Comparison
tinysend vs Amazon SES
Keep the workflow layer, send from your own Amazon SES account, and run the software on infrastructure you control.
Read the setup guide →What this open-source release covers
Your SES account
tinysend assumes a least-privilege IAM role and never stores long-lived AWS access keys.
The essential workflow
Transactional API, contacts, versioned templates, broadcasts, suppressions and optional tracking.
Agent-ready by design
Use the REST API, typed npm SDK, OpenAPI document, llms.txt and MCP server from the same installation.
Feature comparison
Raw AWS infrastructure vs developer email platform
| Feature | tinysend | Amazon SES |
|---|---|---|
| No AWS account needed | ||
| Transactional email API | ||
| Email sequences / drip campaigns | ||
| Contact management | ||
| Audience segmentation | ||
| Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) | Amazon SES | N/A — IS the key |
| Built-in DKIM / SPF setup | ||
| Bounce & complaint handling | ||
| Suppression list management | Manual via SDK | |
| Webhooks with retry logic | Via SNS only | |
| Dashboard & analytics | CloudWatch only | |
| Sequences as code (CLI) | ||
| Usage-based pricing | Open source + AWS | |
| Free tier | EC2-hosted only | |
| Agent-native (AI automation) | ||
| No IAM setup required |
Pricing comparison
Software cost only; AWS and hosting are billed by their providers
tinysendMIT-licensed software
- Self-host on any Docker host
- Send through your own Amazon SES account
- No tinysend message or contact markup
per month
- SES itself is $0.10 per 1,000 emails — cheapest raw price in the industry
- Add CloudWatch, SNS, S3 for logs — each service adds cost and complexity
- Dedicated IPs: $24.95/mo per IP (same as most competitors)
- Free tier only applies to emails sent from an EC2 instance — not from your local stack
- Production sending requires a manual limit increase request (1-3 business days)
- Engineers spend 4-8 hours on initial SES setup — factor in your team's time
Who should use tinysend?
Teams that want to replace a managed transactional email bill with their own Amazon SES account.
Developers who need a small REST API, typed npm SDK, templates and delivery status without a large marketing suite.
Organizations prepared to operate PostgreSQL, a Docker deployment and their own AWS and DNS configuration.
AI agent builders who need explicit schemas, idempotent writes, dry runs and an MCP interface.
Exploring all your options?
See the best Amazon SES alternatives →Please bring your own sender...
from: tinysend
to: you
with: love
Ready to start sending?
Self-host free. Connect your SES account. Keep your sending cost at AWS rates.