---
title: "Reloop vs Plunk"
description: "Reloop vs Plunk, two open-source email platforms compared: hosted pricing, licenses, self-hosting requirements, sending infrastructure, inbound email and automations, plus how to switch."
canonical: "https://reloop.sh/compare/plunk"
---

# Reloop vs Plunk

> 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.

> Reloop vs Plunk, two open-source email platforms compared: hosted pricing, licenses, self-hosting requirements, sending infrastructure, inbound email and automations, plus how to switch.

HTML: https://reloop.sh/compare/plunk
Markdown: https://reloop.sh/compare/plunk.md
Canonical pricing: https://reloop.sh/pricing.md

Reloop vs Plunk, two open-source email platforms compared: hosted pricing, licenses, self-hosting requirements, sending infrastructure, inbound email and automations, plus how to switch.

Reloop is the email service / infrastructure (ESP + MTA). It is not a multi-ESP connector that sits on SendGrid, Mailgun, Resend, or SES.

## Reloop vs Plunk

| Feature | Reloop | Plunk |
| --- | --- | --- |
| License | Apache 2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Free tier | 6,000 / mo, 200 / day | 1,000 / mo, with Plunk branding |
| Paid pricing | Plans: $10 for 50k, $20 for 100k | $0.001 per email, no base fee |
| 50,000 emails / mo | $10 | about $50 |
| 100,000 emails / mo | $20 | about $100 |
| Dedicated IP | Included on Growth ($20) | Not offered on the hosted plan |
| Sending path | Own MTA (KumoMTA) | Amazon SES |
| Self-host needs | Your server | Your server + an AWS SES account |
| Transactional API and SMTP | Yes | Yes |
| Contacts, segments, campaigns | Yes | Yes |
| Automations | Event-triggered, with delays and conditions | Workflows with triggers, delays and conditions |
| Inbound email | Mailboxes with threads, API, MCP, IMAP | Inbound with routing rules |
| Agent inbox | Yes | No |

## FAQ

### Are Reloop and Plunk both open source?

Yes. Reloop is Apache 2.0 and Plunk is AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted with Docker. The main practical difference is that AGPL requires you to share modifications if you offer a modified version over a network.

### Does self-hosted Plunk need AWS?

Yes. Plunk's self-hosting guide requires an AWS SES account for sending, along with PostgreSQL and Redis. Self-hosted Reloop sends through its own MTA, so no AWS account is needed.

### Which is cheaper on the hosted plans?

It depends on volume. Plunk charges $0.001 per email with no base fee, so it's cheap for tiny or irregular volumes. From around 10,000 emails a month, Reloop's plans cost less: $10 for 50k and $20 for 100k.

### Can both receive email?

Yes. Plunk processes inbound mail with routing rules. Reloop stores it in threaded mailboxes you can read over the API, MCP or IMAP, and reply to in one call.

### Do my Plunk templates work in Reloop?

The HTML does. Change the placeholders from {{ firstName }} to {{{first_name}}} and pass the values as template variables.

## Related

- Pricing: https://reloop.sh/pricing.md
- Compare index: https://reloop.sh/compare.md
- License (Apache 2.0): https://reloop.sh/license