mailboxlayer review (2026): is the free plan enough?
Email validation API that returns a JSON quality score
Black Friday: is there a mailboxlayer sale?
mailboxlayer report card
Weak · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 12, 2026
Best for an email check API for developers
mailboxlayer is an API that checks an email address and returns a JSON quality score. It has no list upload or bulk cleaning page, the free plan is 100 non-commercial requests, and the bulk endpoint of 25 addresses starts at Professional Plus for $74.99 a month.
Who mailboxlayer is for
- 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
Who mailboxlayer is not for
- 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
Why mailboxlayer gets a 1.8
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for moneyBasic 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.
- CFree plan and trialFree is 100 API requests, non-commercial, with no support and no catch-all detection. Commercial use needs Basic.
- CFeaturesSyntax, SMTP, disposable and role checks with a score. No list upload exists, and catch-all detection and bulk need paid plans.
- DEase of useNo store rating on record. It is an API only, so you need code to use it.
- CPlatforms and integrationsWeb API only. No apps and no integrations are listed.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from mailboxlayer's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/mailboxlayer#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/mailboxlayer.svg" alt="mailboxlayer: 1.8 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where mailboxlayer stands among email verification and deliverability tools
mailboxlayer's GPA of 1.8 is higher than 1 of the 38 other email verification and deliverability tools we grade, and level with 2.
It stands best on value for money (C, above 5 of 38) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $14.99 a month, against a middle price of $17.49 for the category: 8 of the 25 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 1.7 out of 4. 8 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 39 email verification and deliverability tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. mailboxlayer’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 5 of 38, level with 19
- CFree plan and trialAbove 5 of 38, level with 28
- CFeaturesAbove 0 of 38, level with 23
- DEase of useAbove 0 of 38
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 38, level with 13
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 26 email verification and deliverability tools. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
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
Keep mailboxlayer, or make your own?
Keep it
Nothing mailboxlayer does is plain enough to make in a weekend. The 2 things listed below take a company.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 35 of the 38 other email verification and deliverability tools grade higher. It costs $179.88 a year.
What you could not
- Checking that an address exists without writing to it.
- An API that other software can build on.
What this rests on. mailboxlayer’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is mailboxlayer?
mailboxlayer is a REST API for developers that checks one email address per request and returns JSON. The response covers syntax and typo suggestions, MX records, an SMTP check, catch-all, role, free-provider and disposable flags, and a quality score. It is part of the APILayer family of APIs.
Worth knowing
- 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
- 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.
mailboxlayer pricing
As of Nov 12, 2026, mailboxlayer has a free plan, and paid plans start at $14.99 per month for 5,000 requests.
- Starts at
- $14.99 per month for 5,000 requests
- Free plan
- 100 API requests, for non-commercial use only.
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 100 API requests, non-commercial use, no support, no catch-all detection. |
| Basic | $14.99per month for 5,000 requests, billed monthly | Commercial use, standard support and catch-all detection. Yearly billing is $161.99. |
| Professional Plus | $74.99per 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 | $249.99per month for 250,000 requests, billed monthly | Bulk endpoint of 100 emails per call. Yearly billing is $2,549.99. |
| Custom | Custom | Unlimited requests and dedicated support, quoted by the vendor. |
Read from mailboxlayer.com on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with mailboxlayer before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Annual discountSave 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).
Stated on mailboxlayer.com
mailboxlayer alternatives
- mailboxlayer vs Abstract Email Validation
Free plan · from $17/mo
- mailboxlayer vs Kickbox
Free trial · from $5 one-time
- mailboxlayer vs ZeroBounce
Free plan · from $39 one-time
- mailboxlayer vs NeverBounce
Free trial · from $8 one-time
- mailboxlayer vs Emailable
Free trial · from $38 one-time
Common questions
Does mailboxlayer have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. mailboxlayer is listed for Web.
Does mailboxlayer have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. mailboxlayer is listed for Web.
Is mailboxlayer open source?
mailboxlayer is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 12, 2026.
Does mailboxlayer have an API?
Yes. mailboxlayer offers a public API, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026.