MailGenius vs MxToolbox (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, MailGenius and MxToolbox share a 2.0 GPA, both have a free plan, and MailGenius starts cheaper, at $23 a month against $129 a month.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
MailGenius grades higher on value for money. MxToolbox grades higher on features. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
MailGenius
Email spam-score and deliverability tester with DNS checkers
MxToolbox
Email and DNS lookups plus blacklist and DMARC monitoring
Which one is for you
Pick MailGenius if
- Fits if you send marketing email and want a check before each campaign
- Works for people who only need the free DNS checkers
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you test often, as Beginner stops at 60 tests a month
- Pricey if you pay monthly, about 25% over the yearly price
- Watch out: results are hosted on public links, according to the notice under the free test
- Watch out: testing competitors' emails needs Genius, $39 a month
- Watch out: automatic testing of every send needs the $79 plan
Pick MxToolbox if
- Fits if you want to be told when your sending domain lands on a blacklist
- Works for teams that want DMARC, inbox placement and blacklists in one tool
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you are one person: the first paid plan is $129 a month
- Tight if you stay free, as it is weekly blacklist checks for 1 domain
- Tight if you want more domains, since both paid plans cover 5
- Watch out: managed services are not priced, and the page gives no billing basis
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAMailGeniusFair | 2.0GPAMxToolboxFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CBeginner is $23 a month billed yearly for 60 tests, which is the category's middle figure. | DDelivery Center is $129 a month for 5 domains and Plus is $399, above the $99 where the dearest tenth of deliverability tools starts. The page does not say if it is billed monthly or yearly. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free spam test is offered on the home page, but its monthly limit is not stated. | CFree is weekly blacklist monitoring for 1 domain. Inbox placement, DMARC reports and anything beyond that are paid. |
| Features | CSpam test, inbox placement, AI copy suggestions, DNS checkers and, on the top plan, automatic testing and blacklist monitoring. | BInbox placement, blacklist monitoring, DMARC, SPF and DKIM management, complaints and mailflow in one place. It covers a wide job, and managed services are not priced. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. Send an email to a test address and read the report. | CNo store rating on record. You add domains and records and read the monitors, so there is setup. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with no integrations listed on the vendor pages. | CWeb only. Google Postmaster Tools is the one integration listed. |
| Best for | checking an email for spam signals before sending | blacklist and DMARC monitoring for a domain |
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: MailGenius and MxToolbox. How we grade
Price against what you get
MailGenius starts at $23 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. MxToolbox starts at $129 a month and scores 2.3.
MxToolbox scores higher, and starts $106 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other email verification and deliverability tools on the chart, 13 score higher than MailGenius for less, and 8 score higher than MxToolbox 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
- MxToolbox also covers reports.
At a glance
| MailGenius | MxToolbox | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $23 per month for 60 email tests, billed yearly ($29 billed monthly) | $129 per month |
| Free plan | A free spam test is offered on the homepage; its monthly limit is not stated. | Weekly blacklist monitoring for 1 domain. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | MailGenius | MXToolBox, Inc |
| Price read from | mailgenius.com | mxtoolbox.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
MailGenius
- Test results are hosted on public links, according to the notice under the free test.
- The competitor and prospect email testing is limited to the Genius plan and above.
- The pricing page shows the prices for yearly billing by default; monthly billing costs about 25% more.
- The Beginner plan caps tests at 60 a month.
MxToolbox
- The free plan monitors one domain, weekly; inbox placement and DMARC reports are paid.
- Both paid plans cover 5 domains; Plus raises the message volume, not the domain count.
- The page shows a monthly price and does not say whether it is billed monthly or annually.
- Managed services pricing is not listed.
Key features
MailGenius
- Spam test by email
- Send a message to a generated address and get a score covering SPF, DKIM, DMARC, reverse DNS, domain age, blacklists, broken and short links, and HTML structure.
- Inbox placement results
- Paid test results include inbox placement, which the vendor says simulates Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo.
- AI deliverability and copywriting help
- Every paid plan includes an AI deliverability consultant and AI analysis and rewriting of email copy.
- Automatic testing and blacklist monitoring
- The top plan tests every email you send and watches unlimited domains for blacklist listings, with alerts.
- Free DNS checkers
- The site links separate checkers for SPF, DKIM, DMARC, BIMI, MX, TXT, blacklists and a DNS audit.
MxToolbox
- Inbox placement analysis
- Checks a campaign for placement at inbox providers such as Google and Outlook.com and reviews it against Google, Microsoft and Yahoo bulk sender requirements.
- Adaptive blacklist monitoring
- Monitors sending IP addresses, including third-party senders, against more than 100 blacklists.
- DMARC, SPF and DKIM management
- Analysis and management tools for moving to a reject policy, adopting BIMI and watching compliance. SPF flattening is on the Plus plan.
- Recipient complaints
- Pulls feedback from Google Postmaster Tools, feedback loops and other complaint mechanisms.
- Mailflow monitoring
- Round-trip monitoring of sending and receiving latency with alerts based on thresholds.
- Managed services
- A done-for-you service covers inbox placement, blacklist monitoring, SPF/DKIM setup and DMARC enforcement.
Plans
MailGenius
Beginner$23
per month for 60 email tests, billed yearly ($29 billed monthly)
60 tests a month, with inbox placement, an AI deliverability consultant and AI copywriting analysis and rewrite.
Genius$39
per month, billed yearly ($49 billed monthly)
Unlimited tests, plus the ability to test competitors' or prospects' emails.
Automatic Testing & Monitoring$79
per month, billed yearly ($97 billed monthly)
Every email you send is tested automatically, with blacklist monitoring and alerts for unlimited domains.
MxToolbox
Free$0
Blacklist monitoring, run weekly, for 1 domain.
Delivery Center$129
per month for 5 domains and 500,000 messages (billing basis not shown)
30 inbox placement analyses a month, complaint reporting, DMARC reports, SPF/DKIM analysis, BIMI management, impersonation protection, mailflow monitoring.
Delivery Center Plus$399
per month for 5 domains and 5M messages (billing basis not shown)
100 inbox placement analyses a month, plus advanced delivery threat tools and SPF flattening on top of Delivery Center.
Ways to pay less
MailGenius
- Annual discount
Save 20% with yearly billing
The pricing page toggle shows 'Save 20%' for yearly billing, for example $79 a month instead of $97 on the top plan.
MxToolbox
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, MailGenius or MxToolbox?
As of Nov 13, 2026, MailGenius is cheaper to start with: $23 a month, against $129 a month for MxToolbox. MailGenius starts at $23 per month for 60 email tests, billed yearly ($29 billed monthly), and MxToolbox starts at $129 per month.
Which has a free plan, MailGenius or MxToolbox?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both MailGenius and MxToolbox 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.