The useSend alternative
that sets up AWS for you.
useSend and Sendsprite want the same thing: an open email API on Amazon SES that you can run yourself. The difference is what happens between docker pull and the first email. useSend gives you a compose file with Postgres, Redis and MinIO and asks for AWS keys; Sendsprite is one container plus Postgres, and its setup wizard creates the IAM role, SNS topics and configuration set with a CloudFormation stack and writes DKIM, SPF and DMARC to Cloudflare for you.
Install
curl -fsSL https://sendsprite.com/install.sh | shDocker + Postgres. Prompts for a domain, brings up the container, opens the setup wizard.
01 — Why leave useSend
What you give up staying on useSend.
useSend is a good project: open source, on SES, with campaigns, contacts, inbound email and a hosted plan that starts at $10. It has been around longer, has a larger community, and its AGPL licence is the one some self-hosters want. If you already have it running, there is no reason to move.
The AWS side is a click, not a runbook
useSend expects you to create the IAM user, paste its keys into the environment and wire SES's SNS notifications yourself. Sendsprite's wizard launches a CloudFormation quick-create stack that provisions the IAM role, SNS topics, configuration set and event destinations, then picks the role up when the stack finishes.
DNS written for you
Authorise Cloudflare once and Sendsprite writes and verifies DKIM, SPF, MAIL FROM and DMARC. Other DNS providers get a copy-paste list with a link to the right zone. useSend shows you the records; you add them.
One container, not four
useSend's production compose file runs the app, Postgres, Redis and MinIO. Sendsprite is the app and Postgres — the queue lives in Postgres, so there is no Redis to size, back up or watch. One command installs it and opens the setup wizard.
SMTP, CLI and an MCP server in the box
Both have SMTP and webhooks. Sendsprite adds a CLI for scripts, a live SSE event stream, a Resend-shaped REST API so existing integrations move by changing the base URL, and an MCP server so an AI agent can send and query email with a scoped key.
02 — Side by side
Sendsprite vs useSend.
| useSend | Sendsprite | |
|---|---|---|
| Self-hosting stack | App + Postgres + Redis + MinIO (docker compose) | Yes — one container plus Postgres, installed with one command |
| AWS setup | Create IAM keys and SNS wiring by hand, paste keys into .env | One-click CloudFormation stack from the setup wizard |
| Domain DNS | Records shown; you add them | Written and verified on Cloudflare; copy-paste list elsewhere |
| Hosted price at 50,000 transactional / month | $20 ($0.0004 per email; $10 minimum) | $0.10 per 1,000 at Amazon SES — about $5 for 50,000 — plus the box it runs on |
| Hosted free tier | 3,000 emails / month, 100 per day, 1 domain | Free to self-host, for ever. No email cap: the only limit is your SES sending quota |
| Your own AWS account | Yes, when self-hosted | Yes — SES in your account, credentials never leave it |
| Licence | AGPL-3.0 | Open source — MIT server, SDK, CLI and MCP server |
| SMTP relay | Yes | Yes — port 587 with an API key as the password |
| Webhooks | Yes | Signed webhooks for delivery, bounce, complaint, open and click, plus a live SSE stream |
| Campaigns and contacts | Yes | Yes — contact books, campaigns, RFC 8058 one-click unsubscribe |
| Inbound email | Yes | Not yet |
| CLI | — | Yes — npx sendsprite |
| AI agents | — | MCP server included, scoped by the same API keys |
useSend figures are list prices from usesend.com/ on 2026-08-29. Amazon SES is $0.10 per 1,000 outbound emails plus $0.12 per GB of attachments.
03 — Questions
useSend alternative, asked plainly.
- What is the difference between useSend and Sendsprite?
- Both are open, self-hostable email APIs that send through Amazon SES in your own account. Sendsprite runs as a single container plus Postgres, provisions the AWS side with a one-click CloudFormation stack, writes your DNS records to Cloudflare, and ships an SMTP relay, a CLI and an MCP server. useSend needs Redis and MinIO alongside Postgres, takes AWS keys you create yourself, and has inbound email, which Sendsprite does not yet.
- Is Sendsprite open source like useSend?
- Both are open source, under different licences. useSend is AGPL-3.0, which is copyleft: modify it and offer it over a network and you owe the source. Sendsprite is MIT throughout — server, SDK, CLI, MCP server and shared packages — so you can read, fork, self-host, modify and embed it without any disclosure obligation.
- How do I migrate from useSend to Sendsprite?
- Install Sendsprite, connect the same AWS account with the CloudFormation stack, add your domain (existing DKIM records verify straight away), then point your app at the new base URL with a new API key. Contacts export from useSend as CSV and import into a Sendsprite contact book.
- Does Sendsprite need Redis?
- No. The send queue, retries and scheduled jobs run on pg-boss inside Postgres, so a self-hosted install is one container and one database.
- Does Sendsprite handle inbound email?
- Not yet. If you rely on useSend's inbound parsing, keep that piece or wait; outbound, events, suppression, templates, contacts and campaigns are all there.
04 — Also compared