Pros

Highly dependable: Users state that the solution’s security capabilities are the most helpful when compared to its competitors. See Figure 1.

Delivery rates: Users praise SMTP email API for its higher delivery rates. See Figure 2.

Integration capacities: Users find SMTP’s various integration options valuable and easy to use.³

Cons

Pricing: The lack of a free plan option is considered to be a disadvantage for SMTP. See Figure 3.

Users also state that pricing is higher for businesses that are not dealing with high volumes of emails.⁴

Brevo Transactional Email

Brevo allows its users to manage their transactional emails, marketing campaigns, and customer interactions under one platform. Key features include:

Drag and drop editor: Brevo enables its user to design unique emails for increased personalization.

Pros

UI and customer support: Users state that Brevo’s user interface is highly intuitive and customer service is helpful with quick solutions. See Figure 4.

Automation: Users praise Brevo for its advanced automated email features such as sending welcome sequences and abandoned cart reminders.⁷

Cons

Limited options: Some users suggest Brevo to add more options for design templates⁸ and for marketing campaigns such as a throttling option.⁹

Twilio SendGrid Email API

SendGrid Email API by Twilio is a cloud-based email delivery platform with marketing and transactional email capabilities.

SendGrid provides a multichannel communication with email, SMS, voice, or video services to support engagement with its users.

Pros

API integration: Users find SendGrid’s API integrations easy to use and helpful in generating higher interaction rates. See Figure 5.

Email templates: Users praise SendGrid for its useful features and various template options when compared to its alternatives.¹¹

Cons

Customer support: Users report that SendGrid customer services are not as responsive as its competitors.¹²

Shared IP: SendGrid offers a dedicated IP address service only for Pro and higher plans and some users with lower plans experience deliverability and spamming issues. See Figure 6. 

Moosend

Moosend is an email marketing platform supporting businesses to automate outgoing emails, manage their email campaigns and subscriber lists.

Pros

Market fit: Moosend is found to be more useful for small to mid-level businesses. See Figure 7.

Deliverability capacities and customer service: Users state that Moosend’s high deliverability and supportive customer services are the most appreciated qualities.¹⁵

Cons

In the free version, Moosend does not provide SMTP integration and transactional email services.

SendPulse

SendPulse is a multichannel platform designed for creating email campaigns, sending transactional emails and web push notifications. 

Pros

Live chat feature: Users find SendPulse’s live chat support service useful for addressing and managing issues quickly.¹⁶

Personalization: Users praise SendPulse for its advanced SMS, email, and push notifications personalization capabilities and they recommend the solution for businesses that prioritize higher personalization.¹⁷

Cons

Fraud protocol: Users suggest more advanced fraud detection services to manage security issues such as scamming and bounced emails. See Figure 8.

Integration: SendPulse’s limited integration capacities with other tools is considered to be a disadvantage.¹⁹

SMTP2GO

SMTP2GO was founded in 2006 in New Zealand and supports its customers on their complex transactional email processes. 

Pros

Deliverability: Users state that SMTP2GO’s email and voicemail to email functions enable high deliverability when compared to its alternatives.²⁰

Simplicity for non-technical users: SMTP2GO’s domain validation and user creation features are easy to use and do not require advanced technical knowledge. See Figure 9.

Reporting: Users praise SMTP2GO for its real-time reporting system that enables actionable insights on bouncing or spam emails. See Figure 9.

Cons

API configuration: Improvements on the API integration is advised since it can be complicated for some users.²²

Amazon Simple Email Service

As a part of Amazon Web Services (AWS) Business Applications, Amazon SES enables its users to test different scenarios such as managing bounces or complaints with its mailbox simulator.

Pros

Pricing: Users recommend Amazon SES for its cost-effective price per email pricing model.²³

Cons

Customer support: Amazon SES support system is not efficient enough to manage deliverability issues on time. See Figure 10.

Mailchimp Transactional Email

Mailchimp Transactional Email, formerly known as Mandrill, specializes in AI marketing tools and marketing automation such as customer journey building, webhooks and transactional emails.

Mailchimp provides various content creation capabilities with its content optimizer, creative assistant and subject lines helper for generating engaging email marketing content.

Pros

Email customization: Users praise Mailchimp’s customization options to create more intuitive email designs.²⁵

Users state that Mailchimp is best suited for businesses without a CRM or email marketing expert in their marketing teams. See Figure 11.

Cons

Automated emails: Some users state that Mailchimp can be slower than its competitors while sending automated emails.²⁷

Complex UI design: Mailchimp’s user interface can be considered as hard to understand for some users.²⁸

Mailgun

Mailgun by Sinch enables businesses to send, optimize and validate their email messages with SMTP relay and RESTful API integration services.

Pros

Reliability and integration: Users find Mailgun’s marketing email services reliable with minimum downtime. Additionally, users stated that the solution’s integration capacities for sending automated transactional messages are useful. See Figure 12.

Cons

Spam detection: Users suggest improvements on Mailgun’s spam detection services.³⁰

Search feature: Some users advice on adding a log search function by email content.³¹

Mailmodo

Mailmodo enables its users to integrate widgets from Zoom, Calendly, and Shopify for creating more interactive transactional email messages.

Pros

Features: Users praise Mailmodo for its easy to use transactional email features such as webhook and campaign triggers.³²

Cons

Email templates: Some users state that template creation and customization processes are difficult.³³

Reporting: Users find Mailmodo’s limited reporting capabilities as a disadvantage when compared to other solutions.³⁴

UniOne

UniOne allows specialized offers for startups and enterprises to support their scalable email management needs.

Pros

Users find UniOne’s real-time tracking and delivery status updates as an advantage. See Figure 13.

Cons

Some users advise UniOne on increasing the duration of data storage.³⁶

SocketLabs

SocketLabs provides both cloud and on-premises servers to assist businesses’ transactional email processes.

Pros

Authentication: Users praise SocketLabs for its simplicity while setting up authentication features including DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail).³⁷

Cons

Limited control on logging and monitoring options can be considered as a disadvantage of SocketLabs.³⁸

What is a transactional email?

Transactional email services, also known as transactional email software, transactional email platform or transactional email tools, enable integration with SMTP email servers to deliver emails as a response to an user action on an application or a website. 

Most common examples of transactional email messages are order confirmations, shipping notices, account updates, password reset emails, and payment receipts.

Transactional email core features are:

• Trigger-based and automated messages that are personalized for each user,
• API integration capabilities,
• SMTP relay services to support successful delivery of emails among email systems,
• IP warm-up and dedicated IP address services to ensure increased reputation while minimizing IP related security risks,
• Authentication with DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) and SPF (Sender Policy Framework) for secure email transmission,
• Detailed reporting on email performance and analytics to track click-through and delivery rates, inbox placement, error and spam issues.

Check out email server software to learn more about transactional email and email servers.

How do transactional emails work?

The process of sending transactional emails includes:

Triggering an event: The user or the system triggers specific action or event. These triggers can be order placement, account sign-up, or password reset link request.

Generating the email: After the user triggers an event, a personalized email that is focusing on a specific situation or the relevant information retrieved from the user is generated by the system.

This process usually includes choosing the most relevant transactional email templates and using them to create email content about the user’s name, transaction details, and any relevant instructions.

Send emails: Through a SMTP server, transactional messages are then sent to the recipient’s email address.

Delivery and Tracking: After the sending process, the email delivery process is usually tracked by the transactional email provider. This process includes monitoring for bounces, opens, and clicks to ensure delivery of successful transactional emails to the recipient.

How do different industries use transactional email software?

Transactional emails are used by a wide range of businesses and organizations across various industries including e-commerce platforms, financial services, social media platforms, SaaS (Software as a Service) companies, and healthcare providers. Check out the primary users and how they use transactional emails for their businesses:

E-commerce platforms and financial services

• Order confirmations: A transactional email is sent to confirm the order following a purchase. The email usually provides details about the product, the charged amount of the purchase, and the expected delivery date.
• Shipping notifications: The users receive an email update with tracking information after the shipment. This informs customers about the status of their deliveries and minimizes the need for customer service inquiries about shipped order statuses.
• Payment receipts and invoices: Transactional emails are used to send payment receipts or invoices.
• Cart abandonment reminders: E-commerce platforms usually send emails to users who have added items to their shopping cart but have not completed the purchase. These reminder emails can include details of the items in the cart or a call to action to complete the purchase.
• Product recommendations and re-stock notifications: Customers can receive personalized product recommendations based on previous purchases or browsing history. Additionally, an automated email can notify customers for recently available out-of-stock items.

SaaS companies and social media platforms

• Account creation and verification emails: When a new user signs up on a platform, transactional emails are used for account verification. This typically involves sending a link or a code that the users must click to verify their email address and activate their account.
• Password reset: When the users trigger a password reset request, they receive an email with a link to securely reset their password.
• Usage alerts: Sending transactional emails can also inform and alert users on their subscription usage and can also provide an unsubscribe link.

Healthcare providers

Transactional emails can be delivered for appointment confirmations and reminders, as well as patient portal notifications.

Transactional emails vs. marketing emails

Transactional emails are triggered by user actions and provide specific information related to those actions. They are personalized and directly tied to the user’s recent activity.

In contrast, marketing emails are part of a broader strategy to promote products, services, or brands. They aim to engage, inform, or persuade customers, often through newsletters or promotional offers. While they may target specific customer segments, they are not tied to individual user actions.

The primary goal of transactional emails is to provide necessary information, while marketing emails aim to increase sales or customer engagement by encouraging specific actions.

Transparency statement

AIMultiple collaborates with various technology vendors including SMTP.com.

External links

• 1. “SMTP.com Reviews 2024: Details, Pricing, & Features“. G2. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
• 2. “SMTP.com Reviews 2024: Details, Pricing, & Features“. G2. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
• 3. “SMTP.com Reviews 2024: Details, Pricing, & Features“. G2. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
• 4. “SMTP.com Reviews 2024: Details, Pricing, & Features“. G2. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
• 5. “SMTP Verified Review“. Capterra. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
• 6. “Brevo Verified Review“. Capterra. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
• 7. “Brevo Verified Review“. Capterra. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
• 8. “Brevo Transactional Email Reviews 2024: Details, Pricing, & Features“. G2. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
• 9. “Brevo Verified Review“. Capterra. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
• 10. “SendGrid Verified Review“. Capterra. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
• 11. “SendGrid Verified Review“. Capterra. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
• 12. “Twilio SendGrid Email API Reviews 2024: Details, Pricing, & Features“. G2. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
• 13. “SendGrid Verified Review“. Capterra. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
• 14. “Moosend Verified Review“. Capterra. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
• 15. “Moosend Verified Review“. Capterra. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
• 16. “SendPulse Reviews 2024: Details, Pricing, & Features“. G2. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
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• 18. “SendPulse Verified Review“. Capterra. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
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• 20. “SMTP2GO Reviews 2024: Details, Pricing, & Features“. G2. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
• 21. “SMTP2GO Verified Review“. Capterra. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
• 22. “SMTP2GO Reviews 2024: Details, Pricing, & Features“. G2. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
• 23. “Amazon SES Verified Review“. Capterra. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
• 24. “Amazon SES Verified Review“. Capterra. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
• 25. “Mailchimp Transactional Email (formerly Mandrill) Reviews 2024: Details, Pricing, & Features”. G2. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
• 26. “Mailchimp Verified Review“. Capterra. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
• 27. “Mailchimp Verified Review“. Capterra. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
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• 29. “Mailgun Verified Review“. Capterra. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
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• 37. “SocketLabs Reviews 2024: Details, Pricing, & Features”. G2. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
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