--- title: "Best useSend Alternatives in 2026: Open-Source Email Without the AWS Dependency" description: "The best useSend (formerly Unsend) alternatives in 2026 compared: Reloop, Plunk, Postal, Listmonk, Resend and Amazon SES on self-hosting, inbound email, pricing and what each needs to run." canonical: "https://reloop.sh/blog/best-usesend-alternatives" last-updated: "2026-10-25" --- # Best useSend Alternatives in 2026: Open-Source Email Without the AWS Dependency > For the site documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). Docs index: [llms-docs.txt](/llms-docs.txt). Marketing corpus: [llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt). Docs corpus: [llms-full-docs.txt](/llms-full-docs.txt). Product skill: [skill.md](/skill.md). Prefer markdown URLs (append `.md`) when available. > The best useSend (formerly Unsend) alternatives in 2026 compared: Reloop, Plunk, Postal, Listmonk, Resend and Amazon SES on self-hosting, inbound email, pricing and what each needs to run. Source: https://reloop.sh/blog/best-usesend-alternatives Published: 2026-10-25 **The short version:** if you chose useSend because it's open source but you want inbound email, no AWS dependency when self-hosting, or a lower bill below a few hundred thousand emails a month, **Reloop** is the closest alternative. **Plunk** is the other open-source platform built on SES. **Postal** is a mature self-hosted mail server, and **Listmonk** is the pick for self-hosted newsletters. useSend (formerly Unsend) is a well-made open-source Resend alternative, and we respect the project. Teams usually look elsewhere for one of these reasons: - **Self-hosting means Amazon SES.** You need an AWS account, an IAM user, SNS callbacks, SES sandbox approval and GitHub OAuth before sending a single email. - **No inbound email yet.** Its README lists receiving mail as a roadmap item. - **Still in beta.** That matters if you need stability guarantees for password resets. - **Marketing mail costs more.** On the hosted plan, marketing email is $1.00 per 1,000, against $0.40 for transactional. We build Reloop, so weigh this accordingly. Facts and prices come from our researched head-to-head posts and each project's own site, and each section says where that alternative beats us. --- ## Top picks at a glance | Category | Pick | Why | |---|---|---| | **Best overall useSend alternative** | Reloop | Open source, own MTA, inboxes, $10 for 50k hosted | | **Best open source on SES** | Plunk | Transactional, campaigns and workflows, $1 per 1,000 | | **Best pure self-hosted mail server** | Postal | Mature, MIT, IP pools and routing | | **Best self-hosted newsletters** | Listmonk | Fast, single binary, plugs into any SMTP | | **Best hosted developer experience** | Resend | The API useSend is modeled on | | **Cheapest raw pipe** | Amazon SES | $0.10 per 1,000, build the rest yourself | --- ## The comparison table | | useSend | Reloop | Plunk | Postal | Listmonk | Resend | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | **License** | AGPL-3.0 | Apache 2.0 | AGPL-3.0 | MIT | AGPLv3 | Closed | | **Hosted option** | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | | **Sends through** | Amazon SES | Own MTA (KumoMTA) | Amazon SES | Own MTA | Any SMTP you provide | Amazon SES | | **AWS needed to self-host** | Yes | No | Yes | No | No (any SMTP) | N/A | | **Free tier (hosted)** | 3,000 / mo | 6,000 / mo | 1,000 / mo, branded | N/A | N/A | 3,000 / mo | | **~50,000 / mo (hosted)** | $20 | **$10** | about $50 | Server cost | Server + SMTP | $20 | | **~100,000 / mo (hosted)** | $40 | **$20** | about $100 | Server cost | Server + SMTP | $35 | | **Inbound email** | Roadmap | Mailboxes, API, MCP, IMAP | Routing rules | Forward to HTTP, SMTP or address | No | Webhook | | **Campaigns** | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes, core strength | Broadcasts | | **Automations** | Not listed | Yes | Yes | No | No drip sequences | Limited | useSend and Plunk prices are our math from their per-email rates (transactional mail for useSend). --- ## 1. Reloop: best overall useSend alternative [Reloop](/) is open-source email infrastructure under Apache 2.0: a transactional API, SMTP relay, inbound mailboxes, contacts, campaigns, automations and webhooks. Like useSend, it has a Resend-style API and a hosted cloud. Unlike useSend, it ships its own mail server. **Pricing:** Reloop Cloud is free for 6,000 emails a month (200 a day), $10 for 50,000 (Pro) and $20 for 100,000 with a dedicated IP (Growth), then $0.50 per 1,000. Marketing and transactional mail cost the same. Self-hosting has no per-email fee. **Strengths** - **No AWS when self-hosting.** Reloop sends through KumoMTA on your server: no IAM user, no SES sandbox review, no per-email fee to anyone. Install with [one command](/self-host) on a server with 2 vCPUs and 4 GB of RAM. - **Inbound mail into real inboxes**, threaded, spam-scored with Rspamd, and readable over the API, the [MCP server](/docs/integrations/ai-tools/mcp-server) or IMAP. Built for AI agents and support teams. - **Cheaper hosted below about 250k emails a month**, and every email costs the same. - **Event-triggered automations** with delays and conditions, plus campaigns and contacts. - **Apache 2.0**, so there's no copyleft obligation if you modify and host it. Reloop Cloud runs on Hetzner, a German hosting company, with EU data centers. **Weaknesses** - **You own IP reputation when self-hosting.** Warm-up and blocklist monitoring are your job, where SES handles it for useSend. - At millions of transactional emails a month on hosted plans, useSend's $0.40 per 1,000 beats our $0.50 overage. **Best for:** teams that want open source without an AWS dependency, or need inbound mail today. Full comparison: [Reloop vs useSend](/blog/reloop-vs-usesend). --- ## 2. Plunk: best open source on SES [Plunk](https://www.useplunk.com) is an open-source email platform under AGPL-3.0 with a transactional API, SMTP, contacts, campaigns, workflows and inbound email with routing rules. **Pricing:** free for 1,000 emails a month with Plunk branding, then $0.001 per email ($1 per 1,000) with no base fee and a monthly spend cap. **Strengths:** the simplest pricing around, automations and inbound already built, and SES handles deliverability when self-hosted. **Weaknesses:** self-hosting needs the same AWS setup as useSend, and at steady volume $1 per 1,000 costs more than flat plans. **Best for:** low or spiky volume, and teams happy on SES that want automations useSend doesn't list. Full comparison: [Reloop vs Plunk](/blog/reloop-vs-plunk). --- ## 3. Postal: best pure self-hosted mail server [Postal](https://github.com/postalserver/postal) is a mature, MIT-licensed mail delivery platform written in Ruby. It has an HTTP API, SMTP, webhooks, IP pools with routing rules, and inbound forwarding to an HTTP endpoint, SMTP server or address. **Pricing:** free and self-hosted only. Its minimum is 2 CPU cores, 4 GB of RAM and 25 GB of disk, with MariaDB 10.6 or newer. **Strengths:** no AWS, battle-tested, flexible IP pools, permissive MIT license. **Weaknesses:** no hosted option, no contacts, campaigns, automations or stored templates. It's a sending server, not a platform. **Best for:** teams that want only an MTA they control. Full comparison: [Reloop vs Postal](/blog/reloop-vs-postal). --- ## 4. Listmonk: best self-hosted newsletters [Listmonk](https://listmonk.app) is a newsletter and mailing list manager under AGPLv3, a single Go binary plus Postgres. It hands each message to an SMTP server you provide. **Pricing:** free and self-hosted only; you pay for the server and your SMTP provider. **Strengths:** very fast and light, SQL segmentation, a mature campaign UI, and a template-based transactional endpoint (`POST /api/tx`). **Weaknesses:** doesn't send mail itself, no drip sequences, no inbound. **Best for:** self-hosted newsletters. Many teams pair it with an SMTP backend such as Reloop. Full comparison: [Reloop vs Listmonk](/blog/reloop-vs-listmonk). --- ## 5. Resend: best hosted developer experience [Resend](https://resend.com) is the hosted API useSend is modeled on, from the team that created React Email. **Pricing:** free for 3,000 a month (100 a day), $20 for 50k, $35 for 100k, then $0.90 per 1,000. **Strengths:** polished API and docs, React Email, a large ecosystem of examples. **Weaknesses:** closed source and hosted only, inbound is a webhook, and the price climbs fast past 50k. **Best for:** teams that left useSend for stability and don't need open source. Full comparison: [Reloop vs Resend](/blog/reloop-vs-resend). See also [Resend alternative](/alternatives/resend). --- ## 6. Amazon SES: cheapest raw pipe [Amazon SES](https://aws.amazon.com/ses/) is what useSend, Plunk and Resend send through. Going to SES directly cuts out the platform layer. **Pricing:** $200 in AWS credits for the first 6 months, then $0.10 per 1,000 plus $0.12 per GB outbound. About $10 for 100k. **Strengths:** the lowest per-email price, and Amazon manages IP reputation. **Weaknesses:** no dashboard, templates editor, contacts or inbox. Bounces arrive through SNS, and you build everything else. **Best for:** AWS teams with time to build their own layer. Full comparison: [Reloop vs Amazon SES](/blog/reloop-vs-aws-ses). See also [Amazon SES alternative](/alternatives/aws-ses). --- ## How to choose - **"We want open source but not AWS."** Reloop or Postal. Reloop if you also want campaigns, automations and inboxes; Postal if you only want an MTA. - **"We need to receive and reply to email."** Reloop, with stored mailboxes, MCP and IMAP. - **"We're happy on SES and want automations now."** Plunk. - **"We mainly send newsletters."** Listmonk, with any SMTP backend. - **"We just want something stable and hosted."** Reloop Cloud or Resend. - **"Lowest possible cost per email."** Amazon SES directly. --- ## Switching from useSend 1. **Add your domain** in the new provider and publish its DKIM record. Merge its SPF include into your existing record rather than adding a second one. 2. **Swap the client.** useSend's `emails.send` maps closely to Reloop's `reloop.mail.send`; rename camelCase fields such as `replyTo` to `reply_to`. 3. **Move templates.** In Reloop, variables use triple braces: `{{{first_name}}}`. 4. **Export contacts and suppressions** and import them, so you don't email anyone who bounced or unsubscribed. 5. **Update webhooks.** Reloop signs events with HMAC-SHA256 in the `Reloop-Signature` header instead of `X-UseSend-Signature`. 6. **Ramp traffic** over one to two weeks, then remove the old SES identities and DNS records. --- ## FAQ Yes. Reloop and Postal both run their own mail server, so self-hosting needs no AWS account or SES sandbox approval. Reloop is the full platform (API, campaigns, automations, inboxes); Postal is a focused MTA. Reloop stores inbound mail in threaded mailboxes you can read over the API, MCP or IMAP. Plunk processes inbound mail with routing rules, and Postal forwards it to an HTTP endpoint, SMTP server or address. On hosted plans, below about 250,000 emails a month, yes: $10 vs $20 at 50k and $20 vs $40 at 100k for transactional mail. Well above that, useSend's $0.40 per 1,000 is cheaper than Reloop's $0.50 overage. Marketing mail on useSend is $1.00 per 1,000. useSend, Plunk and Listmonk are AGPL, which requires you to publish changes if you run a modified version as a network service. Reloop is Apache 2.0 and Postal is MIT, which don't.