Overview
useSend is an open-source email platform licensed under AGPL-3.0, with over 4,600 GitHub stars. Like several commercial providers, it sends through Amazon SES, and adds what SES lacks: a dashboard with delivery, open, click and bounce tracking, a REST API with typed SDKs, an SMTP relay, webhooks, scheduling, suppression lists, contact books and a visual editor for campaigns.
You can run it yourself from the Docker image (DockerHub or GitHub Container Registry) or on Railway, pointing it at your own AWS account, so you pay SES rates plus hosting. The hosted cloud has a free plan of 3,000 emails a month (100 a day) and a paid plan with a $10 monthly minimum, charging $0.0004 per transactional email and $0.001 per marketing email, with no charge for storing contacts.
The project README still marks it as beta and lists inbound email and bring-your-own AWS credentials as not yet done, so check the current docs if you need those.
Pricing and plans
Free tier
Cloud free plan: 3,000 emails a month, 100 a day, 1 domain, 1 contact book, 1 team member; self-hosting is free
At the limit Stops at the limit Sending on the cloud free plan is capped at 100 emails a day.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted | Free (AGPL-3.0) | Pay Amazon SES and your own hosting |
| Cloud Free | $0/mo | 3,000 emails/month, 100/day |
| Cloud Paid | $10/mo minimum | Transactional $0.0004/email, marketing $0.001/email, unlimited domains and team |
What it does
- Open source
- AGPL-3.0 code on GitHub, with Docker images for self-hosting.
- REST API and SMTP
- Typed SDKs for JavaScript and Python, plus an SMTP relay usable from services such as Supabase.
- Dashboard analytics
- Searchable logs of deliveries, opens, clicks, bounces and unsubscribes, filterable and exportable.
- Campaigns and contacts
- Contact books with subscription status and a WYSIWYG campaign editor.
- Suppression list
- Automatically filled from bounces and complaints, manageable by API.
- Scheduling and webhooks
- Schedule sends through the API and receive events through webhooks.
Strengths and limitations
Strengths
- Self-host for SES prices with a real dashboard
- Cloud transactional rate of $0.40 per 1,000
- No charge for stored contacts
- Transactional and marketing email in one open-source tool
Limitations
- Self-hosting needs an AWS account with SES production access
- README still marks the project as beta
- Inbound email listed as not yet done in the README
- Cloud free plan capped at 100 emails a day
Who it suits
Good for
- Developers already on AWS who want a dashboard over SES
- Open-source projects and indie SaaS on a tight budget
- Teams that want to own their email stack
Look elsewhere if
- Teams that need a vendor SLA or compliance reports
- Apps that need inbound email today
Alternatives to useSend
| Tool | From | Free option | Stages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mailcoach Email marketing platform | $9.99/mo | ||
| Mailjet Email API, SMTP relay and campaign editor | $9/mo | Free tier | |
| Brevo Email marketing and transactional platform | $9/mo | Free tier | |
| Elastic Email API Email API and SMTP relay | $19/mo | Free tier | |
| Notifuse Open-source email platform | $19/mo | ||
| Resend Email API for developers | $20/mo | Free tier |
Questions
Is useSend open source?
Yes, it is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and can be self-hosted with Docker.
What does useSend use to send email?
Amazon SES; self-hosters connect their own AWS account.
How much does useSend cloud cost?
There is a free plan of 3,000 emails a month; paid use has a $10 monthly minimum at $0.0004 per transactional email.
Was useSend called Unsend?
Yes, useSend was formerly named Unsend.
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