EmailOctopus vs Sendy Comparison 2026
EmailOctopus is a hosted newsletter tool, free to 2,500 subscribers and $9 a month billed yearly above that, scaling with list size from there. Sendy is PHP software bought once for $69 and installed on your own server, then sending through Amazon SES at Amazon's rate rather than a platform's markup. Below roughly ten thousand subscribers a hosted plan is simpler and about as cheap. Above it, the arithmetic increasingly favors Sendy.
At a glance
- EmailOctopus starts cheaper, at $9.
- Only EmailOctopus has a free tier.
Side by side
EmailOctopus | Sendy | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $9 | From $69 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free plan, paid tiers | One-time purchase |
| Free tier (they differ) | Yes | No |
| Billing (they differ) | Monthly or annual | One-time purchase |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Yes |
EmailOctopus
Email for lists that outgrew a free plan
EmailOctopus is deliberately plain: lists, campaigns, a drag-and-drop editor and simple automations, at a price that undercuts the platforms with more features than a newsletter needs. The free tier goes to 2,500 subscribers with the company's branding on every send. Reports only go back 30 days until you pay, which is the free plan's real limit rather than the subscriber count.
Our note
Against MailerLite this comes down to the free tier: 2,500 subscribers here against 250 there, with fewer features in return. Start here if the list is the thing growing and the automations can wait.
Sendy
Self hosted sending on top of Amazon SES
Sendy is a PHP application you install on your own server, which then sends through Amazon SES at Amazon's rates rather than at a newsletter platform's. You buy the software once. At a list size where a hosted platform starts charging hundreds a month, the arithmetic is what people come for, and the cost is that hosting, deliverability and upgrades are now yours.
Why people weigh these two
- Sendy instead of EmailOctopus
- Sendy is a one-time $69 purchase you host yourself on Amazon SES rather than a recurring subscription, against EmailOctopus' $9-a-month starting price.
- EmailOctopus instead of Sendy
- EmailOctopus also sits on cheap sending infrastructure, from $9 with a free tier, hosted for you.
Which one should you pick
Pick EmailOctopus if you want to send today with nothing to install: free to 2,500 subscribers, then $9 a month billed yearly, with a company hosting the deliverability and the upgrades for you. This suits almost everyone.
Pick Sendy only with a large list, a server you already run, and patience for maintaining both. Editorial guidance here puts the crossover at roughly ten thousand subscribers, below which a hosted plan is cheaper once your time is counted. If the phrase Apache virtual host means nothing to you, the money saved will be spent on the afternoon this setup takes, and EmailOctopus is the honest recommendation instead.
Common questions
- Which is cheaper?
- It depends on list size. EmailOctopus is free to 2,500 subscribers and then $9 a month billed yearly, scaling up from there. Sendy is a one-time $69 purchase plus whatever Amazon SES charges for sending, and the crossover sits at roughly ten thousand subscribers: below that a hosted plan like EmailOctopus is cheaper once your time is counted, above it Sendy usually wins.
- Do I need a server to run Sendy?
- Yes. It is PHP software you install and maintain yourself, sending through your own Amazon SES account. EmailOctopus needs nothing installed. If the phrase Apache virtual host means nothing to you, count on losing the savings to the afternoon Sendy takes to set up.
- Does Sendy charge a monthly fee on top of the one-time purchase?
- No monthly fee to Sendy itself. Amazon bills the actual sending separately, and updates are free within a major version, with a new major version charged again.
- Which one is easier to start with today?
- EmailOctopus, by a wide margin. There is nothing to install and the free plan covers 2,500 subscribers immediately. Sendy asks for a server, an Amazon SES account out of its sending sandbox, and installation before a single email goes out.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.