Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) | Limits and Restrictions

Question 1

Will I be billed for incoming spam messages?

Limits and Restrictions

Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) | Customer Engagement

Answer 1

You will be billed for all incoming messages, unless those messages are rejected during the SMTP conversation. The SMTP conversation occurs when the sender transmits the message to the receiving server.

There are two ways in which you can determine whether or not mail is accepted during the SMTP conversation. The first way is to create lists of IP addresses you want to allow (whitelists), and lists of addresses you want to block (blacklists). By explicitly blocking messages from known spammers, you cause messages from those senders to be rejected during the SMTP conversation, and are therefore not billed for the messages they send.

The second method is to set up receipt rules. Amazon SES will only accept incoming messages for which at least one receipt rule matches the recipient of the message. Amazon SES maintains its own IP address block list, and will automatically block messages from addresses on that list without your intervention. If you want to enable delivery from an address that was automatically blocked, you can add it to your list of allowed senders.

Question 2

What is the Amazon SES sandbox?

Limits and Restrictions

Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) | Customer Engagement

Answer 2

The Amazon SES sandbox is an area in which new users can test the capabilities of Amazon SES. New Amazon SES users are automatically placed in the sandbox. While in the sandbox, you will only be able to send mail to verified email addresses, or to email addresses associated with the Amazon SES mailbox simulator. Additionally, while in the sandbox, you can send no more than 200 messages per 24-hour period, and no more than one message per second.

When you are ready to move out of the sandbox, you can submit an SES Sending Limit Increase request.

Question 3

Can I send emails from any source email address?

Limits and Restrictions

Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) | Customer Engagement

Answer 3

You can send email from any address or domain that you own. In order for your email to be delivered through Amazon SES, you must prove that you own the sending email address or domain. You can verify your ownership using the Amazon SES console, or through the Amazon SES API.

You can verify a total of up to 10,000 email addresses and domains, in any combination.

Question 4

Is there a limit on the size of emails Amazon SES will deliver?

Limits and Restrictions

Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) | Customer Engagement

Answer 4

Amazon SES will accept email messages up to 10 MB in size. This includes any images and attachments that are part of the message.

Question 5

Is there a limit on the number of recipients I can specify in a single email message?

Limits and Restrictions

Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) | Customer Engagement

Answer 5

You can specify a maximum of 50 recipients for every message you send using Amazon SES. The total number of email addresses in the To:, CC:, and BCC: field must not exceed 50 recipients. If you need to send an email message to more than 50 recipients, then you must send multiple messages, each addressed to 50 or fewer recipients.

Question 6

Are there any limits on how many emails I can send?

Limits and Restrictions

Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) | Customer Engagement

Answer 6

Every Amazon SES sender has a unique set of sending limits, which are calculated by Amazon SES on an ongoing basis:

Sending quota—the maximum number of emails you can send in a 24-hour period.

Maximum send rate—the maximum number of emails that Amazon SES can accept from your account per second.

Note: The rate at which Amazon SES accepts your messages might be less than the maximum send rate.

Sending limits are based on recipients rather than on messages. You can check your sending limits at any time by using the Amazon SES console.

Note that if your email is detected to be of poor or questionable quality (for example, if it has high bounce or complaint rates, or if it judged to be spam or abusive content), Amazon SES might temporarily or permanently reduce your permitted send volume, or take other action as appropriate.