Compare · Amazon SES

An Amazon SES alternative, set up with you

Looking for an Amazon SES alternative? tinyRelay sends transactional email over SMTP or a REST API, returns signed webhooks for seven event types, and is set up with you by our team. Amazon SES is self-serve AWS infrastructure with published, itemized pricing.

See the comparison How onboarding works

SWITCH PLANNER

Moving your sending off SES

Amazon SES tinyRelay What changes

SMTP

SMTP interface

SMTP relay

Credentials issued at onboarding

New credentials + DNS

Rather than new code

API

AWS SDKs

POST /email/campaign

X-RELAY-ACCESS-TOKEN · 202 + requestId

Call POST /email/campaign

Instead of the AWS SDK

FIRST SEND

Sandbox first

Then production access is requested and approved

Set up with you

Domains, webhook endpoint and calling IPs

Add one DKIM CNAME

tec1._domainkey → tec1.dkim.tinyemail.com

EVENTS

See SES docs

7 signed event types

SEND · DELIVERED · BOUNCED · OPEN · CLICK · UNSUBSCRIBE · SPAM

Svix-signed, 5-day replay

PRICING

Published, itemized

Monthly volume

Request a quote

SES details from AWS's public pages, sources below. tinyRelay details from the docs.

Side by side

tinyRelay vs Amazon SES, by category

Sending Events & webhooks Onboarding Pricing model Developer tooling

Capability	tinyRelay	Amazon SES
SMTP	tinyRelayYes SMTP relay; credentials issued at onboarding	Amazon SESYes ² SMTP interface documented
API	tinyRelayREST API `POST /email/campaign`, 202 with a requestId	Amazon SESAWS SDKs ⁷ Used through the AWS SDKs
Per-recipient data in one request	tinyRelayYes Merge attributes and metadata per recipient	Amazon SESSee SES docs ⁷
Domain authentication	tinyRelayOne CNAME DKIM; `PUT /domain/dns/check` validates DKIM and SPF	Amazon SESSee SES docs ⁷

Capability	tinyRelay	Amazon SES
Event types	tinyRelay7 types SEND, DELIVERED, BOUNCED, OPEN, CLICK, UNSUBSCRIBE, SPAM	Amazon SESSee SES docs ⁷
Signing	tinyRelaySvix svix-id, svix-timestamp, svix-signature (HMAC-SHA256)	Amazon SESSee SES docs ⁷
Delivery semantics	tinyRelayAt least once Retried on timeout or 5xx; 24 h duplicate suppression	Amazon SESSee SES docs ⁷
Replay	tinyRelay5 days Payloads kept 5 days for redelivery	Amazon SESSee SES docs ⁷
Bounce detail	tinyRelay19 categories Hard or soft, plus the server's text and DSN status	Amazon SESSee SES docs ⁷
Your IDs on events	tinyRelay10 keys Metadata on every event	Amazon SESSee SES docs ⁷

Step	tinyRelay	Amazon SES
How you start	tinyRelaySet up with you Get started form; our team sets up your sending domains with you	Amazon SESSelf-serve ³ In an AWS account
Before production	tinyRelayWith our team Domains, webhook endpoint and calling IPs set up with our team	Amazon SESSandbox ³ Verified addresses only, 200 messages per 24 hours, 1 per second
Going live	tinyRelayCredentials issued SMTP credentials and an API key issued to you	Amazon SESApproval ³ Production access requested and approved
Test mode	tinyRelayAsk our team	Amazon SESSandbox ³ The sandbox above
API security	tinyRelayKey + IP allowlist API key in a header; calling IPs allowlisted	Amazon SESSee SES docs ⁷
Support	tinyRelayWith our team Set up with our team	Amazon SESSold separately ⁵ AWS support plans

Question	tinyRelay	Amazon SES
How it's priced	tinyRelayQuote Based on monthly sending volume; request a quote	Amazon SESPublished ⁴ Itemized pricing, plus tiered plans
Free tier or credits	tinyRelayAsk our team	Amazon SESFree Tier credits ⁴ For new AWS customers
Dedicated IPs	tinyRelayAsk our team	Amazon SESAdd-on ⁴ Available as a monthly add-on

Tool	tinyRelay	Amazon SES
SDKs	tinyRelayPlain HTTP No packages to install; works with any language that can make HTTP requests	Amazon SESAWS SDKs ⁷
Docs	tinyRelayDocs + guides docs.tinyrelay.com plus language guides	Amazon SESDocs ⁷ docs.aws.amazon.com/ses
Status	tinyRelayAsk our team	Amazon SESAWS Health ⁶ AWS Health dashboard
DNS checker	tinyRelayFree Free SPF, DKIM and DMARC checker	Amazon SESSee SES docs ⁷

Competitor details from their public pages; check their site for current terms.

Getting started

Two ways to reach your first production send.

Neither lets a brand-new account mail anyone on day one. The difference is who does the setup work.

AMAZON SES · SELF-SERVE

1
Start in the sandbox
Send only to verified addresses, within sandbox limits.
2
Request production access
AWS reviews and approves the request.
3
Send
Through the SMTP interface or an AWS SDK.

Summarized from AWS documentation ³.

TINYRELAY · SET UP WITH YOU

1
Tell us about your sending
Messages, method and the domains you send from.
2
We set up your domains
You add one CNAME for DKIM; we check DKIM and SPF.
3
Get your credentials
SMTP credentials and an API key; your webhook endpoint registered.
4
Send
Over SMTP or the REST API. Events start arriving.

How onboarding works →

An honest choice

Which one fits your team?

In one line: pick SES if you want AWS-native, self-serve sending with public prices; pick tinyRelay if you want documented webhook delivery and bounce data, with a team that sets it up alongside you.

CHOOSE AMAZON SES IF…

You already build on AWS and prefer to keep email inside it
You want published, itemized pricing you can model yourself
You want to start self-serve, and the sandbox-then-approval path suits you
You want AWS SDKs; Amazon says it sends hundreds of billions of emails a year through SES ¹

CHOOSE TINYRELAY IF…

You want SMTP and a REST API on the same infrastructure, with no packages to install
You want signed webhooks with written-down semantics: at-least-once delivery, 24-hour duplicate suppression, 5-day replay
You want 19 documented bounce categories so your app knows what to do next
You'd like your domains and credentials set up with you
You also send campaigns and want tinyEmail, our sister product, from the same company

Email webhooks in detail →

FAQ

Switching from Amazon SES

More detail in the tinyRelay docs and the SMTP relay service page.

Is tinyRelay a drop-in replacement for Amazon SES?

For SMTP sending, switching usually means new SMTP credentials and DNS records rather than new code. For API sending, you call tinyRelay's POST /email/campaign endpoint instead of the AWS SDK. Our team sets up your domains with you.

Does tinyRelay have a sandbox like Amazon SES?

tinyRelay is set up with you rather than self-serve: our team adds your sending domains and issues your SMTP credentials and API key. Ask our team about testing before you send to real recipients.

How is tinyRelay priced compared with Amazon SES?

Amazon publishes itemized SES pricing on its pricing page. tinyRelay pricing is based on your monthly sending volume; tell us what you send and we prepare a quote.

Can I use tinyRelay if my app runs on AWS?

Yes. tinyRelay works with any language that can make HTTP requests and any software that can send over SMTP, wherever your app runs. Your calling IP addresses are allowlisted during setup.

Sources

Public pages

Amazon SES overview: aws.amazon.com/ses
Amazon SES SMTP interface: docs.aws.amazon.com/ses/latest/dg/send-email-smtp.html
Amazon SES sandbox and production access: docs.aws.amazon.com/ses/latest/dg/request-production-access.html
Amazon SES pricing: aws.amazon.com/ses/pricing
Amazon SES FAQs: aws.amazon.com/ses/faqs
AWS Health dashboard: health.aws.amazon.com/health/status
Amazon SES documentation: docs.aws.amazon.com/ses
tinyRelay facts: docs.tinyrelay.com (introduction, send email, webhook responses, bounce categories, validate DNS)

Get started

Send transactional email with a service that reports back.

SMTP relay or REST API, standalone or alongside tinyEmail. Tell us what you send and our team sets you up.

Get started Request pricing