A Canadian alternative to Amazon SES

Zedmail is a Canadian alternative to Amazon SES that keeps your email data out of US jurisdiction entirely. It's a transactional email API operated by a Canadian company on Canadian servers — so your recipients' data is never reachable under the US CLOUD Act, whether you send from Canada, the UK, or the EU. The same REST API and SMTP relay you expect from Amazon SES, billed in CAD at $0.15 per 1,000.

Start free — 200 emails/day See the API

Short answer

If you want a Amazon SES replacement that keeps email data out of the US — for Canadian data residency, or to avoid the GDPR US-transfer problem — Zedmail is the closest like-for-like: REST API + SMTP, webhooks, DKIM/SPF/DMARC done for you, 200 free emails a day, then $0.15 CAD per 1,000.

Zedmail vs Amazon SES at a glance

Feature	Zedmail	Amazon SES
Price per 1,000 emails	\$0.15 CAD	US$0.10 / 1,000
Free tier	200 emails/day, forever	3,000/mo (first 12 months)
Operated from	Canada 🇨🇦	United States 🇺🇸 (AWS) — incl. EU regions
Reachable under US CLOUD Act	No	Yes — even EU regions (AWS, US)
EU → provider transfer under GDPR	Canada has EU adequacy	US transfer (SCCs, Schrems II risk)
CASL compliance (Canada)	Built in	Self-managed
Billing currency	CAD	USD
REST API	Yes	Yes
SMTP relay	Yes	Yes
Webhooks (delivered / bounce / complaint)	Yes	Yes
DKIM / SPF / DMARC	Configured for you	Self-serve

*The US CLOUD Act applies to US companies regardless of where data is stored — including their EU regions. Pricing is approximate and current as of June 2026; check each provider for current rates.

Why choose an alternative hosted outside the US?

Your email never falls under US jurisdiction

Zedmail is a Canadian company on Canadian servers, so your recipients' data is never reachable under the US CLOUD Act — the law that lets US authorities compel American providers to hand over data wherever it is stored, including their EU regions. Amazon SES is operated from the US.

Built for Canadian AND European senders

Canada holds an EU adequacy decision, so moving personal data from the EU to Canada is permitted under the GDPR without extra safeguards. Sending through a US provider is a transfer to the US, which since the Schrems II ruling requires Standard Contractual Clauses and remains legally contested. Zedmail sidesteps that.

CASL compliance, handled

Every message includes a CASL-compliant unsubscribe, one-click (RFC 8058) unsubscribe is supported, and hard bounces and spam complaints are automatically suppressed.

Billed in Canadian dollars

No USD conversion fees. $0.15 CAD per 1,000 emails, with 200 free every day.

When Amazon SES still makes sense

Amazon SES is a mature platform with a large ecosystem and global scale. If you have no requirement about where your data falls under jurisdiction, no CASL obligation, and you rely on Amazon SES-specific features, it remains a solid choice. Zedmail focuses on one thing: keeping transactional email outside US jurisdiction.

The API, in one call

curl -X POST https://zedmail.io/v1/email/send \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ses_your_api_key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "from":    "Your App <noreply@yourdomain.ca>",
    "to":      "customer@example.com",
    "subject": "Welcome!",
    "html":    "<p>Thanks for signing up.</p>"
  }'

→ 202 { "message_id": "msg_3a7f9c...", "status": "queued" }

How to switch from Amazon SES to Zedmail

Create a free Zedmail account and verify your sending domain (publish two CNAME records — we handle DKIM/SPF/DMARC from there).
Generate an API key in the dashboard.
Swap your Amazon SES API call for Zedmail's — same idea, one endpoint and a JSON body. Or point your existing SMTP integration at our relay on port 587.
Send a test email, confirm delivery in the dashboard, and switch your traffic over.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Canadian alternative to Amazon SES?

Zedmail is a Canadian alternative to Amazon SES: a transactional email API operated by a Canadian company on Canadian servers, outside US CLOUD Act jurisdiction, CASL-compliant, and billed in Canadian dollars at $0.15 CAD per 1,000 emails. It provides a REST API and an SMTP relay, the same way Amazon SES does.

Where is my email data stored with Zedmail?

In Canada, by a Canadian company. It is never processed on US infrastructure and is not reachable under the US CLOUD Act.

Can European senders use Zedmail — is it GDPR-friendly?

Yes. Canada holds an EU adequacy decision, so EU → Canada transfers are permitted under the GDPR without Standard Contractual Clauses — unlike US providers since the Schrems II ruling.

Does Zedmail handle CASL compliance?

Yes. Every message includes a CASL-compliant unsubscribe, one-click (RFC 8058) unsubscribe is supported, and bounces and complaints are auto-suppressed.

How much does Zedmail cost compared to Amazon SES?

Zedmail is $0.15 CAD per 1,000 emails with 200 free per day. Amazon SES: US$0.10 / 1,000. Zedmail bills in Canadian dollars, so there are no currency-conversion fees.

How hard is it to migrate from Amazon SES?

For most senders it takes minutes: verify your domain with two CNAME records, generate an API key, and swap your send call (or repoint SMTP). DKIM, SPF, and DMARC are configured for you.

Keep your email out of the US

Start sending in minutes — 200 free emails a day, then \$0.15 CAD per 1,000.

Start free — 200 emails/day

Last updated: 2026-06-04