EU alternative to Amazon SES: the honest comparison.
Per email, Amazon SES costs much less than we do, and we don't pretend otherwise. Beyond the price, time matters too: setup, bounces, sending log and support.
14 days free · up to 100 emails a day · card required · if you don't cancel within 14 days, the plan you chose starts
- No sandbox to get out of
- Bounces in the log, no SNS
- Support in English and Italian
What it really costs: monthly estimate
Assumptions for Amazon SES: 32 KB emails (as in the AWS price list examples), sending from an EU region, $0.12 per GB of data. Euro at the ECB rate of 6 October 2026 (€1 = $1.1269). VAT excluded for both.
| Emails a month | Amazon SES pay as you go | Amazon SES Essentials | SMTP Senpai (annual plan) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10,000 | ~$1.04 (~€0.92) | ~$1.64 (~€1.45) | €12.90 |
| 20,000 | ~$2.08 (~€1.85) | ~$3.28 (~€2.91) | €22.90 |
| 50,000 | ~$5.19 (~€4.61) | ~$8.19 (~€7.27) | €35.02 |
| 100,000 | ~$10.38 (~€9.21) | ~$16.38 (~€14.54) | €43.10 |
| With the 3-month plan | — | — | €25.80 (10,000) · €45.80 (20,000) · €70.04 (50,000) · €86.20 (100,000) |
- Since 21 July 2026, new SES accounts start on the Essentials plan ($0.16 per 1,000 emails); you can switch to pay as you go ($0.10) whenever you want.
- With a dedicated IP: on SES $24.95 a month per IP, or a managed IP at $15 a month plus $0.08 per 1,000 emails. With us from €15 a month, included from 150,000 emails. AWS itself recommends shared IPs if you do not send large, regular volumes.
- To open technical cases with AWS you need a paid support plan, from $29 a month per account.
SMTP Senpai and Amazon SES, row by row
We are biased: SMTP Senpai is our service. That is why every fact about Amazon SES links to its official source at the bottom of the page.
| SMTP Senpai (annual plan) | Amazon SES (pay as you go) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Managed SMTP relay for the emails of your app, website or business software | AWS email service: API, SMTP and SDKs, sending and receiving |
| Price | €12.90/month for 10,000 emails, €22.90 for 20,000, €35.02 for 50,000, €43.10 for 100,000 | $0.10 per 1,000 emails pay as you go, $0.16 with Essentials. Plus $0.12 per GB |
| With the 3-month plan | €25.80 (10,000) · €45.80 (20,000) · €70.04 (50,000) · €86.20 (100,000) per month | Pay as you go, no term |
| Trial | 14 days, up to 100 emails a day. Card required, no charge if you cancel before it ends | Up to $200 in AWS credits for new accounts, free plan for 6 months |
| Getting started | Choose your volume, verify your domain with the DNS records we give you, paste 4 settings | Every account starts in the sandbox: verified addresses only, 200 emails a day, 1 per second. To get out you request production access: AWS reviews case by case |
| Regions | One set of credentials, no regions to manage | Sandbox, quotas, domains and SMTP credentials apply per region |
| Connection | Server, port 2525 with STARTTLS, username, password. Or API | SMTP server per region, ports 25, 587, 2587, 465 and 2465. In Milan, API only for now, no SMTP |
| Website forms | Included: an address to put in your contact form | Not provided: you need your own script or another service |
| Bounces and complaints | Automatic suppression and the reason for every bounce in the log, nothing to configure | The suppression list is on by default for hard bounces and complaints. You still need a way to receive notifications: email, SNS or events, for each identity and region |
| Thresholds that stop sending | No automatic block at a threshold: bounces and complaints go to suppression, we alert you and tell you what to fix. Immediate suspension only for spam or lists without consent (Terms, art. 12-ter) | Review from a 5% bounce rate or a 0.1% complaint rate. Possible pause from 10% or 0.5% |
| Sending log | 90 days, line by line, with the reason for every bounce. Also via API | Statistics: last 2 weeks. Message search: 30 days with Virtual Deliverability Manager, paid ($0.07 per 1,000 emails). Or you store events wherever you want, setting them up yourself |
| Reports | Weekly report every Monday, with what to fix | Dashboards in the console, CloudWatch alarms to set up |
| Spending control | Fixed fee and a spending cap you choose | Pay as you go, no commitment |
| Support | Real people, in English and Italian, on every plan | Technical cases with a paid plan, from $29/month |
| Where the data is | Sending servers and sending log in the EU | You choose the region: in the EU Frankfurt, Ireland, Paris, Stockholm, Milan |
| Invoice | EU invoice in euro, VAT handled for EU businesses (reverse charge with a valid VAT number) | Price list in dollars. Invoice from AWS Europe |
Prices verified on 7 October 2026. Amazon SES: public price list in dollars, taxes excluded. SMTP Senpai: prices in euro, excluding VAT. Annual plan: for example €154.80 a year for 10,000 emails. With the 6-month plan: €20.64 / €36.64 / €56.03 / €68.96 per month; 3-month plan: see the row in the table.
It depends on what you need. We will tell you straight.
When Amazon SES is the better fit
- You send large volumes: above 10 million emails a month the price drops further.
- You have a technical team that sets up and monitors SNS, permissions, alarms and suppression.
- Your app already runs on AWS and you already get an AWS invoice.
- You need fine-grained control: IP pools, multiple regions, inbound email.
- Price per email is the priority: 10,000 emails cost about one dollar.
When SMTP Senpai is the better fit
- You don't have a technical team or the time: you change 4 settings and you're up and running.
- You don't want to configure bounce notifications: with us they're already in the log, with the reason.
- You want to see what happened to every email for 90 days.
- You want to know what to fix: every Monday a report with the actions to take.
- You want to talk to real people in English or Italian without adding a support plan.
- You want euro pricing, an EU invoice with VAT handled for EU businesses, and predictable costs.
Four details, any software
WordPress, business software, websites, automations: if it has an «SMTP server» setting (the one for sending email), it works with us. Enter server, port, username and password: your emails leave from our servers in the name of your domain.
Copilot
Cursor
Lovable
Bolt
Replit
Supabase
Firebase
Vercel
Netlify
n8n
FramerTrademarks belong to their respective owners and are mentioned only to show compatibility.
Switching from Amazon SES in 4 steps
The screenshots are real ones from the customer area, with a sample domain.
Start the trial
14 days free, up to 100 emails a day. Meanwhile SES can stay switched on.
Verify your domain
We give you the DNS records to publish and we check them for you.
Change 4 settings
In the software you already use: server, port 2525 with STARTTLS, username and password. If you send via API, you use the API key.
Check and switch off
Send a test email and find it in the log. Then remove the SES credentials from your app and the DNS records you no longer use.
Everything you need, ready to go
Credentials and API
Server, port, username and password to copy, or an API key. Ready-made examples for PHP, WordPress and command line.
One-click test
A button sends a verification email with your credentials: if it arrives, the connection works.
Spending cap
When your volume runs out, sending stops with no charges. Or keep going, in blocks of 1,000 emails, up to the cap you choose.
90-day log
Every delivery, line by line, with the reason for each bounce. Search by address or domain and filter by outcome.
Website forms, included
An address for your website form, even on a static site: anti-bot filter, auto-reply and archive.
Dedicated IP from €15 a month
An address all your own when you need it: we warm it up step by step over the first 4 weeks. Included from 150,000 emails a month.
Support made of people
We are truly satisfied with MailSenpai’s services because they managed to interpret our particular email-marketing experimentation needs effectively and efficiently. As we are not experts, their Support Team trained our staff on the tools in a reasonable time for everyone. […]
EVERYTHING! Easy to use, innovative and complete features and above all the customer service and the dedicated coach! I strongly recommend this provider to everyone who wants to perform and scale their business at its best!!!
Competent Italian service
I tried several email marketing platforms (Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign) but MailSenpai is the one that convinced me most. Customer support is fast and super competent, they solved technical problems for me within a few hours. […]
The email marketing platform I was looking for
MailSenpai is truly one of the few companies that let you send large volumes of email and build automations other platforms don’t allow. It also offers support in Italian, which almost nobody does. […]
Great ally for effective email campaigns
I have been using MailSenpai for several months and I am very happy: it is intuitive, fast and perfect for running effective email campaigns. The automations and detailed statistics help me save time and improve results. Recommended!
My new experience with mailsenpai…
My new experience with mailsenpai was excellent, I was carefully guided through every step, from purchase to scheduling, they are true professionals in the field.
Positive experience with Mailsenpai!
An absolutely positive experience! […] The sending speed of campaigns and how easy it is to find and read the statistics play a key role, as does the effective support service, always available and attentive to business needs. Highly recommended!
The email marketing service I was looking for
The added value? The team! Always available and very quick to answer, which is rare in this field. I got dedicated support to optimise my campaigns and the results showed right away: more engagement, more conversions and optimised delivery!
Top platform for email marketing
We have been using this platform for 4 years to send our newsletters and, besides working and performing perfectly, it gives us the utmost availability from support to fine-tune every setting and for any problem or doubt. Recommended!!
Fast, timely support
Fast and timely support, excellent!
Reliability, professionalism, listening and understanding of the problem, excellent support.
It's always possible to inbox without issues!
Frequently asked questions
What is the Amazon SES sandbox?
It is the state every new account starts in: you can only send to verified addresses, at most 200 emails in 24 hours and 1 per second. It applies per region.
How do you get out of the sandbox, and how long does it take?
From the console you request production access: you state the type of email, your website and how you handle bounces and complaints. AWS gives a first answer within 24 hours; if more information is needed, it can take longer.
With Amazon SES, do I have to configure SNS?
No, but you need a way to receive bounces and complaints: email, SNS or events. The SES suppression list already blocks hard bounces and complaints. With SMTP Senpai you configure nothing: you find them in the log and in the suppression list.
What are the Amazon SES sending quotas?
Two limits per region: emails in 24 hours and emails per second. In the sandbox 200 a day and 1 per second; after that you request increases from support. Quotas count recipients, not messages.
When does Amazon SES pause sending?
AWS puts the account under review from a 5% bounce rate or a 0.1% complaint rate, and can pause sending from 10% or 0.5%. To resume, you reply to the case opened by AWS.
How much does Amazon SES cost for 10,000 emails a month?
Pay as you go about $1.04, data included (32 KB emails). With the Essentials plan about $1.64. Dedicated IP, technical support and other AWS services are charged separately.
The most useful comparison is with your own emails
Connect your app or website, send your real emails and check the log line by line. Then decide.
14 days free · up to 100 emails a day · card required · if you don't cancel within 14 days, the plan you chose starts
Where the data comes from
- Amazon SES pricing
- Getting out of the sandbox
- Sending quotas
- Endpoints and regions
- SMTP connection
- Bounce and complaint notifications
- Review and pause of sending
- Dedicated IPs
- Sending statistics (2 weeks)
- Virtual Deliverability Manager
- AWS Support pricing
- AWS Support languages
- SES suppression list
- ECB USD/EUR reference rate (6 October 2026)
- SMTP Senpai prices for every term (calculator)
- SMTP Senpai Terms, art. 12-bis and 12-ter
Amazon SES and AWS are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. MailSenpai is not affiliated with Amazon, and this page is not endorsed by Amazon. This page compares public data checked on 7 October 2026: prices may change. If something has changed, write to us from the contact page and we will correct it.
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