Amazon SES vs SendPortal: Features, Pricing and User Reviews 2026
Compare features, pricing, reviews, and more to make an informed decision
Amazon SES
Amazon SES is a cloud-based email service that lets you send and receive emails at scale with pay-as-you-go pricing.
SendPortal
SendPortal is a free open-source email marketing platform that lets you manage newsletters and campaigns on your own server.
Amazon SES
Amazon SES is a cloud-based email service that lets you send and receive emails at scale with pay-as-you-go pricing.
SendPortal
SendPortal is a free open-source email marketing platform that lets you manage newsletters and campaigns on your own server.
Amazon SES
Send and receive emails at any scale
Pay only for emails you actually send
Built-in spam and virus protection
Email authentication with SPF, DKIM, DMARC
Real-time delivery tracking and analytics
Dedicated or shared IP addresses
Template support for personalized emails
Integration with AWS services
Sandbox mode for safe testing
99.9% uptime guarantee
Global endpoint support
Mail Manager for advanced routing
SendPortal
Free and open-source software
Self-hosted on your own server
Unlimited subscribers and campaigns
CSV and API subscriber imports
Custom audience segments
Email template builder
Automatic tracking of opens and clicks
Multiple workspace support
Integration with major email services
Complete data ownership
No monthly fees or hidden costs
Amazon SES
Amazon SES uses simple pay-as-you-go pricing with no hidden fees or contracts. You only pay for what you use, making it affordable for any business size.
Free Tier: New AWS customers get 3,000 message charges free monthly for the first 12 months. This covers sending, receiving, or using Virtual Deliverability Manager features. Each sent or received email counts as one message charge.
Standard Pricing: After the free tier, outbound emails cost $0.10 per 1,000 emails sent, plus $0.12 per GB for attachments. Inbound emails cost $0.10 per 1,000 emails received, plus $0.09 per 1,000 chunks processed.
Add-on Features: Dedicated IPs start at $24.95 monthly per address. Virtual Deliverability Manager costs $0.07 per 1,000 emails for volumes under 10 million. Mail Manager open ingress endpoints cost $50 monthly, with email processing at $0.15 per 1,000 emails.
SendPortal
SendPortal is completely free to download and use. There are no subscription fees, no per-subscriber charges, and no feature limitations. The software is open-source and licensed under MIT, which means you can use it for any purpose, including commercial projects.
However, you will need to cover two costs:
Hosting: You need a web server to run SendPortal. This could be a shared hosting account, VPS, or cloud server. Costs vary from $5 to $50 monthly depending on your needs and traffic.
Email Sending Service: SendPortal connects to third-party services to send emails. Amazon SES costs around $0.10 per 1,000 emails. Mailgun offers 5,000 free emails monthly, then $0.80 per 1,000. These services are much cheaper than traditional email marketing platforms.