whichdevtool? Search tools /
Menu
DirectoryFree tiersCompareStacksCalculatorsChanges
VPS and cloud servers 25 App hosting and PaaS 27 Managed databases 31 Transactional email APIs 30 Email marketing and newsletters 32 Domain registrars 27 CDN, DNS and edge security 32 Monitoring, uptime and error tracking 28 Auth and identity 32

Cloud email sending and receiving service · by Amazon Web Services

Amazon SES

AWS's pay-per-use email service at $0.10 per 1,000 emails, with inbound processing, dedicated IP options and new optional plans for deliverability tools.

Visit aws.amazon.com ↗ Alternatives Paid EU region
§1

Overview

Amazon Simple Email Service is AWS's building block for sending and receiving email. You send through the SES API, SDKs or SMTP endpoints in the AWS region you pick, and receive mail through Mail Manager rules that can store messages in S3, trigger Lambda or forward them on.

On a la carte pricing, outbound email costs $0.10 per 1,000 messages plus $0.12 per GB of attachments, with no monthly fee. Deliverability extras are priced one by one: standard dedicated IPs at $24.95 a month each, managed dedicated IPs at $15 a month plus a per-email fee, Virtual Deliverability Manager, email validation and global endpoints.

In 2026 AWS added three bundled plans. Essentials charges $0.16 per 1,000 with no fixed fee, Pro adds a $105 monthly fee per account and region with managed dedicated IPs and validation included, and Enterprise costs $500 a month with more IPs and seed-list tests. New accounts start on Essentials from July 21, 2026, so switch to a la carte if you only need sending.

New accounts begin in a sandbox that only sends to verified addresses until you request production access. SES gives you logs through CloudWatch, SNS or event destinations rather than a full dashboard, so expect to build bounce handling and reporting yourself or use a tool on top.

§2

Pricing and plans

checked 28 Sept 2026
Plan Price What you get
A la carte $0.10 per 1,000 emails No minimum; $0.12/GB of attachments; features billed separately
Essentials $0.16 per 1,000 emails Lower rates above 10M; default for new accounts from July 21, 2026
Pro $105/mo + $0.22 per 1,000 Includes managed dedicated IP, validation, deliverability manager features
Enterprise $500/mo + $0.23 per 1,000 12 dedicated IPs, 5 domains, Spamhaus add-on included

costAt uses a la carte pricing ($0.10 per 1,000) and excludes attachment data ($0.12/GB) and EC2 data transfer. New accounts, and accounts with no metered SES use since June 1, 2025, start on the Essentials plan ($0.16 per 1,000) from July 21, 2026 but can switch to a la carte at any time. The old 12-month SES free allowance is replaced by general AWS Free Tier credits of up to $200 for new AWS customers, so freeTier is null. Plan fees are per account per region.

Source: aws.amazon.com/ses/pricing/ · prices as published, excluding tax.

§3

What it does

API and SMTP sending
Send from any AWS region's endpoint using the SES API, SDKs or SMTP credentials.
Mail Manager
Inbound processing with rules, archiving, ingress endpoints and optional security add-ons.
Dedicated IPs
Standard IPs at $24.95/mo, managed IPs with automatic scaling, or bring your own /24 range.
Virtual Deliverability Manager
Deliverability dashboards and recommendations billed per email.
Tenants
Isolate sending per customer for $0.005 per tenant per month plus a small per-email fee.
Global endpoints
Multi-region sending failover for $0.03 per 1,000 extra.
§4

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • Lowest list price among major providers at $0.10 per 1,000
  • No monthly minimum on a la carte pricing
  • Runs inside AWS with IAM, SNS, S3 and Lambda integration
  • Available in many AWS regions, including the AWS European Sovereign Cloud

Limitations

  • New accounts start in a sandbox and must request production access
  • Little built-in dashboard; bounce and complaint handling is yours to wire up
  • New accounts default to the pricier Essentials plan from July 21, 2026 unless switched
  • Attachments are billed per GB on top of the per-email price
§5

Who it suits

Good for

  • Teams already running on AWS
  • High-volume senders with engineering time for deliverability
  • Apps that process inbound mail with Lambda or S3

Look elsewhere if

  • Solo developers who want a ready dashboard and support
  • Teams without time to manage bounces and reputation
§6

Pricing history

  • New Amazon SES accounts default to the Essentials plan

    From July 21, 2026 (effective date), new SES accounts and account-region pairs with no SES use since June 1, 2025 start on the Essentials plan at $0.16 per 1,000 emails instead of a la carte pricing at $0.10 per 1,000; customers can switch to a la carte at any time. Source ↗

§7

Alternatives to Amazon SES

Tool From Free option Stages
Azure Communication Services Email Cloud email sending API
Usage-based Paid
Brevo Email marketing and transactional platform
$9/mo Free tier
Mailgun Email API and SMTP relay
$15/mo Free tier
AhaSend Transactional email API and SMTP relay
$10/mo Free tier
Bento Email marketing and automation
$29/mo Paid
Emailit Email API and SMTP with prepaid credits
Usage-based Paid

Amazon SES vs Resend → All transactional email apis →

§8

Questions

How much does Amazon SES cost?

On a la carte pricing, $0.10 per 1,000 emails sent plus $0.12 per GB of attachments. Optional plans cost $0.16 to $0.23 per 1,000 with extra features.

Does Amazon SES have a free tier?

Not a dedicated one. New AWS customers get up to $200 in general Free Tier credits that can be spent on SES.

Can Amazon SES receive email?

Yes. Inbound email costs $0.10 per 1,000 plus $0.09 per 1,000 incoming 256 KB chunks, and Mail Manager adds rules and archiving.

What is the SES sandbox?

New accounts can only send to verified addresses until AWS approves a request for production access.

Which SES plan should I pick?

For plain sending, a la carte at $0.10 per 1,000 is cheapest; Pro and Enterprise make sense when you would otherwise buy dedicated IPs and deliverability tools separately.

Sources read for this page