If you are building or rethinking your customer communication infrastructure, you have likely considered AWS options. Amazon SES, Amazon Pinpoint, and platforms like CampaignHQ that run on AWS all offer email sending capabilities, but they serve different needs.

This comparison breaks down when each option makes sense, specifically for Indian SMB and mid-market teams.

Quick Comparison

AWS SES (Simple Email Service)

AWS SES is a raw email sending infrastructure service. It is designed for teams that want maximum control over email delivery and are willing to build their own marketing layer on top.

When SES makes sense

You should consider SES if:

• You have a dedicated engineering team that can build custom tooling
• You need to send extremely high volumes (millions of emails per day) at the lowest possible cost
• Your application is already AWS-native and you want tight integration with Lambda, S3, and other AWS services
• You are building a custom email platform and need full control over sending logic, bounce handling, and suppression management
• You do not need a visual campaign builder or marketing UI

What SES provides

• High-volume email sending with configurable sending limits
• Sender authentication via DKIM, SPF, and DMARC
• Integration with AWS Lambda for event-driven sending
• Configuration sets for tracking and analytics
• Dedicated IP addresses for high-volume senders

What SES does not provide

• No visual email builder or template management UI
• No contact list management or segmentation
• No journey automation or drip campaigns
• No campaign analytics dashboards (you need to build these yourself)
• No SMS or WhatsApp support

The real cost of SES

While SES per-message costs are low, the total cost of ownership includes engineering time to build and maintain the marketing layer on top. For a team building a basic journey builder, contact manager, and analytics dashboard, you are looking at:

• 2 to 4 months of full-time engineering work for initial build
• Ongoing maintenance for bug fixes and feature updates
• No marketing team self-service until the UI layer is complete

For most Indian SMB and mid-market teams, this engineering investment does not make sense unless you have a specific reason to build rather than buy.

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Amazon Pinpoint

Amazon Pinpoint was AWS’s attempt to provide a marketing automation layer on top of SES. It added journey builders, campaign management, and multi-channel support including SMS and push notifications.

The problem with Pinpoint now

Pinpoint is being deprecated. AWS is sunsetting the service, which means:

• No new features or improvements
• Limited support as AWS winds down the product
• Teams using Pinpoint need to plan a migration
• Investment in new Pinpoint configurations does not make sense

If you are currently using Pinpoint, the question is not whether to stay, but where to migrate. If you are evaluating new platforms, Pinpoint should not be on your shortlist.

What Pinpoint provided

Before deprecation, Pinpoint offered:

• Visual journey builder for email campaigns
• SMS and push notification support
• Basic segmentation and audience management
• Campaign analytics

Why teams looked beyond Pinpoint even before deprecation

• Complexity of configuration compared to dedicated marketing platforms
• Limited WhatsApp support (increasingly important for Indian teams)
• Cost unpredictability at high volumes
• Lack of Indian payment and invoicing options

CampaignHQ

CampaignHQ is an email and WhatsApp marketing automation platform built on AWS infrastructure. It combines the reliability of AWS SES for email delivery with a marketing-focused UI layer, and adds native WhatsApp support.

When CampaignHQ makes sense

You should consider CampaignHQ if:

• You want email and WhatsApp in a single platform
• You need a visual journey builder that marketing teams can use without engineering
• You want pre-built automation templates for common use cases (onboarding, re-engagement, abandoned cart)
• You prefer a platform that handles deliverability, bounce management, and sender reputation for you
• You want Indian payment options and local support
• You are migrating from Pinpoint and want a straightforward transition

What CampaignHQ provides

• Email sending via AWS SES infrastructure (reliable, scalable)
• Native WhatsApp Business API integration
• Visual journey builder with pre-built templates
• Contact list management and segmentation
• Real-time analytics for opens, clicks, bounces, and conversions
• Dedicated IP addresses for high-volume senders
• Meta Technology Partner validation for WhatsApp integration

The migration advantage

For teams currently on Pinpoint, CampaignHQ offers a migration path that preserves your contact lists, templates, and journey logic. Because CampaignHQ runs on AWS infrastructure, you do not need to re-work your existing AWS IAM roles or security configurations entirely.

See CampaignHQ Pricing

Decision Framework

Use this framework to choose the right option for your situation.

Choose AWS SES if:

• You have strong engineering resources and want to build custom tooling
• You need maximum infrastructure control
• You do not need a marketing UI or journey builder
• You are comfortable building your own analytics and reporting layer

Do not choose SES if:

• You want marketing team self-service without engineering involvement
• You need a journey builder or drip campaigns
• You want WhatsApp or SMS integration
• You prefer an out-of-the-box solution

Choose CampaignHQ if:

• You want email and WhatsApp in one platform
• You need a visual journey builder for marketing campaigns
• You want Indian payment options and local support
• You are migrating from Pinpoint or another platform
• You want to move quickly without engineering investment

Do not choose CampaignHQ if:

• You need to build highly custom sending logic that existing platforms cannot support
• You require channels beyond email and WhatsApp (push, in-app messaging)
• You are building a white-label email platform for your own customers

What about Pinpoint?

Do not choose Pinpoint. The service is being deprecated. If you are currently on Pinpoint, plan your migration to SES, CampaignHQ, or another platform now.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use SES for transactional email and CampaignHQ for marketing campaigns?

Yes, this is a common setup. You can send transactional emails (password resets, order confirmations) directly via SES API while running marketing campaigns through CampaignHQ. Both use the same underlying AWS infrastructure, and you can configure separate sending domains for each use case.

Does CampaignHQ use AWS SES under the hood?

Yes, CampaignHQ routes email through AWS SES infrastructure. The difference is that CampaignHQ provides the marketing layer (journey builder, contact management, analytics) on top, so you do not need to build it yourself.

What happens to my sender reputation if I switch platforms?

Sender reputation is tied to your sending domain and IP address, not the platform. If you migrate your authenticated domain and use a dedicated IP, your reputation transfers with you. If you switch to a shared IP pool, you share the pool’s reputation.

Is CampaignHQ only for teams already using AWS?

No, CampaignHQ works for any team regardless of your current infrastructure. The platform runs on AWS, but you do not need your own AWS account or existing AWS setup to use it.

How long does migration from Pinpoint to CampaignHQ typically take?

For a mid-sized team with established contact lists and 3 to 5 active journeys, a typical migration takes 4 to 6 weeks. This includes data export, template recreation, journey setup, testing, and parallel running before cutover.

Written by CampaignHQ Team