Overview
SparkPost is an email sending service that is now part of Bird, a customer communications company. Its current pricing is deliberately simple: no seats, no platform fee, and a monthly price that depends only on email volume.
The free tier sends 1,000 emails a month with no card and no time limit. Startup plans cost $15 for 50,000 emails or $30 for 100,000, which is among the lowest published prices at those volumes. Growth plans start at $80 for 100,000 emails and step down to about $0.42 per 1,000 at 2.5 million; they are the plans on which dedicated IPs ($24.95/mo each) become available.
Every plan includes domain authentication, dashboards, suppression lists, webhooks, 30-day data retention and a shared IP. Overage is billed at $0.90 per 1,000 but capped at five times your plan by default, so a runaway loop pauses sending rather than producing an unbounded bill.
The sparkpost.com home page now leads to Bird's broader marketing platform, so check that the email product you sign up for is the one on the pricing page.
Pricing and plans
Free tier · no card
1,000 emails a month, no card, no time limit; sandbox sends do not count
At the limit Not stated The vendor does not say what happens at the limit, or we have not found it yet.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | 1,000 emails/month |
| Startup 50K | $15/mo | 50,000 emails, overage $0.90/1,000 |
| Startup 100K | $30/mo | 100,000 emails, overage $0.90/1,000 |
| Growth 100K | $80/mo | Dedicated IP add-on available |
| Growth 250K | $175/mo | $0.70 per 1,000 |
| Growth 500K | $295/mo | $0.59 per 1,000 |
| Growth 1M | $530/mo | $0.53 per 1,000 |
| Growth 2.5M | $1,039/mo | $0.4156 per 1,000; Enterprise beyond |
What it does
- Volume-only pricing
- No seats or platform fees; the bill depends on emails sent.
- Overage cap
- Overage is capped at 5x the plan by default and sending pauses at the ceiling.
- 30-day retention
- Event data kept for 30 days on every plan.
- Webhooks and suppression
- Event webhooks and suppression lists included on all plans.
- Dedicated IPs
- Up to five dedicated IPs at $24.95/mo each on Growth and above.
- Test API key
- A test key is available immediately; production sending is enabled after sender verification.
Strengths and limitations
Strengths
- $15 for 50,000 emails and $30 for 100,000
- Overage capped by default to prevent runaway bills
- 30-day retention on every plan, including Free
- No per-seat charges
Limitations
- Dedicated IPs only on Growth plans ($80+)
- Free tier is 1,000 emails a month
- Pricing page gives no details on SMTP, inbound email or data regions
- Unused volume does not roll over
Who it suits
Good for
- Startups sending 50,000 to 100,000 emails a month on a budget
- Teams that want a hard ceiling on email spend
Look elsewhere if
- Teams that need EU data residency confirmed up front
- Apps that need inbound email parsing
Alternatives to SparkPost
| Tool | From | Free option | Stages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mailtrap Email API/SMTP Email sending API, SMTP and testing sandbox | $15/mo | Free tier | |
| Mailgun Email API and SMTP relay | $15/mo | Free tier | |
| Notifuse Open-source email platform | $19/mo | ||
| Resend Email API for developers | $20/mo | Free tier | |
| Lettermint Transactional and broadcast email API | €10/mo | Free tier | |
| Sweego Email and SMS API | €10/mo | Free tier |
Questions
Does SparkPost have a free plan?
Yes, 1,000 emails a month with no credit card and no time limit.
How much does SparkPost cost for 100,000 emails?
$30 a month on Startup 100K, or $80 on Growth 100K if you need dedicated IPs.
What happens if I exceed my SparkPost plan?
Extra emails cost $0.90 per 1,000, capped at 5x your plan by default; sending pauses at the cap.
Who owns SparkPost?
SparkPost is part of Bird, and sparkpost.com now links to Bird's platform.
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