12 Best Tools for Email Verification and Validation

Are you experiencing a situation where your email list is expanding but the open and click-through rates are still low? If so, it is possible that your list needs to be cleaned up using email verification. 

Email verification tools are the perfect solution that scans your email list and removes any invalid or harmful emails by performing various checks. As a result, you will observe an increase in the deliverability rate and safeguard your email server’s reputation. 

We have listed 12 email verification tools and self-contained methods that can be used to eliminate useless email addresses from your list. 

What is email verification?

If you’re engaging in cold outreach, email verification is an important process that you shouldn’t overlook. It involves confirming the validity and accuracy of an email address, which is crucial for ensuring that the email addresses you’re targeting are active and valid.

If you send emails to email addresses that are not valid or inactive, it can be a waste of your resources and time. Moreover, it can harm your email sender’s reputation and lessen the efficiency of your cold email or email marketing campaigns. This is why email verification is extremely significant.

There are two main ways to perform email verification. 

The first is manual verification, which involves sending a confirmation email to the email address and waiting for a response. 

The second is automated email verification services, which use various methods such as domain validation, SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) checks, and mailbox checks to verify email addresses.

Automated email verification services are usually more efficient and accurate than manual verification, as they use advanced algorithms to identify and verify email addresses. Some email verification services can also check email addresses against databases to ensure their validity.

What happens if you don’t use email verification for cold outreach campaigns?

If you’re planning on conducting a cold email outreach campaign, it’s crucial to perform an email verification check. Skipping this step could lead to serious problems down the line, such as high bounce rates, low deliverability rates, and damage to your sender’s reputation.

Here are a few examples of what can happen if you don’t verify your email addresses before sending:

• High bounce rates: If you send emails to invalid or inactive email addresses, you’ll end up with a high number of bounced emails. This can hurt your email deliverability and sender reputation because email providers see high bounce rates as a sign that you might be sending spam or unwanted emails.
• Damaged sender reputation: Your sender reputation is a measure of how trustworthy and legitimate your emails are. If you’re sending emails to invalid or inactive email addresses, your sender reputation can be damaged, since this is a sign that you aren’t taking proper care of your email list.
• Emails going to spam: If your sender reputation is damaged, or you’re sending emails to addresses that have been marked as spam in the past, your emails might end up in recipients’ spam folders instead of their inboxes. This can seriously hurt the visibility and effectiveness of your email outreach campaign.
• Deliverability issues: If you’re sending emails to a lot of invalid or inactive email addresses, email providers might start to flag your emails as spam. This can cause a lower open rate, click-through rate, and overall effectiveness of your cold email campaigns.

Email verification vs. email validation

Initially, these words had the same meaning. However, a slight difference has emerged between them. While the two terms are still similar, the distinction between them is subtle but noticeable.

Email validation is the process of checking an email address for accuracy and validity. This includes verifying the syntax, domain, and mailbox of the email address to ensure it is deliverable and can receive emails. 

For example, a mistyped email address such as “[email protected]” would be caught during the email validation process, as “gamil.com” is an invalid domain.

Most email verification services also include email validation as part of their process to ensure that the email address is accurate, active, and valid. This is because email validation is a crucial step in ensuring that the email address is not only active but also belongs to a legitimate user and has not been marked as fraudulent or spam in the past.

How do email verifiers work?

Verifying the accuracy of your email list is for maintaining a positive sender reputation, so it’s worth learning how to check email addresses for typos and syntax errors, the existence and activity of the email address, as well as their safety and deliverability.

When choosing an email verifier, it’s important to consider the type of verification offered. Some verifiers may only offer one type of verification, while others may offer a combination of different verification methods.

Here is an explanation of how email verification works, which may be helpful:

Syntax check 

1. To ensure the accuracy of email addresses, a thorough check is conducted on the local part, the at-symbol (@), and the domain name with a dot-symbol (.). 
2. The local part cannot exceed 64 characters, and it must have dots (.) and symbols (@) placed correctly. 
3. Special characters (? “# $ % & ` * + _- . / | ^ {}) are allowed only in the local part, but not at the beginning or end. 
4. Checks for common errors like periods (.) at the beginning or end of the email address, commas (,) instead of periods (.), semi-colons (;), or apostrophes (‘) instead of the at-sign (@). 
5. Additionally, it verifies for spaces or blank areas ( ) in the middle or at the end of the address, double periods (..) in the local part or domain name, missing “.com” or period (.) in the address, or any misplaced signs (@). 
6. Email verifiers help detect spam traps and invalid email addresses before they cause any trouble with ISPs or ESPs.

Domain existence checks

When checking for the validity of an email address, email verification services also ensure that the domain name is accurate and is functioning. 

This means that if someone enters an email address like [email protected], but the domain under domain.com is not registered, an email verifier would flag it as invalid. These services are here to help ensure that your emails are reaching their intended recipients.

MX record check

MX records, also known as Mail exchanger records, play a crucial role in verifying the validity of an email address. It goes beyond the basic email verifier that only checks the email format and characters, by verifying if the domain name exists and is configured with email DNS settings. 

Catch-all domain checks

If you have a catch-all server, it means that all emails sent to your domain will be accepted, even if there is no specific mailbox for them. To check if an email is part of a whole domain, you can use an email verifier that is reliable and trustworthy. 

It’s important to note that if you receive a verified email as a catch-all, you’ll need to decide whether you want to send emails to it or remove it from your list completely. Using a verified catch-all email address when sending emails can cause risks, such as higher bounce rates and being marked as spam. This can harm your email deliverability and sender reputation, so it’s best to be cautious.

SMTP authentication   

The last and crucial stage of the process is to validate the individual mailbox. Email verification services utilize the SMTP protocol to examine whether the recipient’s domain has a legitimate MX record. If it does, it then verifies the existence of the username and proceeds accordingly.

12 Best Email Verifiers on the Market in 2023

The ideal validation service should cater to all or most of your requirements and possess the highest precision level in recognizing invalid, undeliverable, and spam email addresses. To ensure the service is reliable, it must verify correct syntax, catch-all servers, domain authentication, and SMTP authentication at a minimum.

Additionally, some other attributes you might want to contemplate when selecting a provider are:

1. Take into account the speed at which the service can check your mailing list and provide results. 

2. Consider the options available for uploading your mailing list, including the choice between verifying only a few addresses or doing a bulk verification, as well as whether you prefer a software or cloud-based tool. 

3. Ensure that the provider follows standard data protection practices and is GDPR compliant to keep your mailing list data private and secure. 

4. Consider the price of the service and whether it fits your budget. Some email verification services offer free or trial plans for those starting with email marketing, while subscription or pay-as-you-go plans may be better suited for larger or ongoing campaigns.

Scroll on for a list of 12 email verification services that are the best in email verification and validation.

Email Verification Tools (Verification Only)    

Verifalia

It uses a combination of domain, DNS, and SMTP verification techniques to ensure that the email addresses you are verifying are valid and can receive emails.

Price: Verifalia offers a free plan that lets you verify up to 25 email addresses per day with limited features. For businesses that have higher email volumes, Verifalia offers subscription-based plans that provide discounted rates and additional features such as real-time API access, priority processing, and more. The subscription plans start at $10 per month for 250 email credits and go up to $549 per month for 25 000 email credits. Additionally, Verifalia offers a pay-as-you-go option where you can simply purchase credits as needed, without committing to a subscription plan.

NeverBounce

With NeverBounce, you can perform various types of verifications, including real-time email verification API, bulk email verification API, and self-service email verification to verify email addresses in bulk. It uses advanced algorithms and multiple verification processes such as domain, SMTP, and mailbox verification to ensure high accuracy and reliability in verifying email addresses.

Price: The cost for the service starts at $10.00 per month, and there is an option for pay-as-you-go pricing as well

 ZeroBounce

The tool uses a variety of verification methods, including domain and SMTP validation, as well as an exclusive email scoring system to ensure high accuracy and reliable results.

ZeroBounce also offers additional features such as catch-all and disposable email address detection, and email duplication removal, which can help improve the quality of your email list. The tool is user-friendly and provides detailed reports with verification results, including invalid, risky, and unknown email addresses, which can help you better manage your email list.

Price: The cost starts at $15 per month, and there is also a free plan option available.

MillionVerifier

This tool utilizes a combination of methods, including domain and SMTP validation, and mailbox verification, to ensure that the results you receive are both accurate and reliable. Additionally, MillionVerifier provides extra features such as catch-all and disposable email address detection, email duplication removal, and syntax validation.

Being a MillionVerifier user comes with the great advantage of free access to EmailAcademy, which provides courses and a toolkit for email marketers. EmailAcademy has a lot to offer to both new and experienced marketers who want to enhance their skills. The toolkit comprises an email verifier, bounce code analyzer, image converter, HTML email templates, and a blocklist monitor, making it a highly valuable resource for email marketers.

Price: You can get 50,000 verifications for a one-time payment starting at $59, and there’s also a free plan available if you’re looking to save some money.

Bouncer

Bouncer is a highly recommended email verification tool that offers flexible pricing and GDPR compliance, making it ideal for many users. Its user interface is intuitive, which means getting started is a breeze. However, the interface is a bit outdated and could benefit from modernization.

Bouncer can be easily integrated with various services such as Mailchimp, Moosend, Woodpecker, ConvertKit, GetResponse, and more.

Price: The cost starts at $5 for every 1,000 verifications, and there is a free plan option available as well.

Proofy.io

Proofy uses advanced algorithms to detect and remove invalid email addresses from your list, resulting in a clean and accurate email list. In addition to email verification, Proofy also offers additional features such as catch-all and disposable email address detection, and syntax validation to further enhance the accuracy of your email list.

Price: The pricing plans offered by Proofy are flexible and affordable. You can choose between pay-as-you-go options or monthly subscriptions, with prices starting at $0.005 per email verification for pay-as-you-go

Email Verification Tools with Prospecting

If you’re looking for tools to help with prospecting and verifying information for your business, there are many options to choose from. These tools can assist in finding and validating email addresses and other important contact details. 

Here are some popular tools that may come in handy:

Clearout

Clearout, a popular email verification tool, is trusted by over 20,000 businesses of all sizes. It effectively eliminates problematic email addresses by conducting various intricate checks, and detecting spam traps, hard bounces, and blocked domains, among other email deliverability issues. You can give it a try without any hassle of providing your credit card information. Simply sign up and get 100 free email verification credits. It’s an easy and helpful way to ensure your email list is accurate and up-to-date.

Price: The cost starts at $21 for 3,000 credits, with a free plan also offered.

UpLead

Uplead is an excellent sales and marketing platform that provides access to over 46 million contacts and verified email addresses. Its advanced search filters help users find the right prospects for their business based on specific criteria such as job title, location, and industry.

In addition to providing contact information, Uplead also offers features such as email verification, data enrichment, and CRM integration. Its user-friendly platform provides detailed reports and insights, including email open and click-through rates, to help users optimize their sales and marketing campaigns.

Price: The Uplead pricing page offers flexible plans to fit different business needs and budgets. Users can choose from two types of plans: pay-as-you-go or monthly subscriptions.

RocketReach

RocketReach is a powerful sales intelligence and lead generation platform that helps businesses connect with the right people by providing access to over 450 million professional profiles and email addresses.

In addition to contact information, RocketReach also provides features such as email verification, data enrichment, and CRM integration. Its user-friendly platform offers detailed reports and insights, including email open and click-through rates, to help businesses optimize their sales and marketing campaigns.

Price: Users can decide from pay-as-you-go options or monthly subscriptions, with prices starting at $99 per month for 170 credits and going up to $399 per month for 700 credits. 

All-in-one email platforms with prospecting, verification, and cold emailing

If you’re looking to streamline your email marketing efforts and make your campaigns more effective, consider an all-in-one solution that combines verification, prospecting, and sending emails in one place.

Each of these platforms offers responsive customer support and helpful documentation to assist users throughout the process. With their advanced features and easy-to-use interfaces, they can help businesses of all sizes improve their email marketing efforts and drive more leads and conversions.

Postaga

Postaga is a great option for businesses looking to build backlinks and increase their online visibility through content marketing. Its email outreach feature includes email verification, prospecting, and personalized outreach templates, as well as content analysis and optimization tools. With Postaga, you can easily manage your entire outreach campaign in one place.

Price: Postaga has a free plan that comes with some features, but for more advanced options, paid plans are available from $99 per month.

Snov.io

Snov.io is an email outreach and prospecting platform that offers email verification, lead generation, and campaign management tools. With Snov.io, you can find and verify email addresses, create targeted email campaigns, and track email performance to optimize your outreach strategy.

Price: Snov.io provides a free plan that comes with certain limitations, while the paid plans begin at a reasonable price of $39 per month.

Respona

Respona is an all-in-one platform for inbound and outbound sales and marketing that offers email verification, lead generation, and outreach tools. It integrates with various CRM and marketing automation platforms, making it easy to streamline your sales and marketing efforts in one place.

Price: If you’re interested in trying out Respona, you can sign up for a 7-day free trial. After that, there are different paid plans available, starting at $99 per month.

Can I verify emails myself?

You have already read about some in the previous section, where we described the workflow of verifiers, revealing their types (domain, DNS, SMTP verification). 

Nevertheless, we have incorporated some straightforward approaches to authenticate your email accounts in this segment. Certain techniques demand expertise in email technology. 

Ping the server

To verify email addresses without actually sending emails, you can use a technical process called “pinging the server”. This method requires a tool like PuTTY for Telnet on Windows or the iTerm app on Mac. Here’s how to do it:

1. Enable Telnet on your Windows system.

2. Open the command prompt and enter the nslookup command: nslookup –type=mx domain.com. This will reveal multiple MX records associated with the domain, so choose the one with the lowest preference number.

3. Connect to the telnet server by typing: telnet {mail server address} 25.

4. To initiate a handshake with the server, type: HELO.

5. Next, provide your identity by entering a random email address as follows: mail from: {random email address}.

6. Then, add the email address you want to verify by typing: rcpt to: {email address to verify}.

7. If the server responds with an OK message, the email address is valid.

This is a helpful and friendly way to verify email addresses using the ping the server method.

Send an email from a different account

If you want to ensure your email gets delivered to a specific account, it’s best not to use your primary email address, as it can be risky. Instead, it’s recommended to set up a dummy email account to test it out. Moreover, manually removing the bounced accounts from your email list can be done, but it’s a bit of a hassle since it involves repeating tasks twice.

Use a free email verification tool

Several free online tools can also help with email verification, such as Verify Email Address, Quick Email Verification, and Hunter Email Verifier. These tools typically use algorithms and databases to check email addresses and provide a status report showing whether the email is valid, risky, or invalid.

However, keep in mind that manual verification can be time-consuming and may not be as accurate as using a specialized email verification service. In addition, free tools may have limitations in terms of the number of email addresses that can be verified per day, and some may not provide advanced features such as spam trap detection or disposable email detection.

Wrapping up

In this article, we have outlined the top email verification tools that will help you easily remove incorrect and invalid email addresses from your marketing lists. 

This will make it easier for you to achieve a positive return on investment (ROI) on your campaigns. It is recommended that you use these tools frequently to maintain the best possible deliverability of your emails. 

Happy outreach!