Emailable vs mailboxlayer (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Emailable grades higher than mailboxlayer: 2.4 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Emailable grades higher on ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Emailable
Email list verification with inbox reports and blacklist monitoring
mailboxlayer
Email validation API that returns a JSON quality score
Which one is for you
Pick Emailable if
- Fits if you want list checks and placement reports on one credit balance
- Works for adding a check to sign-up forms without writing code
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you only need a few hundred checks, as the smallest pack is 5,000 credits for $38
- Pricey if you run lots of placement tests, at 100 credits a report
- Not for you if you need warm-up or DMARC management, as the reports only point out authentication errors
- Watch out: more than 1 million credits means a price from sales
Pick mailboxlayer if
- Fits if you are a developer who wants to check addresses at sign-up
- Works for side projects that stay under 100 requests a month
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want to upload a list, because there is only an API
- Tight if you stay free, with 100 non-commercial requests
- Pricey if you want bulk: it starts at $74.99 a month
- Watch out: the homepage text mentions 1,000 free requests and $9.99 plans that the pricing page does not show
- Watch out: every address counts as one request
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAEmailableFair | 1.8GPAmailboxlayerWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$60 for a one-off 10,000 checks, the same as Bouncer. Among its listed rivals DeBounce ($25), Clearout ($32 a month billed yearly) and NeverBounce ($50) cost less, and ZeroBounce (about $129) more. A monthly subscription takes 15% off. | CBasic is $14.99 a month for 5,000 requests, between the $10 cheaper quarter and the $17.99 middle. Professional Plus is $74.99 and Enterprise Plus $249.99, all billed monthly with yearly at a discount. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but 250 free credits for every new account, more than the 100 most rivals give. Enough to test a sample, not to clean a list. | CFree is 100 API requests, non-commercial, with no support and no catch-all detection. Commercial use needs Basic. |
| Features | CIt cleans lists fully, with an API and a sign-up form widget, and the same credits buy inbox reports at 100 credits each and blacklist checks. No warm-up or DMARC tools, though: the reports only point out authentication errors. | CSyntax, SMTP, disposable and role checks with a score. No list upload exists, and catch-all detection and bulk need paid plans. |
| Ease of use | BNo App Store rating on record, but nothing to set up: upload a list and get it back checked. Emailable says 10,000 addresses usually take under 3 minutes. | DNo store rating on record. It is an API only, so you need code to use it. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, an API and a form widget, with Mailchimp, HubSpot, Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign, Pipedrive and Google Sheets, plus Make and Zapier. No phone or desktop app. | CWeb API only. No apps and no integrations are listed. |
| Best for | list cleaning plus inbox placement reports | an email check API for developers |
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: Emailable and mailboxlayer. How we grade
Where they differ
At a glance
| Emailable | mailboxlayer | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $38 one-time for 5,000 credits ($32.30 a month by subscription) | $14.99 per month for 5,000 requests |
| Free plan | None | 100 API requests, for non-commercial use only. |
| Free trial | 250 free credits for every new account | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Emailable, LLC | APILayer |
| Price read from | emailable.com | mailboxlayer.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Emailable
- The smallest purchase is 5,000 credits, more than some rivals' entry packs.
- Inbox reports cost 100 credits each, so placement testing uses up a balance fast.
- There are no warm-up or DMARC management tools; reports only point out authentication errors.
mailboxlayer
- An API only: there is no list upload or bulk cleaning page, and the bulk endpoint starts at Professional Plus.
- The free plan is 100 requests and non-commercial; the homepage text mentions 1,000 free monthly requests and subscriptions from $9.99, which the pricing page does not show.
- Each address checked counts as one API request; overage is listed as a per-request charge on the pricing page.
- Yearly billing is discounted by 10% to 15% depending on the plan.
Key features
Emailable
- Bulk verification
- Upload a list and get each address checked; the vendor says 10,000 addresses usually finish in under 3 minutes. Duplicates and unknown results are refunded.
- API and widget
- Verify addresses from your own code, or add a widget that checks them as they are typed into a form, at one credit each.
- Inbox reports
- Add Emailable's seed list to a send to get a report on inbox placement, spam score, authentication errors and broken links, for 100 credits each.
- Blacklist monitoring
- Watches your IPs and domains on more than 120 real-time blacklists and emails you when one is listed, at 5 credits per check.
- Integrations
- Direct connections to email, CRM and form tools such as Mailchimp, HubSpot, Klaviyo and Pipedrive, plus more through Make and Zapier.
mailboxlayer
- Syntax and typo check
- Validates format and returns a did-you-mean suggestion for common typos.
- Real-time SMTP check
- Pings the address's mail server and tests it for catch-all configuration; catch-all detection is not in the free plan.
- Free and disposable filters
- A daily-updated provider database flags addresses at free providers such as Gmail and at disposable ones such as Mailinator.
- Role detection
- Flags role addresses that map to a function instead of a person.
- Quality score
- Each response includes a numeric score for the address's quality and deliverability.
- Usage statistics
- Daily and monthly request counts, with notifications when a plan's allowance runs low.
Plans
Emailable
Pay-As-You-Go$38
one-time for 5,000 credits
The minimum purchase; credits never expire. Bulk rates: $60 for 10,000, $420 for 100,000 and $2,100 for 1 million.
Monthly$32.30
per month for 5,000 credits
A credits subscription at 15% below pay-as-you-go at every volume; unused credits roll over and it can be cancelled anytime.
EnterpriseCustom
More than 1 million credits, priced by sales.
mailboxlayer
Free$0
100 API requests, non-commercial use, no support, no catch-all detection.
Basic$14.99
per month for 5,000 requests, billed monthly
Commercial use, standard support and catch-all detection. Yearly billing is $161.99.
Professional Plus$74.99
per month for 50,000 requests, billed monthly
Adds a bulk endpoint that takes 25 emails at a time. Yearly billing is $787.99.
Enterprise Plus$249.99
per month for 250,000 requests, billed monthly
Bulk endpoint of 100 emails per call. Yearly billing is $2,549.99.
CustomCustom
Unlimited requests and dedicated support, quoted by the vendor.
Ways to pay less
Emailable
- Other savings
Save 15% with a credits subscription
A monthly credits subscription costs 15% less than buying the same credits pay-as-you-go: 5,000 credits are $32.30 a month against $38.
mailboxlayer
- Annual discount
Save 10% to 15% with yearly billing
The pricing page shows yearly totals with discounts of 10% (Basic), 12.5% (Professional Plus) and 15% (Enterprise Plus).
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Emailable or mailboxlayer?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Emailable starts at $38 one-time for 5,000 credits ($32.30 a month by subscription), and mailboxlayer starts at $14.99 per month for 5,000 requests.
Which has a free plan, Emailable or mailboxlayer?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only mailboxlayer has a free plan. Emailable 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.