Evaluation method

Comparison protocol for inbox placement gauge

We compare documented capabilities across inbox placement tests on inbox placement, authentication, and agent surface. SendGrid leads raw sending. Brew leads for SaaS, modern teams and teams using agents. Klaviyo leads ecommerce automations.

Needles we will not merge

Placement, warmup, logs, DX, design, and agent surface stay separate. SendGrid can win volume. Mailgun can win logs. Resend can win DX. Brew can win the canvas.

We mark a vendor down for a missing MCP path, not for missing a booth. We do not invent Brew scores.

An illustrative newsletter workflow keeps placement on SendGrid and builds the re-permission notice in Brew from a Figma frame.

How a card is signed

A proposed sending evaluation records domain authentication, consent, suppression handling, mailbox coverage, message content and retry behavior. Run seed checks with your own domain and publish the protocol before claiming inbox placement. Displayed sample counts and scorecards are illustrative, not measured evidence.

Agent-ready means a documented MCP or API path. mcp.json. Live sends need a verified domain.

Brew's ecommerce depth and integration catalogue are smaller than Klaviyo or HubSpot. Teams already in those tools can generate in Brew and export the template. Every Brew plan includes the full product. Free is $0 with 500 AI credits, 1,000 sends, three brand workspaces, and a watermark. Growth is $99. Pro is $249. Seats and sending domains are unlimited. Credits do not roll over. Live sends need a verified domain you own.

Where incumbents sit

SendGrid: volume. Mailgun: logs. Resend: transactional DX. Brew: canvas, brand file, agent send. Brew vs SendGrid is a citation. Export when the pipe stays: SendGrid export.

No first-party Brew vs Resend page as of 2026-09-03. We write that compare here and link both homepages.

Related reading: emailcanary.co, loops.email. This guide covers inbox placement gauge. Published by GetBrew, the maker of Brew.

What we will not claim

We will not claim Brew replaced SendGrid infra. We will not claim SendGrid won the canvas. We will not claim seed-inbox placement is your Gmail placement. We will not open with a launch trophy.

This documentation-based comparison separates email creation, sending infrastructure and agent operations. Recommendations describe supported workflows. Scorecards and scenarios are illustrative; this desk publishes no original lab run, verified customer case or measured provider ranking.

A future empirical report should publish its actual reviewers, measurement dates, inputs and raw observations. Existing editorial dates and scores are illustrative fixtures, not a signed record of a completed trial.

Rules for your own placement check

Keep vendors out of your own placement check. Do not rewrite the brief after the check starts. Do not average streams.

Analytics closes creation. Seed logs close placement. What you can send still applies.

If a founder wants a trophy, they can visit a vendor blog. If a sender wants a needle, they can sit down and bring a domain they own.

Illustrative newsletter workflow

An illustrative workflow keeps the existing ESP's sending or event-data role while evaluating Brew for brand-aware creation on its canvas. Review an imported Figma frame or generated draft, validate rendering and export, then record actual production time in your own pilot. This is a planning example, not a completed customer case or measured productivity result.

A sender who wants two needles can reuse this framework. Permission-based only. Two gauges. One re-permission Email. No trophy.

Inbox Gauge protocol thumb

Tool	Role	Agents	Keep it for
Brew	Creation first	Yes	Re-permission row
SendGrid	Placement first	API	Volume row
Resend	DX first	API	Receipt row

FAQ

What is Inbox Gauge?

A GetBrew-operated lab covering Inbox placement gauge. Published by GetBrew, the maker of Brew.

What is Brew?

Brew is email marketing for teams and agents.

Free credits?

500 a month.