Facts read November 6, 2026
Amazon SES vs Resend
Resend is Cuely's default email pick when your description doesn't favor either one: simple API, React Email templates, and 3,000 free emails a month. Pick Amazon SES if you care most about high volume.
Side by side
| Fact | Amazon SES | Resend |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | AWS's raw email sending service, priced per message. | Developer-first transactional email API with React Email templates. |
| Free plan | No SES-specific free quota listed. New AWS customers get up to $200 in general Free Tier credits. | Free: 3,000 emails per month, 100 per day, 3 domains, 30-day retention, no overage. |
| Paid from | $0.10 per 1,000 outbound emails, plus $0.12 per GB of attachments. | Pro: $20/month for 50,000 emails ($0.90 per 1,000 overage). |
| At 1,000 users | $0/month | $20/month |
| Open source | No | No |
| Self-hostable | No | No |
| Best for | High send volume; Teams already on AWS | TypeScript and React apps; Transactional email at small to medium volume |
| Watch out | More setup: sandbox exit request, bounce and complaint handling are yours. No SES-specific monthly free quota is listed; new AWS accounts get general credits. | Free plan caps at 100 emails a day, which a busy invite flow can hit. |
Where they differ
The published scores, from −3 to +3, that decide which one Cuely picks for each need.
| Need | Amazon SES | Resend |
|---|---|---|
| high volume | +3 $0.10 per 1,000 emails is the lowest rate here. | −1 Per-email cost is higher than SES at large volume. |
| Next.js or React | −1 More setup than a developer-first API. | +2 React Email templates render from the same codebase. |
| keep costs as low as possible | +1 Cheapest per email once you're sending real volume. | +2 3,000 free emails a month. |
Sources: Amazon SES pricing (read November 6, 2026), Resend pricing (read November 6, 2026). No vendor pays for placement.