All Providers
🟠

Amazon SES

API62,000 emails/month when sending from EC2

AWS email service with the lowest cost at scale.

Best For
High-volume senders, AWS users, and budget-conscious sites
Pricing
$0.10 per 1,000 emails (industry lowest for volume)
Integration Type
API

Overview

Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) is a cloud-based email sending service designed to help businesses send marketing, notification, and transactional emails. As part of Amazon Web Services, SES offers unmatched scalability and the lowest per-email pricing in the industry.

While SES requires more technical setup than some alternatives, Authority Mailer SMTP simplifies the process significantly, handling AWS authentication and API calls automatically.

Amazon SES Features

Industry-lowest pricing ($0.10 per 1,000 emails)
62,000 free emails/month from EC2 instances
Unlimited scalability
Configuration sets for analytics
Dedicated IP addresses
Email receiving capability
Suppression list management
Virtual deliverability manager
SOC, ISO, and PCI compliant
Full AWS integration

Requirements

Before you start, make sure you have:

  • 1AWS account with SES access
  • 2IAM user with SES permissions
  • 3Access Key ID and Secret Access Key
  • 4Verified email address or domain
  • 5Production access approved (for sending to unverified recipients)

Step-by-Step Setup Guide

1

Set Up AWS Account

1. Go to aws.amazon.com and create an account

2. Add a payment method (required for verification)

3. Complete identity verification

4. Navigate to Amazon SES in the AWS Console

2

Create IAM User for Mailmate

1. Go to IAM → Users → Create User

2. Name it "authority-mailer-smtp"

3. Select "Attach policies directly"

4. Search and attach "AmazonSESFullAccess"

5. Click through and Create user

6. Go to Security credentials → Create access key

7. Select "Third-party service" use case

8. **Save your Access Key ID and Secret Access Key**

3

Verify Your Sending Identity

Verify Email Address (Quick Start):

1. In SES → Verified identities → Create identity

2. Select "Email address"

3. Enter your sending email address

4. Check your inbox and click verification link


Verify Domain (Recommended):

1. Select "Domain" instead

2. Enter your domain name

3. Add the provided DKIM records to your DNS

4. Wait for verification (can take hours)

4

Request Production Access

By default, SES is in "sandbox mode" - you can only send to verified emails.


1. Go to SES → Account dashboard

2. Click "Request production access"

3. Fill out the form explaining your use case

4. Submit and wait for approval (usually 24 hours)


Note: You can test with verified recipients while waiting.

5

Configure Authority Mailer SMTP

1. In WordPress, go to Authority Mailer SMTP → Settings

2. Select "Amazon SES" from the provider dropdown

3. Enter your IAM Access Key ID

4. Enter your IAM Secret Access Key

5. Select your SES region (e.g., us-east-1)

6. Set your "From Email" (must be verified)

7. Save and send a test email

💡 Pro Tips

  • Use configuration sets to track email metrics
  • Set up SNS notifications for bounces and complaints
  • Consider dedicated IPs for high-volume sending
  • Use SES's email receiving for inbound processing
  • Monitor your sending quotas in the SES dashboard

🔧 Troubleshooting

❓ Emails only going to verified addresses

✅ You're still in sandbox mode. Request production access from the SES console.

❓ Access denied error

✅ Check that your IAM user has AmazonSESFullAccess policy attached. Verify your Access Key ID and Secret.

❓ Region mismatch errors

✅ The region in Authority Mailer SMTP must match where your SES is set up. Check your SES console URL for the region.

❓ Email rejected - identity not verified

✅ The From email must match a verified identity. Verify the specific email address or the entire domain.

Ready to Set Up Amazon SES?

Get Authority Mailer SMTP and start sending reliable emails in minutes.

Get Authority Mailer SMTP ProDownload Free Version