
If you're looking for a ZeroBounce alternative, the right pick depends on one question: do you want ZeroBounce's whole deliverability suite, or just list verification? ZeroBounce bundles validation with inbox placement testing, blacklist monitoring, a DMARC monitor and warmup, and offers a monthly plan. [CampaignKit](/pricing) is a pay-as-you-go verifier with a much lower list price, no subscription and credits that never expire.

If you use the extra tools, or want a fixed monthly bill, ZeroBounce is a reasonable place to stay. If you mainly clean lists before campaigns, or call a validation API from your own product, CampaignKit costs less at every pack size both of us publish, up to 1,000,000 addresses.

Below are both sets of numbers side by side, plus other ZeroBounce alternatives worth a look. ZeroBounce's prices are as of November 2026 (checked 2026-11-07). Confirm them on [ZeroBounce's pricing page](https://www.zerobounce.net/pricing/) before you buy.

## What ZeroBounce does well

ZeroBounce has a broader product than most verifiers, and it's worth being clear about that before comparing prices. Per its homepage and pricing page (checked 2026-11-07):

- **More than validation.** Alongside email validation and AI scoring, ZeroBounce lists an email finder, activity data, warmup, inbox placement tests, email server testing, blacklist monitoring across 200+ blacklists, a DMARC monitor, a deliverability dashboard and consulting.
- **One subscription for the bundle.** ZeroBounce ONE combines validation credits with those other tools, and unused credits roll over each month.
- **A wide integration catalog.** Its integrations page lists 98 integrations, including HubSpot, Mailchimp, Zapier, Salesforce, Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign, Pipedrive, Shopify, Make and n8n.
- **A monthly free plan.** 100 validation credits a month, plus a few inbox, server, blacklist and finder credits, when you sign up with a business or premium domain.
- **No charge for unknowns.** Unknown results and removed duplicates cost no credits.
- **Certifications.** Its homepage says ZeroBounce is "SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified, GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA compliant".

## Why look for a ZeroBounce alternative

Three reasons come up, and each one comes straight from ZeroBounce's own pages:

1. **The entry price.** The smallest pay-as-you-go pack is 2,000 credits for $39, which the page calls the "minimum purchase" (as of November 2026). That's about $19.50 per 1,000.
2. **Expiry on newer accounts.** For accounts created after June 1, 2026, purchased credits expire two years after the latest purchase unless a ZeroBounce ONE subscription is active. Details below.
3. **The bundle needs a subscription.** The tools beyond validation come with ZeroBounce ONE or the free plan's small monthly allowance. If you only verify lists, you pay for a product built around more than that.

## CampaignKit vs ZeroBounce: price

Both sell one-off credit packs. Here's the list price at common list sizes.

| Emails | ZeroBounce pay-as-you-go | CampaignKit |
|---|---|---|
| 2,000 / 2,500 | $39 for 2,000 ($19.50 / 1,000) | $6 for 2,500 ($2.40 / 1,000) |
| 10,000 | $129 ($12.90 / 1,000) | $15 ($1.50 / 1,000) |
| 25,000 | $274 ($10.96 / 1,000) | $38 ($1.52 / 1,000) |
| 50,000 | $499 ($9.98 / 1,000) | $75 ($1.50 / 1,000) |
| 100,000 | $649 ($6.49 / 1,000) | $120 ($1.20 / 1,000) |
| 1,000,000 | $3,199 ($3.20 / 1,000) | $429 ($0.43 / 1,000) |

*ZeroBounce: pay-as-you-go prices as of November 2026, from the calculator on [ZeroBounce's pricing page](https://www.zerobounce.net/pricing/) (checked 2026-11-07). CampaignKit prices from our [pricing page](/pricing). The first row compares packs of different sizes: ZeroBounce's smallest pack is 2,000 credits and ours is 2,500.*

If you clean 10,000 addresses once, that's $129 against $15. ZeroBounce also has a subscription, ZeroBounce ONE, from $99/month with a 10,000-credit minimum (as of November 2026), which includes its other tools. Above 1,000,000 addresses, CampaignKit prices individually.

These are list prices. ZeroBounce doesn't charge for unknown results, so on a list with many of them its effective cost per address is lower than the table shows. For every ZeroBounce tier, including 5,000, 250,000 and 500,000, see our [ZeroBounce pricing breakdown](/blog/zerobounce-pricing).

## Credit expiry and free credits

### Do ZeroBounce credits expire?

It depends on your account. ZeroBounce's pricing page says: "Credits never expire while you have an active ZeroBounce One subscription." Without one, "expiration rules may apply depending on when your account was created, or when the credits were purchased, granted, or received as part of a promotional campaign" (checked 2026-11-07).

ZeroBounce's [FAQ on credit expiry](https://www.zerobounce.net/docs/frequently-asked-questions/questions-about-our-services/do-email-validation-credits-expire) spells out the rules (read 2026-10-06):

- **Accounts created on or before June 1, 2026:** credits never expire.
- **Accounts created after June 1, 2026:** purchased credits expire two years after your most recent purchase. Each new purchase resets the two years.
- **With an active ZeroBounce ONE subscription:** credits don't expire. After the subscription ends, they stay valid for two years from its last day.
- **Promotional credits** follow the same policy.

You'll still find guides that say ZeroBounce credits simply never expire. That's true for older accounts and while ONE is active, so check which rule applies to your account before you plan around leftover credits.

CampaignKit credits never expire, and there's no subscription to keep active.

### Free credits

ZeroBounce's free plan gives you 100 validation credits a month, plus 1 inbox test, 1 server test, 1 blacklist monitor and 10 finder credits, refilled monthly. The free validations apply "when you sign up with a business/premium domain", so a free-mail address may not qualify (checked 2026-11-07).

CampaignKit gives every new account 200 free validations once, with no credit card. If you only need a small check every month, ZeroBounce's monthly refill adds up to more over time.

## Features side by side

We've only listed what ZeroBounce states on the pages we read. "Not stated" means we didn't find it there, not that ZeroBounce lacks it.

| | CampaignKit | ZeroBounce |
|---|---|---|
| Email validation | Yes | Yes |
| Result format | 0–10 score plus status, classifier and flags | Status, plus optional AI score (1–10) at 1 credit per address |
| Typo suggestions | Yes (`didYouMean` for mistyped provider domains) | Not stated on the pages we read |
| Email finder | Yes, 5 credits per successful match | Yes, 20 credits per successful query |
| Inbox placement testing | No | Yes |
| Blacklist monitoring | No | Yes (200+ blacklists) |
| DMARC monitor | No | Yes |
| Warmup | No | Yes |
| API | REST API on every plan ([getting started](/docs/getting-started)) | Yes, a real-time API (per its pricing FAQ) |
| MCP endpoint for AI clients | Yes | Not stated on the pages we read |
| Integrations | Zapier, n8n, HubSpot, Mailchimp, Mailjet, FluentCRM | 98 listed |
| Subscription | None | Optional (ZeroBounce ONE) |
| Credit expiry | Never | Depends on account date and subscription |
| Free credits | 200 once, no card | 100 a month (business/premium domain) |
| Data location | Servers in Germany (Hetzner); see [security](/security) and [DPA](/dpa) | 3 proprietary data centers; locations not named on its homepage |
| Guarantee | 30-day money back | Not stated on the pages we read |

*ZeroBounce from its [homepage](https://www.zerobounce.net/), [pricing page](https://www.zerobounce.net/pricing/) and [integrations page](https://www.zerobounce.net/integrations/), checked 2026-11-07. CampaignKit from our [pricing](/pricing) and [developer](/developers) pages.*

Four rows go to ZeroBounce outright: inbox placement, blacklist monitoring, DMARC and warmup. CampaignKit doesn't offer them.

## Where CampaignKit differs

**You pay only for the lists you clean.** There's no subscription and no monthly minimum, and credits never expire, whenever your account was created. Buy a pack before a campaign and use the rest next year.

**Verification and finding share one credit pool.** The [Email Finder](/email-finder) looks up a professional address from a name and a company domain. It costs 5 credits per successful match, and nothing when no address is found.

**It's built for developers.** The REST API is on every plan, webhooks notify you when a job finishes, and an MCP endpoint lets Claude and other AI clients validate addresses and run jobs as tools. Each result carries a 0–10 score, a classifier and flags, so you can set your own send threshold. Zapier and n8n cover the no-code path. The [developer documentation](/developers) has the details.

**Data location is documented.** Processing runs on servers in Germany operated by Hetzner, as our [security page](/security) lists. Our [data processing agreement](/dpa) notes that API validation may involve temporary transfers to US-based infrastructure, covered by Standard Contractual Clauses.

## When you should stay on ZeroBounce

These cases are real, and in them ZeroBounce is the better fit:

- **You want deliverability tooling in one place.** If you use inbox placement tests, blacklist monitoring and DMARC reports, ZeroBounce ONE bundles them. With CampaignKit you'd need separate tools for those.
- **You want a fixed monthly bill.** CampaignKit is pay-as-you-go only. ZeroBounce ONE is a monthly plan, and your credits don't expire while it's active.
- **Your workflows run through its integrations.** With 98 listed integrations, ZeroBounce may connect natively to a tool we don't. Switching would mean rebuilding that connection.
- **Your account dates from on or before June 1, 2026.** Your credits never expire under ZeroBounce's FAQ, so expiry isn't a reason for you to move.

## Other ZeroBounce alternatives and competitors worth comparing

Most "ZeroBounce alternatives" lists are written by competing vendors, and this one is too. So here are other ZeroBounce competitors worth a look, each with our own write-up:

- **NeverBounce:** a verifier with pay-as-you-go credits and a monthly plan; its pay-as-you-go credits expire 12 months after purchase (checked 2026-10-06). See our [ZeroBounce vs NeverBounce comparison](/blog/zerobounce-vs-neverbounce) on price and expiry, and our [NeverBounce alternative guide](/blog/neverbounce-alternative).
- **MillionVerifier:** a bulk verifier with prepaid credits that never expire and no subscription. See our [MillionVerifier alternative comparison](/blog/millionverifier-alternative).
- **Clearout:** a verifier, email finder and LinkedIn prospecting tools in one account, with 100 free credits and credits that never expire. One-time packs start at $40 for 5,000 credits as of October 2026 ([Clearout pricing](https://clearout.io/pricing/)). See our [Clearout alternative comparison](/blog/clearout-alternative).
- **Kickbox:** a proprietary SendEx quality score and deliverability tooling beyond verification. Its packs and credit rules are in our [Kickbox pricing breakdown](/blog/kickbox-pricing).
- **Emailable:** built for throughput, with pay-as-you-go pricing. Its tiers and credit rules are in our [Emailable pricing breakdown](/blog/emailable-pricing).

For a wider survey, see our [ranked review of email verification tools](/blog/best-email-verification-tools).

## How to try CampaignKit in 15 minutes

Don't take the comparison on faith. Run the same list through both and look at the output.

1. **Export your list from ZeroBounce** as CSV, or grab the original source file.
2. **Sign up for CampaignKit.** 200 free validations, no credit card. To check a single address first, use the [free email verifier](/email-verifier).
3. **Upload the same file** you last cleaned in ZeroBounce.
4. **Compare the two result sets** side by side, address by address.
5. **Swap the credential** in your API integration, or point your Zapier or n8n step at CampaignKit.

Steps 3 and 4 decide it. If the results don't work better for you, you've spent fifteen minutes and nothing else.

## Frequently asked questions

**Is there a cheaper alternative to ZeroBounce?**
On list price, CampaignKit is cheaper at every pack size both of us publish up to 1,000,000: $15 against $129 at 10,000 and $429 against $3,199 at 1,000,000 (ZeroBounce prices as of November 2026). ZeroBounce doesn't charge for unknown results, so its effective cost can be lower than its list price.

**Do ZeroBounce credits expire?**
Not while a ZeroBounce ONE subscription is active, and not on accounts created on or before June 1, 2026. On newer accounts without a subscription, purchased credits expire two years after the most recent purchase, per ZeroBounce's FAQ.

**Is there a free ZeroBounce alternative?**
CampaignKit gives you 200 free validations once, with no credit card, and paid packs start at $6. ZeroBounce's own free plan gives 100 validations a month if you sign up with a business or premium domain.

**What is the best ZeroBounce alternative?**
It depends on whether you want the suite. If you only need list cleaning and an API, a pay-as-you-go verifier such as CampaignKit costs less. If you use inbox placement, blacklist and DMARC tools, look at other suites or stay on ZeroBounce.

**Is a standalone verifier better than an all-in-one tool?**
It's better if verification is all you use, because you don't pay for tools you skip. An all-in-one tool like ZeroBounce ONE makes more sense if you'd otherwise buy inbox placement testing or blacklist monitoring separately.

**Can I import my ZeroBounce list?**
Yes. Export it as CSV and upload it to CampaignKit. The web app also takes TXT files and Excel files (XLS or XLSX) up to 20 MB.

## Try it against your own list

The comparison above is one you can test without spending anything. [Sign up free](https://app.campaignkit.cc/api/signup) for 200 validations, no credit card required, and run the same file you cleaned in ZeroBounce. If it works for you, credits start at $6, never expire and come with a 30-day money-back guarantee; see the [pricing page](/pricing).


A ZeroBounce alternative compared: pay-as-you-go prices, credit expiry, free credits and features, plus when ZeroBounce is the better fit.

ZeroBounce Alternative: Price and Credit Expiry

Marco R.

email validation

ZeroBounce Alternative: CampaignKit vs ZeroBounce on Price, Expiry and Features (2026)


Email providers maintain a reputation scoring for email sender domains. A good domain reputation means that your emails are likely to be delivered to the recipient's inbox and are not going straight to the spam folder.

> A damaged domain reputation is hard to fix. You want to avoid this at all costs.

What do you need to do to damage your sender reputation:

### (1) Send big email campaigns to people who didn't subscribe to your email lists

Those people will very likely mark your emails as spam. Spam complaints hurt your domain reputation.

### (2) Send lots of emails to unknown mailboxes

This is also perfect to destroy your domain reputation. Having lots of bounces is a good indication that you have a messy email list. You look like a spammer and this will be reflected in your domain reputation.

### (3) Send emails nobody opens

Sending emails with low engagement is a good indication that your emails are not interesting to the recipients. ESPs take metrics like opens and clicks into account.

### (4) Get lots of unsubscribes

Having frequent unsubscribes to your emails is also a good indication that your emails are considered spam.  

### (5) Send emails to spam traps

Sending emails to spam traps is an effective way to damage your domain reputation. Spam traps are accounts set up by Internet Service Providers that look like normal email addresses. Sending an email to one likely gets you on a blacklist. It's a good indication that you have an unmaintained email list or even scrawled the web for email addresses.

## How to check your domain reputation?

[**Google Postmaster Tools**](https://postmaster.google.com) gives you insights into how Google's email system sees you.

The [Get started with Postmaster Tool](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/9981691?hl=en) guide from Google is a good starting point to explain the basics.

Postmaster Tool provides insights into the following topics:

-   Spam Rate
-   IP Reputation
-   Domain Reputation
-   Feedback Loop
-   Authentication
-   Encryption
-   Delivery Errors

For Domain Reputation Google shows four categories:

-   **Bad** - your domain is known to send high volumes of spam emails. All emails are rejected or marked as spam.
-   **Low** - known as sending spam frequently and emails are likely marked as spam.
-   **Medium** - known as a good sender, but are occasionally marked as spam by some recipients. Emails from such a domain have a good deliverability rate, but an increased spam level can cause some penalties.
-   **High** - Very low spam rate and good reputation. Mails from such a domain will rarely be marked as spam from the spam filter.  

**[Senderscore.org](https://senderscore.org/)** gets information from various ISPs and filtering companies and compute a score between 0 - 100 for sender IPs. It's not available on the domain level though. If you have dedicated IPs, it's absolutely worth monitoring your sender score. Email Providers use the score for their mail filtering decisions.  

## How to improve your domain reputation?

To improve and maintain a good domain reputation, you can take action on the following three levels:

### (1) Technical Level

Make sure to use all domain authentication features correctly:

-   [SPF](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sender_Policy_Framework) (Sender Policy Framework) to set rules who can send emails for your domain
-   [DKIM](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DomainKeys_Identified_Mail) (DomainKeys Identified Mail) lets recipient systems check that the mail was authorized by the sending domain by using a digital signature.
-   [DMARC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMARC) (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance) to protect domains from email spoofing.

Use services like [MX Toolbox](https://mxtoolbox.com/) to check your technical configuration and get advice for improvement.

### (2) Email Content

Make sure you send emails that are relevant to your target audience. Sending emails with low engagement, high unsubscription or even spam rates do damage to your sender reputation. Use double opt-in in your sign up forms to send only emails to people who actually care about your emails.

### (3) Mailing list cleaning & segmentation

Segment your email lists by engagement and slow down sending emails to people with little to no engagement. Remove emails from your list at some point if they never interact with your emails.

Use an Email Validation Service to clean your email lists from undeliverable emails (bounces), temporary email addresses and risky email addresses.

if you don't use an email validation service yet, [signup now](https://campaignkit.cc/early-access) and try CampaignKit's email validation service for free.

A damaged domain reputation is hard to fix. You want to avoid this at all costs. What do you need to do to damage your sender reputation?

5 Ways to Damage Your Domain Reputation


Use CampaignKit's WordPress plugin to validate and tag your new contacts with invalid email addresses in FluentCRM. For what the plugin does, what it costs and how it compares, see the [FluentCRM email validation plugin overview](/integrations/fluentcrm).

The plugin uses CampaignKit's [Email Validation API](/docs/api/email-validation) to perform the following validations:

-   Domain checks - is the email domain available and accepts email traffic
-   Mailbox deliverability checks - does the target domain accepts emails for the given mailbox
-   Catch-all email address detection
-   Disposable email address detection

This works for all contacts that you add manually or import using the import function.

## Setup Guide

The installation process is simple and consists of three simple steps:

1.  Download Plugin
2.  Add Plugin to WordPress
3.  Configure Plugin

### (1) Get the CampaignKit Word Press plugin

The source code of the plugin is available via [GitHub](https://github.com/campaignkit-cc/wp-plugin). On the release page, you find the [latest version](https://github.com/campaignkit-cc/wp-plugin/releases/tag/v1.0.0) of the plugin.

Click the following button to get a direct link to the latest version.  

[Download the plugin](https://github.com/campaignkit-cc/wp-plugin/releases/download/v1.0.0/campaignkit-wp-plugin.zip)

### (2) Add Plugin to your WordPress

Go to your WordPress Admin panel and click **_Plugins_** on the left navigation bar.

You see the plugin page with a list of installed plugins.

Click the _**Add New**_ button and click _**Upload Plugin**_. The upload section appears. Click **_Browse ..._** and choose the plugin's zip archive [campaignkit-wp-plugin.zip](https://github.com/campaignkit-cc/wp-plugin/releases/download/v1.0.0/campaignkit-wp-plugin.zip) you downloaded in the previous step.  

Follow the instructions on the screen and click **_Activate Plugin_**. Now the plugin is installed and activated.

### (3) Plugin Configuration

ℹ️

The plugin will not perform any email validation until the configuration is done.

To use the plugin, add the API key and select the Tag you want the plugin to add to your contact's with invalid email addresses.

Go to the Settings page (Settings->General) and scroll down to the CampaignKit section.    

#### API Key

Use your CampaignKit API Key.

##### If you don't have an account yet

Create a new account [here](https://campaignkit.cc/pricing).

#### FluentCRM Tag

Choose a tag the plugin should add to new contacts with invalid email addresses.

To create a new tag go to FluentCRM->Contacts. The new tag can then be selected from the settings page.

### Done

The plugin will now tag new contacts with invalid email addresses.

Do you need help with the plugin or want to submit a feature request? - use the [GitHub Issue Tracker](https://github.com/campaignkit-cc/wp-plugin/issues).

Email Validation for FluentCRM

Guides


To clean your email list, you verify every address before you send and remove the invalid, risky and disposable ones. A high number of [bounces](/blog/how-to-reduce-bounce-rates) harms your sender reputation, which reduces the number of emails that reach the recipient's inbox.

Bounces aren't the only problem. Sending to spam traps, frequent complaints and low engagement also harm your sender reputation.

## Short answer

1. **Verify the list before you send.** Upload it to an email verification tool, or [spot-check a few addresses without sending an email](/blog/verify-email-address-without-sending-email) first.
2. **Know what the results mean.** Each address gets a score from 0 to 10 and, where relevant, a result code such as `mailbox`, `disposable` or `catchAll`.
3. **Remove or segment by result.** Drop addresses that will bounce, and decide separately what to do with risky ones.
4. **Re-run the check before every big send.** Addresses that were valid last quarter can bounce today.
5. **Know your tool's data retention.** In CampaignKit, bulk jobs are deleted 30 days after they're created, so download your results.

## How to keep an email list in shape?

The best option is to **send an opt-in email** once a new prospect gives you an email address. This validates the existence of the email address and also helps your marketing emails to get delivered to the prospect's inbox instead of promotions or spam.

Segment your email list by engagement and **remove emails with no engagement over time**.

Sending opt-in emails is not always possible. You might have an existing email list or emails were collected offline.

**Email verification tools** help you to clean and maintain a high-quality email list. They run a series of checks on each address to tell you whether it's safe to use for email marketing.

## Why should I use an Email Verification Tool?

1.  **Bounce rates** harm your sender reputation. Detect and remove bounces early from your email lists. For bounces you've already received, see [how to read a bounce back message and decide what to remove](/blog/understanding-smtp-bounce-codes-what-they-mean-and-how-to-respond).
2.  **Email addresses can become invalid**. Even with an opt-in an email address can become invalid over time and will bounce.
3.  **Temporary email addresses** shouldn't be used for email marketing and be removed from your email list
4.  **Protect your sender reputation** to make sure your emails get delivered to the recipient's inbox.
5.  Fewer dead emails mean **better insights** into your audience through open and click rates.
6.  Fewer people on your list can save you money and **improve your Return on Investment (ROI)**

## How email verification actually works

Here's what CampaignKit checks for every address, and what the result looks like. Other tools work along similar lines, but the codes below are ours.

The core checks:

- **Syntax:** is the address correctly formatted?
- **Domain (MX):** does the domain exist, and does it publish an email server (MX record)?
- **Mailbox:** can the email server be reached, and does it confirm that the address exists? This check returns `n/a` when the mailbox can't be verified.

### The score

Every address gets a score from 0 to 10:

| Score | What it means |
| ----- | ------------- |
| 0 | The email will bounce. |
| 2 | The email can be used, but it looks risky, for example a temporary (disposable) address. |
| 6 | The mail server didn't let us verify the mailbox (`verifyRejected`), so its existence is unconfirmed. |
| 9 | The address passed, but its domain is catch-all (it accepts mail for any address), so this mailbox can't be confirmed individually. |
| 10 | The address passed all checks, and the server will accept email for it. |

These are reference points, not the only possible values.

### The result codes

When an address doesn't get a clean pass, a result code tells you why:

| Code | What it means |
| ---- | ------------- |
| `syntax` | The address isn't correctly formatted. |
| `domain` | The domain doesn't exist or has no MX record. |
| `mailbox` | The mail server reported the recipient as unknown. |
| `verifyRejected` | The mailbox couldn't be verified because the recipient's mail server rejected verification attempts. |
| `blacklist` | The address was found on our blacklist. |
| `disposable` | The address or its domain belongs to a temporary email service. |
| `role` | A role-based address such as `sales@` or `info@`, rather than a person's own mailbox. |
| `catchAll` | The domain is catch-all: it accepts mail for any address, so this specific mailbox can't be verified on its own. |
| `didYouMean` | The address failed, but its domain looks like a typo of a well-known provider, so we suggest a correction. |

### Catch-all and role addresses are different things

The 2022 version of this post mixed these up, so it's worth being precise:

- A **[catch-all domain](/blog/what-are-catch-all-emails-and-should-you-send-to-them)** is configured to accept mail for every address on it. The server says "yes" to anything, so no tool can confirm that a particular mailbox exists. CampaignKit counts these addresses as deliverable, but flags them with `catchAll`.
- A **role address** like `sales@`, `contact@` or `info@` belongs to a function or team, not a person. It can sit on any domain, catch-all or not. CampaignKit flags it with `role`.

An address can be one, both or neither. Treat them as separate questions when you decide what to keep.

## Clean your email list with CampaignKit

Prefer the short version? See [email list cleaning with CampaignKit](/email-list-cleaning) for formats, results and pricing.

1. **Spot-check first (optional).** Try a few addresses in the free [single-address email verifier](/email-verifier) to see what the results look like.
2. **Create an account.** New accounts get 200 free validations, no credit card required.
3. **Upload your list.** Bulk validation takes a CSV or Excel file.
4. **Wait for the job to finish,** then review the results and download them as CSV.

After the free validations, pricing is pay-as-you-go, from $6 for 2,500 emails. Credits never expire, and one credit pool covers both email validation and Email Finder. See [email validation pricing](/pricing) for all volumes.

### Using the API

If you want to clean lists automatically, for example as part of an import, you can create the same bulk jobs through the API. The [Validation Jobs API docs](/docs/api/validation-jobs) cover uploading a file, checking the job status and downloading results.

Using Mailchimp? There's a separate guide on [cleaning your Mailchimp email list](/blog/how-to-clean-you-mailchimp-email-list).

Keeping leads and contacts in Salesforce? See [how to verify emails in Salesforce](/blog/how-to-verify-emails-in-salesforce).

## Check it works

Once the job has finished, read the results in this order:

1. **Score 0: remove.** These addresses will bounce. The result code tells you why, for example `syntax` or `domain`.
2. **Score 10: keep.** All checks passed, and the server will accept email for these addresses.
3. **Everything in between: decide.** A score of 9 usually means a catch-all domain. A score of 6 means the mail server didn't let us verify the mailbox (`verifyRejected`). Low scores such as 2 mean the address is usable but risky, for example `disposable`. Deductions stack, so an address with several issues scores lower. Check the result code before you remove anything.
4. **Catch-all addresses sit just below a full pass.** They're deliverable, but not individually verifiable, so a catch-all address with nothing else wrong scores 9 rather than 10. Keep them in a separate segment if you want to watch their bounce rate.

Download the results as CSV and import the cleaned list back into your email tool.

## Troubleshooting

**A valid-looking address got a middling score.** Check the result code. If it's `verifyRejected`, the recipient's mail server didn't let us verify the mailbox, so the address typically scores 6. The address may be fine. It just can't be proven. If it's also a role address (`role`), the deductions stack and the score drops further.

**An address failed, and there's a suggested correction.** That's `didYouMean`. When an address fails and its domain closely resembles a well-known provider (for example `gmai.com` instead of `gmail.com`), the result includes a suggested address and domain. It's only a suggestion: it never appears for an address that passed, and it won't "correct" a domain that is already on the list of known providers. Confirm with the contact rather than rewriting addresses silently.

**The job's results are gone.** Bulk validation jobs are deleted 30 days after they're created. Download the CSV before then, and re-run the list if you need fresh results.

## Next step

Regular email verification belongs in every marketer's toolbox. It protects your sender reputation and gives you more reliable numbers on the people you actually reach.

Start by checking a handful of addresses in the free [email verifier](/email-verifier). Then clean the full list with our [email list cleaner](/email-list-cleaning): new accounts get 200 free validations, no credit card required, and [pricing](/pricing) is pay-as-you-go after that. To automate it, use the [Validation Jobs API](/docs/api/validation-jobs).


Clean your email list before every send. Use free verification, bulk CSV upload, and score-based results to cut bounces and protect deliverability.

How to Clean Your Email List: A Step-by-Step Guide

How to Clean Your Email List


💡

You need to [signup](https://app.campaignkit.cc/api/signup) for an account to get access to the Email Validation API.

The Email Validation API allows you to validate a list of email addresses and to retrieve detailed validation results.

A format regex catches typos before the call; see [email validation regex for JavaScript, Python and PHP](/blog/email-validation-regex).

Building on Laravel? See [Laravel email verification: sign-up confirmation and checking the address](/blog/laravel-email-verification).

## Getting started

Start with a simple validate query for a list of email addresses. Use the API key from your account.

```
curl --request POST \
 --url 'https://api.campaignkit.cc/v1/email/validate' \
 --header 'Authorization: Bearer <<your API key>>' \
 --data '{ "emails": ["a348sf@gmail.com"] }'
```

This validates a single email address and returns the result.

## Response

The Email Validation API returns a result object for each email address in the request.

```
{
    "results": [
        {
            "email": "a348sf@gmail.com",
            "result": {
                "syntax": "pass",
                "mx": "pass",
                "mailbox": "fail",
                "score": 0,
                "description": [
                    "mailbox"
                ]
            }
        }
    ]
}
```

### Can I use the email address?

If the **score is greater than 2** you can use the email address and emails will most likely not bounce.

A **score of 2** identifies email addresses that will be delivered, but the email address is a SPAM Trap or temporary email address.  

### Result

Element

Values

Description

syntax

pass, fail

Email syntax check result.

mx

pass, fail

MX record lookup result. Checks if the domain exists and publishes information about an email server

mailbox

pass, fail, n/a

Mailbox check result. Checks if the email server can be reached and tries to verify if the email address exists. Returns `n/a` if the mailbox cannot be verified.

### Score

The score range goes from 0 to 10 where 0 identifies an email that is guaranteed to not be usable and 10 means that all checks passed and emails will be delivered to a personal email address.

Score

Description

**0**

Email will bounce

**2**

Email can be used, but looks like a SPAM Trap or temporary email address.

**9**

Email looks good, but mailbox couldn't be verified.

**10**

Email address passed all checks and emails will be accepted by the server.

### Description

The description contains additional information about the check results and resulting score.

Value

Description

syntax

Email syntax check failed.

domain

Domain doesn't exist or no MX record configured.

mailbox

Mailbox check returned unknown recipient.

verifyRejected

Mailbox could not be verified. The recipient's mail server rejected verification attempts

blacklist

Email address has been detected in local blacklist

disposable

Email address or domain has been detected as temporary email address.

catchall

Email address has been identified as a common catch all address.

## References

-   Documentation: [https://campaignkit.cc/docs/](https://campaignkit.cc/docs/)

The Email Validation API allows you to validate a list of email addresses and to retrieve detailed validation results.

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