Correct that it requires the $100/mo PRO account to use Sendgrid with Zapier. I believe you can call the Sendrid API directly using the new Custom Actions feature bu tif you already have the Zap setup you could just swap out Gmail in place of Sendgrid and have it send via that as it’s free.
I just published a tutorial this morning that demonstrates sending email via these three methods:
- Gmail
- Mixpanel
- ActiveCampaign
Full write-up with pros/cons for each plus videos of the process from start to finish with each approach here.