Campaign Monitor vs Sendy
Campaign Monitor and Sendy are both popular choices in the email marketing platform space. Campaign Monitor has been around since 2004, giving it a 8-year head start over Sendy (founded 2012). Campaign Monitor starts at $12/mo versus $69 one-time for Sendy. Campaign Monitor has the edge with A/B testing, SMS marketing, ecommerce integrations.
Quick Verdict
Campaign Monitor wins on price, deliverability, integrations.
Sendy wins on rating.
Best for most users: Campaign Monitor (agencies).
Campaign Monitor
Beautifully crafted email marketing
Campaign Monitor is particularly well-suited for agencies and brands that need polished, branded email campaigns. Its client management features and beautiful template builder make it a popular choice for marketing agencies managing multiple client accounts.
Sendy
Self-hosted email marketing that sends via Amazon SES at 100x lower cost
Sendy is a self-hosted email newsletter application that connects to Amazon SES to deliver emails at a fraction of the cost of traditional email marketing platforms. With a one-time $69 license and SES sending costs of roughly $1 per 10,000 emails, it is ideal for high-volume senders who want to avoid recurring subscription fees. It requires technical setup but offers unlimited subscribers, autoresponders, segmentation, and full data ownership.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Campaign Monitor | Sendy |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.1/5 | 4.2/5 |
| Starting Price | $12/mo | $69 |
| Free Plan | No free plan | No free plan |
| Founded | 2004 | 2012 |
| Email Templates | 120 | 0 |
| Integrations | 250 | 20 |
| Deliverability Rate | 97.5% | 95% |
| Marketing Automation | ✓ | ✓ |
| A/B Testing | ✓ | ✕ |
| Landing Pages | ✕ | ✕ |
| Segmentation | ✓ | ✓ |
| Drag & Drop Editor | ✓ | ✕ |
| SMS Marketing | ✓ | ✕ |
| Ecommerce Features | ✓ | ✕ |
| API Access | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-Language | ✓ | ✕ |
| Web Push Notifications | ✕ | ✕ |
| Live Chat | ✕ | ✕ |
| Advanced Analytics | ✓ | ✕ |
Campaign Monitor: Pros & Cons
Pros
- +Excellent email template builder
- +Strong agency features and client management
- +Good deliverability
- +Time zone sending optimization
- +Link review feature prevents broken links
Cons
- −No free plan
- −Lite plan caps at 2,500 emails
- −Premier plan expensive ($159/mo)
- −No landing page builder
- −Limited automation on lower tiers
Sendy: Pros & Cons
Pros
- +Extreme cost savings — one-time $69 license with Amazon SES sending at ~$1 per 10,000 emails
- +Unlimited subscribers with no tier-based pricing that punishes list growth
- +Full data ownership and privacy since everything is self-hosted on your own server
- +Clean, focused interface without bloated features — does exactly what it promises
- +White-label multi-brand support allows managing multiple client accounts from one install
Cons
- −Requires technical skills for server setup, installation, and ongoing maintenance
- −No built-in A/B testing, landing page builder, or advanced automation workflows
- −UI feels dated and lacks modern design polish compared to SaaS competitors
- −Limited customer support — solo developer product with slow response times reported
- −No drag-and-drop email editor; requires HTML knowledge for custom templates
The Verdict
Campaign Monitor and Sendy are closely matched — both score within 0.1 points of each other in our overall rating. Your decision should come down to specific needs rather than overall quality. On deliverability, Campaign Monitor reports 97.5% compared to 95% for Sendy — a meaningful difference if inbox placement is critical for your campaigns.
| Criterion | Weight | Campaign Monitor | Sendy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | 30% | $12/mo | $69/mo |
| Deliverability | 25% | 97.5% | 95% |
| Rating | 25% | 4.1/5 | 4.2/5 |
| Integrations | 10% | 250 | 20 |
| Free Tier | 10% | No | No |
Weights determine how much each criterion counts toward the final score. See full methodology
Choose Campaign Monitor if…
- + You want lower starting costs ($12/mo)
- + You need SMS marketing
- + You need ecommerce integrations
- + You need A/B testing
Choose Sendy if…
- + You're a cost conscious email marketers with large lists
- + You're a technical users comfortable with self hosting and server management
- + Extreme cost savings — one-time $69 license with Amazon SES sending at ~$1 per 10,000 emails