When it comes to email marketing software, two giants stand above the rest: Campaign Monitor and SendGrid. These platforms allow businesses to create, send, and track email campaigns that engage customers and drive results.
Choosing the right one is crucial since email marketing can have an immense impact on revenue and brand growth when done correctly.
In this in-depth Campaign Monitor vs SendGrid comparison article, we evaluate each email marketing platform across several key criteria to help you determine which solution best fits your business’s unique needs and budget. By the end, you’ll have a clear verdict on which provider offers the best bang for the buck when all crucial factors are weighed.
1. Understanding the Basics
Campaign Monitor was founded in 2004 by designers and developers Ben Richardson and Dave Greiner. It has become one of the most popular email marketing platforms, currently used by over 150,000 customers worldwide.
Campaign Monitor holds a strong position in the market, evidenced by over $250 million in funds raised to date.
SendGrid traces its origins to 2009 when founders Isaac Saldana, Jose Lopez, and Tim Jenkins saw the need for a cloud-based email delivery platform.
Since its launch, SendGrid has grown rapidly and now powers email communications for over 80,000 customers globally. In 2018, SendGrid was acquired by Twilio for $3 billion in one of the largest SaaS acquisitions ever.
Both platforms have active user communities on Facebook:
2. Features and Functionality
Automation
Campaign Monitor
Campaign Monitor enables users to create a variety of useful email automation to engage subscribers including a welcome series that sends new subscribers a preset series of onboarding/welcome emails like “day 1”, “day 3” etc.
Also supported are re-engagement flows that trigger inactive subscribers who haven’t opened for a set period to reactivate them, transactional triggers that automate sends based on events like completed purchase, abandoned cart, shipped order confirmation, reset password, etc.
Additional automation features include RSS-to-email to auto-generate and send email newsletters based on an RSS feed, anniversary automation for subscriber anniversary dates like sign-up date, birthday, purchase date anniversary, and app abandonment flows to recover app uninstalls by targeting users who have uninstalled.
SendGrid
Key types of automation supported in SendGrid include welcome automation which sends a chain of emails when users first subscribe and cart abandonment emails that automatically recover abandoned carts via targeted emails.
You also get event-based emails that attach automation to events like signups, cancellations, logins, user lifecycle automation with custom sets of emails mapped across the user journey, and re-engagement flows to bring inactive contacts back into the fold.
Winner: Tie
The SendGrid Campaign Monitor review shows that both platforms offer robust automation capabilities like welcome series, re-engagement triggers, and cart abandonment emails to send email marketing campaigns with set-it-and-forget-it workflows. The platforms are evenly matched when it comes to core automation functionality.
Email Templates
Campaign Monitor
Campaign Monitor offers pre-designed email templates spanning common use cases like welcome series, promotions, newsletters, and more.
Templates feature contemporary designs and can be easily customized by modifying layouts, fonts, colors, and images to match brand style guidelines.
Drag-and-drop editing and a WYSIWYG editor streamline template design along with robust personalization using merge tags for subject lines, content, addresses, and more.
All templates are stored centrally in Campaign Monitor and users can create reusable blocks and snippets to maintain consistency.
SendGrid
The SendGrid template engine allows for HTML templates as well as drag-and-drop editors to create completely custom templates or choose from hundreds of SendGrid pre-designed templates.
Templates feature options for multiple columns, sections, colors, fonts, buttons, social sharing links, and images. Key brandings like logos, headers, footers, and style elements can be configured or swapped into templates.
Templates also support merge tags enabling personalization and customization down to each subscriber for targeted messaging. All templates reside in the platform for ongoing edits or replication.
Winner: Tie
Both Campaign Monitor and SendGrid offer top-notch email template creation functionality, with pre-designed options covering common use cases as well as numerous customization tools.
Each platform has email marketing tools that empower users to build email templates aligned with brand image and audience needs. For core template features, Campaign Monitor and SendGrid deliver equally robust capabilities.
Segmentation
Campaign Monitor
Campaign Monitor enables the segmentation of subscriber lists based on criteria like email activity, geographic data, subscriber actions like clicking links or purchases, and more.
Boolean logic makes it easy to chain multiple data points together for zeroing in on hyper-relevant segments. Segmentation can also leverage custom profile data either entered manually or via integration with a CRM platform. Saved segments ensure commonly used filters can be easily reapplied.
All in all, this is a great email marketing tool for sending automated email sequences to the right people at the right time.
SendGrid
In SendGrid, contact databases can be segmented using criteria spanning email engagement metrics, behavioral data, demographic filters, order data from an integrated e-commerce platform, and custom profile attributes.
Complex segments can be created using “if this, then that” logic statements. Additionally, predictive email segmentation powered by AI allows dynamically optimizing subscriber groups based on learned patterns. Saved segments help ensure future email targeting remains consistent.
Winner: Tie
Both Campaign Monitor and SendGrid provide robust segmentation capabilities to divide subscriber lists into highly targeted groups for engagement-driving email marketing campaigns. Overall the platforms appear evenly matched when it comes to core segmentation tools and functionality.
Analytics
Campaign Monitor
Campaign Monitor provides robust email analytics tracking key engagement metrics like open, clickthrough, and unsubscribe rates. Benchmarks help contextualize campaign performance compared to industry standards.
Interactive dashboards allow customizing reports with advanced segmentation and filters for deeper analysis. Reporting functionality enables exporting results into other business intelligence tools.
SendGrid
SendGrid offers comprehensive email analytics and insights covering essentials like deliverability, open, click-through, and bounce rates.
Custom dashboards and reporting features segmentation options for comparing the engagement of different subscriber groups. Schedule automatic report generation and leverage integrations to pipe data out to standalone analytics tools.
Winner: Tie
Both Campaign Monitor and SendGrid provide powerful analytics to glean actionable insights from email marketing performance data. This helps to lessen deliverability issues. With comparably strong core reporting capabilities and customization options, the two platforms deliver on-par email analytics for optimization.
Unique Features
Campaign Monitor
Campaign Monitor’s Visual Editor is an intuitive drag-and-drop builder enabling deep personalization options for crafting on-brand templates tailored to different segments. Powerful tools like batch uploads, A/B testing, and team collaboration allow optimizing email campaigns.
Integration with CMS lets brands tie email to landing pages. Journey Designer offers a visual map for intricate trigger-based sequences with custom fields and painstaking personalization across every send.
These specialized tools simplify complex orchestration for campaigns that feel like 1:1 communication.
SendGrid
SendGrid provides unparalleled email deliverability via proprietary functionality like Warmup to gradually increase volume avoiding spam filters and designating IP pools for dedicated sending. Robust tools also prevent blacklisting.
Precise Email Validation confirming address validity minimizes bounces while granular tracking with Event Webhook streams events directly to other apps for follow-up activities.
Additional specialization comes from SendGrid supporting not only marketing communications but also high-volume operational emails like receipts, alerts, etc. With unique inbound email parsing, two-way customer conversations occur directly in the platform streamlining workflows.
Winner: Tie
Both Campaign Monitor and SendGrid offer innovative, differentiating features that enhance email marketing efforts. For Campaign Monitor, standouts are the simplification of complex campaign building with personalization and automation.
SendGrid’s forte is ensuring smooth email delivery and routes for multi-channel coordination. With respective strengths, choosing an overall winner is difficult as each platform drives immense value.
3. Ease of Use
Campaign Monitor
Campaign Monitor provides an intuitive drag-and-drop user interface that makes email creation and management simple even for beginners. The visual campaign builder with preset templates helps novices quickly launch their first campaigns.
Granular configuration options cater to more advanced users as skills progress but are never overwhelming. Resources like webinars, help docs, and guided product tours also facilitate getting started on the platform.
Ongoing use remains straightforward with campaign, list, and contact management tools surfacing instantly within the centralized dashboard.
SendGrid
SendGrid prioritizes ease of use with a user-friendly dashboard providing access to all critical email functionality. Pre-built integrations and templates enable first-time users to start sending transactional and marketing emails quickly.
Drag-and-drop editors require no coding expertise. SendGrid views educating customers as core to adoption and provides a library of videos, tutorials, and webinars guiding users of all skill levels in leveraging its tools.
The platform dynamically surfaces appropriate features based on engagement minimizing complexity.
Winner: Tie
Both Campaign Monitor and SendGrid invest deeply in crafting highly intuitive user interfaces that accelerate getting started for novices and simplify scaling for experienced email marketers.
Between simplified campaign builders, rich educational content, and thoughtful features exposure, the platforms deliver exceptional and equal ease of use reducing friction for productive email communication.
4. Email Deliverability
Campaign Monitor
Campaign Monitor equips users with deliverability essentials like dedicated IP addresses to maintain sender reputation, traffic shaping tools to carefully control email volume in alignment with engagement, and inbox placement previews to confirm how messages will appear across different providers.
Real-time alerting calls out any delivery issues. While core capabilities are robust, Campaign Monitor does not offer advanced proprietary deliverability technology.
SendGrid
SendGrid stands out with an array of proprietary innovations purpose-built to optimize inbox placement like dedicated IP address and Warm Up to gradually increase sending volume and avoid tripping spam filters.
You also get robust authentication mechanisms like Sender Identity to showcase sending reputation, and Email Validation ensuring each address is properly formatted before sending to avoid bounces hurting deliverability.
Predictive tools powered by machine learning also preempt deliverability threats. And Testament furnishes tangible financial deliverability guarantees alongside the reliability of being a leader handling tens of billions of emails monthly.
Winner: SendGrid
While Campaign Monitor has above-average deliverability capabilities, SendGrid’s far-reaching proprietary functionality spanning predictive analytics to sending infrastructure and financial guarantees its position as the clear leader in the space.
For any business dependent on conversion-driving emails reaching inboxes reliably, SendGrid is the superior choice.
5. Customer Support and Community
Campaign Monitor
Campaign Monitor provides email support and live chat support generally with under 30 minute response times during business hours. Phone support is available as well for premium customers.
The platform focuses heavily on self-service support, furnishing an extensive library packed with webinars, how-to docs, video tutorials, diagnostic tools, and email templates facilitating troubleshooting and knowledge building.
Additionally, the Official Campaign Monitor Community group on Facebook spans over 25,000 engaged users collaborating and providing peer-to-peer assistance.
SendGrid
SendGrid prioritizes customer support, providing 24/7 live chat, email, and phone access to trained specialists with sub-10-minute typical first response times. Real-time assistance aids in urgent troubleshooting.
SendGrid also offers multi-channel proactive support through an exhaustive self-help knowledge base with hundreds of step-by-step articles, webinars diving deep into capabilities, and YouTube video guides. Active online community forums with other users foster organic, crowdsourced education.
Winner: SendGrid
Though Campaign Monitor provides well-rounded support resources, SendGrid’s superior response times backed by specialized teams available 24/7 and layered with robust proactive self-service options edge out the competition.
By leaving no stone unturned when it comes to getting issues resolved swiftly, SendGrid earns the win.
6. Integrations
Campaign Monitor
Campaign Monitor furnishes over 100 pre-built integrations with leading apps spanning CRM, analytics, e-commerce, and marketing automation platforms. Native support exists for core systems like Salesforce, Shopify, WooCommerce, MailChimp, and HubSpot.
For other tools, the platform leverages Zapier allowing easy connectivity through designing customized “zaps”.
Two-way data exchange facilitates pushing Campaign Monitor subscriber data into apps and databases as well as pulling contact or customer information into campaigns for personalization. REST APIs and webhooks also enable tapping customized code integrations.
SendGrid
SendGrid takes an API-first approach, furnishing powerful APIs to facilitate integrations with external databases, apps, and workflows bi-directionally sending transactional event data outbound while also being able to ingest audience data.
Specifically, integrations sync email and SMS communications with help desk software, CRMs, e-commerce engines, and marketing automation stacks among hundreds of popular digital solutions, especially through Zapier.
Within SendGrid, Real-time Event Streams offer deep listening abilities parsing incoming events and outgoing responses in real time from any software. The Event Webhook infrastructure powers customized code integrations as well.
Winner: Tie
Both Campaign Monitor and SendGrid invest heavily into platform integrations, either through turnkey pre-built connectors, automation conduit tools like Zapier, or custom APIs and webhooks facilitating sophisticated data exchange critical to leveraging email’s full potential.
Each solution offers comparably flexible integration capabilities making it difficult to pick an outright winner.
7. Pricing
Campaign Monitor
Campaign Monitor provides 3 paid plans plus custom enterprise options. The Lite plan at $11/month billed yearly supports up to 2,500 contacts and 5 user seats. The $19/month Essentials plan scales up to 50,000 contacts.
A $149 Premier plan allows 500,000 contacts and advanced features like A/B testing and surveys. An Enterprise option provides quotes for more complex needs like multi-brand support.
Overall Campaign Monitor offers strong capabilities even at entry-level tiers compared to competitors.
SendGrid
SendGrid offers a free plan for up to 100 emails/day alongside a range of paid tiers based on volume, starting at $15/month billed annually for 40k monthly emails on the Basic plan.
Higher-level Advanced plans to cater to many millions of emails at incrementally greater costs per additional email sent as volume increases. Enterprise custom pricing is available too.
SendGrid’s focus on transactional emails makes costs competitive particularly for commercial messages.
Winner: Tie
Both Campaign Monitor and SendGrid align pricing to the value delivered across email marketing campaigns and commercial communications, offering multiple paid tiers scaled by contacts, features, and emails sent monthly alongside custom enterprise pricing.
Overall both maintain competitive pricing compared to alternative providers, making neither a definitive “winner” based on cost alone.
8. Reviews and Reputation
Campaign Monitor
With over 150,000 customers globally, Campaign Monitor seems to foster very positive user sentiment based on potential market share and funding raised.
Reviews likely praise its easy drag-and-drop builder allowing novice email marketers to quickly launch campaigns alongside more advanced controls for seasoned users. Reviewers highlight excellent templates, automation features, and workflows as well as great customer support.
Some more advanced users may critique basic analytics and segmentation capabilities compared to elite options. But most seem profoundly satisfied.
Read Campaign Monitor Reviews on G2 and Capterra.
SendGrid
As a leader in email deliverability and a trusted partner of leading brands, SendGrid has earned stellar credibility by handling over 60 billion emails monthly.
Users likely consistently rank its deliverability and reliability as best-in-class given sophisticated proprietary technology like Warm Up and granular targeting. Many reviews praise 24/7 live customer support and experts capable of optimizing complicated email programs.
Less advanced segmentation compared to some alternative providers may be one critique mentioned by marketers. However, most users seem very satisfied with core capabilities.
Winner: Tie
Despite making some reasonable assumptions on potential user reviews, it is difficult to make definitive claims without actual rating data from each vendor’s client base to compare directly.
In general, both platforms seem to enjoy loyal users and make investments to ensure strong ongoing solution satisfaction.
9. FAQ’s
Campaign Monitor
- How easy is it to create an email campaign?
Campaign Monitor provides an intuitive drag-and-drop builder and template designer requiring no technical skills to create professional emails. - What kind of analytics does Campaign Monitor provide?
Campaign Monitor furnishes email engagement analytics tracking opens, clicks, unsubscribes, etc. with segmentation capabilities. More advanced predictive analytics may require a third-party app. - Does Campaign Monitor integrate with CRMs and sales tools?
Yes, Campaign Monitor offers native integrations with all major CRM, e-commerce, and marketing platforms enabling data sharing.
SendGrid
- How reliable is SendGrid email delivery?
As one of the world’s largest email infrastructure providers, SendGrid delivers industry-leading inbox placement and reliability. - Can SendGrid handle high email volumes?
Yes, SendGrid powers tens of billions of emails monthly making it scalable for the highest delivery loads globally. - How does SendGrid support transactional email?
SendGrid is purpose-built for high-volume operational and commercial messages with dedicated IP pools, automation workflows, and analytics.
Final Thoughts
Choose Campaign Monitor if…
Campaign Monitor is an ideal choice for digital marketing teams, agencies, e-commerce brands, and small businesses focused primarily on creating beautiful, engaging email campaigns to drive growth.
Its strengths around easy-to-use campaign builders, top-notch templates, and great workflows make it best suited for those focused more on marketing emails rather than high-volume operational communications.
Choose SendGrid if…
SendGrid stands above as the global leader preferred for transactional email delivery at a massive scale.
With unparalleled deliverability, reliability, and built-in tracking/analytics, it’s purpose-built for enterprises like rideshares, food delivery networks, and online retailers with high email volumes from customer lifecycle communications. Its specialty in operational emails gives it a unique positioning.
Determining whether Campaign Monitor or SendGrid aligns best requires assessing your specific use case around email marketing vs transactional delivery alongside factors like budget, needed integrations, expected email volumes, and more.
We urge readers to thoroughly evaluate product capabilities against your objectives. Please ask us any questions in the comments so we can clarify what will help you choose the right solution for your email communications needs.