Show HN: FreeResend – Drop-In Resend Replacement Using Amazon SES

3 points

9 months ago

I built FreeResend after my email costs across multiple side projects started getting expensive with Resend (which I still think is fantastic, btw).

*What it is:* A self-hosted, open-source alternative to Resend that uses Amazon SES for actual email delivery while maintaining 100% API compatibility.

*Why it matters:* - 85% cost reduction (Amazon SES rates: $0.10/1k emails vs premium pricing) - True drop-in replacement - just set RESEND_BASE_URL env var - Auto-creates DNS records if you use Digital Ocean (optional) - Complete control over your email infrastructure

*Technical stack:* - Next.js 15 + TypeScript - Direct PostgreSQL (no external DB services) - AWS SES SDK v3 - Digital Ocean API integration - Docker ready

*The magic moment:* Add domain → auto-create 7 DNS records → sending emails in <60 seconds vs 15+ minutes of manual DNS setup.

I've been running it in production across multiple projects for months. MIT licensed, well-documented, includes test scripts.

*GitHub:* https://github.com/eibrahim/freeresend

*Medium post:* https://medium.com/@eibrahim/introducing-freeresend-the-open...