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# Know what you pay for.
- URL: https://insights.securesalt.com/articles/why-one-tenth-of-a-penny-changed-our-thinking/
- Published: 2026-10-27T17:30:09.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-28T15:41:11.000Z
- Description: A tenth of a penny. A clear choice about who pays.
- Author: Chris Econn
- Tags: #needs-refinement, Articles

Salt Mail charges $0.001 per message—one-tenth of a penny. Here’s when that charge belongs to you.

### A member sends you validated contact.

The sender pays. You don’t.

![Validated member contact: sender pays; recipient charge 000](https://storage.ghost.io/c/00/0b/000b585d-26b1-41a4-8da3-36e2effbad73/content/images/2026/10/01-validated-direct.png)

### Someone on your Allow List sends you a message.

You pay.

![Allowed direct contact: recipient charge 001](https://storage.ghost.io/c/00/0b/000b585d-26b1-41a4-8da3-36e2effbad73/content/images/2026/10/02-allowed-direct.png)

### A blocked sender sends you a message.

You pay. Salt Mail still processes the incoming message, even when your block keeps it out of your inbox.

![Blocked direct contact: recipient charge 001](https://storage.ghost.io/c/00/0b/000b585d-26b1-41a4-8da3-36e2effbad73/content/images/2026/10/03-blocked-direct-swipe.png)

### Salt Mail suppresses machine-generated mail.

You pay for handling the message, even when it is suppressed.

![Suppressed machine-generated mail: recipient charge 001](https://storage.ghost.io/c/00/0b/000b585d-26b1-41a4-8da3-36e2effbad73/content/images/2026/10/04-suppressed-machine-swipe.png)

### Salt Mail elevates machine-generated mail.

You pay for handling the message.

![Elevated machine-generated mail: recipient charge 001](https://storage.ghost.io/c/00/0b/000b585d-26b1-41a4-8da3-36e2effbad73/content/images/2026/10/05-elevated-machine.png)

### Automatic unsubscribe stops future mail.

No arrival. No processing charge.

![Automatic unsubscribe prevents future arrival: recipient charge 000](https://storage.ghost.io/c/00/0b/000b585d-26b1-41a4-8da3-36e2effbad73/content/images/2026/10/06-unsubscribe.png)

Suppressing a machine-generated message still requires handling it. Unsubscribing reduces the messages that arrive afterward.

## But I thought email was free?

Free to send does not mean free to receive. Someone still spends time sorting it, investigating it, and deciding what deserves attention.

A tenth of a penny is $1 for a thousand messages. We believe that is enough to encourage responsible sending and receiving without making ordinary conversation expensive.

## How does this work for you?

Your choices shape both your inbox and your cost. We build the tools to make those choices easier and lower the cost.

### Auto Unsubscribe

Suppress unwanted machine-generated mail, and Salt Mail works to unsubscribe you. Fewer messages arriving means fewer messages to process—and less to pay.

### Invite your people

You pay for incoming messages from your Allow List. Invite those people onto the network so they can cover their own sending charges. The more of your contacts who join and send as members, the less you pay to receive their messages.

### [Power Moves](https://insights.securesalt.com/articles/power-moves/)

Short interactive experiences show how to make useful choices, including suppressing unwanted mail so automatic unsubscribe can help stop it coming.

You have a part to play. Our responsibility is to make that part as small and effective as possible, so email can be what it should have been all along: productive, safe, and affordable.