Sendy

Sendy is self-hosted newsletter software that sends through Amazon SES. You buy a license once, install the PHP application on your own web hosting, connect it to your SES account, and send campaigns and autoresponders to lists you keep on your own server. The homepage describes it as a self-hosted email newsletter platform with a one-time payment model, powered by Amazon SES, and its pitch is aimed squarely at senders whose monthly bill grows with their list: "No monthly fees. No subscriptions. No lock-in." The current version shown on the site is 7.1.5.

It suits newsletter publishers, bloggers, small companies and agencies that are happy to run a web application in exchange for paying Amazon per email instead of a platform per subscriber.

Installing and running it

The FAQ says Sendy runs on standard web hosting with PHP and MySQL or MariaDB, which almost all hosting providers support, and compares the process to installing WordPress. A step-by-step guide covers the setup. For those who would rather not do it themselves, the company sells an installation service, and the FAQ says that if a non-technical user runs into problems during installation, the team will help sort it out.

Sending runs through Amazon SES. The FAQ says you request your sending limit from SES (its example is 50k emails a day) and scale as your needs grow. The homepage also says Sendy "also works natively" with a set of other SMTP providers, shown as logos. When scheduling campaigns through the API, the documentation notes that a cron job for sending has to be set up on your server.

Each license covers installation on one domain, but the FAQ says you can use any From address from any domain to send emails. Updates are free up to the next major version: the FAQ's example is version 7.x to 8.x, and free minor releases come more often than major ones.

Building campaigns

The editor offers three modes. The homepage says you can switch between Drag & Drop, WYSIWYG and HTML editors when creating templates, so designing an email does not require code. Campaigns go to any lists or segments, and you can choose lists and segments to include or exclude. Custom fields store more than a name and address, and they double as personalization tags in the newsletter and as conditions for segments. The homepage says Sendy lets you create segments "for any list based on any conditions you define".

Custom domains let unsubscribe, web version and tracking links use a domain you choose instead of the address where Sendy is installed, which the homepage says helps recipients recognize you and lowers complaint rates.

Automation, rules and list hygiene

Autoresponders send a series of drip emails at intervals you set after someone subscribes. They can also send annual emails or one-off emails on a specific date. Rules and webhooks add event handling: the homepage's examples are an email notification when a scheduled campaign starts sending, a webhook fired when an autoresponder goes out, and unsubscribing someone from one list when they sign up to another.

List management covers mass import and deletion, custom fields, single or double opt-in, custom subscribe and unsubscribe confirmation pages, thank you and goodbye emails, subscribe forms and the API. Each list comes with ready-made subscribe form HTML. Bounces, complaints and unsubscribes are handled automatically in real time once a newsletter goes out. A housekeeping tool removes unconfirmed double opt-in signups and people who never engage with your emails in one click.

Reports and the AI Assistant

Live reports show opens, clicks, bounces, complaints, locations and more, updating as the campaign sends. The API's campaign call also offers anonymous open and click tracking, and a query string field for Google Analytics tags.

An optional AI Assistant, sold as an add-on, generates complete HTML emails, writes subject lines, reviews and improves drafts, and analyzes reports, according to the pricing section.

Brands for clients

Sendy organizes separate products or clients into "brands". The homepage says you can give clients access, set pricing, control permissions and set sending limits per brand, which makes one installation usable as a white-labeled service for an agency's customers.

API and integrations

The API is based on simple HTTP POST. Its documented calls cover subscribing (including updates to custom fields, an optional GDPR flag for EU signups, a silent option to bypass double opt-in, and a honeypot field against spambots), unsubscribing, deleting subscribers, subscription status, active subscriber count, getting lists and brands, and creating, sending or scheduling a campaign to lists or segments. Example scripts are available for download.

The integrations page is long, and most entries are built by third-party developers. It lists Zapier, plus Make, Integrately, OttoKit (formerly SureTriggers), Pabbly Connect, Activepieces and n8n. On WordPress there are plugins including Newsletter Glue, RafflePress, Noptin, MailOptin, Elementor, Gravity Forms, OptinMonster, Contact Form 7 add-ons, MemberPress, and a plugin that sends new WordPress posts as campaigns. For shops, it lists several WooCommerce plugins (one adds customers to a list when an order is completed, another subscribes buyers of particular products), Magento 2 extensions, PrestaShop modules, OpenCart, Easy Digital Downloads and Stripe Payments. Further entries include WHMCS, Drupal, xenForo, Wufoo, Eventbrite, Thrive Leads and design tools such as Stripo, Tabular and Postcards for building emails outside Sendy.

Pricing

The license is a $69 one-time fee. The AI Assistant bundle is listed at $39, shown against a crossed-out $49, as a one-time fee, and the installation service costs $79 once. Sending is billed by Amazon: the site gives both "$1 per 10,000 emails" and "$1.6 per 10,000 emails" for SES sending in different places. The installation options note that you can send 3,000 emails free per month for one year via Amazon SES, and that the EC2 option lets you use an Amazon EC2 server for free for the whole year.

The buy section says: "If you encounter problems, we will help you. If it doesn't work out, we'll refund you." Support starts with a troubleshooting page and email, quoting your license key.

Who it suits

Sendy suits a newsletter writer or publisher with a large list and a modest budget, a WordPress site owner who wants posts to go out by email, and an agency that wants to run campaigns for several clients from one installation with separate brands. It also suits developers who want to wire signups from their own application through a simple API.

It suits someone who wants nothing to do with hosting less. You need a server with PHP and MySQL, an Amazon SES account that has left the sandbox, and a cron job, and keeping the installation updated is your job. Senders who want a vendor to host everything, or channels beyond email, should look at a hosted platform.