I hate managing Amazon SES deliverability, what should I use instead?

If you hate managing SES deliverability, the best alternative depends on what kind of email you send:

If you send product/app emails

Use a transactional email provider that handles deliverability better out of the box:

• Postmark — best for transactional email, very simple, excellent deliverability
• Resend — modern developer experience, great for app emails, easy API
• Mailgun — flexible, more features, but a bit more setup
• SendGrid — common and feature-rich, but can be noisier/less pleasant to manage
• SparkPost — solid infrastructure, less popular than before

If you also send marketing/newsletters

Use a platform built for both deliverability and campaign management:

• Customer.io
• Klaviyo — especially for ecommerce
• Mailchimp — easiest for non-technical teams
• Brevo (Sendinblue) — good all-rounder
• ConvertKit — creators/newsletters

My practical recommendation

• Transactional only: Postmark or Resend
• Transactional + some marketing: Brevo or Customer.io
• Ecommerce: Klaviyo
• Newsletter/creator: ConvertKit

Why SES feels painful

SES is cheap and powerful, but you often have to manage:

• IP/domain reputation
• SPF/DKIM/DMARC
• bounce/complaint handling
• warm-up
• suppression lists
• inbox placement issues

Other providers still require good email hygiene, but they usually make it much easier.

If you want the least headache

Pick Postmark if your emails are mainly:

• password resets
• receipts
• account notifications
• alerts

Pick Resend if you want:

• a modern API
• React/React Email workflow
• easy developer experience

If you tell me:

1. transactional or marketing,
2. your monthly volume,
3. your stack,

I can recommend the best one specifically.