ZapBounce vs mailboxlayer
mailboxlayer is an APILayer validation endpoint priced on request plans, where the paid tiers add SMTP-level catch-all detection. ZapBounce gives you the full check and every flag on each credit, from $5 for 1,000, with bulk upload beside the API. You're choosing between a request plan and a price per address.
| ZapBounce | mailboxlayer | |
|---|---|---|
| Accuracy reporting | Coverage stated: the share of your list with a definite verdict | Not stated as a percentage on its product page |
| 1,000 addresses | $5 | See their pricing page |
| 10,000 addresses | $25 | See their pricing page |
| 100,000 addresses | $139 | See their pricing page |
| Free tier | 100 a month, no card | See their pricing page |
| Credit expiry | Never | See their pricing page |
| Billed for unknowns | No | Not stated |
mailboxlayer prices change, so confirm theirs on their own pricing page. Ours are fixed and published on /pricing.
How mailboxlayer prices it
mailboxlayer sells a free plan and then Basic, Professional Plus and Enterprise Plus, each a monthly request allowance, billed monthly or at a discount yearly (read September 2026). Its product page is silent on what happens to requests you don't use. ZapBounce credits never expire, and the table runs from $5 for 1,000 to $949 for a million.
Why teams pick ZapBounce over mailboxlayer
What changes when your list runs through ZapBounce instead.
The short version
- The full check on every credit, including the free ones: SMTP, catch-all probe, role, disposable and free-provider flags.
- Pay-as-you-go prices on one page: $5 for 1,000, $25 for 10,000 and $139 for 100,000, with no monthly plan.
- Unknown results and duplicate rows are never charged, and the pricing page says so.
- Credits never expire, and 100 free credits arrive every month with no card.
- Bulk CSV upload in the dashboard beside the API, so you clean a whole list without writing code.
Moving off mailboxlayer
mailboxlayer's free plan covers syntax, typo and provider checks, and catch-all detection sits on the paid plans. So a test on the free plan runs a lighter check than the one you'd pay for later. ZapBounce runs the same full check on a free credit as on a paid one.
Swap the mailboxlayer request in your code for ZapBounce's POST /v1/verify with your key. Where you read a score today, read ZapBounce's result field: valid, invalid, catch_all or unknown, with a reason beside it. For a list that lives outside your app, upload the CSV in the dashboard instead.
The hard addresses, and how they come back
Questions people ask about mailboxlayer
Who owns mailboxlayer?
mailboxlayer is an APILayer product, as its own footer states (read September 2026). ZapBounce sells email verification on its own, with prices on its pricing page from $5 for 1,000 checks.
Does mailboxlayer's free plan run an SMTP check?
mailboxlayer's product page lists syntax, typo and free and disposable provider checks on the free plan, with catch-all detection on paid plans (read September 2026). ZapBounce's 100 free monthly credits run the full SMTP check with every flag.
How do I replace mailboxlayer's quality score with ZapBounce?
Read ZapBounce's result field instead of a score. Send to valid, drop invalid, and route catch_all rows to a slower campaign. The reason field tells you why each unknown came back unknown.
Is ZapBounce cheaper than mailboxlayer?
Ours is $5 for 1,000 and $139 for 100,000, published, with no minimum. Credits never expire, and unknowns and duplicates are never billed, so the rate you see is the rate you pay.
Can I test both before deciding?
Yes, and you should. Run the same sample of a few thousand addresses through each and compare how many came back unresolved. That difference matters more than either accuracy claim.
Take last month's mailboxlayer request count and price it at $5 for 1,000 checks, with the full SMTP check on each one.
Run the same sample through us and mailboxlayer
100 free checks a month, no card, and the unknowns come back labeled.