# Courier vs SendGrid

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Courier

| Attribute | Courier | SendGrid |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 64 (72% (medium)) | 53 (31% (low)) |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | A messaging platform that orchestrates customer notifications across email, SMS, push, chat, and other channels through APIs, visual design tools, and automated journeys. | A cloud-based email service for sending transactional emails via API or SMTP, and creating targeted marketing email campaigns. Handles over 200 billion emails per month. |
| features.capabilities | `{"rcs":false,"sms":true,"chat":true,"email":true,"video":false,"voice":false,"two_way":false,"whatsapp":false,"verify_otp":false,"global_coverage":"global","deliverability_tools":true,"usage_pricing_transparent":false}` | `{"email":true}` |
| integrations.count | 4 | - |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Amply"},{"name":"AWS SES"},{"name":"Postmark"},{"name":"Mailgun"}]` | - |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"usage","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Developer","summary":"Free, 10,000 sends/month","features":["10,000 sends per month","Journeys & broadcasts","MCP server, CLI, & SDKs","SSO via Google, Github","Email support"],"description":"For developers building with Courier","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"sends":"10,000/month"}},{"free":false,"name":"Business","summary":"$0.005 per send","features":["All Developer features","Pay-as-you-go pricing","AI Translations","AI Agent node","Email & chat support"],"components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"send"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.005,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Pay-as-you-grow usage pricing","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing with volume discounts","features":["All Business features","Volume pricing","Dedicated Slack channel","Observability integrations","Role-based access control","Enterprise SLA","EU Data Residency"],"description":"For high-volume deployments","contactSales":true}],"summary":"Free tier with 10,000 sends/month, then $0.005 per send. No per-seat or channel fees.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.courier.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-03T14:25:03.299Z","startingPrice":{"amount":0.005,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` | `{"type":"usage","summary":"Transparent pricing with discounts as you scale. Free trial available (no credit card required).","currency":"USD","freeTier":false,"sourceUrl":"https://sendgrid.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-05T14:11:52.735Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | low | unknown |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | yes |
| security.hipaa | yes | - |
| security.pci | yes | - |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |

## Capabilities (Communication APIs)

| Capability | Courier | SendGrid |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Channels** |  |  |
| SMS | ✓ | - |
| Voice | ✗ | - |
| WhatsApp | ✗ | - |
| RCS | ✗ | - |
| Transactional email | ✓ | ✓ |
| Video / real-time | ✗ | - |
| In-app chat | ✓ | - |
| Verify / OTP / 2FA | ✗ | - |
| **Messaging** |  |  |
| Two-way messaging | ✗ | - |
| **Reach** |  |  |
| Geographic coverage | Global | - |
| **Delivery** |  |  |
| Email deliverability tools | ✓ | - |
| **Commercial** |  |  |
| Published per-unit pricing | ✗ | - |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T15:02:51.807Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*