Hey everyone! I'm currently using AWS SES on the Free Tier for sending transactional emails like account confirmations and notices. However, I recently requested to move out of the SES sandbox, but AWS denied my request without any explanation—just pointing me to their lengthy Terms of Conditions. Has anyone encountered this before? What could be the reasons behind the rejection? I'm also looking for reliable and cost-effective alternatives to SES for my project. Ideally, I want something beginner-friendly with straightforward pricing. Thanks for your help!
4 Answers
If you're focused on transactional emails, you might want to check out mxroute as a solid alternative.
For a quick and easy solution, I recommend checking out Resend. It was super simple to set up, and they have clear pricing. I had tried SES but got denied when trying to exit the sandbox. The good thing is, since Resend operates using SES, most of my bounce handling code was transferable over without a hitch!
Make sure you’ve set everything up correctly. Check your Route53 records to make sure they’re all in order. Here's some Terraform code to help with the SES domain verification and DKIM records if you’re using it. I’ve never been rejected after I had all the prerequisites in place. Just follow the steps carefully!
SES can be tricky, especially for beginners. Getting approved to leave the sandbox involves a lot of hoops to jump through. I’ve seen stories where folks got rejected on their first attempt despite putting in the required effort. If you're searching for alternatives, try looking into SMTP providers or SMTP relay services like SendGrid or Mailchimp. Personally, I just use Google Workspace for internal transactional emails since it's simpler for me. But for public use, you might want to explore more dedicated options.
Totally with you on Resend! I made the switch from SendGrid recently, and it's been a game changer.