Short answer
As of October 2026, Amazon SES charges per email. The Essentials plan, which new accounts start on, is $0.16 per 1,000 outbound emails with no monthly fee; à la carte pricing is $0.10 per 1,000. Pro adds a $105 monthly fee per account per region at $0.22 per 1,000, and Enterprise $500 a month at $0.23 per 1,000. Attachments are $0.12 per GB on top.
On Essentials that's $1.60 at 10,000 emails a month, $8 at 50,000, $16 at 100,000 and $160 at 1 million (à la carte: $1, $5, $10 and $100). SES is much cheaper per email than Groundmail ($35 at 100,000). What the difference pays for is the sending setup SES leaves to you.
On this page
Amazon SES plans and rates
| Plan | Monthly fee | Outbound, first 10M per month | 10M to 100M | Above 100M |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| À la carte | None | $0.10 per 1,000 | $0.10 per 1,000 | $0.10 per 1,000 |
| Essentials (default for new accounts) | None | $0.16 per 1,000 | $0.14 per 1,000 | $0.11 per 1,000 |
| Pro | $105 per account per region | $0.22 per 1,000 | $0.17 per 1,000 | $0.12 per 1,000 |
| Enterprise | $500 per account per region | $0.23 per 1,000 | $0.18 per 1,000 | $0.13 per 1,000 |
As of October 2026, from the SES pricing page. Tiered rates apply only to the emails within each tier. USD.
Last checked on each vendor's public page.
Other charges from the same page: attachment data at $0.12 per GB sent, inbound mail at $0.10 per 1,000 emails plus $0.09 per 1,000 incoming chunks, and Virtual Deliverability Manager's per-email deliverability fee. There's no separate free monthly email allowance; new AWS customers get up to $200 in general Free Tier credits that can apply to SES. AWS Support plans are billed separately.
What Amazon SES costs at 10k, 50k, 100k and 1M emails
| Monthly volume | Amazon SES | Groundmail |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 emails/month | $1.60 (Essentials) or $1 (à la carte) | $20 (Pro, 50,000 included) |
| 50,000 emails/month | $8 (Essentials) or $5 (à la carte) | $20 (Pro) |
| 100,000 emails/month | $16 (Essentials) or $10 (à la carte) | $35 (Pro) |
| 1,000,000 emails/month | $160 (Essentials) or $100 (à la carte) | $650 (Scale) |
USD per month, monthly billing, cheapest published plan that covers each volume. SES amounts are computed from its published per-1,000 rates, before attachment data and other AWS charges. Amazon SES prices as of October 2026 from aws.amazon.com/ses/pricing. Groundmail prices from our pricing page.
Last checked on each vendor's public page.
On the Pro plan the same volumes come to $107.20, $116, $127 and $325 a month, because of the $105 fee. Read the table honestly: if cost per email is what matters most and your team already runs AWS, SES costs less at every volume here.
What's included and what costs extra
| Amazon SES | Groundmail | |
|---|---|---|
| Getting to production | New accounts start in a sandbox (verified recipients only, 200 messages a day); you request production access (docs) | Verify a domain and add a card |
| Dedicated IPs | Standard: $24.95 per IP per month, warmed by you. Managed: $15 per account per month plus $0.08 per 1,000 emails (included on Pro) | $50/mo per IP on Scale (100,000+ emails/month); first IP included from 500,000; warmed by us |
| Dedicated server | Not listed on the pricing page | Dedicated plan from $299/month: your own mail server and IPs, 250,000 emails included, $0.80 per 1,000 after |
| Delivery events | Event destinations you configure (SNS, Firehose and others) | Signed webhooks, ready to use |
| Bounces and complaints | Account suppression list plus your own handling | Hard bounces and complaints suppressed automatically |
| Support | Through AWS Support plans, billed separately | Email support on every plan, from the team that runs the mail servers |
SES details as of October 2026 from its pricing page and developer guide.
Last checked on each vendor's public page.
When Amazon SES is the right choice
- Cost per email is the deciding factor. SES is the cheapest option at every volume we checked.
- Your team already runs AWS and is comfortable wiring SNS or Firehose for events and handling bounces in code.
- You send very high volume where the tiered rates above 10 million a month matter.
- You want everything in one AWS bill and under one IAM model.
Groundmail fits when you'd rather not build the event pipeline, bounce handling and IP warmup yourself, or want a person who runs the mail servers to answer deliverability questions. The full side-by-side is in Groundmail vs Amazon SES.
Switching from Amazon SES
Replace the SES client with one HTTP call or an official SDK, and swap configuration sets for webhooks. SMTP senders change the host to smtp.groundmail.dev:587 and the credentials. The Amazon SES migration guide covers DNS, events, suppressions and a staged cutover.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Amazon SES cost per email?
As of October 2026: $0.16 per 1,000 outbound emails on the Essentials plan (no monthly fee) and $0.10 per 1,000 à la carte. Pro is $0.22 per 1,000 plus $105 a month, Enterprise $0.23 plus $500 a month. Attachments add $0.12 per GB.
Does Amazon SES have a free tier?
The SES pricing page doesn't list a free monthly email allowance. New AWS customers get up to $200 in AWS Free Tier credits that can be applied to SES.
How much is a dedicated IP on SES?
Standard dedicated IPs are $24.95 per IP per month, and you warm them. Managed dedicated IPs are $15 per account per month plus $0.08 per 1,000 emails for the first 10 million, and are included on the Pro plan.
Is Groundmail cheaper than Amazon SES?
No. SES costs less per email at every volume: $16 vs $35 at 100,000 emails a month on SES Essentials. Groundmail's price includes the setup SES leaves to you: no sandbox, signed webhooks, automatic suppressions and warmed IPs.
Which SES plan am I on?
Per the SES pricing page, new accounts start on Essentials, and you can switch to à la carte pricing at any time. Pro and Enterprise add a monthly fee and more included features.
Sources
Facts on this page about other companies' products, prices and policies come from these public pages. They change, so check them before you decide.