Test using AWS SES for email sending

[TifNi]

Overview

We need to pilot replacing SendGrid with AWS SES to send monthly email for the purpose to reduce email infrastructure costs.

Details

• We are currently using SendGrid for password reset and account confirmation emails.
• AWS SES is potentially cheaper than SendGrid, especially given our low sending volume (6 emails/month).

Pricing for AWS SES

• Base Cost Calculation for 6 emails/month (no EC2)
• SES charge per message: $0.0001 (that’s $0.10 per 1,000 emails).
• 6 emails × $0.0001 = $0.0006/month (~six-hundredths of a cent).
• Add $0.12 per GB of attachments or body size over ~150KB, but plain-text or light HTML is negligible. - we wont need this
• No other SES fixed fees unless you purchase a dedicated IP (that’s $24.95/month). We are not using a dedicated IP at SendGrid so we don't think we will need it here

Action Items

• [ ] Create test account (e.g., [email protected], [email protected])
• [ ] Send 6 confirmation emails through AWS SES
• [ ] Track and review AWS SES costs
• [ ] If it proves to be virtually costless, then we change the code base permanently to use AWS SES instead of Sendgrid

Resources/Instructions

• Related Issue: https://github.com/hackforla/food-oasis/issues/1996
• conversation with ChatGPT that led to decision to pursue this course of action https://chatgpt.com/share/689baaef-2420-8008-98d4-569789116f54