EmailOctopus

ALMOST

A weekend of work, and real gaps remain.

Email marketing at a low price, historically by sending through Amazon SES on your behalf. Lists, campaigns, simple automations and landing pages.

Promptfree, for everyone, and the only version there is

Build me campaign email on top of SES.

STACK
- SQLite or Postgres, a small Node process, Amazon SES for delivery

LISTS
- Double opt-in with a signed confirmation link
- Tags per subscriber rather than separate lists, so a person exists once
- One-click unsubscribe with the List-Unsubscribe-Post header

CAMPAIGNS
- An MJML template compiled to HTML plus a plain-text part
- Merge fields from the subscriber row, with a preview against a real subscriber before sending
- Send in batches with a rate cap under your SES quota

SEQUENCES
- A sequence is an ordered list of steps: wait N days, then send template X, unless tag Y
- One scheduler pass every ten minutes that finds due steps and enqueues them

SUPPRESSION
- SES notifications by SNS to a webhook: hard bounce or complaint suppresses the address permanently

Include the schema, the MJML build and a README on SES sandbox exit.

What you lose

The whole SES relationship — quota increases, suppression lists and the account review that comes with sending volume
A drag-and-drop editor and templates that render correctly in Outlook, which is its own discipline
Automation sequences with timing and conditions already built

If you would rather not build

Amazon SES on its own, for transactional mail

The escape hatch

open source · no votes, no paid placement

Listmonk

Self-hosted campaign email that speaks SMTP or SES directly.

knadh/listmonkfree · open source

MJML

A markup language that compiles to email HTML which survives Outlook.

mjmlio/mjmlfree · open source

Why this verdict

our own opinion · changed only by a person

56/100

Verdict kinda at 56: sending is a solved problem via SES, but Outlook-safe templates and sequence timing are where the weekend goes.

History

tracked since 10 Aug 2026 · nothing is ever overwritten

Interest · last 30 dayspeak 1/day

0113 Jul18 Jul23 Jul28 Jul2 Aug7 Aug11 Aug

— views— prompt copies none yet— votes none yet

Questions about EmailOctopus

answered from the record above

Is EmailOctopus free?

No — the plan we track is $9 a month. Starter at $9/month billed monthly for 500 subscribers; free up to 2,500 with limited sends.

Can you replace EmailOctopus by building your own?

ALMOST. A weekend of work, and real gaps remain. Replacement score 56 out of 100, build time a weekend. Read what you lose before you decide.

How much does EmailOctopus cost?

$9 a month on Starter — $108 a year. Recorded 9 Aug 2026.

What do you lose by replacing EmailOctopus?

The whole SES relationship — quota increases, suppression lists and the account review that comes with sending volume; A drag-and-drop editor and templates that render correctly in Outlook, which is its own discipline; Automation sequences with timing and conditions already built. If any of those carry weight for you, keep paying.

Is there an open-source alternative to EmailOctopus?

Yes: Listmonk, MJML. The prompt on this page is for when you want it your way instead.

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