Keep SES—but fix the sending setup before switching.
The thread’s strongest signal is not “buy a new platform”: several people report SES delivering fine, while the most concrete diagnosis points to shared-IP reputation, warming and list engagement.
Source: replies to Ian Nuttall’s X post
Bento leads the reply ranking with 20 support, followed by Sequenzy at 13 and SES at 5. Bento has the most visible enthusiasm, but its lead is driven partly by a vendor’s self-promotion. Sequenzy is quoted at $99/mo; SES can add a dedicated IP for $25/mo. The lowest-cost path surfaced is Sendy on SES: $69 once plus about $8/mo at 80k emails.
Ranked support
Support = likes + reposts on replies recommending each solution; ties are ordered by distinct recommenders.
What people recommended
| Solution | Type · support · people | Strongest reason, price or caveat |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bento vendor flag | Email platform 20 · 4 | “Both transactional and marketing emails.” — @Travis_Jamison Excellent MCP; Codex computer use works with Tanuki. Ian says he cannot afford it for a personal newsletter; price not stated. |
| 2. Sequenzy builder flag | AI-native email marketing tool 13 · 3 | “On your scale would be 99$/mo.” — @nikpolale Positioned as easy and powerful. Builder says shared SES delivered 25% inbox versus 60% on a clean, warmed IP in their tests; those figures are attributed to tests involving Resend, Loops and Sequenzy. |
| 3. SES | Email sending infrastructure 5 · 4 | “SES is solid. Not sure that’s a problem.” — @marcuswquinn Dedicated IP: extra $25/mo; it needs warming. Managed dedicated IP costs double the email price and SES decides shared versus dedicated automatically. |
| 4. Rumicat vendor flag | Email service 3 · 2 | “you only pay for what you actually send” — @yelkhayami Quoted at about $79/mo for 80k emails/month, with a suggested usage-based model instead. Vendor invited Ian to join. |
| 5. Cloudflare Email Sending | Email-sending API 2 · 2 | “Simple REST API, sounds like a dream” — @JonDotJames Workers Paid is quoted at $5 for 3,000 sends, then $0.35 per 1,000. Ian wonders how it compares with SES and worries about scale. |
| 6. EmailOctopus | Email marketing service 2 · 2 | “Very affordable” — @mattmerrick16 Another user says it seemed cheaper than other options; no price supplied. |
| 7. Substack | Newsletter platform 2 · 2 | “Free hosting but I still own my content and email list.” — @NickLeRoy Wider discovery is a perk. Ian calls the email template design “hideous.” |
| 8. MailerLite | Newsletter service 1 · 2 | “Delivery has always been really good” — @stephenpratley. Affordable and API/MCP friendly, but a moved list needs warming. |
| 9. Sendy on SES | Self-hosted sender layered on SES 1 · 1 | “it handles bounces and complaints properly” — @jgeekseo $69 once; about $8 for 80k emails/month. Still “geeky.” |
| 10. Brevo | Email marketing service 0 · 2 | Called “pretty good” and “pretty cheap”; no price supplied. |
Other named suggestions with one recommending reply and 0 support: Beehiiv, Mailgun, Postmark, FluentCRM, Lemwarm, Loops and Resend. Resend was also described as AWS SES; Lemwarm was suggested for about two months of warming.
Trade-offs the thread surfaces
- Convenience vs control: Bento, Rumicat and Sequenzy reduce operational work; SES, Sendy and FluentCRM preserve a more technical/self-hosted path.
- Cost vs expertise: Ian wants cheap, easy sending for 20k subscribers four times monthly, but says specialist teams know more than he or his agents. Bento is explicitly unaffordable for this personal newsletter; Sequenzy is the only ranked option with a clear monthly quote.
- Deliverability is not settled: Some recipients report no problems with Ian’s SES mail, while the Sequenzy builder attributes poor results to shared IPs. Content, DKIM, engagement, regular sending and warming are all cited as variables.
- Feature fit matters: Bento is praised for transactional plus marketing email; Cloudflare is described as a simple API; Substack offers discovery and list ownership but loses on design for Ian.
Verdict: For this brief, test SES with a dedicated, properly warmed IP and steadier sending first. If Ian’s priority is truly “type and hit send,” Sequenzy is the clearest value-led alternative at $99/mo; Bento has the most reply support, but vendor involvement and its stated affordability concern weaken it as the practical recommendation.
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