Alternatives · Email Marketing

Amazon SES alternatives

Amazon SES is one of the cheapest ways to send email at volume, but it is a sending service you build on: new accounts start in a sandbox, there is no campaign editor, and setup assumes AWS skills. These are the alternatives our reviews name, each with the reason it made the list.

ReviewedOct 4, 20264 alternatives3 with a free plan

Ranked below against Amazon SES as the baseline · no sponsored placements

Top Amazon SES alternatives

Ranked by our editorial score.

Base

Amazon SESThe tool you’re replacing

New accounts are limited to 200 emails a day to verified addresses until AWS approves production access.

Usage-based7.4

SendGridOur pick · More powerful
An email API that adds a marketing campaign editor and contact management, for teams that want to send campaigns as well as app email.Developers embedding transactional email into web apps via API or SMTP relay
$19.95/moPaid
7.9
Try SendGrid
Source: our Amazon SES reviewStep-up alternative: “SendGrid if you also want a marketing campaign editor.”
vs Amazon SESMore features (9 vs 8) · Easier to use (7 vs 4) · Better support (7 vs 6) · Weaker value (7 vs 9)
Email Marketing · Free plan: No
Read review SendGrid
BrevoMore powerful
A marketing email and SMS platform that also sends transactional email, for marketers who want a ready-made tool instead of building on an API.SMBs with large contact lists but moderate send volumes
$9/moFreemium
7.6
Try Brevo
Source: our Amazon SES reviewAlternatives list: “Marketing email and SMS platform that also sends transactional email.”
vs Amazon SESEasier to use (8 vs 4) · Fewer integrations (7 vs 9)
Email Marketing · Free plan: Yes
Read review Brevo
PostmarkLighter option
A transactional email service with a simpler setup, for teams that don't want to manage the AWS side of sending.SaaS apps needing reliable password reset and notification emails
$15/moFreemium
7.4
Try Postmark
Source: our Amazon SES reviewLighter alternative: “Postmark for simpler transactional email setup.”
vs Amazon SESEasier to use (7 vs 4) · Better support (8 vs 6) · Weaker value (7 vs 9) · Fewer integrations (7 vs 9)
Email Marketing · Free plan: Yes
Read review Postmark
MailgunHead-to-head
Another developer email API, with its own dashboard and log search, for teams that don't need SES's ties to other AWS services.Developers integrating transactional email into web or mobile apps
$15/moFreemium
7.2
Try Mailgun
Source: our Amazon SES reviewComparison: “Versus Mailgun: Mailgun is also a developer email API with its own dashboard and log search; SES ties into AWS services such as Lambda and S3.”
vs Amazon SESEasier to use (6 vs 4) · Weaker value (7 vs 9)
Email Marketing · Free plan: Yes
Read review Mailgun

* “Lower listed price” compares the entry prices in our reviews. Where the two tools price differently (per seat, per contact, per email sent), the cheaper option depends on your list size and sending volume.

Decision tool

How they compare

Amazon SES first as the baseline; pick what matters most.

BASELINE

Amazon SESOur score 7.4

8.0

9.0

4.0

9.0

6.0

Usage-based

Current tool

Best for featuresBest for ecosystem

SendGridOur score 7.9

9.0

7.0

9.0

7.0

$19.95/mo

Try SendGrid

Best for valueBest for ease of use

BrevoOur score 7.6

7.0

9.0

8.0

7.0

6.0

$9/mo

Yes

Try Brevo

Best for support

PostmarkOur score 7.4

8.0

7.0

8.0

$15/mo

Yes

Try Postmark

MailgunOur score 7.2

8.0

7.0

6.0

8.0

6.0

$15/mo

Yes

Try Mailgun

Best of the alternatives shown on that criterionOur five sub-scores, out of 10Framed: the best of the alternatives shown on the highlighted criterion (ties go to the higher overall score)

Choose by what you need

The same reviewed relationship as the list above — not a new comparison.

Highest rated

SendGrid7.9

Best with a free plan

BrevoFree plan · 7.6

Lowest listed starting price

PostmarkFrom $15/mo

Easier to use than Amazon SES

Mailgunease 6 vs 4

Choose Postmark for something lighter

A transactional email service with a simpler setup, for teams that don't want to manage the AWS side of sending.

Choose Mailgun for a direct swap

Another developer email API, with its own dashboard and log search, for teams that don't need SES's ties to other AWS services.

Choose SendGrid for more power

An email API that adds a marketing campaign editor and contact management, for teams that want to send campaigns as well as app email.

Free alternatives to Amazon SES

3 of the 4 alternatives have a free plan.

BrevoFree plan7.6

PostmarkFree plan7.4

MailgunFree plan7.2

What each free plan includes

BrevoFree (500 contacts); paid from $9/moReview Brevo
PostmarkFree (100 emails/mo); paid from $15/moReview Postmark
MailgunFree (100 emails/day); paid from $15/moReview Mailgun

How we picked them

Named in our reviews

Every alternative here is named in one of our own reviews — either in the Amazon SES review (as a lighter or more powerful option, or in a head-to-head comparison) or in the other tool's review.

Checked by hand

Each relationship was then checked by hand: would someone replacing Amazon SES reasonably consider this tool?

Ranked by our score

Rankings follow our editorial score only; no tool pays to be listed or ranked.

Each entry quotes the review it came from, checked on 4 October 2026.

9 tools our reviews mention alongside Amazon SES that we left out, and why

Mailu — Mailu's alternatives list names Amazon SES, but Mailu is a self-hosted mail server for your own domains, which does a different job from an application sending service.
mailcow — Mailcow's alternatives list names Amazon SES, but Mailcow is a self-hosted mail server suite with webmail, which does a different job from an application sending service.
SmarterMail — SmarterMail's alternatives list names Amazon SES, but SmarterMail is a self-hosted email and collaboration server, which does a different job from an application sending service.
Omnisend — Neither Amazon SES's review nor Omnisend's names the other, so there is no review sentence to support a relationship.
MailerLite — Neither Amazon SES's review nor MailerLite's names the other, so there is no review sentence to support a relationship.
Constant Contact — Neither Amazon SES's review nor Constant Contact's names the other, so there is no review sentence to support a relationship.
ActiveCampaign — Neither Amazon SES's review nor ActiveCampaign's names the other, so there is no review sentence to support a relationship.
GetResponse — Neither Amazon SES's review nor GetResponse's names the other, so there is no review sentence to support a relationship.
HubSpot — Neither Amazon SES's review nor HubSpot's names the other, so there is no review sentence to support a relationship.

Questions about Amazon SES alternatives

What is the best alternative to Amazon SES?Which Amazon SES alternative has the lowest listed starting price?Is Amazon SES free?What are the Amazon SES sandbox limits?

What is the best alternative to Amazon SES?

By our editorial score, SendGrid (7.9/10) is the highest-rated alternative here. The better fit depends on why you are leaving Amazon SES: the relationship label on each alternative (lighter, head-to-head or more powerful) and its reason are the quickest way to narrow it down.

Which Amazon SES alternative has the lowest listed starting price?

Postmark, listed from $15/mo in our review. Sending services charge by email volume, often per thousand emails or in monthly volume tiers, while marketing platforms usually charge by contact count. Dedicated IPs and extra features can add fixed monthly fees.

Is Amazon SES free?

Not as a fixed allowance. New AWS customers get up to $200 in AWS Free Tier credits for 6 months that can be used on eligible services, including SES (checked 4 October 2026).

What are the Amazon SES sandbox limits?

New accounts can only send to verified addresses or domains, up to 200 messages per 24 hours and 1 message per second. You request production access in the SES console; AWS says it gives an initial response within 24 hours (checked 4 October 2026).

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