An affordable ZeroBounce alternative

ZeroBounce sets the standard for email validation, and much of mailchecker follows its model on purpose: the same status vocabulary, the same billing rules and an API that’s easy to switch to. What’s different: 100 free credits every month, clear pricing per pack or subscription, and your results are deleted after 30 days.

Comparison table

Comparison made in November 2026, based on what we offer today. For ZeroBounce’s current prices and details, see zerobounce.net.
Feature	mailchecker	ZeroBounce
The essentials
Real-time validation via API	Yes	Yes
List uploads (CSV/XLSX)	Yes — up to 1 million rows	Yes
Statuses and sub-statuses	Yes — the same vocabulary	Yes
Typo suggestions (`did_you_mean`)	Yes	Yes
Catch-all, disposable and role-based detection	Yes	Yes
Key in the query string (`?api_key=`)	Yes	Yes
Billing
1 credit per address	Yes	Yes
`unknown` is free	Yes	Yes
Duplicates are free	Yes	Yes
Free credits	Yes — 100 every month	See their website
Credit packs and subscriptions	Yes	Yes
Your data
Result retention	30 days, then deleted; export and deletion per team	See their website
Your lists used for anything else	Never	See their website
What we don’t have yet
Name, gender and location from the address	Not yet	Yes
AI quality scoring	Not yet	Yes
Activity data (recent engagement)	Not yet	Yes
Ready-made integrations with email marketing platforms	Not yet	Yes
JavaScript widget for forms	Not yet	Yes

ZeroBounce is a trademark of its respective owner; mailchecker is not affiliated with it.

When each one makes more sense

Choose mailchecker if…

you want 100 free credits every month, plus packs or a subscription when you need more;
you’d like to keep your ZeroBounce integration and just change the base URL and key;
you want short retention and easy deletion of your data;
you need validation and list cleaning, not data enrichment.

ZeroBounce may be a better fit if…

you rely on AI scoring or activity data;
you need name, gender or location from an email address;
you want native integrations we don’t offer yet.

Switching takes minutes

Sign up and create an API key in the dashboard.
Change the base URL to https://api.mailchecker.dev/v1 and swap in the new key; the api_key parameter still works.
Keep your status and sub-status handling as it is: the names are the same.
Test with the 100 free credits before switching in production.

Migration details in the API docs →

Compare for yourself, with your own list

100 free credits every month, no card required.