Amazon SES is where a lot of application email comes from: sign-up confirmations, receipts, password resets and newsletters. It is popular because it is cheap, scales without effort and sits inside AWS.
What you get
- Sending through an HTTPS API or SMTP.
- Domain and address verification, with DKIM signing.
- Metrics and event streams for deliveries, bounces and complaints.
- Dedicated IP addresses if you want them.
- A pay-per-message price.
What you do not get
SES sends your mail and tells you what happened, one event at a time. Everything above that is up to you.
- No built-in alerts as bounce or complaint rates climb.
- No searchable view of bounces or the suppression list beyond the console and API.
- No monitoring of your DNS records.
- Little help finding the cause of a problem.
Most teams only find out about a problem when AWS emails them that the account is under review.
Key concepts
New accounts start in the sandbox with strict limits. Events reach you through a configuration set. Daily volume is capped by sending limits. And your standing depends on the bounce rate and complaint rate.
Monitoring options
AWS offers CloudWatch alarms and, as a paid add-on, Virtual Deliverability Manager. Both help, and neither is a finished monitoring product. See email deliverability monitoring for what a complete set looks like.
Common questions
Is Amazon SES the same as AWS SES?
Yes. Amazon SES is the service name and AWS SES is the common shorthand. Both mean Simple Email Service.
Does SES warn me when something is wrong?
Only partly. AWS emails you when your account is placed under review, but it does not alert you as rates climb towards the thresholds. You build that yourself, or use a monitoring tool.