Email Validation API - Syntax, MX, SPF, DMARC & Deliverability Scoring

Validate email addresses at scale. Check syntax, domain MX records, SPF, DMARC, and deliverability. Detect disposable emails, free providers, and role-based addresses. Get a 0-100 deliverability score for each email. Essential for list cleaning, lead validation, bounce prevention, and CRM hygiene.

Features

• Syntax Validation - RFC-compliant email format checking with detailed error messages
• MX Record Check - Verify domain can actually receive emails
• SPF Detection - Check for Sender Policy Framework records
• DMARC Detection - Check for DMARC email authentication records
• Disposable Detection - Flag 1,000+ temporary/throwaway email services
• Free Provider Detection - Identify Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, ProtonMail, etc.
• Role-Based Detection - Flag generic addresses (info@, support@, sales@, admin@)
• Deliverability Score - 0-100 score combining all quality signals
• Batch Processing - Validate hundreds of emails per run
• Webhook Support - Async delivery for large lists
• Demo Mode - Test with sample data before going live

Who Should Use This Actor?

Sales Teams

Clean lead lists before outreach campaigns. Remove invalid, disposable, and role-based emails to improve deliverability and protect sender reputation.

Marketing Agencies

Validate client email lists before campaign sends. Reduce bounce rates and improve open rates by ensuring only deliverable addresses receive emails.

E-Commerce Companies

Validate customer emails at signup to reduce fake accounts and ensure order notifications reach real inboxes.

Lead Generation Companies

Score and filter scraped email lists. Remove disposable emails and free providers to focus on business email addresses with higher conversion rates.

CRM Administrators

Maintain clean customer databases. Schedule regular validation to catch addresses that become invalid over time.

Developers

Integrate email validation into applications via webhook. Process validation results asynchronously for real-time or batch workflows.

Quick Start

Demo Mode (Free Test)

{
  "demoMode": true
}

Validate Email List

{
  "emails": [
    "john.doe@gmail.com",
    "jane@company.com",
    "test@tempmail.com",
    "info@example.org"
  ],
  "checkMx": true,
  "checkDisposable": true,
  "demoMode": false
}

Business Email Validation

{
  "emails": [
    "ceo@startup.com",
    "marketing@agency.io",
    "support@saas-tool.com"
  ],
  "checkMx": true,
  "checkSmtp": true,
  "checkDisposable": true,
  "demoMode": false
}

With Webhook Delivery

{
  "emails": ["email1@domain.com", "email2@domain.com"],
  "checkMx": true,
  "checkDisposable": true,
  "webhookUrl": "https://hooks.zapier.com/hooks/catch/...",
  "demoMode": false
}

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
emails	array	-	List of email addresses to validate (required unless demoMode)
checkMx	boolean	true	Verify MX records exist
checkSmtp	boolean	false	Attempt SMTP verification (slower, more accurate)
checkDisposable	boolean	true	Flag disposable/temporary emails
demoMode	boolean	true	Return sample data for testing
webhookUrl	string	-	Webhook URL for async results delivery

Output Format

{
  "email": "john.doe@gmail.com",
  "isValid": true,
  "syntax": {
    "isValid": true,
    "localPart": "john.doe",
    "domain": "gmail.com"
  },
  "domain": {
    "name": "gmail.com",
    "hasMx": true,
    "mxRecords": [
      { "exchange": "gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com", "priority": 5 }
    ],
    "hasSpf": true,
    "hasDmarc": true
  },
  "deliverability": {
    "isDeliverable": true,
    "reason": null
  },
  "flags": {
    "isDisposable": false,
    "isFreeProvider": true,
    "isRoleBased": false,
    "isCatchAll": null
  },
  "score": 95,
  "checkedAt": "2026-01-28T10:30:00.000Z"
}

Deliverability Score Ranges

Score	Rating	Meaning
90-100	Excellent	Valid syntax, MX records, SPF/DMARC, not disposable
70-89	Good	Valid but missing some authentication records
50-69	Fair	Valid syntax but domain issues or free provider
0-49	Poor	Invalid syntax, no MX records, or disposable email

Pricing (Pay-Per-Event)

Event	Description	Price
email_validated	Per email validated	$0.01

Example costs:

• 100 emails: 100 x $0.01 = $1.00
• 1,000 emails: 1,000 x $0.01 = $10.00
• 10,000 emails: 10,000 x $0.01 = $100.00
• Demo mode: $0.00

Common Scenarios

Scenario 1: Pre-Campaign List Cleaning

{
  "emails": ["email1@domain.com", "email2@domain.com", "...hundreds more"],
  "checkMx": true,
  "checkDisposable": true,
  "demoMode": false
}

Clean your email list before sending campaigns to reduce bounces and protect sender reputation.

Scenario 2: Lead Quality Scoring

{
  "emails": ["lead1@company.com", "lead2@gmail.com", "lead3@tempmail.com"],
  "checkMx": true,
  "checkSmtp": true,
  "checkDisposable": true,
  "demoMode": false
}

Score leads by email quality. Business domains with authentication records indicate higher-quality leads.

Scenario 3: CRM Hygiene

{
  "emails": ["customer1@domain.com", "customer2@domain.com"],
  "checkMx": true,
  "checkDisposable": true,
  "webhookUrl": "https://hooks.zapier.com/...",
  "demoMode": false
}

Schedule regular CRM validation to maintain data quality over time.

Webhook & Automation Integration

Zapier / Make.com / n8n

1. Create a webhook trigger in your automation platform
2. Copy the webhook URL to webhookUrl
3. Route results to CRM, email platforms, or databases

Popular automations:

• Invalid emails -> CRM tag/remove (list cleaning)
• Disposable emails -> Block list (signup fraud prevention)
• High-score emails -> Email platform (campaign-ready list)
• Validation results -> Google Sheets (email quality database)

Apify Scheduled Runs

Schedule monthly validation of your CRM database to catch addresses that become invalid.

FAQ

Q: Do you need any API keys?

A: No. Email validation works without external API keys. MX, SPF, and DMARC checks are performed via DNS lookups. No third-party email verification service required.

Q: What is SMTP verification?

A: SMTP verification attempts to connect to the email server to verify the mailbox exists. It's more accurate but slower and some servers block SMTP verification attempts.

Q: How do you detect disposable emails?

A: The actor checks against a database of 1,000+ known disposable email services (Guerrilla Mail, Temp Mail, Mailinator, etc.).

Q: What is a role-based email?

A: Generic addresses like info@, support@, sales@, admin@ that aren't tied to a specific person. They typically have lower response rates for outreach.

Q: Can I validate emails in real-time?

A: For real-time validation, use the webhook integration. The actor processes emails and sends results to your webhook URL as they complete.

Common Problems & Solutions

"MX check timeout"

• Some domains have slow DNS responses
• Retry the validation
• The email may still be valid even if MX check times out

"False positives on disposable detection"

• Some legitimate services use domains similar to disposable services
• Check the specific domain manually if uncertain
• The disposable list is regularly updated

"SMTP verification blocked"

• Some email servers block SMTP verification attempts
• This doesn't mean the email is invalid
• Rely on MX records and domain checks instead

"Demo data showing"

• Set demoMode: false - no API keys required

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📞 Support

• Actor Arsenal: Full Actor Catalog
• Developer: John Rippy

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Built by John Rippy | Actor Arsenal