Resend

Resend is how email should work for developers. The API is clean, the dashboard is beautiful, and the React Email integration means you can build email templates with the same tools you use for your app.

The free tier (3,000 emails/month) is enough for most side projects. I especially love being able to preview emails in the dashboard before sending — no more sending test emails to yourself.

For comparison: Postmark has better deliverability, but Resend's DX is leagues ahead. If deliverability is critical (password resets, payment receipts), I'd still choose Postmark. For everything else, Resend.