Validate any email address in under 2 seconds: MX records, SMTP check, catch-all detection, and disposable flagging. Free browser tool, no account required. API available for bulk validation.
An email validator checks whether an email address actually exists and will accept delivery before you send to it. Paste any address into our free email validator and get a result in under two seconds: valid, invalid, catch-all, risky, or disposable. No sign-up required.
Validating an email address goes well beyond checking whether the @ symbol is in the right place. A real validator runs four checks in sequence:
Passing a syntax check alone is not enough. An address like [email protected] passes syntax but fails the MX lookup. An address like [email protected] passes MX and SMTP but is a throwaway inbox. A thorough validator catches both.
The StartupHub email validator returns one of five statuses for every address:
For quick one-off checks this is the fastest route. For bulk validation of a list before a campaign, use the API (see below) or paste addresses one by one through the browser tool.
Sending to invalid addresses generates hard bounces. A hard bounce rate above 2 percent triggers spam filters, lowers your sender reputation, and can result in your sending domain being blacklisted. StartupHub.ai data shows that of the 11 email verification tool companies we track, most entered the market specifically to solve the bounce problem for outbound teams, confirming that unvalidated lists remain one of the leading causes of deliverability failures in 2026.
Validating before you send costs nothing with the free tool and prevents reputation damage that can take months to recover from.
For teams that need to validate emails programmatically, the StartupHub validation API runs the same checks as the browser tool and returns structured JSON. Use it to validate addresses at signup, before importing into a CRM, or inside a bulk verification pipeline.
The endpoint is POST /api/v1/email/validate. Full documentation, example requests in Python and Node.js, and response schema are at startuphub.ai/api-docs. A free tier is available with no credit card required.
An email validator checks an address you already have. An email finder discovers an address from a name and company domain. The StartupHub tool handles both: the Validate tab checks an existing address, and the Find tab discovers a new one by name and domain. Both tabs run the same deliverability verification on the result.
Paid validators like ZeroBounce and NeverBounce charge per email on a sliding scale, with pricing typically in the range of a few cents per address at low volumes. They add value for very high-volume bulk processing where uptime guarantees and support matter.
For teams doing fewer than a few hundred validations per day, the free StartupHub validator covers the same technical checks (MX, SMTP, catch-all, disposable) with no account required. The API tier handles developer and bulk use cases with a free allocation before paid usage applies.
Accuracy depends on the checks run, not the price. A free tool that performs MX lookup, SMTP handshake, and catch-all detection is as accurate as a paid tool running the same checks. The StartupHub validator runs all four layers (syntax, MX, SMTP, classification) and returns the same result quality as paid alternatives for individual and small-batch validations.
Yes. The StartupHub email validator runs in-browser with no account required. Paste any address and get a result in under two seconds.
Use the email validation API to loop through a list programmatically, or paste addresses one at a time through the browser tool for smaller lists. For large-scale bulk jobs, the API accepts high request volumes and returns structured results you can import back into a spreadsheet or CRM.
A catch-all domain is configured to accept mail sent to any address at that domain, whether or not the specific inbox exists. SMTP validation returns accepted for every address on a catch-all domain, making individual verification inconclusive. The validator flags these addresses so you know the result is not a confirmed deliverable.
Before any campaign send, and on a quarterly basis for ongoing lists. Email addresses go invalid as people change jobs, companies close, and inboxes are abandoned. A list that was clean six months ago may have a 5-10 percent invalid rate today depending on how it was collected.
No. Validation confirms whether an inbox exists and will accept delivery. It does not access, read, or interact with inbox contents. The SMTP handshake verifies existence by simulating a connection and checking the server response code, then disconnects without sending a message.
A hard bounce means the address is permanently undeliverable: the mailbox does not exist or the domain has no mail server. A soft bounce is temporary: the inbox is full, the server is down, or delivery was deferred. Validation catches hard bounces before sending. Soft bounces are only visible after a send attempt and should be monitored in your sending platform.
Validate any address now with our free email validator. No sign-up, results in under two seconds. For bulk validation or integration into your signup flow, see the API docs.
