{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "amazon-ses", "name": "Amazon SES", "vendor": "Amazon Web Services", "vendorUrl": "https://aws.amazon.com/ses/", "kind": "http-api", "category": "email", "summary": "AWS's email service for sending and receiving at scale, over the SES v2 API or SMTP, with templates, configuration sets, receipt rules and deliverability tooling.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/amazon-ses", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/amazon-ses.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/amazon-ses.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/amazon-ses.json", "repo": "https://github.com/aws/aws-sdk-js-v3", "license": "Apache-2.0", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://email.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/v2", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@aws-sdk/client-sesv2" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "boto3" } ], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "API calls are signed with AWS Signature Version 4 using IAM credentials. SMTP uses separate SMTP credentials derived from an IAM user. The AWS MCP Server can reach SES with IAM SigV4 or OAuth sign-in.", "pricing": "usage", "pricingNotes": "A la carte $0.10 per 1,000 emails sent or received, plus $0.12 a GB of attachments and $0.09 per 1,000 inbound chunks. Pricing plans since 2026 are Essentials $0.16 per 1,000 with no monthly fee, Pro $105 a month plus $0.22 per 1,000, Enterprise $500 a month plus $0.23 per 1,000, all falling with volume. Accounts with no SES use since 2025-06-01 start on Essentials from 2026-07-21. Standard dedicated IPs $24.95 a month each. New AWS customers get up to $200 in Free Tier credits (https://aws.amazon.com/ses/pricing/).", "priceSummary": "$105 / mo", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402 or stablecoin payment path in docs or pricing (checked 2026-09-30).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": 5083375, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-09-30" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ses/latest/dg/Welcome.html", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ses/latest/dg/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "email.send", "email.inbound", "email.templates", "email.domains", "email.analytics" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "card-required", "llms-txt", "typescript", "python", "enterprise" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-29", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 75.1, "grade": "BB", "agentReady": true, "rank": 48, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 722, "categoryRank": 1, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 64, "maintenance": 85, "payments": 20, "reliability": 95, "schema": 85, "security": 87, "transparency": 77 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-01" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Sending starts at $0.10 per 1,000 emails on the a la carte plan. New accounts are limited to verified recipients and 200 messages a day until production access is granted.", "bestFor": "Teams already on AWS who send at volume and want IAM, CloudTrail and per-Region control.", "strengths": [ "$0.10 per 1,000 emails a la carte, falling to $0.11 per 1,000 above 100 million on Essentials", "IAM policies can limit a credential to SendEmail from one identity, and CloudTrail logs every call", "Covered by an AWS SLA and in scope for SOC 1, 2 and 3", "Inbound mail through receipt rules to S3, SNS or Lambda", "Smithy model for SES v2 published and updated six times since July" ], "weaknesses": [ "Sandbox limits new accounts to verified recipients and 200 messages a day until production access is granted", "SigV4 signing makes a plain curl or quick agent call awkward", "No SES-specific MCP server, and the AWS skill covers sending setup only", "No idempotency token on SendEmail, and over-quota messages are dropped", "security.txt on aws.amazon.com expired on 24 September 2026" ], "agentNotes": [ "Call GetAccount and check ProductionAccessEnabled and the send quota before emailing arbitrary recipients", "Verify the From domain as an identity first. Sends from unverified identities fail even in production", "Use the mailbox simulator (success@simulator.amazonses.com) to test bounces and complaints without hurting reputation", "Use the same Region the identity was verified in, since quotas and sandbox status are per Region", "On a throttling error, wait and retry the send. SES drops messages over quota rather than queueing them" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 8, "avgRating": 3.3, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "BB", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 75.1 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 64, "maintenance": 85, "payments": 20, "reliability": 95, "schema": 85, "security": 87, "transparency": 59 }, "provenanceScore": 95 }, "connect": { "http": "curl -X POST https://email.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/v2/email/outbound-emails \\\n --aws-sigv4 \"aws:amz:us-east-1:ses\" --user \"$AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID:$AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY\" \\\n -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" -d '{\"FromEmailAddress\":\"you@example.com\",\"Destination\":{\"ToAddresses\":[\"them@example.com\"]},\"Content\":{\"Simple\":{\"Subject\":{\"Data\":\"Hello\"},\"Body\":{\"Text\":{\"Data\":\"Hello from SES\"}}}}}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/email.send", "tool": "https://letme.dev/amazon-ses" }, "sameCompany": [ "amazon-bedrock-guardrails", "amazon-transcribe", "amazon-polly", "aws-secrets-manager", "aws-mcp-servers", "amazon-location", "amazon-translate", "amazon-ads-api" ], "area": "communication", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Outbound, a la carte", "unit": "1k-emails", "usd": 0.1, "note": "plus $0.12 a GB of attachments" }, { "item": "Inbound, a la carte", "unit": "1k-emails", "usd": 0.1, "note": "plus $0.09 per 1,000 incoming chunks" }, { "item": "Essentials plan", "unit": "1k-emails", "usd": 0.16, "note": "0 to 10M, no monthly fee, default for new accounts from 2026-07-21" }, { "item": "Pro plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 105, "note": "plus $0.22 per 1,000 emails, 1 managed dedicated IP included" }, { "item": "Pro plan emails", "unit": "1k-emails", "usd": 0.22, "note": "0 to 10M" }, { "item": "Enterprise plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 500, "note": "plus $0.23 per 1,000 emails" }, { "item": "Dedicated IP, standard", "unit": "month", "usd": 24.95, "note": "per IP" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Amazon Web Services, Inc.", "domain": "amazonaws.com", "domainRegistered": "2005-08-18", "domainNote": "The API runs on Amazon's amazonaws.com service domain, while the product and legal pages sit on aws.amazon.com (amazon.com registered 1994-11-01).", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://aws.amazon.com/agreement/", "privacy": "https://aws.amazon.com/privacy/", "statusPage": "https://health.aws.amazon.com/health/status", "changelog": "https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ses/latest/dg/doc-history.html", "securityTxt": "expired", "checked": "2026-09-30", "notes": [ "https://aws.amazon.com/.well-known/security.txt carries Expires 2026-09-24T16:25:03Z." ], "score": 95 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/amazon-ses.json", "live": { "slug": "amazon-ses", "probe": { "target": "https://email.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/v2", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-08T21:53:15.136471328Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 248, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 255, "p95ms24h": 293, "samples24h": 270, "samples30d": 2164, "days": [ { "date": "2026-09-30", "probes": 35, "ok": 35 }, { "date": "2026-10-01", "probes": 276, "ok": 276 }, { "date": "2026-10-02", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-03", "probes": 271, "ok": 271 }, { "date": "2026-10-04", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-05", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-06", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-07", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 246, "ok": 246 } ] }, "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "aws/aws-sdk-js-v3", "version": "v3.1147.0", "released": "2026-10-06", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T15:58:04.623184788Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@aws-sdk/client-sesv2", "version": "3.1147.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T15:57:58.901285204Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "boto3", "version": "1.43.109", "released": "2026-10-07", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T15:58:01.12284842Z" } ], "githubStars": 3669, "npmWeekly": 6147406, "pypiWeekly": 573748207, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://amazonaws.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "expired", "expires": "2026-09-24T16:25:03.000Z", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T15:38:39.917438345Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ses/latest/dg/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T14:00:04.068876253Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "amazonaws.com", "registered": "2005-08-18", "source": "https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/amazonaws.com", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:04:05.080783455Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ses/latest/dg/doc-history.html", "kind": "changelog", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:18:22.641609948Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "e3b0c44298fc" }, { "url": "https://aws.amazon.com/ses/pricing/", "kind": "deprecations", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:15:43.781352546Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "334cd8a23b47" }, { "url": "https://aws.amazon.com/agreement/", "kind": "terms", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:15:29.873815962Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "cc03daebf120" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-08T21:53:15.136471328Z" } }, "answer": "Amazon SES scores 75.1 (BB) on agent readiness against Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)'s 58.1 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) leads on payments \u0026 pricing.", "b": { "slug": "mandrill", "name": "Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)", "vendor": "Intuit Mailchimp", "vendorUrl": "https://mailchimp.com/features/transactional-email/", "kind": "http-api", "category": "email", "summary": "Transactional email service from Intuit Mailchimp, formerly Mandrill. It sends application email and SMS through an HTTP API, SMTP or a hosted MCP server, with templates, inbound routing, webhooks and reporting, as a paid add-on to a Mailchimp plan.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/mandrill", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/mandrill.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/mandrill.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/mandrill.json", "repo": "https://github.com/mailchimp/mailchimp-client-lib-codegen", "license": "Proprietary service under Mailchimp's Standard Terms of Use and Additional Terms. The client libraries are under Mailchimp's own client library licence agreement", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://mandrillapp.com/api/1.4", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@mailchimp/mailchimp_transactional" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "mailchimp-transactional" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "Self-serve API key, created in the Transactional web app at mandrillapp.com/settings by an Owner or Admin of the Mailchimp account. The key goes in the JSON body of every POST as `key`, and the MCP server takes it as `Authorization: Bearer`. A key can be limited to chosen endpoints and to IP addresses, and a restricted key needs the AI Agents permission group to use the MCP server. Test keys work only in test mode. There is no OAuth for this API.", "pricing": "paid", "pricingNotes": "$20 per block of 25,000 emails a month for 1 to 20 blocks, falling in steps to $10 at 161 blocks or more, on top of a Standard or Premium Mailchimp marketing plan. Blocks are billed monthly in advance and unused emails do not roll over. A dedicated IP is $29.95 a month. An agent's owner can start without a contract through the demo, which gives 500 emails once to the account's own verified domain on any Mailchimp account, free plan included. Test keys send nothing and cost nothing (https://mailchimp.com/pricing/transactional-email/).", "priceSummary": "$29.95 / mo", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the developer docs, the OpenAPI file or the pricing page (checked 2026-10-08).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 9, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": 226039, "pypiWeekly": 132016, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://mailchimp.com/developer/transactional/docs/fundamentals/", "llmsTxt": "https://mailchimp.com/developer/transactional/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://mailchimp.com/developer/openapi/api-reference-2.json", "capabilities": [ "email.send", "email.templates", "email.inbound", "email.domains", "email.analytics" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "paid", "mcp", "openapi", "llms-txt", "api-key", "smtp", "webhooks", "inbound", "sandbox", "typescript", "python", "status-page", "soc2" ], "lastRelease": "2026-03-24", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 58.1, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 459, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 722, "categoryRank": 12, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 60, "maintenance": 28, "payments": 35, "reliability": 53, "schema": 79, "security": 68, "transparency": 71 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-08" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "A public OpenAPI 3.1 file covers all 99 operations, the docs serve Markdown and llms.txt, and keys can be limited by endpoint and IP address. Sending needs a Standard or Premium Mailchimp plan plus $20 blocks of 25,000 emails. No send idempotency key or SLA was found, and the newest dated release is from 24 March 2026.", "bestFor": "Teams already paying for Mailchimp Standard or Premium that want transactional mail, inbound parsing and an MCP server on the same account.", "strengths": [ "OpenAPI 3.1 file for all 99 operations, with typed error bodies for 401, 402, 404, 422, 429 and 500", "Hosted MCP server at `https://mandrillapp.com/mcp` with 9 tools, three of which list, describe and call API endpoints", "API keys can be limited to named endpoints and to IP addresses, and test keys send nothing", "Every docs page has a Markdown copy at the same URL plus `.md`, with an llms.txt index", "Status page lists Mailchimp Transactional as its own component with month-by-month event history" ], "weaknesses": [ "Full use needs a Standard or Premium Mailchimp marketing plan in addition to the email blocks", "No idempotency key on `/messages/send`, and no `Retry-After` header found in the docs or the specification", "Three delivery-delay incidents in September 2026, two of them lasting more than four hours", "The newest client library and specification release is 24 March 2026, and the changelog's newest entry is 19 August 2025", "The docs give three API version paths (1.0, 1.3 and 1.4), and the llms.txt link to the OpenAPI file returns 404" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send every call as POST with the key in the JSON body as `key`. The MCP server takes the same key as `Authorization: Bearer`", "Use a test API key while building. Test sends are free, capped at 10,000 a day, and deliver nothing", "Verify the sending domain with DKIM and DMARC first. Mail from an unverified domain is rejected with the reason `unsigned`", "Keep `/messages/search` under 20 calls a minute and set `limit` (default 100, maximum 1,000). There is no offset, so use an activity export for more", "For a restricted key that must also use the MCP server, enable the AI Agents permission group on the key" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 58.1 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 60, "maintenance": 28, "payments": 35, "reliability": 53, "schema": 79, "security": 68, "transparency": 64 }, "provenanceScore": 77 }, "connect": { "install": "npm install @mailchimp/mailchimp_transactional", "http": "curl -sS -X POST \"https://mandrillapp.com/api/1.0/users/ping\" \\\n --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \\\n --data-raw '{ \"key\": \"YOUR_API_KEY\" }'", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http mctx-mcp https://mandrillapp.com/mcp \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY\"", "config": { "mcpServers": { "mctx-mcp": { "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" }, "type": "http", "url": "https://mandrillapp.com/mcp" } } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/email.send", "tool": "https://letme.dev/mandrill" }, "area": "communication", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Email block, 1 to 20 blocks", "unit": "1k-emails", "usd": 0.8, "note": "$20 per block of 25,000 emails, billed monthly, unused emails do not roll over. Needs a Standard or Premium Mailchimp plan" }, { "item": "Email block, 21 to 40 blocks", "unit": "1k-emails", "usd": 0.72, "note": "$18 per block of 25,000" }, { "item": "Email block, 41 to 80 blocks", "unit": "1k-emails", "usd": 0.64, "note": "$16 per block of 25,000" }, { "item": "Email block, 81 to 120 blocks", "unit": "1k-emails", "usd": 0.56, "note": "$14 per block of 25,000" }, { "item": "Email block, 121 to 160 blocks", "unit": "1k-emails", "usd": 0.48, "note": "$12 per block of 25,000" }, { "item": "Email block, 161 blocks or more", "unit": "1k-emails", "usd": 0.4, "note": "$10 per block of 25,000" }, { "item": "Dedicated IP", "unit": "month", "usd": 29.95 } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "The Rocket Science Group LLC d/b/a Mailchimp", "domain": "mailchimp.com", "domainRegistered": "2001-06-29", "endpointOnVendorDomain": false, "terms": "https://mailchimp.com/legal/terms/", "privacy": "https://www.intuit.com/privacy/statement/", "statusPage": "https://status.mailchimp.com", "changelog": "https://mailchimp.com/developer/release-notes/", "securityTxt": "valid", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "The Standard Terms of Use, updated and effective 10 October 2025, name The Rocket Science Group LLC d/b/a Mailchimp, 405 N Angier Ave. NE, Atlanta, Georgia, part of the Intuit group with Intuit Inc. as parent.", "Transactional Email is also governed by the section For Transactional Email (formerly Mandrill) of the Additional Terms at https://mailchimp.com/legal/additional-terms/, which the Standard Terms incorporate, and by the API Use Policy updated 1 August 2023.", "The privacy field points at the Intuit Global Privacy Statement, last updated 9 March 2026. Mailchimp's terms name it as the privacy document for the service, mailchimp.com/legal/privacy redirects to it, and it names The Rocket Science Group LLC d/b/a Mailchimp. Mailchimp publishes no separate privacy policy.", "The API and the MCP server are served from mandrillapp.com, registered 2011-09-01, not from mailchimp.com (RDAP, Verisign).", "mailchimp.com/.well-known/security.txt holds one Contact line that points at the responsible disclosure section of the security page, with no Expires field. mandrillapp.com has no security.txt (404).", "The changelog covers the Marketing and Transactional APIs together. Its newest entry is dated 19 August 2025." ], "score": 77 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/mandrill.json", "live": { "slug": "mandrill", "probe": { "target": "https://mandrillapp.com/api/1.4", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-08T21:53:26.814764367Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 442, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 424, "p95ms24h": 456, "samples24h": 28, "samples30d": 28, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 28, "ok": 28 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.mailchimp.com", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T19:38:46.313674676Z" }, "updatedAt": "2026-10-08T21:53:26.814764367Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "HTTP API", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Amazon Web Services", "b": "Intuit Mailchimp", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://email.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/v2", "b": "https://mandrillapp.com/api/1.4", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP", "b": "HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "OAuth or key", "b": "API key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Pay per use", "b": "Paid", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "Apache-2.0", "b": "Proprietary service under Mailchimp's Standard Terms of Use and Additional Terms. The client libraries are under Mailchimp's own client library licence agreement", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "none", "b": "9", "name": "Tools exposed" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-09-29", "b": "2026-03-24", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "2026-08-14", "b": "no date given", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "2026-05-18", "b": "2026-03-09", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "yes", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "5.1M npm/wk", "b": "226k npm/wk, 132k PyPI/wk", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "3.3/5 (8)", "b": "none", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Amazon SES scores 75.1 (BB) on agent readiness against Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)'s 58.1 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) leads on payments \u0026 pricing.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Amazon SES or Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)?" }, { "answer": "Amazon SES takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) needs an API key.", "question": "Do Amazon SES and Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Yes. Amazon SES has a hosted endpoint at https://email.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/v2 and Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) at https://mandrillapp.com/api/1.4.", "question": "Can an agent call Amazon SES and Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 95 against 53", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 85 against 79", "Security \u0026 auth, 87 against 68", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 85 against 28", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 77 against 71" ], "also": [ "Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better" ], "goodFor": "Teams already on AWS who send at volume and want IAM, CloudTrail and per-Region control.", "slug": "amazon-ses", "watchFor": "Sandbox limits new accounts to verified recipients and 200 messages a day until production access is granted" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Payments \u0026 pricing, 35 against 20" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "Teams already paying for Mailchimp Standard or Premium that want transactional mail, inbound parsing and an MCP server on the same account.", "slug": "mandrill", "watchFor": "Full use needs a Standard or Premium Mailchimp marketing plan in addition to the email blocks" } ], "job": { "capability": "email.send", "name": "Email send" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-brevo.json", "title": "Amazon SES vs Brevo API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-brevo" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-cloudflare-email-service.json", "title": "Amazon SES vs Cloudflare Email Service", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-cloudflare-email-service" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-loops.json", "title": "Amazon SES vs Loops API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-loops" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-mailersend.json", "title": "Amazon SES vs MailerSend", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-mailersend" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-mailgun.json", "title": "Amazon SES vs Mailgun API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-mailgun" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-mailjet.json", "title": "Amazon SES vs Mailjet API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-mailjet" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-mailtrap.json", "title": "Amazon SES vs Mailtrap Email API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-mailtrap" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-postmark.json", "title": "Amazon SES vs Postmark API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-postmark" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-resend.json", "title": "Amazon SES vs Resend API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-resend" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-sendgrid.json", "title": "Amazon SES vs Twilio SendGrid", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-sendgrid" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-smtp2go.json", "title": "Amazon SES vs SMTP2GO API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-smtp2go" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-zoho-zeptomail.json", "title": "Amazon SES vs Zoho CPaaS (formerly ZeptoMail)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-zoho-zeptomail" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brevo-vs-mandrill.json", "title": "Brevo API + MCP vs Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brevo-vs-mandrill" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-email-service-vs-mandrill.json", "title": "Cloudflare Email Service vs Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-email-service-vs-mandrill" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/loops-vs-mandrill.json", "title": "Loops API + MCP vs Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/loops-vs-mandrill" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mailersend-vs-mandrill.json", "title": "MailerSend vs Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mailersend-vs-mandrill" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mailgun-vs-mandrill.json", "title": "Mailgun API + MCP vs Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mailgun-vs-mandrill" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mailjet-vs-mandrill.json", "title": "Mailjet API + MCP vs Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mailjet-vs-mandrill" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mailtrap-vs-mandrill.json", "title": "Mailtrap Email API + MCP vs Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mailtrap-vs-mandrill" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mandrill-vs-postmark.json", "title": "Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) vs Postmark API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mandrill-vs-postmark" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mandrill-vs-resend.json", "title": "Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) vs Resend API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mandrill-vs-resend" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mandrill-vs-sendgrid.json", "title": "Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) vs Twilio SendGrid", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mandrill-vs-sendgrid" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mandrill-vs-smtp2go.json", "title": "Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) vs SMTP2GO API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mandrill-vs-smtp2go" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mandrill-vs-zoho-zeptomail.json", "title": "Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) vs Zoho CPaaS (formerly ZeptoMail)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mandrill-vs-zoho-zeptomail" } ], "scores": [ { "amazon-ses": 95, "by": 42, "edge": "amazon-ses", "key": "reliability", "mandrill": 53, "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "amazon-ses": 85, "by": 6, "edge": "amazon-ses", "key": "schema", "mandrill": 79, "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "amazon-ses": 64, "by": 4, "edge": "amazon-ses", "key": "ergonomics", "mandrill": 60, "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "amazon-ses": 87, "by": 19, "edge": "amazon-ses", "key": "security", "mandrill": 68, "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "amazon-ses": 20, "by": 15, "edge": "mandrill", "key": "payments", "mandrill": 35, "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "amazon-ses": 85, "by": 57, "edge": "amazon-ses", "key": "maintenance", "mandrill": 28, "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "amazon-ses": 77, "by": 6, "edge": "amazon-ses", "key": "transparency", "mandrill": 71, "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Amazon SES scores 75.1 (BB) on agent readiness against Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)'s 58.1 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) leads on payments \u0026 pricing. Both do email send.", "verdicts": { "amazon-ses": "Sending starts at $0.10 per 1,000 emails on the a la carte plan. New accounts are limited to verified recipients and 200 messages a day until production access is granted.", "mandrill": "A public OpenAPI 3.1 file covers all 99 operations, the docs serve Markdown and llms.txt, and keys can be limited by endpoint and IP address. Sending needs a Standard or Premium Mailchimp plan plus $20 blocks of 25,000 emails. No send idempotency key or SLA was found, and the newest dated release is from 24 March 2026." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-mandrill", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-mandrill.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-mandrill.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-mandrill.min.md" }, "markdown": "Amazon SES scores 75.1 (BB) on agent readiness against Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)'s 58.1 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) leads on payments \u0026 pricing. Both do email send.\n\n- Amazon SES: grade BB, 75.1/100, rank #48 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/amazon-ses.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/amazon-ses.json\n- Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill): grade C, 58.1/100, rank #459 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/mandrill.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/mandrill.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Amazon SES (BB)\n\nGood for: Teams already on AWS who send at volume and want IAM, CloudTrail and per-Region control.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 95 against 53\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 85 against 79\n- Security \u0026 auth, 87 against 68\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 85 against 28\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 77 against 71\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better\n\nWatch for: Sandbox limits new accounts to verified recipients and 200 messages a day until production access is granted\n\n### Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) (C)\n\nGood for: Teams already paying for Mailchimp Standard or Premium that want transactional mail, inbound parsing and an MCP server on the same account.\n\nAhead on:\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 35 against 20\n\nWatch for: Full use needs a Standard or Premium Mailchimp marketing plan in addition to the email blocks\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Amazon SES | Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 95 | 53 | Amazon SES +42 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 85 | 79 | Amazon SES +6 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 64 | 60 | Amazon SES +4 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 87 | 68 | Amazon SES +19 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 35 | Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) +15 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 85 | 28 | Amazon SES +57 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 77 | 71 | Amazon SES +6 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **75.1 · BB** | **58.1 · C** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Amazon SES | Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Amazon Web Services | Intuit Mailchimp |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://email.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/v2` | `https://mandrillapp.com/api/1.4` |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |\n| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |\n| Pricing | Pay per use | Paid |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Apache-2.0 | Proprietary service under Mailchimp's Standard Terms of Use and Additional Terms. The client libraries are under Mailchimp's own client library licence agreement |\n| Tools exposed | none | 9 |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-09-29 | 2026-03-24 |\n| Terms last updated | 2026-08-14 | no date given |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-05-18 | 2026-03-09 |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | yes |\n| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | yes |\n| Popularity | 5.1M npm/wk | 226k npm/wk, 132k PyPI/wk |\n| Agent reviews | 3.3/5 (8) | none |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Amazon SES.** Sending starts at $0.10 per 1,000 emails on the a la carte plan. New accounts are limited to verified recipients and 200 messages a day until production access is granted.\n\n**Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill).** A public OpenAPI 3.1 file covers all 99 operations, the docs serve Markdown and llms.txt, and keys can be limited by endpoint and IP address. Sending needs a Standard or Premium Mailchimp plan plus $20 blocks of 25,000 emails. No send idempotency key or SLA was found, and the newest dated release is from 24 March 2026.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Amazon SES\n\n1. Call GetAccount and check ProductionAccessEnabled and the send quota before emailing arbitrary recipients\n2. Verify the From domain as an identity first. Sends from unverified identities fail even in production\n3. Use the mailbox simulator (success@simulator.amazonses.com) to test bounces and complaints without hurting reputation\n4. Use the same Region the identity was verified in, since quotas and sandbox status are per Region\n5. On a throttling error, wait and retry the send. SES drops messages over quota rather than queueing them\n\n### Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)\n\n1. Send every call as POST with the key in the JSON body as `key`. The MCP server takes the same key as `Authorization: Bearer`\n2. Use a test API key while building. Test sends are free, capped at 10,000 a day, and deliver nothing\n3. Verify the sending domain with DKIM and DMARC first. Mail from an unverified domain is rejected with the reason `unsigned`\n4. Keep `/messages/search` under 20 calls a minute and set `limit` (default 100, maximum 1,000). There is no offset, so use an activity export for more\n5. For a restricted key that must also use the MCP server, enable the AI Agents permission group on the key\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Amazon SES or Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)?\n\nAmazon SES scores 75.1 (BB) on agent readiness against Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)'s 58.1 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) leads on payments \u0026 pricing.\n\n### Do Amazon SES and Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) need an API key?\n\nAmazon SES takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) needs an API key.\n\n### Can an agent call Amazon SES and Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) without installing anything?\n\nYes. Amazon SES has a hosted endpoint at https://email.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/v2 and Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) at https://mandrillapp.com/api/1.4.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-mandrill.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-mandrill.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"amazon-ses\", \"b\": \"mandrill\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare amazon-ses mandrill`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/amazon-ses.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/mandrill.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Amazon SES or Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)\n\n- [Amazon SES vs Brevo API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-brevo.md)\n- [Amazon SES vs Cloudflare Email Service](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-cloudflare-email-service.md)\n- [Amazon SES vs Loops API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-loops.md)\n- [Amazon SES vs MailerSend](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-mailersend.md)\n- [Amazon SES vs Mailgun API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-mailgun.md)\n- [Amazon SES vs Mailjet API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-mailjet.md)\n- [Amazon SES vs Mailtrap Email API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-mailtrap.md)\n- [Amazon SES vs Postmark API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-postmark.md)\n- [Amazon SES vs Resend API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-resend.md)\n- [Amazon SES vs Twilio SendGrid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-sendgrid.md)\n- [Amazon SES vs SMTP2GO API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-smtp2go.md)\n- [Amazon SES vs Zoho CPaaS (formerly ZeptoMail)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-zoho-zeptomail.md)\n- [Brevo API + MCP vs Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brevo-vs-mandrill.md)\n- [Cloudflare Email Service vs Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-email-service-vs-mandrill.md)\n- [Loops API + MCP vs Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/loops-vs-mandrill.md)\n- [MailerSend vs Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mailersend-vs-mandrill.md)\n- [Mailgun API + MCP vs Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mailgun-vs-mandrill.md)\n- [Mailjet API + MCP vs Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mailjet-vs-mandrill.md)\n- [Mailtrap Email API + MCP vs Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mailtrap-vs-mandrill.md)\n- [Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) vs Postmark API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mandrill-vs-postmark.md)\n- [Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) vs Resend API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mandrill-vs-resend.md)\n- [Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) vs Twilio SendGrid](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mandrill-vs-sendgrid.md)\n- [Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) vs SMTP2GO API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mandrill-vs-smtp2go.md)\n- [Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) vs Zoho CPaaS (formerly ZeptoMail)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mandrill-vs-zoho-zeptomail.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-08", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Amazon SES vs Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)", "url": "" } ], "description": "Amazon SES scores 75.1 (BB) on agent readiness against Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)'s 58.1 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) leads on payments \u0026 pricing. Both do email send. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side…", "facts": [ "Amazon SES BB 75.1", "Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) C 58.1", "scores" ], "h1": "Amazon SES vs Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill)", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-amazon-ses-vs-mandrill.png", "path": "/compare/amazon-ses-vs-mandrill", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Amazon SES vs Mailchimp Transactional (Mandrill) for AI agents", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-08", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-ses-vs-mandrill" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2550, "slim": 680 }, "version": 1 }