Mailcow vs Amazon SES
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Mailcow and Amazon SES.
Quick Verdict
4.0/5
Mailcow
391 reviews
5.0/5
Amazon SES
268 reviews
Amazon SES is rated higher (5.0 vs 4.0). Mailcow is a free, open source email server suite running on Docker. Complete mail server with anti-spam, anti-virus, webmail, SOGo, and admin panel. Self-host on any VPS. Amazon Simple Email Service is the cheapest bulk email option — $0.10 per 1,000 emails. EC2-hosted apps get 62,000 emails/month free. SMTP and API. Requires AWS account and setup effort.
Mailcow Self-hosted email server with Docker |  Amazon SES Cheapest bulk email API — $0.10 per 1,000 emails | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.0 (391 reviews) | 5.0 (268 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | free | freemium |
| Starting price | Free | Free tier available |
| Best for | System administrators wanting a free, complete self-hosted email server with Docker-based deployment | AWS-based applications sending bulk email at scale who want the lowest per-email cost available |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tieropen sourceself hostable | free tierapi accessus datacentereu datacenterapac datacenter |
| Visit Mailcow → | Visit Amazon SES → | |
Mailcow
Pros
- + Complete mail server suite for free
- + Docker-based — easy deployment
- + Active open source community
Cons
- - Requires server management expertise
- - IP reputation management on your server
Amazon SES
Pros
- + $0.10/1,000 emails — industry's lowest price
- + Free if sending from EC2 (62,000/month)
- + AWS reliability
Cons
- - Complex AWS setup and IAM configuration
- - Not beginner-friendly
- - Requires warming IP reputation
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