Loops vs Sender:
free email volume and transactional messages.
Loops and Sender compared for free recipient capacity, rolling versus monthly send budgets and transactional email planning.
Choose around your work.
Check the retained plan.
Loops combines marketing and transactional messages in one free allowance measured over a rolling 30-day window. Sender provides a larger published free subscriber and monthly-send ceiling. Choose by the recipients you need to reach, the timing of campaigns and product messages, then test the integration and upgrade requirements.
Seven differences that change the shortlist
| Buying question | Loops | Sender |
|---|---|---|
| Free recipients | Sends to the first 1,000 contacts | Up to 2,500 subscribers |
| Free volume | 4,000 combined sends per rolling 30 days | 15,000 emails per month |
| Stored versus reachable contacts | Unlimited storage does not mean unlimited free recipients | Subscriber ceiling also has to fit |
| Transactional planning | Shares the free send allowance with marketing | Includes transactional email; verify required integration scope |
| Free branding | Powered by Loops footer | Sender branding |
| Paid sending | Subscriber-bracket packages with unlimited sends | Subscriber and send-volume packages |
| Buying focus | Product events, audience scope and rolling usage | Campaign volume, seats and channel requirements |
Four worked buying briefs
These are hypothetical scenarios with explicit assumptions. They do not establish equal capabilities, measured usability or a negotiated price.
| Buying brief | Loops | Sender |
|---|---|---|
| 900 people receive four newsletters | 3,600 sends fit if other messages stay within the shared 4,000 allowance. | 3,600 sends and 900 subscribers fit the published Free caps. |
| 1,200 people need the same newsletter | Free cannot reach beyond its first 1,000 contacts. | 1,200 subscribers are below the 2,500 free cap. |
| 900 people plus 800 product notifications | 3,600 plus 800 is 4,400, exceeding Free’s rolling allowance. | Check the combined monthly volume and required message integration. |
| Campaigns clustered across a month boundary | A calendar rollover does not reset a rolling 30-day window. | Confirm the account’s monthly allowance period. |
900 people receive four newsletters
Can the campaign volume fit?
Loops: 3,600 sends fit if other messages stay within the shared 4,000 allowance.
Sender: 3,600 sends and 900 subscribers fit the published Free caps.
Automations, retries and transactional messages can consume remaining capacity.
1,200 people need the same newsletter
Which audience boundary matters?
Loops: Free cannot reach beyond its first 1,000 contacts.
Sender: 1,200 subscribers are below the 2,500 free cap.
Storing a contact does not necessarily grant free sending to that contact.
900 people plus 800 product notifications
Can four full newsletters still fit?
Loops: 3,600 plus 800 is 4,400, exceeding Free’s rolling allowance.
Sender: Check the combined monthly volume and required message integration.
Use actual message recipients and the provider’s count for each send.
Campaigns clustered across a month boundary
What should the operator check?
Loops: A calendar rollover does not reset a rolling 30-day window.
Sender: Confirm the account’s monthly allowance period.
Plot send dates rather than comparing two calendar totals alone.
Build a dated sending schedule
List each campaign date, recipient segment and automated message stream. Add the messages produced by a new signup, password event or purchase where those run through the selected service. Keep marketing consent and transactional purpose distinct.
Use the busiest consecutive 30 days as well as the provider’s billing period. Campaigns sent late in one month and early in the next can be close together even when separate calendar totals look small.
Test event ownership and audience state
Trigger one synthetic product event and inspect who receives the message. Check duplicate handling, failure reporting and whether the recipient enters the marketing audience. Do not infer those behaviours from a pricing allowance.
Then unsubscribe the sample marketing contact and test the intended product notification separately. Document which system owns audience state and message templates, who reviews changes and how credentials are replaced when an administrator leaves.
Questions before you choose
Can Loops store more contacts than it can reach on Free?
Yes. Its current free offer stores unlimited contacts but sends only to the first 1,000, within a shared 4,000-send rolling allowance.
Do transactional emails use the Loops free allowance?
Yes. Marketing and transactional sends are combined within the free rolling 30-day window. Model both message streams.
Does the larger free allowance prove better delivery?
No. Capacity does not measure delivery or engagement. Use authorised tests, appropriate authentication and your own campaign results to evaluate sending performance.
Keep the assumptions with the figures
Use the date, billing cycle, units and limits with each example. Check current account terms before purchasing. Unverified prices and model costs stay unpriced.
Download the buying examples as JSON ↓Share the comparison
Use these examples when discussing the shortlist with your team.