Resend has become a go-to pick for developer teams that want a clean API, fast setup, and modern email templating (notably with React Email) for transactional messaging. But the alternatives landscape is broad: some providers double down on “transactional-first” reliability and observability, others aim to unify transactional plus marketing automations in one platform, and a few take a fundamentally different approach by letting you self-host or build on top of AWS SES for more control. You’ll also find niche tools optimized for outbound/cold email infrastructure, and deliverability-focused products that complement (rather than replace) your sending provider.
In evaluating options, we focused on developer experience and integration flexibility (API/SMTP, SDKs, webhooks), deliverability and diagnostics (logs, events, inbox placement), and how well each tool supports marketing workflows like broadcasts, segmentation, and unsubscribe management. We also weighed pricing models and “startup-friendly” free tiers, plus scalability and support expectations for email as critical infrastructure.