Overview
MailWizz and Sendy are the two most popular buy-once, self-hosted email marketing tools. Both are PHP applications, both are affordable, but they're very different products.
The Feature Gap
MailWizz is a full email marketing platform. Automation workflows, A/B testing, landing pages, multiple delivery servers, bounce management, white-label support. It's been developed since 2013 with consistent feature additions.
Sendy sends newsletters via Amazon SES. That's basically it. No automation, no A/B testing, no landing pages. It does one thing and does it cheaply.
SES Lock-in vs Flexibility
Sendy only works with Amazon SES. If SES restricts your account or you want to switch providers, you're stuck. MailWizz supports SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, SparkPost, and generic SMTP, letting you rotate between providers or use multiple simultaneously.
The Real Cost
Sendy's $69 sounds cheaper than MailWizz's $86, but you also need hosting for both. The $17 difference is negligible compared to the feature gap. If you need anything beyond basic newsletters, MailWizz is the better investment.
For teams that don't want to manage servers at all, Sequenzy offers managed email with Stripe integration and AI sequences at $49/month.
Infrastructure Ownership and Control
MailWizz and Sendy are both self-hosted, so you own the infrastructure either way, but they differ in flexibility once it is running. MailWizz can connect to Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, and more, so switching providers does not require switching platforms. Sendy works only with Amazon SES, which means if SES ever suspends your account, sending stops until you resolve it. That extra flexibility is part of why MailWizz costs $86 one time against Sendy's $69.
Deliverability and Sender Reputation
Good Email deliverability comes down to sending practices more than which self-hosted tool you pick. Proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records, a clean list, and consistent sending volume matter more than whether you chose MailWizz or Sendy. Sendy's SES-only setup can actually simplify authentication since you are working with one provider's requirements, while MailWizz's support for multiple delivery servers means you configure authentication separately for whichever provider you connect.
Migration Path and Switching Costs
Switching between MailWizz and Sendy takes real planning either direction. Subscriber lists export and import cleanly as CSV files, but automations, A/B tests, and landing pages built in MailWizz have no equivalent to migrate into Sendy, since Sendy does not support any of those features. Domain authentication needs re-checking regardless of direction, and your sender reputation may dip briefly during the transition while the new setup proves itself to mailbox providers.
Use-case matchups
| Need | Better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted email marketing with automation, A/B testing, white-label, and delivery failover | MailWizz | MailWizz is cited for automation, A/B testing, white-label, multiple delivery servers, maturity, and data ownership. |
| Lean self-hosted newsletter sending through Amazon SES | Sendy | Sendy is cited for a $69 one-time license, SES costs, simple newsletter sending, lightweight setup, and no-frills UI. |
| Lowest possible simple newsletter cost | Sendy | Sendy is cheaper upfront and built around SES's low per-email cost. |
| SaaS marketing plus transactional email | Sequenzy | Sequenzy is listed at $49/month with SaaS marketing, transactional email, and Stripe integration. |
Pricing reality
MailWizz is listed at $86 one-time plus hosting and sending-provider costs. Sendy is listed at $69 one-time plus Amazon SES costs around $0.10 per 1k emails. Sequenzy is listed at $49/month for SaaS marketing plus transactional email with Stripe integration.
Sendy is cheaper and simpler if you only need SES-based newsletter sending. MailWizz costs slightly more upfront but adds automation, A/B testing, landing pages, white-label, and multiple delivery providers.
Review signals
MailWizz reviews cited here highlight long-term value and fit for technical teams. The cautions are setup effort and support responsiveness.
Sendy reviews cited here highlight value and reliable basic sending. The limitations are no automation, no A/B testing, no landing pages, and dependence on Amazon SES.
Best Fit by Self-Hosted Feature Depth
Best self-hosted email marketing platform for agencies and power users
MailWizz is the better fit when the team needs automation, A/B testing, white-label options, multiple delivery servers, landing pages, and deeper campaign operations. It suits technical teams or agencies that can use the extra feature depth enough to justify more setup work.
Best lean self-hosted newsletter tool for Amazon SES
Sendy is the better fit when simple SES-backed newsletters are enough. It is strongest for teams that want a low one-time license, lightweight hosting, and basic list sending without paying for automation or white-label features they will not use.
Best managed SaaS email platform for lifecycle and transactionals
Sequenzy fits teams that want hosted campaigns, transactional email, and Stripe-aware lifecycle messaging instead of self-hosted feature management. It is relevant when customer lifecycle automation matters more than operating MailWizz or Sendy.
Migration checklist
- Export subscribers, lists, templates, campaigns, automations, delivery-server settings, SES credentials, suppressions, and bounce data.
- If moving to Sendy, simplify workflows into newsletters and confirm SES production access, bounces, complaints, and quotas.
- If moving to MailWizz, configure hosting, delivery providers, automation, A/B tests, bounce handling, backups, and updates.
- Reconfigure SPF, DKIM, DMARC, return-path, sender identities, tracking domains, and unsubscribe handling.
- Warm up sending gradually and verify imports, bounces, suppressions, and campaign rendering before cutover.
Decision checklist
- Choose MailWizz if you need self-hosted feature depth beyond simple newsletters.
- Choose Sendy if simple SES-backed newsletter sending is enough.
- Avoid MailWizz if its extra features will not be used.
- Avoid Sendy if automation, A/B testing, or non-SES delivery providers are required.
- Choose Sequenzy if SaaS lifecycle and transactional email should be managed rather than self-hosted.
