Guerrilla Mail vs Mailinator (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Guerrilla Mail grades higher than Mailinator: 3.0 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Guerrilla Mail grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. Mailinator grades higher on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Guerrilla Mail
Disposable email inbox that needs no sign-up
Mailinator
Public disposable inboxes and private email testing domains
Which one is for you
Pick Guerrilla Mail if
- Fits if you need an address for a one-off confirmation link
- Works for developers who want a free inbox to test sign-ups against
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you need mail kept, as everything is deleted after 1 hour
- Skip it for anything private, since anyone with the inbox ID can open it
- Skip it if you dislike ads, as the site shows them and uses Google Analytics and AdSense
- Watch out: there's no spam folder
Pick Mailinator if
- Fits if you test sign-up and password-reset emails in code
- Works for QA teams that want a private domain and an API
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you need privacy on the public inboxes, as anyone can read them
- Tight if you stay free: 1 private domain, 10 MB and 60 emails a day
- Pricey if you need SMS, which is bought on request at an extra charge
- Watch out: load testing needs Enterprise
- Watch out: the annual and monthly pages list different Verified Pro limits, 2,000 and 1,000 a month
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAGuerrilla MailVery good | 2.6GPAMailinatorGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AThe disposable inbox is free, and using your own domain is $9.99 a year. | CBusiness is $79 a month for 5 seats billed yearly, about $15.80 a seat, which is above the dearer quarter of what email services charge. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright, with no account, so there's no cap to reach on a throwaway inbox. | BPublic inboxes need no sign-up, and Verified Pro adds 1 private domain and an API at 60 emails a day. A solo tester could live on it. |
| Features | CReceiving, replying and an API. It does the throwaway-address job fully, which is a smaller job than a mailbox, and it keeps nothing past an hour. | BPublic and private inboxes, an API and SDKs, webhooks and routing rules, with nothing missing from the job of testing mail. SMS and load testing are dearer extras. |
| Ease of use | BOpen the page and you have an address. Nothing to set up. | CNo store rating on record. You point a domain at it and wire the API into your tests. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with an API for scripts. No phone or desktop apps are listed. | BWeb, with an API and Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, Puppeteer and Slack connections. No apps of its own. |
| Best for | a throwaway inbox with no sign-up | public throwaway inboxes and email testing |
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: Guerrilla Mail and Mailinator. How we grade
Price against what you get
Guerrilla Mail starts at $0.83 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Mailinator starts at $79 a month and scores 2.7.
Mailinator scores higher, and starts $78.17 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other email apps on the chart, 4 score higher than Guerrilla Mail for less, and 12 score higher than Mailinator for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Guerrilla Mail is open source, according to its own site.
- Mailinator also covers workflow automation and transactional email.
At a glance
| Guerrilla Mail | Mailinator | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9.99 per year | $79 per month, billed yearly ($99 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | The disposable inbox is free with no account; messages are deleted after 1 hour. | Public inboxes need no sign-up. The free Verified Pro plan adds 1 private domain, API access, 1 user and 10 MB storage, capped at 60 emails a day. |
| Free trial | None listed | 2-week free trial of the Business plan. |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Jamit Software Limited | Manybrain, Inc. |
| Price read from | guerrillamail.com | mailinator.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Guerrilla Mail
- Anyone who knows an inbox ID can open that inbox, so it suits low-stakes messages only.
- Everything is deleted after an hour, and there is no spam folder.
- The site shows ads and uses Google Analytics and AdSense cookies, per its About page.
- The open-source part is the Go-Guerrilla mail server; the vendor does not say the whole website is open.
Mailinator
- Public mailinator.com inboxes are readable by anyone, so they are unsuitable for private mail.
- SMS numbers are bought on request at an additional charge.
- The annual and monthly pricing pages list different Verified Pro email limits (2,000 and 1,000 a month).
- Load testing and SMS are not on the free plans; load testing needs Enterprise.
Key features
Guerrilla Mail
- No registration
- A random address is created when you open the site, and you can also choose your own address.
- Scrambled address
- Anyone who knows an inbox ID can read that inbox, so the site offers a scrambled alias as an extra layer of protection.
- Compose and reply
- The inbox has a compose window, so you can send from the disposable address.
- One-hour retention
- Messages are deleted an hour after they reach an inbox, or sooner if you delete them.
- API
- A public API is documented, and the vendor says its own front end uses it for everything.
Mailinator
- Public and private inboxes
- Any name at a public domain works as an inbox the moment mail arrives; paid plans add private domains with unlimited inboxes.
- API and SDKs
- Inboxes can be read from test code through an API, with SDK releases for C#, Python, JavaScript and Ruby.
- SMS testing
- Business and above can receive SMS in a test suite; numbers are set up on request and cost extra.
- Webhooks and routing rules
- Rules can click links in messages or forward them to tools such as Slack.
- Load testing
- Email load testing needs an Enterprise subscription, per the vendor.
Plans
Guerrilla Mail
Disposable inbox$0
Random or chosen address on one of several guerrillamail domains. No registration, and mail is kept for 1 hour.
Your own domain$9.99
per year, for a domain you own
Mail sent to your domain arrives in an inbox only you can open, or you can make it open to everyone. Pay by Bitcoin or PayPal.
Mailinator
Public (free)$0
Unlimited public inboxes with temporary storage and no sign-up; anyone can read them.
Verified Pro$0
free with verification
1 private domain, 1 user, 10 MB storage and API access. The annual page lists 2,000 emails a month and 60 a day; the monthly page lists 1,000 a month.
Business$79
per month, 5 seats, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
1 private domain, 100,000 emails a month (3,333 a day), 50 MB storage, webhooks and routing rules.
Business Plus$159
per month, 10 seats, billed annually ($199 billed monthly)
3 private domains, 300,000 emails a month (10,000 a day), 100 MB storage, up to 100 emails a second.
Enterprise$699
and up, custom pricing; billing basis not stated
5 or more private domains, 3 million or more emails a month, up to 500 emails a second, custom seats and terms.
Ways to pay less
Guerrilla Mail
No public discounts listed.
Mailinator
- Annual discount
20% off with annual billing
The annual pricing page says its plans include a 20% discount on the service plan compared with month-to-month.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Guerrilla Mail or Mailinator?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Guerrilla Mail is cheaper to start with: $0.83 a month when paid by the year, against $79 a month for Mailinator. Guerrilla Mail starts at $9.99 per year, and Mailinator starts at $79 per month, billed yearly ($99 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Guerrilla Mail or Mailinator?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Guerrilla Mail and Mailinator have a free plan.
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.