diff --git a/back-end/account/email.py b/back-end/account/email.py
index bd01951..92c24c4 100644
--- a/back-end/account/email.py
+++ b/back-end/account/email.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 from django.template.loader import render_to_string
 from django.utils.html import strip_tags
 from django.core.mail import EmailMultiAlternatives
+from django.conf import settings
 from djoser.conf import settings as djoser_settings
 from urllib.parse import urlparse
 
@@ -21,7 +22,16 @@ def build_frontend_url(path: str):
 
     prefix = "/".join(parts[:-2])
 
-    domain = djoser_settings.DOMAIN
+    domain = getattr(djoser_settings, "DOMAIN", None)
+    if not domain:
+        frontend_url = getattr(settings, "FRONTEND_URL", "")
+        parsed_frontend = urlparse(frontend_url)
+        domain = parsed_frontend.netloc or frontend_url
+
+    if not domain:
+        raise ValueError(
+            "Unable to construct email link: set DJOSER.DOMAIN or PUBLIC_APP_URL/FRONTEND_URL."
+        )
 
     return f"https://{domain}/{prefix}/{uid}/{token}"
 
diff --git a/back-end/core/settings/base.py b/back-end/core/settings/base.py
index 317d5c1..67c0919 100644
--- a/back-end/core/settings/base.py
+++ b/back-end/core/settings/base.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 
 from pathlib import Path
 import os
+from urllib.parse import urlparse
 import dj_database_url
 from dotenv import load_dotenv
 import cloudinary
@@ -50,6 +51,7 @@
     "djoser",
     "corsheaders",
     "drf_spectacular",
+    "anymail",
     "cloudinary_storage",
     "cloudinary",
 ]
@@ -217,6 +219,8 @@
     "USER_CREATE_PASSWORD_RETYPE": True,
     "ACTIVATION_URL": "verify-email/{uid}/{token}",
     "PASSWORD_RESET_CONFIRM_URL": "reset-password/{uid}/{token}",
+    "DOMAIN": urlparse(os.environ.get("PUBLIC_APP_URL", "http://localhost:5173")).netloc
+    or os.environ.get("PUBLIC_APP_URL", "localhost:5173"),
     "SERIALIZERS": {
         "user_create": "account.serializers.UserCreateSerializer",
         "user": "account.serializers.UserSerializer",
@@ -225,6 +229,10 @@
     "VIEWS": {
         "user_create": "account.views.CustomUserViewSet"
     },
+    "EMAIL": {
+        "activation": "account.email.CustomActivationEmail",
+        "password_reset": "account.email.CustomPasswordResetEmail",
+    },
 }
 
 # ─── CORS ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -254,13 +262,21 @@
 GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET = os.environ.get("GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET", "").strip()
 
 # ─── Email ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
-EMAIL_BACKEND = "django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend"
+SENDGRID_API_KEY = os.environ.get("SENDGRID_API_KEY", "")
+ANYMAIL = {
+    "SENDGRID_API_KEY": SENDGRID_API_KEY,
+}
+EMAIL_BACKEND = (
+    "anymail.backends.sendgrid.EmailBackend"
+    if SENDGRID_API_KEY
+    else "django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend"
+)
 EMAIL_HOST = os.environ.get("EMAIL_HOST", "smtp.gmail.com")
 EMAIL_PORT = int(os.environ.get("EMAIL_PORT", 587))
 EMAIL_USE_TLS = os.environ.get("EMAIL_USE_TLS", "True") == "True"
 EMAIL_HOST_USER = os.environ.get("EMAIL_HOST_USER", "")
 EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD = os.environ.get("EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD", "")
-DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL = os.environ.get("DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL", "noreply@onlinetherapy.com")
+DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL = os.environ.get("EMAIL_FROM", os.environ.get("DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL", "noreply@onlinetherapy.com"))
 
 # Frontend URL (for email links)
 FRONTEND_URL = os.environ.get("PUBLIC_APP_URL", "http://localhost:5173")
diff --git a/back-end/core/settings/development.py b/back-end/core/settings/development.py
index 51367b8..382143d 100644
--- a/back-end/core/settings/development.py
+++ b/back-end/core/settings/development.py
@@ -1,10 +1,15 @@
 """Development Settings"""
 from .base import *  # noqa: F401, F403
+import os
 
 DEBUG = True
 
-# Show emails in console during development
-EMAIL_BACKEND = "django.core.mail.backends.console.EmailBackend"
+# Use console backend when SendGrid is not configured in development.
+EMAIL_BACKEND = (
+    "anymail.backends.sendgrid.EmailBackend"
+    if os.environ.get("SENDGRID_API_KEY")
+    else "django.core.mail.backends.console.EmailBackend"
+)
 
 # Django Debug Toolbar (optional but useful)
 INSTALLED_APPS += ["django_extensions"]  # noqa: F405
diff --git a/back-end/pyproject.toml b/back-end/pyproject.toml
index f69be22..f10c9ee 100644
--- a/back-end/pyproject.toml
+++ b/back-end/pyproject.toml
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ dependencies = [
     "groq>=0.5.0",
     "cloudinary>=1.44.2",
     "django-cloudinary-storage>=0.3.0",
+    "django-anymail[sendgrid]>=9.4.0",
 ]
 
 [project.optional-dependencies]
diff --git a/back-end/uv.lock b/back-end/uv.lock
index 99bc525..aa90eb5 100644
--- a/back-end/uv.lock
+++ b/back-end/uv.lock
@@ -236,6 +236,26 @@ wheels = [
     { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/4e/32/4b144e125678efccf5d5b61581de1c4088d6b0286e46096e3b8de0d556c8/django-5.2.12-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:4853482f395c3a151937f6991272540fcbf531464f254a347bf7c89f53c8cff7", size = 8310245, upload-time = "2026-03-03T13:56:01.174Z" },
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "django-anymail"
+version = "15.0"
+source = { registry = "https://pypi.org/simple" }
+dependencies = [
+    { name = "django" },
+    { name = "idna" },
+    { name = "requests" },
+    { name = "urllib3" },
+]
+sdist = { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/00/43/f0aadb31f2c58afcd9f001f4291998cbd6d289898167e79d908506fc6faf/django_anymail-15.0.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:23d8ab6589afe8cc1ae7665c26879814ad192f4c3ed837a2a1868b0a056869e0", size = 106985, upload-time = "2026-04-18T20:44:19.237Z" }
+wheels = [
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/75/d1/daae99ec3b30886010a499975880ec20c32c622bee6b92c226b715e42f0c/django_anymail-15.0-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:64d33dd1084bfc8e4e12245f56629be40aa0b0498fc7fc7544d87b9b2048be1e", size = 147229, upload-time = "2026-04-18T20:44:17.323Z" },
+]
+
+[package.optional-dependencies]
+sendgrid = [
+    { name = "cryptography" },
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "django-cloudinary-storage"
 version = "0.3.0"
@@ -607,6 +627,7 @@ dependencies = [
     { name = "cryptography" },
     { name = "dj-database-url" },
     { name = "django" },
+    { name = "django-anymail", extra = ["sendgrid"] },
     { name = "django-cloudinary-storage" },
     { name = "django-cors-headers" },
     { name = "django-filter" },
@@ -640,6 +661,7 @@ requires-dist = [
     { name = "cryptography", specifier = ">=42.0.0" },
     { name = "dj-database-url", specifier = ">=2.1.0" },
     { name = "django", specifier = ">=5.1" },
+    { name = "django-anymail", extras = ["sendgrid"], specifier = ">=9.4.0" },
     { name = "django-cloudinary-storage", specifier = ">=0.3.0" },
     { name = "django-cors-headers", specifier = ">=4.3.1" },
     { name = "django-filter", specifier = ">=25.2" },