6 Best Transactional Email Services: a Detailed Overview

Almost 70% of customers in the US said that emails are their preferred channel to communicate with brands. It's not difficult to imagine that that percentage goes up when it comes to time-sensitive communication that requires immediate action, such as confirmation and notification emails, password resets and similar situations.

That's why it's essential to find a reliable transactional email service that has a high deliverability rate and provides in-depth analytics so that you can track emails and optimize their performance.

We've decided to review six transactional email services and their features to help you choose the best one for your business.

Best transactional email services: A detailed overview

SEINō

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXjes7j4PcY

If you're looking for the best way to analyze your transactional emails and optimize them for maximum revenue, you probably need a dedicated email analytics tool like SEINō.

Many platforms that offer transactional email services lack in-depth analytics, which is essential for optimizing your marketing campaigns. Luckily, our tool can help you bridge that gap and uncover insights that will improve your transactional emails and their performance.

Here are some features that make our tool stand out:

• Transactional metrics: While most email marketing services track only basic email marketing KPIs such as open rate and CTR, we allow you to track revenue-related metrics such as number of transactions, average order value, revenue per email and total revenue generated.
• Advanced analytics: You can analyze large data sets quickly and precisely due to advanced data filtering, grouping and pivoting options. You can also set specific targets for every metric and monitor your progress.
• Campaign benchmarking: You can analyze multiple campaigns in the same email marketing report, comparing their performance and generated revenue to discover what works the best and optimize your future campaigns.
• High-level automation: Our platform can automatically combine email metrics with Google Analytics, reducing the need for manual work and increasing your productivity by up to 90%.
• ESP integrations: SEINō integrates with many email marketing tools, probably with your current transactional email provider! Here are just some of our integrations: Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Deployteq, Selligent, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign etc. You can check this page for the full list of integrations. Don't worry if your preferred platform is not on the list – we are happy to discuss adding it.

With all these features, you may think our platform might be complicated and reserved only for email marketing professionals, but that's not true! SEINō has a super user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate, and its intuitive dashboards and dynamic graphs present data in a way that's easy to understand.

Pricing:

• Basic plan: €59/month or €590/year for up to 50,000 emails
• Standard plan: €129/month or €1,290/year for up to 250,000 emails
• Pro plan: €199/month or €1,990/year for up to 1,500,000 emails
• Enterprise plan: €499/month or €4,990/year for unlimited emails

*There's a 30-day free trial if you want to test our features and see how we can help improve your email campaigns. Schedule a demo now!

SendGrid

Source: Capterra.com

If you're looking for a reliable email delivery service, SendGrid might be one of the best transactional email service providers for you.

Here are its key features:

• Excellent deliverability: Many people praise SendGrid as one of the best delivery optimization tools whose insights prevent your emails from ending up in the spam folder.
• IP warm-up: SendGrid provides the option to initiate IP warming through an API. You can independently warm up your dedicated IP addresses, which positively affects sender reputation and email deliverability, even to new subscribers.
• Metrics and KPIs: Its metrics focus on email deliverability that can be compared by mailbox provider, device, geo-location and other factors. It also precisely measures KPIs such as bounce rate, spam reports, blocks etc.
• Integrations: SendGrid integrates with Amazon Web Services (AWS), FullContact, Drupal and many other marketing, CMS and CRM platforms.

However, some users report having problems with slow customer support. If you're looking for a more responsive email marketing software, you may want to check out SendGrid alternatives.

Pricing

• Free plan: up to 100 emails a day
• Essentials plan: starts at $19.95/month for up to 50,000 emails and goes up to $34.95/month for 100,000 emails
• Pro plan: starts at $89.95/month for up to 200,000 emails and goes up to $749/month for 1,400,000 emails
• Premier plan: custom price available upon request

Mailjet

Source: G2.com

Mailjet is a platform that can be used for promotional and transactional emails, with exceptional deliverability. What sets it apart from other transactional email providers is that it's available in 17 languages, making it suitable for international online businesses.

Here are its main features:

• Dedicated IP address: Mailjet allows sending transactional emails using a dedicated IP for additional security and a higher delivery rate.
• Email templates: It has an extensive library of transactional email templates that can be customized and automated using loops and conditionals. It can also be helpful when you run out of email campaign ideas.
• Metrics and KPIs: Mailjet has precise but basic email metrics, such as delivers, opens, CTRs and unsubscribed.
• Integrations: It integrates with ecommerce platforms such as Shopify and WooCommerce and payment solutions such as PayPal and Braintree.

If you're looking for tools with more detailed email analytics, check out Mailjet alternatives.

Pricing

The exact price of paid plans depends on the number of emails sent.

• Free plan: for up to 6,000 emails sent monthly
• Essential plan: starting at €14/month for up to 15,000 emails
• Premium plan: starting at €23/month for up to 15,000 emails (includes additional features such as marketing automation and A/B testing)
• Custom plan: custom price available upon request

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)

Source: Trustradius.com

Brevo is a popular multi-channel marketing automation platform. What's interesting about this platform is that you can use it to send transaction confirmations through email, SMS and WhatsApp.

Here are its main features:

• Multi-channel approach: You can use Brevo not only to send confirmation emails but also for SMS marketing and live chat on your website and social media platforms.
• Personalization: You can create a sequence of transactional emails using the same template but with dynamic, personalized content for each. It's possible to define up to 1,000 message versions within a single request.
• Metrics and KPIs: You can compare metrics from different channels to find out where your customers are most likely to interact with your messages.
• Integrations: Brevo integrates with payment platforms such as Stripe and PayPal.

On the con side, this transactional email service seems to have fewer templates for email than some other Sendinblue alternatives.

Pricing

Price depends on the number of transactional emails you want to send per day/month.

• Free plan: up to 300 emails per day
• Paid plans go from €10/month for 20,000 transactional emails to €460/month for up to 1,000,000 transactional emails

Customer.io

Source: G2.com

Customer.io is a data-driven customer engagement and transactional email platform that allows you to build customer relationships on different platforms.

Here are its key features:

• Transactional API: This feature allows you to improve the deliverability and reliability of your transactional messages while saving time by applying pre-existing layouts and styles.
• Segmentation: With versatile segmentation options, you can categorize recipients and use that information to increase email conversion rates.
• Metrics and KPIs: Apart from basic metrics such as opens and clicks, Customer.io provides special metrics focused on the customer journey. Also, you can benchmark metrics from different channels such as email, SMS and in-app account notifications.
• Integrations: Customer.io integrates with numerous tools, with a special focus on platforms for billing and payment, such as PayPal, Stripe, Harvest and Chargebee.

On the con side, it doesn't offer detailed transactional metrics. Therefore, you may want to check out Customer.io competitors.

Pricing

Monthly fees depend on the number of contacts you have.

• Essentials: starts at $100/month (for small companies)
• Premium plan: starts at $1,000/month (for high-growth companies)
• Enterprise plan: custom price available upon request (for large companies)

Mailchimp Transactional Email (formerly Mandrill)

Source: Capterra.com

As of recently, Mailchimp users can opt for this paid add-on that allows them to send transactional emails triggered by user actions.

Here are its key features:

• Webhooks: Thanks to numerous webhooks, you can track user activity in real time, across different platforms, from your email marketing platform to your webshop.
• Email tagging: This feature allows you to organize and compare your outbound emails, creating more comprehensive email campaign reports.
• Metrics and KPIs: Apart from tracking open and click rates, this tool provides insights into your demographics, including a map with the top locations.
• Integrations: You can connect your Mailchimp account with payment tools such as Stripe and SamCam.

While it seems like a great transactional email service on paper, many users report that Mailchimp transactional email could be more responsive and that it often glitches.

Pricing

Regular Mailchimp pricing depends on the number of contacts.

• Free plan: up to 1,000 emails sent
• Essentials: starting at $13/month for up to 5,000 emails sent (includes A/B testing and customer journey)
• Standard: starting at $20/month for up to 6,000 emails sent (includes predictive segmentation)
• Premium plan: starting at $350/month for up to 150,000 emails sent (includes premium contact support)

With a Standard or Premium plan, you can use a transactional email add-on. Depending on the number of blocks (each block equals transactional 25,000 emails), you can pay from $10/block for over 161 blocks to $20/block if you only need 1-20 blocks.

Best transactional email services: Comparison table

PlatformFeaturesPricingBest forSEINōTransactional metrics
Advanced analytics
Campaign benchmarking
High-level automation
ESP integrationsBasic plan: €59/month or €590/year for up to 50,000 emails
Standard plan: €129/month or €1,290/year for up to 250,000 emails
Pro plan: €199/month or €1,990/year for up to 1,500,000 emails
Enterprise plan: €499/month or €4,990/year for unlimited emailsEmail tracking and analyticsSendGridExcellent deliverability
IP warm-up
Deliverability metricsFree plan: up to 100 emails a day
Essentials plan: starts at $19.95/month for up to 50,000 emails and goes up to $34.95/month for 100,000 emails
Pro plan: starts at $89.95/month for up to 200,000 emails and goes up to $749/month for 1,400,000 emails
Premier plan: custom price available upon requestImproving email deliverabilityMailjetDedicated IP address
Email templates
Ecommerce integrationsFree plan: for up to 6,000 emails sent monthly
Essential plan: starting at €14/month for up to 15,000 emails
Premium plan: starting at €23/month for up to 15,000 emails
Custom plan: custom price available upon requestInternational companies sending emails in different languagesBrevoMulti-channel campaigns
Personalization
Payment platform integrationsPrice depends on the number of transactional emails you want to send per day/month.
Free plan: up to 300 emails per day
Paid plans go from €10/month for 20,000 transactional emails to €460/month for up to 1,000,000 transactional emailsMulti-channel campaignsCustomer.ioTransactional API
Advanced segmentation
Campaign benchmarkingMonthly fees on the number of contacts you have.
Essentials: starts at $100/month
Premium plan: starts at $1,000/month 
Enterprise plan: custom price available upon requestMapping our customer journeyMailchimp Transactional EmailWebhooks
Email tagging
Demographics insightsWith a Standard (starting at $20/month) or Premium (starting at $350/month) plan, you can use a transactional email add-on. Depending on the number of blocks (each block equals 25,000 transactional emails), you can pay from $10/block for over 161 blocks to $20/block if you only need 1-20 blocks.Mailchimp users who don’t want to switch to another platform

Transactional email services: Selection criteria

You should look for the following features when choosing the best transactional email service provider for your business:

• Email analytics: Look for transactional email software that can monitor various metrics, ranging from open rates and click-through rates to revenue-related indicators like average order value and campaign ROI.
• User interface: It's important to find a tool that's intuitive and easy to use. It should also be able to produce clear reports that are easy to understand.
• Integrations: Make sure the software you choose integrates with tools you already use for transactional email sending and payment platforms such as PayPal and Stripe. Moreover, it'd be great to connect it with other analytics tools, such as Google Analytics.
• Value for money: It's essential to find the balance between advanced features and costs. We've included transactional email services for everyone's budget, considering that all tools offer different plans based on the number of contacts or emails. Some of them also have free versions or free trials.

Conclusion

If you're already using one of the most popular email service providers but want to dig deeper into email tracking and analytics, we've got you covered.

SEINō integrates with most major email marketing platforms, enabling you to get transactional metrics and in-depth insights that will transform your campaigns. The setup process is effortless, and you'll experience benefits immediately with our near-real-time email analytics.

Book a free demo!

Best transactional email services: FAQ

What is a transactional email service? A transactional email service is a platform that sends or analyzes automated, one-to-one emails that are triggered by a particular action. The best transactional email service is the one that's reliable and fast, as these types of emails are usually time-sensitive and require immediate action.

What is a transactional email example? The most common types of transactional emails are order confirmations, shipping notifications, password reset emails, appointment reminders, invoices and receipts. For more information, read our post covering nine transactional email examples.

How do I send a transactional email? You can do it through a transactional email service. All you have to do is craft your message and choose user behaviors that will work as a trigger for sending the email.

How do you write a transactional email? Best practices for writing transactional emails include keeping your transactional emails clear, concise and professional and opting for personalization whenever possible.