Thanks for signing up.
" }], }, }), }); ``` **Reloop** ```typescript const reloop = new Reloop({ apiKey: process.env.RELOOP_API_KEY! }); const { response, emailError } = await reloop.mail.send({ from: "AcmeThanks for signing up.
", }); ``` The differences worth knowing: | | Reloop | Elastic Email | |---|---|---| | Field style | snake_case (`reply_to`) | PascalCase (`Recipients`, `Content`, `ReplyTo`) | | Body | `html` and `text` fields | `Body` array of `{ ContentType, Content }` | | Template variables | `{{{first_name}}}` | `{firstname}` merge fields, values passed in `Merge` | | Stored templates | Sent by ID | Sent by `TemplateName` | | Error format | `message`, `why` and `fix` | JSON error response | | Official SDK | `reloop-email` and SDKs for Python, Go, PHP, Ruby, Rust, Java, .NET, Elixir | Generated clients on [GitHub](https://github.com/ElasticEmail) | Reloop's errors tell you **why** a send failed and **how to fix it**: ```json { "message": "Domain not found", "why": "The domain mail.acme.com was not found or is not authorized for your organization", "fix": "Ensure the domain is registered and verified in your dashboard" } ``` --- ## Receiving email and agent inboxes Elastic Email includes **inbound email processing on its Pro plan**: mail sent to your domain is parsed and forwarded to your app. Reloop receives mail into **mailboxes**. Messages are stored, threaded, spam-scored with Rspamd, and readable over the API, the [MCP server](/docs/integrations/ai-tools/mcp-server) or IMAP. You can reply in-thread with one call, and the `email.received` webhook notifies your app. | | Reloop | Elastic Email | |---|---|---| | Receive on your domain | All plans | Pro ($49) | | Stored mailboxes with threads | Yes | No | | Reply in thread via API | Yes | Build it yourself | | MCP access for AI agents | Yes | No | | IMAP access | Yes | No | If you're building support inboxes or [an AI agent that reads and replies to email](/blog/build-ai-agent-sends-emails), this is the biggest functional gap. --- ## Marketing, contacts and automations This is where Elastic Email is strongest. Its **Email Marketing** product is a separate set of plans: - **Free:** up to 1,000 contacts and 3,000 emails a month, with 1 automation. - **Starter ($29/mo):** up to 2,500 contacts and 37,500 emails a month, with automations, paid newsletters and checkouts. - **Pro ($49/mo):** the same visible contact tier, plus unlimited automations, unlimited custom fields, webhooks and sub-accounts. It comes with a drag-and-drop designer and a gallery of pre-designed templates, aimed at marketers who don't write code. Reloop keeps marketing and transactional mail in **one product with one suppression list**: contacts with custom properties, groups, subscription channels, scheduled broadcast campaigns, and event-triggered automations with delays and conditions. You start them from your app: ```typescript await reloop.automations.start({ event: "user.signed_up", email: user.email, }); ``` See [welcome sequences that convert](/blog/welcome-email-sequences-that-convert) for a worked example. If your marketing team wants a visual newsletter builder with paid-newsletter checkouts, Elastic Email's marketing app has more to offer today. --- ## Deliverability Deliverability mostly comes down to your own domain setup and list hygiene. Both providers handle SPF and DKIM, bounces, complaints, open and click tracking, and suppression. - **Sending path.** Reloop runs its own MTA (KumoMTA), with per-domain throttling and automatic pauses when bounce or complaint rates spike. See [how bounce processing works](/blog/email-bounce-processing-automation). - **Dedicated IPs.** Included on Reloop's Growth plan; a $40 to $50 monthly add-on on Elastic Email. - **Logs.** Elastic Email's API plans keep logs for 3 days (Free, Starter) or 7 days (Pro). Short retention makes it harder to debug a delivery complaint from last week. - **Tools.** Reloop ships free [domain reputation](/tools/domain-reputation-checker), [blocklist](/tools/blocklist-checker) and [auth](/tools/auth-checker) checkers. --- ## Self-hosting and lock-in Elastic Email is hosted-only. Reloop is Apache 2.0: 1. Start on Reloop Cloud. 2. Move to your own server later with the [one-command installer](/self-host) or [Coolify](/blog/reloop-coolify-setup). 3. Keep the same API by pointing the SDK's `baseUrl` at your instance. Self-hosting means you own IP reputation, warm-up and uptime. Most teams should start hosted and keep self-hosting as an option. See [self-hosted email infrastructure](/blog/self-hosted-email-infrastructure) for what it involves. --- ## Where Elastic Email is the better choice - **You send millions of emails a month and only need sending.** Its volume slider goes to 10 million emails, and at that scale it may cost less per email than Reloop's hosted overage. Price both. - **Your marketing team wants a no-code newsletter tool** with a drag-and-drop designer, template gallery, paid newsletters and checkouts. - **You need sub-accounts** to separate clients, which Elastic Email lists on Pro. ## Where Reloop is the better choice - **You're at 50k to a few hundred thousand emails a month** and want the lower price. - **You need webhooks, inbound mail or a dedicated IP** without moving to a $49 plan or paying an add-on. - **You need inbound mail as real inboxes**, especially for AI agents. - **You want transactional mail, campaigns and automations in one product** instead of two subscriptions. - **You need open source or self-hosting.** --- ## Switching from Elastic Email to Reloop 1. **Add your domain in Reloop** and publish the DKIM record (`reloop._domainkey`). Merge `include:reloop.sh` into your existing SPF record rather than adding a second one. 2. **Swap the client.** Replace the `/v4/emails/transactional` call with `reloop.mail.send`, and map `Recipients.To` → `to`, `Content.From` → `from`, `Content.Subject` → `subject`, and the HTML `Body` entry → `html`. 3. **Move templates.** Change merge fields to triple braces: `{firstname}` becomes `{{{first_name}}}`, and pass values as template variables instead of `Merge`. 4. **Move contacts and suppressions.** Export your contacts and any unsubscribed or bounced addresses from Elastic Email and import them into Reloop so nobody who opted out is emailed again. 5. **Point webhooks** at a new handler. Reloop events are named `email.delivered`, `email.bounced`, `email.complained` and so on, signed with HMAC-SHA256 in the `Reloop-Signature` header. 6. **Ramp traffic** from 10% to 100% over a week or two, then remove Elastic Email's DNS records. Our [SendGrid migration guide](/blog/migrating-from-sendgrid) covers the same steps in more detail, including a traffic-split flag and a suppression import script. --- ## FAQ