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All products/Email API/Amazon SES/Jul 2026

Amazon SES ended its free tier for new accounts and defaults them to a pricier plan

SES launched Essentials, Pro and Enterprise plans. New accounts now start on Essentials at $0.16 per 1,000 emails instead of à la carte at $0.10, and the SES free tier is gone for new customers. Any account can switch to à la carte at any time, and accounts that have sent since June 1, 2025 stay on it unless they opt into a plan.

What changed

  • Free tier cut, Jul 21, 2026
  • Before: À la carte at $0.10 per 1,000 emails; 3,000 free messages a month for 12 months
  • After: New accounts start on Essentials at $0.16 per 1,000 (switching back to à la carte at $0.10 takes effect immediately); no SES free tier for new customers
  • Existing customers: Partly. Accounts that sent since Jun 1, 2025 stay on à la carte pricing.
  • Already sending on SES? Nothing changes unless you opt into a plan.
  • New accounts start on Essentials at $0.16 per 1,000 emails ($16 at 100k a month). Switch the account to à la carte to pay $0.10 ($10).
  • SES is still the cheapest way to send at volume; at 100k emails the next cheapest are SendGrid ($34.95) and Resend ($35).
  • New SES accounts behind self-hosted newsletters like Sendy or the open-source MailCheap pay $0.16 per 1,000 until they switch the account to à la carte.
  • Optional higher plans: Pro is $0.22 per 1k + $105 a month, Enterprise $0.23 per 1k + $500 a month.
  • New AWS customers still get up to $200 of general Free Tier credits.

Alternatives to Amazon SES

Amazon SES is the cheapest email API we track at 100k emails/mo. The others:

Amazon SES alternatives: 8 email APIs compared, at every size.

Sources

Every price and change for Amazon SES: Amazon SES.