Amazon SES
Amazon SES: A low-cost AWS email API for high-volume transactional and marketing sending. Ranked #8 of 32 in Email APIs by our editors (8.3/10); pricing: Paid; best for AWS users sending high-volume email cheaply.
At a glance
- Editor score8.3 / 10
- PricingPaid
- Best forAWS users sending high-volume email cheaply
- Free planNo
- Paid from$0.10/unit usage-based
- Inbound emailYes
- Facts checked16 Sep 2026
Where it wins
- Usage-based outbound pricing starts at $0.10 per 1,000 emails
- Supports inbound receiving, SMTP, templates, and email event publishing
- Integrates with SNS, S3, Lambda, CloudWatch, and AWS SDKs
Where it doesn't
- No permanent free plan
- Some features and pricing depend on the selected monthly plan
- Inbound receiving is region-dependent
Our verdict on Amazon SES
Amazon SES is a cloud email service for applications that need to send transactional messages, marketing email, newsletters, or other application-generated mail. Developers can send through the SES API, AWS SDKs, SMTP interface, console, or command-line tools. It also supports inbound email receiving with receipt rules, making it relevant to AWS users that need both outbound delivery and selected inbound workflows.
The published plans show a usage-based À la carte option at $0.10 per 1,000 emails, with no minimum fees or mandatory service usage. Essentials costs $0.16 per 1,000 emails billed monthly and adds outbound email plus inbound processing and routing for the 0–10 million emails per month tier. Pro costs $0.22 per 1,000 emails billed monthly and includes managed dedicated IPs for the same monthly email tier. Enterprise costs $0.23 per 1,000 emails billed monthly and also includes managed dedicated IPs. AWS also provides standard dedicated IP addresses, reusable templates, identity verification, and authentication features.
SES fits teams already working in the AWS ecosystem. Integrations include Amazon SNS for email event notifications, Amazon S3, AWS Lambda, Amazon CloudWatch, Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose, Amazon WorkMail, and AWS SDKs. Delivery, bounce, complaint, and other events can be published for monitoring and downstream processing, while SMTP with TLS support accommodates systems that do not use the API directly. Choose SES when low usage pricing, AWS integration, inbound receipt rules, and multiple sending methods matter. Consider another email API when a permanent free plan is essential or when region-independent inbound receiving is a requirement.
Your product? Our editors can test Amazon SES in depth and publish a review, labelled as paid · from $149/mo →
Amazon SES pricing
All 4 Amazon SES plans and prices →
Amazon SES fact sheet
| Free plan | No |
|---|---|
| Paid from | $0.10/unit usage-based |
| Monthly send limit | Not verified |
| Inbound email | Yes |
| Delivery event webhooks | Yes |
| SMTP relay | Yes |
| Email templates | Yes |
| Dedicated IP option | Yes |
| Deployment | Cloud |
| Platforms | Web |
| Integrations | 7 integrations: Amazon SNS, Amazon S3, AWS Lambda, Amazon CloudWatch, Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose, Amazon WorkMail … |
| Pricing | Paid (source) |
| Website | aws.amazon.com |
| Facts checked | 16 Sep 2026 |
Amazon SES integrations
Amazon SES lists 7 integrations on its own site.
- Amazon SNS
- Amazon S3
- AWS Lambda
- Amazon CloudWatch
- Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose
- Amazon WorkMail
- AWS SDKs
Alternatives to Amazon SES
- MailgunA mature email API with broad sending, inbound routing, tracking, and deliverability tools.9.7
- Twilio SendGrid Email APIA mature email API with broad developer features, but no ongoing free plan.9.3
- MailjetA broad email platform combining APIs, automation, campaigns, and collaboration.9.1
See all Amazon SES alternatives →
Amazon SES vs the competition
- Amazon SES vs Mailgun
- Amazon SES vs Twilio SendGrid Email API
- Amazon SES vs Mailjet
- Amazon SES vs Scaleway Transactional Email
- Amazon SES vs Postmark
- Amazon SES vs Netcore Email API
Compare Amazon SES with any tool side by side →
Also Ranked In
Amazon SES is ranked in 3 of our directories.
Used Amazon SES? Be the first to review it
The editor score above is our own research. What this page doesn't have yet is a reader's view — what you used Amazon SES for, what worked and what didn't. No stars are seeded and no review is paid for; an editor reads every one before it appears.
Write a reviewTwo minutes · verified accounts only · read by an editor before it appears
Featured on iTechGuides
Amazon SES is listed in our Email APIs directory. Add the badge to your site — it links back to this page.
<a href="https://www.itechguides.com/products/amazon-ses/"><img src="https://www.itechguides.com/best/badge/amazon-ses.svg" alt="Featured on iTechGuides" width="230" height="46"></a>
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Sep 2026
Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.
Last updated · How we research and update