EmailOctopus vs Sendy
EmailOctopus and Sendy are both popular choices in the email marketing platform space. EmailOctopus starts at $9/mo, while Sendy starts at $69 one-time. Their pricing is not measured the same way, so we don't rank them on price. EmailOctopus offers a free plan (2,500 subscribers), while Sendy does not. EmailOctopus has the edge with landing pages, a drag-and-drop editor. Both tools work well for indie and bootstrapped.
Quick Verdict
EmailOctopus wins on deliverability, integrations, free tier.
Best for most users: EmailOctopus (beginners).
EmailOctopus
Email marketing made easy
EmailOctopus is a stripped-back email marketing tool that focuses on simplicity and affordability. It's ideal for small businesses and creators who want the essentials without paying for features they won't use. Built on Amazon SES for reliable deliverability.
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 | EmailOctopus | Sendy |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.2/5 | 4.2/5 |
| Starting Price | $9/mo | $69 |
| Free Plan | 2,500 subscribers | No free plan |
| Founded | 2014 | 2012 |
| Email Templates | 100 | 0 |
| Integrations | 1,000 | 20 |
| Deliverability Rate | 97.5% | 95% |
| Marketing Automation | Yes | Yes |
| A/B Testing | No | No |
| Landing Pages | Yes | No |
| Segmentation | Yes | Yes |
| Drag & Drop Editor | Yes | No |
| SMS Marketing | No | No |
| Ecommerce Features | No | No |
| API Access | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-Language | No | No |
| Web Push Notifications | No | No |
| Live Chat | Yes | No |
| Advanced Analytics | No | No |
EmailOctopus: Pros & Cons
Pros
- + Generous free plan (2,500 subscribers)
- + Very affordable Pro plan
- + Simple and clean interface
- + Good deliverability using Amazon SES
- + Easy migration from other platforms
Cons
- − Limited feature set compared to competitors
- − No A/B testing
- − Small template library
- − Basic automation capabilities
- − No ecommerce features
Sendy: Pros & Cons
Pros
- + Extreme cost savings: a one-time $69 license, with Amazon SES sending from $0.10 per 1,000 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
EmailOctopus and Sendy are closely matched — both score within 0.0 points of each other in our overall rating. Your decision should come down to specific needs rather than overall quality. On deliverability, EmailOctopus reports 97.5% compared to 95% for Sendy — a meaningful difference if inbox placement is critical for your campaigns.
| Criterion | Weight | EmailOctopus | Sendy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | 30% | $9/mo | $69 |
| Deliverability | 25% | 97.5% Winner | 95% |
| Rating | 25% | 4.2/5 | 4.2/5 |
| Integrations | 10% | 1000 Winner | 20 |
| Free Tier | 10% | Yes Winner | No |
Weights determine how much each criterion counts toward the final score. See full methodology
Choose EmailOctopus if…
- + You need a free plan to get started
- + You need built-in landing pages
- + You're a beginners
- + You're a bloggers
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: a one-time $69 license, with Amazon SES sending from $0.10 per 1,000 emails