How to migrate off of SendGrid

Migrating off SendGrid requires exporting your data (contacts, templates, unsubscribes), re-establishing domain authentication with a new provider, and gradually shifting traffic while monitoring deliverability. The key is to preserve suppression lists and DNS records to avoid spam issues during the cutover.

🔑 Migration Steps

Audit current SendGrid setup

List all verified domains, IPs, and link branding.

Note API keys, teammates, and subusers.

Export suppression lists (global unsubscribes, group unsubscribes).

Export templates

From Marketing Campaigns and Transactional templates, download HTML.

Save them locally for re-import into your new provider.

Export contacts

Navigate to Marketing Campaigns → Contacts → Global All Contacts.

Export CSV of all contacts.

Clean data before importing into the new provider.

Set up domain authentication

Delete old SendGrid DNS records (CNAME, MX/TXT, A).

Add new SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records from your new provider.

Configure reverse DNS and link branding if supported.

Recreate API keys

API keys cannot be exported.

Generate new keys in your new provider and update integrations.

Migrate suppression lists

Download CSV of unsubscribes.

Import into new provider via UI or API.

Parallel testing

Lower DNS TTL to 300 seconds.

Send a small percentage of traffic via the new provider.

Monitor inbox placement, bounce rates, and complaints.

Ramp up gradually until 100% traffic is migrated.

⚠️ Risks & Trade-offs

Deliverability drops if DNS records aren’t updated correctly.

Loss of unsubscribes if suppression lists aren’t migrated.

API breakage since SendGrid-specific endpoints differ from other providers.

Rollback complexity if you cut over too quickly.

✅ Best Practices

Keep both SendGrid and new provider active during transition.

Document all DNS changes for rollback.

Test with seed accounts across Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo.

Monitor dashboards and webhooks for bounce/complaint events.