Newsletter email provider comparison
For someone with 20,000 subscribers sending four times a month (80k emails). Prices verified against each provider's pricing page in September 2026. No affiliate links.
| Provider | Monthly | Deliverability | Dedicated IP | List hygiene | Send-time opt. | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon SES$0.10 per 1,000 emails | ~$8 | Mediocre | $24.95/mo extra | No | No | Developers who enjoy infrastructure work |
| Postmark10k emails/mo | $15 | Excellent | Included | Yes | No | Transactional email with occasional broadcasts |
| ButtondownStandard plan | $29 | Good | No | Yes | No | Writers who want simplicity and fair pricing |
| BeehiivScale plan (up to 100k subs) | $42 | Very good | No | Yes | Yes | Newsletters that plan to monetise |
| MailchimpEssentials plan | $45 | Mixed | Expensive add-on | Yes | Yes | Nobody in 2026 |
| Kit (ConvertKit)Creator plan (1k+ subs, scales with list) | $50 | Very good | No | Yes | Yes | Creators with automation needs |
| ResendPro plan (50k emails/mo) | $80 | Good | No | No | No | Developers who want a better SES API |
| LoopsStarter plan (5k contacts) | $99 | Very good | No | Yes | Yes | Personal newsletters that need high inbox placement |
Amazon SES
$0.10 per 1,000 emails
~$8/mo
Cheap but you manage everything: reputation, bounces, unsubscribes, warming. Shared IPs pool your reputation with strangers.
Pricing page →Postmark
10k emails/mo
$15/mo
Best raw deliverability of any provider listed. Dedicated IP included. But it is transactional-first — newsletter broadcasting is a secondary feature.
Pricing page →Buttondown
Standard plan
$29/mo
Uses SES under the hood but manages sender reputation at the account level. One developer, reachable, honest.
Pricing page →Beehiiv
Scale plan (up to 100k subs)
$42/mo
Free tier up to 2,500 subs. Growth tools (referrals, recommendations, ads) built in. Good if you want to earn from the list eventually.
Pricing page →Mailchimp
Essentials plan
$45/mo
The default because it was first, not because it is best. Free tier is gone. Pricing is opaque past the first tier. Deliverability on shared infra is not better than SES.
Pricing page →Kit (ConvertKit)
Creator plan (1k+ subs, scales with list)
$50/mo
Newsletter specialist with strong automation and tagging. Price scales with subscribers. Free tier available up to 10k subs.
Pricing page →Resend
Pro plan (50k emails/mo)
$80/mo
Built on SES with better DX. Good for transactional + newsletter hybrid. Not a newsletter-first product.
Pricing page →Loops
Starter plan (5k contacts)
$99/mo
Newsletter-first product. Designed around deliverability. More expensive but inbox placement is noticeably better.
Pricing page →The verdict
If your newsletter makes $0: Buttondown at $29/month is the cheapest meaningful upgrade from SES. It handles compliance, manages reputation, and the editor stays out of your way.
If deliverability is the priority: Loops at $99/month or Kit at $50/month. Both are newsletter-first products with measurably better inbox placement than SES.
If you plan to monetise: Beehiiv. Free tier to start, growth tools built in, and competitive paid tiers once you outgrow it.
If you want to stay on SES: Get a dedicated IP ($24.95/mo), warm it over 2-4 weeks, set up DKIM/DMARC/SPF, clean your list of anyone who hasn't opened in 90 days, and send consistently. Total cost: ~$33/month. Deliverability will improve but you are still your own postmaster.
Read the full analysis: SES deliverability for newsletters
Prices checked September 2026. No affiliate links. Published by BidSurvivor.