Skip to main content

​
Overview

Resend does this with tiers (Free, Pro, Scale, Enterprise): each tier has a recurring fee, usage charges (emails sent or contacts stored), and feature gating (retention, domains, support, analytics). In Flexprice you use one plan with recurring + usage-based charges and features linked via entitlements.

​
Pricing Breakdown

Resend pricing breakdown

​
1. Key Chargeable Features in Resend

Resend charges by usage (emails sent or contacts stored) and gates features by plan (data retention, domains, support, analytics, dedicated IP). Two tracks run in parallel; this cookbook uses the Transactional track for the Flexprice setup.

​
A. Transactional Emails

How pricing is applied: You are charged by emails sent per month. Plans scale by volume; unit cost drops at higher tiers. Each tier also defines how many domains you can use, data retention for logs, support channel, and whether dedicated IP is available. Pricing (volume tiers):
  • Transactional Scale: 100,000 emails = 90→90 → 0.90 per 1,000 emails
  • Transactional Scale: 1,000,000 emails/month = 650→650 → 0.65 per 1,000 emails
  • Transactional Pro: e.g. $20/mo for 50k emails (common entry point)
TierExample volumeEffective rate
Pro50k emails$0.90/1k overage
Scale100k emails$0.90/1k
Scale1M emails$0.65/1k
Transactional emails are API-triggered (password resets, verification, order confirmations). In Flexprice you model this as a metered feature (e.g. Emails Sent) with event name and aggregation.

​
B. Marketing Emails

How pricing is applied: You are charged by contacts stored (not by emails sent). Sends can be unlimited; cost scales with contact list size. Tiers control number of audiences, analytics, and dedicated IP (e.g. included on Enterprise for Marketing).
DimensionUnitNotes
ContactscountBilled by list size
Emails sentunlimited**Within plan/limits
Marketing use cases include newsletters, onboarding campaigns, and promotions. For Flexprice, add a second metered feature (e.g. Contacts Stored) with its own event name if you model the Marketing track.

​
2. Subscription and Entitlement Model

Plan tiers (Free, Pro, Scale, Enterprise) control both volume/price and which features the customer can use. Features and limits vary by tier:
FeatureFreeProScaleEnterprise
Data retention1 day3 days7 daysCustom
Domains (Tx)1101,000Flexible
SupportTicketTicketSlack + TicketPriority
Analytics (Mktg)NoYesYesYes
Dedicated IP—Add-onAdd-onIncluded (Mktg)
In Flexprice you control this by linking features to plans (entitlements): set included quantity, usage reset, and soft or hard limits for metered features; grant or restrict boolean/static features per plan. For more, see Linking features to plans.

​
3. Overage and Upgrade Logic

Resend does not automatically charge for excess usage. When you exceed your monthly quota, you are notified and prompted to upgrade; if you repeatedly exceed limits without upgrading, Resend may temporarily pause sending. In Flexprice you can choose soft limit (overage allowed, with or without extra charge) or hard limit (strict cap). Configure limits and overage per plan when linking features to plans.

​
Concepts and Terms

  • Subscription: A customer attached to a plan. The subscription determines billing and which entitlements the customer has.
  • Plan: A set of pricing rules: recurring charges (flat fee per billing period) and optionally usage-based charges (metered). A plan that has both is hybrid in Flexprice.
  • Feature: Something you track or gate—Metered (usage, e.g. emails sent), Boolean (on/off access), or Static (fixed attribute).
  • Entitlement: A feature linked to a plan with access rules: for metered features, included quantity, reset period, and soft or hard limit; for boolean/static, grant or restrict. Entitlements are free.
For more detail, check-out Linking features to plans and Plans overview.

​
Complete Flow Summary

The end-to-end flow for hybrid (subscription + entitlement) pricing in Flexprice:
1

Create metered features

Define the usage dimensions (e.g. Emails Sent) as metered features with event names and aggregation.
2

Create plan with hybrid charges

Create a plan (e.g. Transactional Pro). Add a recurring charge (e.g. $20/month) and usage-based charge(s) for the metered feature(s) (e.g. included 50k emails, then overage or tiered pricing).
3

Set entitlements

Link features to the plan. Set included quantity, usage reset (e.g. monthly), and soft or hard limit for metered features. Add boolean/static features if you gate capabilities by tier.
4

Create customer

Create a customer (name, External ID) in Customer Management.
5

Create subscription

Add subscription for the customer and select the plan. Start date determines billing and when entitlements apply.
6

Usage and billing

Send usage events that match the metered feature event names. Usage is billed per the plan’s usage-based charges and respects entitlements. Invoices are generated per billing cycle.

​
Flexprice Set-up

To implement Resend-style hybrid pricing in Flexprice (Transactional track), follow these steps in order.
1

Step 1: Create metered features

Navigate to Flexprice Dashboard → Product Catalog → Features
Create a feature
Click Create Feature (or Add) to create a metered feature. Enter Name and Lookup Key; the Lookup Key is immutable and unique.Feature 1: Emails Sent (Transactional)
  • Feature Name: Emails Sent
  • Feature Lookup Key: emails_sent (immutable, unique)
  • Feature Type: Metered
  • Event Name: e.g. emails.sent (must match exactly when sending events)
  • Aggregation: Count (e.g. over Sum or emails)
  • Unit: email or emails
Note: The Event Name must match exactly when you send usage events via API. Save it for later use.
For a second track (Marketing), add a feature such as Contacts Stored with its own event name and aggregation. This guide uses one metered feature: Emails Sent.For more, check-out Creating a feature.
2

Step 2: Create plan with hybrid charges

Navigate to Flexprice Dashboard → Product Catalog → Plans
Create a plan
Click Add at the top-right to create a new plan. Enter plan details, then click Next to configure charges.Plan details:
  • Plan Name: Pro
  • Lookup Key: e.g. plan-pro (Auto-generated)
  • Billing period: e.g. Monthly
Add hybrid charges:
  1. Recurring charge: Add a recurring charge (e.g. $20/month). This is the base subscription fee for the tier. Click Add to save.
  2. Usage-based charge: Add a usage-based charge for the metered feature Emails Sent. Set pricing (e.g. flat fee per email, or package/tiered with included quantity and overage). Example: first 50,000 emails included, then $0.2 per 1,000 emails. Click Add, then Save to finalize the plan.
For more, check-out Creating a Plan and Plans pricing (recurring and hybrid charges).
3

Step 3: Set entitlements

Open the plan you created → Entitlements section. Click Add to link features to the plan.
Add entitlement to plan
Link the metered feature (Emails Sent) to the plan:
  • Set included quantity (e.g. 50,000 emails per month) or leave uncapped.
  • Set usage reset (e.g. monthly) so limits reset each billing period.
  • Choose soft limit (overage allowed, with billing per plan) or hard limit (strict cap).
If you created boolean or static features (e.g. Analytics, Slack support), add them to the plan and set grant/restrict so higher tiers get access. Click Save.For more, check-out Linking features to plans.
4

Step 4: Create customer

Navigate to Flexprice Dashboard → Customer Management → CustomersClick Add Customer. Enter Customer Name and External ID (your system’s identifier; use this in APIs for usage and lookups).Required:
  • Customer Name: e.g. flexprice organisation
  • External ID: e.g. cust-flexprice-organisation
Click Save to create the customer. For more, check-out Customer Management.
5

Step 5: Create subscription

Open the customer you created, then click Add Subscription.
Add subscription to customer
  • Select plan: Choose Transactional Pro (or the plan you created).
  • Start date: Set subscription start (billing and entitlements apply from this date).
Click Save (or Add Subscription). The customer now has the plan’s recurring charge and entitlement to the linked features and usage limits. For more, check-out Create Subscription.
6

Step 6: Usage and billing

Send usage events to Flexprice with the same event name as the metered feature (e.g. emails.sent). Usage is aggregated and billed according to the plan’s usage-based charges and respects the entitlements (included quantity, soft/hard limit).
  • Verify events: Use the Event Debugger or usage views to confirm events are received and attributed to the customer.
usage Events
  • Invoices: Generated at the end of each billing cycle; they include the recurring fee and usage-based line items.
Subscription Invoice
For more, check-out Connecting to Billing and your API reference for sending usage events.

​
Next Steps

  • Map your app to Flexprice: Emit usage events that match the metered feature event names (e.g. emails.sent) and associate them with the customer (e.g. via External ID).
  • Configure overage and limits: Use Linking features to plans to set soft vs hard limits and overage pricing per plan.
  • Add more plans: Create Free, Scale, and Enterprise plans with different recurring fees, usage tiers, and entitlements (e.g. analytics, retention) to mirror Resend’s tiers.
For event ingestion and billing flow, check-out Connecting to Billing. For plan and charge configuration, check-out Creating a Plan and Linking features to plans.