Why we moved from SendGrid to Postmark for transactional emails

Transactional emails are the backbone of any online business.

They contain critical messages your customers expect to receive promptly and reliably — such as booking confirmations, order receipts, and gift vouchers.

They might not be flashy, but they're vital.

Recently, at Easy Eatery, we decided to migrate our transactional email service from SendGrid to Postmark. Here's why.

Why did we move from SendGrid?

Over the past few days, we noticed an uptick in the number of emails failing to reach our customer's customers, particularly those with Hotmail, Live, and Outlook addresses.

These failures weren't just inconvenient; they impacted essential interactions. Imagine buying a gift voucher but never receiving it or booking a table without a confirmation email.

While less than 2% of emails were affected, the impact that this would have on our clients if they continued unchecked made it unacceptable.

After investigating, we identified the root cause: several IP addresses used by SendGrid to send our emails had ended up on block lists.

The shared IP pool problem

An IP address is like a return address on a letter—it tells email providers where an email is coming from. Providers like Gmail, Hotmail, and Outlook closely monitor IP addresses to protect their users. If an IP gets linked to spam or harmful content, emails from that address can be blocked or sent to spam folders.

This is where shared IP pools come into play. In a shared pool, multiple companies send emails from the same IP. If one sender sends spam or poorly managed emails, the reputation of the entire pool suffers—even if others are following best practices.

That's precisely what happened here.

We weren't just hearing about these risks in theory—I personally received several phishing emails last week, clearly sent by users of SendGrid's platform.

Not our first rodeo

This wasn't the first time we'd faced deliverability issues with SendGrid. Previously, we resolved similar problems by working with SendGrid to unblock the affected IPs.

This time, the email providers refused to unblock them, citing a lack of improvement in email quality across the pool.

We were left with no choice but to find another provider.

Why we chose Postmark

Postmark stood out immediately because of its commitment to quality.

It manually reviews every user account to ensure its platform is only used by reputable senders. This proactive approach keeps their IPs clean and ensures emails are delivered reliably and on time.

This level of scrutiny is invaluable for a business like ours, where trust and satisfaction are non-negotiable.

From detection to resolution in 48 hours

When we identified the deliverability issues, we knew we needed to act fast.

Transactional emails are too critical to leave unreliable for long, so we began exploring alternatives immediately.

Postmark stood out not just for its reputation but also for how quickly we could get up and running. The approval process was smooth and efficient—Postmark manually reviews each account, but their team worked swiftly to ensure we were onboarded without delays.

Integrating Postmark into Easy Eatery was surprisingly simple. Their clear documentation and intuitive tools made the setup process straightforward, allowing us to start sending emails through their platform quickly and confidently.

From detection to full resolution, the entire process took less than 48 hours. Emails are now reaching inboxes reliably, and we’re already seeing the positive impact on our customer experience.

We're off to a promising start.

While it's still early days with Postmark, our initial experience has been excellent. Emails are being delivered quickly and reliably, and we're excited to see how this partnership enhances our customer experience over time.

If not for these recent deliverability issues, we'd still recommend SendGrid. For nearly two years, we enjoyed their service without significant problems. But for now, Postmark offers the peace of mind we need.

If you're experiencing transactional email problems, we highly recommend considering Postmark. Knowing your emails will reliably reach your customers is worth the switch.