Bouncer vs Reacher (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Bouncer grades higher than Reacher: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Bouncer grades higher on ease of use and platforms. Reacher grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Bouncer
Email list verification with credits that never expire
Which one is for you
Pick Bouncer if
- Fits if you clean a list a few times a year and don't want a subscription
- Works for companies that want their data processed and hosted in the EU
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need a new inbox warmed up or DMARC managed, as Bouncer does neither
- Pricey if you also want placement and blocklist tests, as the Deliverability Kit is sold apart from $25 a month
- Watch out: Bouncer Shield for sign-up forms is another monthly subscription, priced by the number of checks
- Tight if you want to test first, as the 100 free credits cover a sample, not a whole list
- Watch out: the monthly credit subscription shows its price only inside the calculator
Pick Reacher if
- Fits if you can run a server and want verification inside your own system
- Works for developers who want to read and change the source
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you do not want to host and maintain a server
- Watch out: the pricing page says mail servers often limit or block checks from unknown IPs
- Watch out: catch-all checks and hosted verification are a separate service, No2Bounce
- Watch out: the SMTP proxy service is separate and paid; its prices were not read
How we grade them
| 2.4GPABouncerFair | 2.0GPAReacherFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C10,000 checks cost $60 as a one-off pack, and the credits never expire. Against the list cleaners it's listed beside that's mid-pack: MillionVerifier is $39 and NeverBounce $50, Emailable is also $60, Kickbox $70 and ZeroBounce about $129. | CFree software, but you supply and run the server, which makes it a C under the ladder. The proxy service and hosted checks are priced separately and were not read. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but 100 free credits to start with no card. Enough to test a sample of your list, not to clean the whole thing. | BThe engine is free to download and run under MIT. It costs you a server and an IP that mail servers will accept. |
| Features | CIt cleans lists fully: deliverable, risky or undeliverable with reasons, a deeper catch-all check, a toxicity score and form checks. The Deliverability Kit tests placement and blocklists, but there's no warm-up or DMARC management, and the kit is sold apart. | CSMTP-based address check behind an HTTP backend. Catch-all checks come from a separate hosted service. |
| Ease of use | BNo App Store rating on record, but there's nothing to set up: upload a CSV and download it sorted, or connect Mailchimp, HubSpot or Klaviyo and check the list where it lives. | DSelf-hosting, and an HTTP API to call it. No rating on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, an API and an MCP server, plus Mailchimp, HubSpot, Klaviyo, Brevo, Pipedrive, lemlist, Make and MailerLite. No phone or desktop app. | CWeb only, and no integrations are listed. You get the source and an HTTP backend. |
| Best for | list cleaning with credits that never expire | developers hosting their own email verifier |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Bouncer and Reacher. How we grade
Where they differ
- Reacher is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
At a glance
| Bouncer | Reacher | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free |
| Starts at | $8 one-time for 1,000 verification credits | Free |
| Free plan | None | The open-source engine is free to download and run yourself under the MIT license. |
| Free trial | 100 free verification credits to start, no card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Bouncer Sp. z o.o. | Reacher |
| Price read from | usebouncer.com | reacher.email |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Bouncer
- Credits can also be bought as a monthly subscription that refills each month; the page shows its price only inside the calculator.
- Bouncer Shield, for form checks, is a separate monthly subscription priced by the number of checks.
- The Deliverability Kit is sold separately from verification credits.
- Bouncer does not warm up inboxes or manage DMARC records; the kit only tests them.
Reacher
- You host and maintain it yourself; the pricing page says mail servers often limit or block verification traffic from unknown IP addresses.
- Hosted verification, including catch-all checks, is a separate service called No2Bounce with usage-based pricing, which was not priced on the Reacher pages.
- The Reacher site says it is owned by No2Bounce.
- The SMTP proxy service is a separate paid offering; its prices were not read.
Key features
Bouncer
- List verification
- Upload a CSV and get each address back as deliverable, risky, undeliverable or unknown, with reasons. Catch-all domains get a deeper check.
- Verification API
- Synchronous and batch endpoints verify addresses from your own app, and an MCP server connects Bouncer to ChatGPT, Claude and other AI tools.
- Toxicity Check
- Scores each address from 0 to 5 for risks such as breached or widely shared addresses, known complainers and likely spam traps.
- Bouncer Shield
- Checks addresses as they are typed into sign-up forms and can block invalid, malicious or fraudulent entries by address or IP.
- Deliverability Kit
- Sends test emails to see whether they land in the inbox or spam, checks SPF, DKIM and DMARC, and monitors IPs and domains on blocklists.
- AutoClean and integrations
- Connects to email and CRM tools such as Mailchimp, HubSpot and Klaviyo to verify lists where they live, and AutoClean verifies a connected CRM without manual uploads.
Reacher
- SMTP-based address check
- Checks whether a mailbox exists without sending an email; the GitHub project describes it as written in Rust.
- HTTP backend
- The repository comes with an HTTP backend, so the verifier can be called as an API from your own applications.
- Modifiable source
- The MIT-licensed code can be downloaded, changed and built into your own verification system.
- Port 25 SMTP proxies
- A separate Reacher service offers managed IP pools with rotation and MX-aware routing, for senders whose servers block verification traffic.
Plans
Bouncer
Pay as you go$8
one-time for 1,000 credits
Credits never expire and get cheaper in bulk: $60 for 10,000, $400 for 100,000 and $2,000 for 1 million. Duplicates and unknown results are not charged.
Deliverability Kit Starter$25
per month for 250 test emails
Inbox placement, blocklist, SPF, DKIM, DMARC and SpamAssassin tests, with 10 IPs or domains monitored. Sold apart from verification.
Deliverability Kit Standard$125
per month for 1,000 test emails
The same tests with 25 IPs or domains monitored.
Deliverability Kit Pro$250
per month for 2,500 test emails
The same tests with 50 IPs or domains monitored.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited test emails and monitored IPs or domains, multi-organization setup, custom agreements and an account manager.
Reacher
Self-hosted Reacher$0
Open-source software you run on your own servers. You supply the infrastructure.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Bouncer or Reacher?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Bouncer starts at $8 one-time for 1,000 verification credits, and Reacher is free.
Which has a free plan, Bouncer or Reacher?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Reacher has a free plan. Bouncer does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.