Why most "free tier" email APIs cap you at 100/day, and why that's the wrong limit

A common free-tier pattern in this space is a small daily send cap, often around 100 emails a day. That number is designed to look generous ("3,000 a month!") while actually constraining you in the moment it matters most: a real traffic spike. Envello's free tier is 3,000 emails a month with no daily cap, and the difference is worth explaining, since it's not just a marketing detail.

Why a daily cap breaks at the wrong time

A daily limit assumes your sending is evenly distributed, which it usually isn't. A product launch, a marketing push, a batch of password resets after a security incident, real transactional email volume clusters around specific days, not a flat rate. A 100/day cap means your worst day, the one where sending actually matters most, is exactly when you hit the wall.

Why a monthly cap without a daily sub-limit is the honest version

3,000 emails a month with no daily cap means you can send all 3,000 in one day if that's when you need them, or spread them out, without artificial throttling in either direction. It's the same total commitment from the provider's side (they're still capping total free usage), it just doesn't pretend a smooth daily rate is how real applications actually send email.