Comparison
GQ CRM vs Sendy: Same SES Economics, Hosted vs Self-Hosted
Sendy is a self-hosted SES wrapper you run yourself. GQ CRM is a hosted control plane over your own SMTP with verification, tracking, and bounce classification built in. Here's who should pick which.
Published August 17, 2026
Sendy and GQ CRM occupy the same philosophical lane — a frontend over Amazon SES instead of a per-email SaaS markup — but they execute it completely differently. Sendy is a self-hosted PHP app you install and maintain; GQ CRM is a hosted control plane where verification, tracking, and bounce handling are built in.
- Sendy is a one-time-licensed, self-hosted application that wraps SES: you run it on your own server (or a $5 VPS), and it provides campaign sending, basic lists, and open/click tracking on top of SES.
- GQ CRM is a hosted product that connects to your own SMTP (SES, Mailgun, Google Workspace, or any relay) and adds the campaign layer: recipient verification, per-task rate limits, per-recipient open/click data, bounce classification, templates, per-project API keys, and team workspaces.
Both avoid per-email markup. The difference is who does the operations — and what happens when something breaks.
Feature comparison
| Feature | GQ CRM | Sendy |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Hosted (no server to run) | Self-hosted (your PHP server + MySQL) |
| Sending model | Your own SMTP (SES, Mailgun, Workspace, any relay) | SES only |
| License | Subscription (Free / Starter / Pro) | One-time license + optional updates |
| Recipient verification | Built in, included | No — DIY or external service |
| Bounce classification | Hard/soft, per recipient | Basic (SES bounce/complaint notifications, DIY wiring) |
| Per-recipient open/click tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Rate limiting / pacing per task | Yes | Limited |
| Templates with variables | Yes | Basic |
| Follow-up sequences | Yes (on engaged contacts) | Manual / basic autoresponders |
| Team workspaces & permissions | Yes | No |
| Per-project API keys | Yes | Yes (single API) |
| UI languages | EN / ZH / JA / KO | EN |
Pricing: one-time license vs hosted subscription
Sendy's economics look great on paper — a one-time license (a few hundred dollars, depending on tier) plus your VPS and SES bill. But the total cost of ownership is higher than the license suggests:
| Cost item | Sendy | GQ CRM |
|---|---|---|
| License | One-time (~$69–499 depending on tier) | $0–49/mo |
| Server | VPS (~$5–20/mo) + PHP/MySQL maintenance | $0 (hosted) |
| SES | Your bill | Your bill |
| Verification | External service or DIY | Included |
| Your time | Upgrades, security patches, bounce wiring | $0 |
GQ CRM's plans:
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 500 verified emails, 1 project |
| Starter | $19/mo | 10,000 emails, 5 projects, 3 team members, tracking, API |
| Pro | $49/mo | 50,000 emails, unlimited projects, unlimited team, priority queue |
Sendy pays for itself at high volume if you value self-hosting — but only if you're comfortable owning upgrades, security, and deliverability plumbing yourself.
The operational reality check
The self-hosted SES-wrapper segment is a graveyard of operational complaints. Public reviews of Sendy sit at ~1.8/5 on Trustpilot with recurring themes: "campaign not sending" reports, manual bounce/complaint handling for SES SMTP accounts, and version/upgrade pain. None of this is fatal if you're technical — but it's real work that a hosted product absorbs.
GQ CRM's hosted model absorbs that work:
- Verification is built in — syntax, disposable-domain, and duplicate checks, manual by design, before anything is sent.
- Bounce classification is automatic — hard vs soft, per recipient, aggregated on the task.
- No server, no PHP, no MySQL, no upgrades — the control plane is always current.
- Per-project API keys and workspaces — built for teams and agencies running many domains, which Sendy's single-tenant design doesn't provide.
Who should choose GQ CRM
- You want the SES economics without the operations — no VPS, no PHP/MySQL, no manual bounce wiring.
- You want verification included and per-recipient data out of the box.
- You run a team or agency with per-client projects, workspaces, and per-project API keys.
- You want a multilingual UI (EN/JA/KO/ZH) for cross-border teams.
Who should choose Sendy
- You specifically want self-hosting — data sovereignty, no SaaS account, maximum control.
- You're technical and comfortable running a PHP app, applying upgrades, and wiring SES bounces/complaints yourself.
- Volume is high enough that the one-time license beats a recurring subscription over your horizon.
- Single-tenant, single-brand sending is all you need.
FAQ
Is Sendy really cheaper? At low volume, no — the license plus server plus your time adds up fast. At very high volume over multiple years, yes, if you value self-hosting. GQ CRM's free tier handles 500 emails at $0, which covers most first campaigns.
Does GQ CRM work with SES like Sendy does? Yes — connect SES via SMTP (see the Amazon SES guide) and GQ CRM adds the campaign layer: verification, pacing, tracking, and bounce classification that Sendy leaves mostly to you.
Can GQ CRM replace a self-hosted setup? If your reason for self-hosting is control over infrastructure, GQ CRM keeps your SMTP (and thus your sending infrastructure) yours — only the control plane is hosted.
Does Sendy track opens and clicks? Yes — basic open/click tracking is included, though without the per-recipient verification and bounce classification that GQ CRM builds in.
Verdict
Choose GQ CRM if you want SES economics with a hosted, maintained control plane — verification, tracking, bounce handling, and team features included. Choose Sendy if self-hosting itself is the point and you're ready to own the operations.
Either way, the cheapest email is the one that lands. Try GQ CRM free (500 verified emails) and see for yourself.