Flodesk vs Sendy
Flodesk and Sendy are both popular choices in the email marketing platform space. Sendy has been around since 2012, giving it a 7-year head start over Flodesk (founded 2019). Flodesk is the more affordable option at $38/mo — that's $31 less per month than Sendy's $69/mo entry point. Flodesk stands out with landing pages and ecommerce integrations, while Sendy offers API access. Both tools work well for indie and bootstrapped.
Quick Verdict
Flodesk wins on price, deliverability, rating.
Best for most users: Flodesk (designers).
Flodesk
Design emails people love to get
Flodesk is a design-first email marketing platform known for its stunning templates and flat-rate pricing model. It's particularly popular among creative professionals who prioritize visual design over advanced marketing features. The unlimited subscriber pricing makes it excellent value for growing lists.
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 | Flodesk | Sendy |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.6/5 | 4.2/5 |
| Starting Price | $38/mo | $69 |
| Free Plan | No free plan | No free plan |
| Founded | 2019 | 2012 |
| Email Templates | 40 | 0 |
| Integrations | 20 | 20 |
| Deliverability Rate | 96% | 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 | ✕ | ✕ |
Flodesk: Pros & Cons
Pros
- +Beautiful, design-focused email templates
- +Flat-rate pricing regardless of list size
- +Unlimited subscribers on all plans
- +Simple and intuitive interface
- +Built-in checkout and digital product sales
Cons
- −No A/B testing
- −No API access
- −Very limited integrations
- −No SMS marketing
- −Basic automation compared to competitors
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
Flodesk edges ahead with a 4.6/5 rating compared to Sendy's 4.2/5. The gap comes mainly from ease of use (5 vs 3.9) and feature depth (4.4 vs 4.1). On deliverability, Flodesk reports 96% compared to 95% for Sendy — a meaningful difference if inbox placement is critical for your campaigns.
| Criterion | Weight | Flodesk | Sendy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | 30% | $38/mo | $69/mo |
| Deliverability | 25% | 96% | 95% |
| Rating | 25% | 4.6/5 | 4.2/5 |
| Integrations | 10% | 20 | 20 |
| Free Tier | 10% | No | No |
Weights determine how much each criterion counts toward the final score. See full methodology
Choose Flodesk if…
- + You want lower starting costs ($38/mo)
- + You need ecommerce integrations
- + You need built-in landing pages
- + You're a designers
Choose Sendy if…
- + You need API access for custom integrations
- + You're a cost conscious email marketers with large lists
- + You're a technical users comfortable with self hosting and server management