Proofy alternatives
If you are shopping away from Proofy, the reason is probably reporting or the missing free tier. ZapBounce reports coverage on every list and gives 100 free credits a month.
| Service | 100,000 addresses | Credits expire? | Bills unknowns? |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZapBounce | $139 | Never | No |
| ZeroBounce | Subscription only | Credits roll over while the subscription is active | Not stated |
| Bouncer | $400, and 1,000,000 for $2,000 | Never | No |
| Emailable | Custom | Never | No |
| Clearout | Not listed | Never | No |
| Kickbox | $500 ($1,100 for 250,000; $2,999 for a million) | Credits expire one year from purchase | No |
| Proofy | $89 | Credits never expire, and survive cancellation | No |
Read from each vendor's own pricing page in September 2026. Prices move, so confirm theirs before you buy. Ours are published in full on the pricing page.
Why people look elsewhere
Reporting and the free tier, more than price. Proofy has no standing free allowance, and its accuracy wording names Risky and Unknown without stating what share of your list lands there. ZapBounce gives 100 free credits a month and reports that share as coverage.
$5 for a thousand, $18 for ten thousand, $89 for a hundred thousand, with a 15% discount on the monthly subscription version of the same tiers. New users get 5,000 checks for $5 as a one-off. Credits never expire and survive cancellation.
What ZapBounce changes for a Proofy user
The differences that show up on the first invoice and the first results file.
The short version
- A standing free tier: 100 credits every month with no card. Proofy offers no free credits, and its entry is a paid trial.
- Coverage reported as a headline number on every list, rather than as a caveat attached to an accuracy claim.
- Four results with fixed meanings. catch_all and unknown are separate values, so a domain that accepts everything is never confused with a server that would not answer.
- Our own SMTP check on port 25, closed before DATA, with the literal server reply code on every row so any verdict can be audited.
- Role, disposable and free_provider flags set on every row, even an unknown, because they come from the address itself.
Before you move off Proofy
Run the same sample through two vendors and the interesting number is not how many came back valid.
Hold the replacement to the unknowns rule
Proofy prints it: no charge for unknowns or duplicates. Ask every alternative the same question in writing and treat a vague answer as a no.
Price the small checks too
Between big cleans, a few hundred signups still need checking. Proofy has no free allowance for that; ZapBounce's 100 monthly credits cover it with no card.
Check what happens to credits on cancellation
Theirs remain available indefinitely. Several vendors expire credits at period end and a few expire them in thirty days.
Read their accuracy sentence in full
It names catch-all and restricted servers as the cases returning Risky or Unknown. Use that sentence as the standard when you read anyone else's claim.
What switching actually involves
Simple. The one thing to carry across is the expectation about unknowns, because Proofy sets a good one. Any vendor you move to should refuse to bill non-answers in writing, and most of this category still will not.
What stays true whichever verifier replaces Proofy
Questions about moving off Proofy
Will we lose anything on billing?
No. Proofy never charges for unknowns or duplicates and neither does ZapBounce. Credits never expire on either side.
What is the entry actually like?
Five dollars for five thousand checks as a new user, then standard tiers afterwards. It is a paid trial, so there is no free allowance to fall back on between purchases. ZapBounce's 100 monthly credits fill that gap.
Why do people leave Proofy?
Reporting and the free tier, more than price. Proofy has no standing free allowance, and its accuracy wording names Risky and Unknown without stating what share of your list lands there. ZapBounce gives 100 free credits a month and reports that share as coverage.
How hard is it to switch verifiers?
For bulk cleaning, no harder than uploading the file somewhere else. For real-time checks on a signup form it is an API swap, which is an afternoon.
Proofy's billing rules come with you. What you add is a free tier that renews every month and a coverage figure on every list.
Put us next to Proofy on your own list
100 free checks a month, no card.