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Groundmail vs Amazon SES

Amazon SES is a cloud email service from AWS that you configure yourself. Groundmail is transactional email we run for you, on our own mail servers and IP space, with dedicated IPs or a dedicated server when you need isolation.

Start sending free Amazon SES migration guide

At a glance

Build it yourself, or have it run for you

Both send your mail. The difference is how much of the sending stack your team owns and operates.

Topic	Groundmail	Amazon SES
Who runs sending	We do: our own mail servers, our own IP space, our deliverability team	You configure and operate it in your AWS account
Isolation	Shared transactional pool, dedicated IPs, or your own dedicated mail server, managed by us	See AWS docs
Interface	REST API, SDKs, SMTP relay and a dashboard	AWS SDKs, SMTP interface and console
Auth	Bearer gm_ API keys	IAM or SMTP credentials
Send call	POST /emails	SendEmail / SendRawEmail
Delivery events	Signed webhooks and dashboard activity	Configuration sets with event destinations
Pricing	Free 3,000/mo · Pro from $20/mo · Dedicated server from $299/mo	See AWS pricing

Amazon SES details come from AWS's public docs. Check them for current features and pricing.

What you get

A finished product on infrastructure we own

Our servers, our IPs

We operate the mail servers and the IP space your mail leaves from, and we do the warmup, reputation and blocklist work on them.

Dedicated IPs and dedicated servers

Start on the shared pool. Move to dedicated IPs, or to your own mail server that we build, warm and manage. Your code doesn't change.

Transactional only

No marketing or cold email on our IPs. The shared pool carries receipts, resets and alerts, which keeps it clean.

Ready on day one

API keys, domain verification, activity, suppressions, templates, inbound email, automations and signed webhooks. Plus an MCP server for AI coding tools.

Our team has run MTAs at scale and worked with Google Postmaster and Spamhaus directly. When you send with Groundmail, that work is ours to do.

Switching

Swap the client, keep your email jobs

Sign up and create a gm_ API key
Verify your sending domain (SPF, DKIM, return path)
Replace SendEmail calls with POST /emails or an SDK
Point bounce, complaint and delivery handling at Groundmail webhooks
Run canary sends side by side, then shift traffic

The Amazon SES migration guide covers field mapping and SMTP settings.

Mapping

IAM credentials         →  gm_… API key
SendEmail               →  POST /emails
Verified identity       →  Verified domain
Event destinations      →  Webhooks + activity

curl

curl -X POST https://api.groundmail.dev/emails \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GROUNDMAIL_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "from": "you@yourdomain.com",
    "to": "user@example.com",
    "subject": "Reset your password",
    "html": "<p>Click the link to reset.</p>"
  }'

FAQ

Questions about switching from Amazon SES

How is Groundmail different from Amazon SES?

Amazon SES is a cloud email service you set up and run yourself. Groundmail is a managed transactional email service. We run the mail servers and IP space, watch reputation, and give you API keys, domain verification, webhooks, templates and suppressions ready to use.

How do I replace SendEmail calls?

Send a POST to https://api.groundmail.dev/emails with a Bearer gm_ key and a flat JSON body: from, to, subject, and html or text. Or use an official SDK for Node, Python, PHP, Ruby or Go. The migration guide walks through the mapping.

What about bounce and complaint handling?

Groundmail tracks bounces and complaints, adds suppressions for you, and sends signed webhooks for delivered, bounced, complained and other events. Point your existing handlers at those webhooks.

We send over SMTP today. Can we keep that?

Yes. Use smtp.groundmail.dev on port 587 with STARTTLS and credentials from the dashboard. SMTP sends share your verified domains, plan limits and suppressions with the API.

Do I still manage SPF and DKIM?

Yes, on your own domain. Verify it in the dashboard and publish the records. Cloudflare and GoDaddy users can apply them in one click.

What does dedicated mean here?

Dedicated IPs give your mail its own reputation on our servers. The Dedicated plan gives you your own mail server and IPs, built, warmed and managed by us, from $299/mo including 250,000 emails. You don't run warmup yourself.

Put your transactional email on solid ground.

Start free on our transactional pool. Move to dedicated IPs or a dedicated server when you need the isolation. Same API either way.

Start sending free Read the docs