NeverBounce Alternative — Bulk Email Preflight

Validate up to 1,000 email addresses in one run before a CRM import, signup review, or outreach-list decision. Each input produces one structured row with syntax, DNS MX, disposable-domain, role-account, free-provider, typo, and optional best-effort SMTP signals.

This is a lightweight, workflow-level alternative for the preflight stage of email verification. It does not claim that a specific mailbox exists, belongs to a person, or will accept a delivered message.

Best fit

Use this Actor when you already have full email addresses and need a bounded, machine-readable quality pass. It is useful for sales operations, CRM hygiene, signup screening, and lead-enrichment pipelines.

Use a vendor-managed verification service when the workflow requires mailbox ownership evidence, consent handling, or its product-specific delivery decision. Verification remains a data-quality signal rather than permission to contact anyone.

Then use Email to LinkedIn Profile Scraper after the preflight when your lawful workflow needs permitted profile enrichment from that email address.

What each row contains

Field	Meaning
email and normalizedEmail	The supplied address and its trimmed lowercase form.
status, score, primaryReason, reasons	A routing-oriented verdict and the signals behind it.
isValidSyntax, hasMxRecord, mxRecords	Address format and current DNS mail-routing evidence.
isDisposable, isRoleBased, isFreeProvider	Risk and segmentation flags.
suggestedEmail	A close common-provider correction when one is plausible.
smtpCheck, smtpCode, smtpResponse, isCatchAll	Optional SMTP-probe evidence. These fields can be unknown or absent when the probe is not available.
verificationTier, verificationSource, providerStatus, providerCheckedAt, providerCreditCharged	The selected tier and premium-verification metadata. Provider fields are null for standard rows.
validatedAt	When this Actor collected the signals.

Input

{
  "emails": ["jane@example.com", "info@acme.io", "jane@gmial.com"],
  "maxEmails": 1000,
  "verificationTier": "standard",
  "checkSmtp": false,
  "checkCatchAll": false,
  "concurrency": 10,
  "timeoutMs": 8000
}

emails is required. Duplicates are removed before the maxEmails cap is applied. verificationTier: "premium" enables a deeper verification result and is capped at 100 unique addresses per run; standard remains available for up to 1,000. Keep checkSmtp off for the standard deterministic pass: cloud mail networks can block port 25, and an SMTP response is not proof of ownership or future delivery. checkCatchAll only applies when SMTP probing is enabled.

Output example

{
  "email": "jane@gmial.com",
  "normalizedEmail": "jane@gmial.com",
  "status": "invalid",
  "score": 5,
  "primaryReason": "mx_not_found",
  "reasons": ["syntax_valid", "typo_suggestion", "mx_not_found"],
  "isValidSyntax": true,
  "hasMxRecord": false,
  "isDisposable": false,
  "isRoleBased": false,
  "isFreeProvider": false,
  "suggestedEmail": "jane@gmail.com",
  "smtpCheck": "skipped"
}

Pricing and cost cap

The live Pricing tab is authoritative. At the current live rate, standard rows are $0.0009 each and credit-consuming premium rows are $0.035 each, plus a $0.00005 actor-start event; Apify platform usage is additional under Pay per event + usage.

Before processing, the Actor reports the maximum email-event charge implied by maxEmails. It persists and charges a row together, then records charged-event counts in OUTPUT and RUN_SUMMARY.

How this email-validation workflow compares with NeverBounce

This independent Actor is not affiliated, associated, or endorsed by NeverBounce. The comparison is deliberately limited to a supplied-list preflight workflow; it is not a claim of full-suite or mailbox-verification parity.

Decision	This Actor	NeverBounce	Best fit
Scope and workflow	Syntax, DNS MX, risk flags, typo signals, and optional SMTP probing for supplied addresses.	Broader vendor-managed verification and list-cleaning product.	Use this Actor for a bounded preflight; use NeverBounce for its managed product workflow.
Billing and same-job cost	Listed email events are $0.90 for 1,000 rows plus $0.00005 start and platform usage.	Its observed pay-as-you-go page lists $8 per 1,000 credits.	Compare only the stated 1,000-address non-SMTP preflight, not feature parity.
Effective efficiency	One Apify run returns one structured dataset row per processed address.	Offers real-time verification and list-cleaning flows.	Choose the path whose output and decision depth match the job.
Input friction	A bounded emails array; no NeverBounce credential.	Its account and API or product workflow.	Use this Actor for an existing Apify flow; use NeverBounce when you operate its account workflow.
Output contract	Declared rows include verdict, reasons, MX state, risk flags, score, and timestamp.	Documents a single-email check API within its product.	Use this Actor when a dataset contract is the downstream integration boundary.
Integrations and automation	Apify API, schedules, and dataset retrieval support recurring run-based workflows.	The observed pricing page names product integrations and sync options by plan.	Evaluate the exact required integration and plan rather than assuming equivalence.
Freshness and provenance	Every row includes validatedAt and the signals this Actor used.	Its pricing page describes real-time verification.	Treat the two evidence models separately; this Actor does not claim field-level parity.

API example

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('khadinakbar/neverbounce-alternative').call({
  emails: ['jane@example.com', 'info@acme.io'],
  maxEmails: 1000,
  verificationTier: 'standard',
  checkSmtp: false
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

Agent prompt card

Validate the supplied email addresses with khadinakbar/neverbounce-alternative. Return the dataset rows and group them by status. Treat unknown, risky, and optional SMTP results as review signals, not proof that a mailbox exists or that outreach is permitted.

Use with Apify MCP

This regular Actor can be discovered and called through Apify MCP. Use it for an already-supplied email list when you need flat rows with status, primaryReason, score, MX state, risk flags, and validatedAt. For mailbox-ownership proof, consent review, or a vendor-managed verification result, choose the service designed for that decision.

For large batches, ask the client to retrieve the default dataset in pages after execution completes. OUTPUT and RUN_SUMMARY state whether processing was complete, partial, needs corrected input, or should be retried later; they keep the dataset to validated email rows.

Interactive API endpoints

The Actor also has a Standby HTTP surface for short, interactive checks. Open its live Endpoints/Standby tab for the current request schema and endpoint behavior. The run-mode API example above is the preferred path for bounded lists and audit-friendly dataset output.

Freshness and provenance

DNS and classification values are collected during each run, and validatedAt identifies the collection time for every row. The private alternative dossier retains the comparison sources, cost boundaries, and release-evidence records while public copy stays evergreen.

Builder's note

I designed the result contract around one flat row per supplied email so an operator or automation can make its next routing decision without parsing a dashboard. The optional SMTP fields remain separate from the deterministic syntax, DNS, and classification signals because cloud mail-network behavior is not a durable proof of a mailbox.

Outcomes and limits

• COMPLETE: every requested, bounded address produced a persisted row.
• PARTIAL: useful rows were persisted and RUN_SUMMARY provides the next action for the remaining batch.
• INVALID_INPUT: fix the email array and retry; no rows are fabricated.
• UPSTREAM_FAILED: retry later with the same valid input when no rows were persisted.

OUTPUT is the compact machine contract. RUN_SUMMARY includes input, deduplication, validation, persistence, warning, and charge counters. Read large outputs from the default dataset in pages.

Responsible use

Email addresses can be personal data. Use this Actor only where you have a lawful basis and comply with applicable privacy and anti-spam rules. A validation result does not create consent, override an opt-out, or authorize outreach.