Overview

Sendy and Buttondown both appeal to newsletter senders who want alternatives to bloated platforms. Sendy maximizes savings through self-hosting. Buttondown offers indie simplicity with a privacy-first approach. Different paths to the same goal.

The Indie Appeal

Both platforms avoid corporate bloat. Sendy is a one-time purchase with no recurring fees beyond SES. Buttondown is built by a solo founder with transparent, simple pricing. Neither platform is trying to be everything to everyone.

Sendy's Cost Advantage

At 5,000 subscribers, Sendy costs $1-3/month (Amazon SES fees only). Buttondown costs $29/month. Over a year, that's $300+ in savings. At higher subscriber counts, savings grow proportionally.

Buttondown's Writer Focus

Buttondown has native Markdown, web archives for past issues, RSS-to-email, and built-in paid subscriptions. It's designed for writers who want to write, not manage email infrastructure. The experience is clean and focused.

Technical Reality

Sendy requires PHP/MySQL hosting, Amazon SES setup, DNS configuration, and ongoing maintenance. Buttondown is sign-up-and-start. If you'd rather write than manage servers, this difference is decisive.

Paid Newsletter Options

Buttondown has built-in paid subscriptions. Readers can pay directly through Buttondown, and you own the relationship. Sendy has no payment processing. You'd need to bolt on Stripe and manage access manually.

For SaaS Companies

Neither Sendy nor Buttondown is built for SaaS. Both are newsletter-focused. If you need event-based automation and Stripe integration for a subscription business, consider Sequenzy.

Making the Choice

Choose Sendy if you're technical, want maximum cost savings, and have basic newsletter needs. Choose Buttondown if you want simple publishing with Markdown, web archives, and optional paid subscriptions. For SaaS companies, consider Sequenzy.