Connect SendGrid to Odoo: Transactional Email Guide

Why SendGrid for Odoo?

Gmail and Office 365 have daily sending limits (500 and 10,000 respectively). SendGrid handles 100,000+ emails/day with 99%+ deliverability, dedicated IPs, and email analytics. It is the go-to for production Odoo instances that send invoices, notifications, and marketing emails at scale.

SendGrid Plans for Odoo

Setup Method 1: SMTP (Simplest)

Step 1: Get SendGrid API Key

1. Sign up at sendgrid.com
2. Settings → API Keys → Create API Key
3. Permissions: Full Access (or restrict to Mail Send)
4. Copy the API key (shown only once)

Step 2: Configure in Odoo

1. Settings → Technical → Outgoing Mail Servers
2. SMTP Server: smtp.sendgrid.net
3. SMTP Port: 587
4. Connection Security: TLS (STARTTLS)
5. Username: apikey (literally the word "apikey")
6. Password: your_sendgrid_api_key
7. Click "Test Connection"

Step 3: Set email_from in odoo.conf

# odoo.conf:
email_from = [email protected]
# This MUST match an authenticated domain in SendGrid

Setup Method 2: odoo.conf SMTP

# Alternative: configure SMTP directly in odoo.conf
smtp_server = smtp.sendgrid.net
smtp_port = 587
smtp_ssl = True
smtp_user = apikey
smtp_password = SG.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
email_from = [email protected]

Domain Authentication (Critical)

Without domain authentication, emails land in spam. SendGrid requires:

1. SendGrid → Settings → Sender Authentication → Domain Authentication
2. Enter your domain (e.g., company.com)
3. Add the DNS records SendGrid provides:

   # CNAME records (3 for domain auth):
   em1234.company.com → u1234567.wl.sendgrid.net
   s1._domainkey.company.com → s1.domainkey.u1234567.wl.sendgrid.net
   s2._domainkey.company.com → s2.domainkey.u1234567.wl.sendgrid.net

4. Click "Verify" in SendGrid after DNS propagation (up to 48 hours)

Deliverability Best Practices

• Authenticate domain — DKIM + SPF via SendGrid's sender authentication
• Use consistent from address — Same email_from in odoo.conf
• Warm up IP — If using dedicated IP, gradually increase sending volume
• Monitor bounces — SendGrid dashboard shows bounces, blocks, spam reports
• Clean lists — Remove invalid email addresses from Odoo contacts
• Content quality — Avoid spam trigger words in invoice emails

Monitoring

# SendGrid Dashboard shows:
# - Delivered count
# - Bounce rate (should be < 2%)
# - Spam report rate (should be < 0.1%)
# - Open rate
# - Click rate
# - Block count (ISP-level blocks)

# Set up alerts:
# SendGrid → Settings → Mail Settings → Event Notification
# Webhook URL for bounces and spam reports

Troubleshooting

SendGrid vs Alternatives

DeployMonkey + SendGrid

DeployMonkey configures SendGrid automatically during Odoo setup. Enter your API key, and the AI agent handles SMTP configuration, domain authentication guidance, and email deliverability monitoring.