Resend vs Sendy Comparison 2026
Resend is a hosted API a developer wires up in an afternoon, free for 3,000 emails a month, then $20 a month plus $0.90 per thousand beyond that, with broadcasts sharing the same sending domain as transactional mail. Sendy is a one-time $69 PHP application you install on your own server, sending through Amazon SES at Amazon's rates rather than a platform's markup. Resend costs more per email but needs no server. Sendy costs almost nothing per email but its own listing says the arithmetic only works above roughly ten thousand subscribers.
At a glance
- Resend starts cheaper, at $20.
- Only Resend has a free tier.
Side by side
Resend | Sendy | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $20 | 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 |
Resend
Email for developers, with broadcasts attached
Resend sends transactional email through an API that a developer can wire up in an afternoon, and it has grown a broadcast side so a product's receipts and its newsletter come from the same domain and the same reputation. The free tier covers 3,000 emails a month, which is enough for a small product's transactional traffic. Automation runs are metered separately with their own free allowance. Anybody wanting a drag-and-drop campaign builder and a marketer's dashboard is in the wrong place.
Our note
Choose this when the same team owns the code and the newsletter, because keeping both on one sending domain is worth more than any feature either side offers. If nobody on the project writes code, this is the wrong tool no matter how good the pricing looks.
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 Resend
- Sendy is self hosted on Amazon SES for $69 once, the cheapest sending at volume if you run the server.
- Resend instead of Sendy
- Resend is email for developers with broadcasts attached, from $20 with a free tier.
Which one should you pick
Choose Resend if a developer owns the sending and wants transactional email now with a newsletter later, without running two vendors on two reputations: free covers 3,000 emails a month, and Pro is $20 plus $0.90 per thousand beyond that. There is no drag-and-drop campaign builder or marketer's dashboard, on purpose; the API is the product. A writer with a list and no codebase should look at MailerLite or Buttondown instead.
Choose Sendy if the list is large, a server is already yours to run, and the phrase Apache virtual host does not scare you off: the software is a one-time $69, and sending goes through Amazon SES at Amazon's own rates rather than a platform markup. Its own listing puts the break-even at roughly ten thousand subscribers; below that, a hosted platform is cheaper once your time setting this up is counted. Deliverability, hosting and upgrades all become your job, not a vendor's.
Common questions
- Which is cheaper, Resend or Sendy?
- It depends on list size and whether a server is already available. Resend is free up to 3,000 emails a month, then scales with usage. Sendy is a one-time $69, but its own listing says the arithmetic only beats a hosted platform above roughly ten thousand subscribers once setup time is counted.
- Do I need my own server to use either?
- Sendy, yes: it is a PHP application installed on a server you run yourself, sending through Amazon SES. Resend needs no server at all; it is a hosted API a developer calls, with a dashboard for broadcasts included.
- Can a non-developer use Resend the way they could use a hosted newsletter tool?
- Not comfortably; its own listing says there is no drag-and-drop campaign builder and points a writer with no codebase to MailerLite or Buttondown instead. Sendy has lists, segments and campaign reports, though it still needs someone comfortable installing and maintaining server software.
- How is sending actually billed on Sendy if the software itself is a one-time purchase?
- Through Amazon SES directly, at Amazon's own rates rather than a fee to Sendy; the exact per-email rate is worth checking directly with Amazon since the numbers quoted vary. Resend bills sending itself, free for 3,000 emails a month then $0.90 per thousand beyond that on Pro.
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.