Email Validator — Syntax, MX & Risk Checks

Validate email addresses in bulk with a deterministic Apify Actor built for lead cleaning, CRM hygiene, signup screening, and AI-agent workflows. It checks mailbox syntax, IDNA-normalized domains, DNS records, MX records, disposable domains, role accounts, and common free email providers, then returns one structured dataset row per email.

Use this actor when you need a fast, transparent email validation pass before enrichment, outreach, CRM import, or marketing automation. Do not use it as proof that a specific mailbox inbox exists; the actor does not perform SMTP handshakes, send messages, bypass catch-all domains, or verify human ownership of an address.

Output

Field	Description
email	Original input email address.
normalizedEmail	Trimmed email with IDNA ASCII domain normalization.
status	valid, risky, or invalid.
confidence	Score from 0 to 1 for easy filtering.
syntaxValid	Whether the address matches a safe RFC-style mailbox pattern.
domainAscii	DNS-safe domain used for lookups.
hasMx	Whether MX records exist when MX checks are enabled.
isDisposable	Whether the domain is in the built-in temporary mailbox list.
isRoleAccount	Whether the mailbox is generic, such as sales@ or support@.
isFreeProvider	Whether the domain is a common consumer email provider.
reasons	Human-readable explanation for the result.

Pricing

Pay per event is enabled:

• Actor start: $0.00005 per run
• Email validated: $0.0002 per email processed

A typical 1,000-email run costs about $0.20 plus the small actor start event and standard Apify platform usage.

Input

You can provide email addresses in two ways:

• emails: a list with one email per item
• emailText: pasted text; the actor extracts email-looking strings

Duplicate addresses are removed case-insensitively before validation. maxEmails caps how many unique addresses are processed in one run.

Validation Logic

The actor marks hard failures as invalid, including malformed syntax, DNS failures when DNS checks are enabled, MX failures when MX checks are enabled, and disposable domains when allowDisposable is false. It marks usable but lower-quality addresses as risky, including free providers and role accounts when role accounts are not allowed. Clean addresses that pass enabled checks are marked valid.

DNS behavior is controlled by checkDns and checkMx. Keep both enabled for production cleaning. Turn them off only for fast local syntax-only testing or when your network environment blocks DNS lookups.

Example Input

{
  "emails": [
    "alex@example.com",
    "sales@example.org",
    "bad@@example"
  ],
  "checkDns": true,
  "checkMx": true,
  "allowDisposable": false,
  "allowRoleAccounts": true,
  "maxEmails": 1000
}

Example Output Item

{
  "email": "alex@example.com",
  "normalizedEmail": "alex@example.com",
  "isValid": true,
  "status": "valid",
  "confidence": 0.95,
  "syntaxValid": true,
  "domain": "example.com",
  "domainAscii": "example.com",
  "localPart": "alex",
  "dnsChecked": true,
  "domainHasDns": true,
  "mxChecked": true,
  "mxRecords": ["mail.example.com"],
  "hasMx": true,
  "isDisposable": false,
  "isRoleAccount": false,
  "isFreeProvider": false,
  "reasons": ["Email passed all enabled validation checks."],
  "checkedAt": "2026-07-08T05:00:00.000Z"
}

API Usage

apify call USERNAME/email-address-validator --input='{
  "emails": ["alex@example.com", "bad@@example"],
  "checkDns": true,
  "checkMx": true
}'

Python Client

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("USERNAME/email-address-validator").call(run_input={
    "emails": ["alex@example.com", "bad@@example"],
    "checkDns": True,
    "checkMx": True,
})

items = client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).list_items().items

Limitations

This actor does not send email, log in to mail providers, or guarantee a human reads the mailbox. Some domains accept all mail through catch-all routing, and DNS success does not prove an individual inbox exists. Disposable-domain detection uses a curated built-in list, not a paid real-time global feed.

Legal

Use email validation responsibly and comply with applicable privacy, anti-spam, and marketing laws, including CAN-SPAM, GDPR, and local consent requirements. The actor is a data-quality utility, not permission to contact people.

What is Email Validator?

Email Validator turns the target data into structured, reusable results on Apify. Use it when you need repeatable collection for analysts, developers, agencies, researchers, and AI-agent workflows without maintaining a custom scraper or one-off integration. Run it manually, schedule recurring jobs, call it through the Apify API, or connect it to an AI agent through the Apify MCP server.

The Actor stores results in an Apify dataset, where they can be previewed and exported as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, or RSS. Availability and completeness depend on the source, supplied inputs, public visibility, authentication requirements, and upstream rate limits.

Use cases for Email Validator

• Build structured datasets for research, reporting, enrichment, or monitoring.
• Automate repetitive collection with schedules, webhooks, and API calls.
• Feed clean records into spreadsheets, databases, CRMs, BI tools, AI agents, or RAG pipelines.
• Track changes over time by running the same validated input on a schedule.
• Replace fragile manual copy-and-paste work with a reproducible Apify workflow.

How to use Email Validator

1. Open the Actor input page and choose a focused, valid target.
2. Set a conservative result limit for the first run.
3. Start the Actor and inspect the dataset for coverage and field availability.
4. Export the results or connect the dataset to your downstream system.
5. Scale gradually and use scheduling, pagination, or proxies when supported.

Important input options

• emails — List of email addresses to validate. Use one mailbox per item, for example alex@example.com. Defaults to the sample address when no task input is edited. NOT a list of names, websites, or le
• emailText — Optional pasted text scanned for email addresses. Accepts raw text such as 'Contact alex@example.com and sales@example.org'. Defaults to empty text. NOT used for names or phone extraction.
• checkDns — Verifies the domain has DNS records. Uses A, AAAA, or MX lookups, for example example.com. Defaults to true for stronger validation. NOT an SMTP inbox-delivery test.
• checkMx — Verifies that the email domain accepts mail through MX records. Uses DNS MX lookup, for example gmail.com. Defaults to true and may mark domains without MX as invalid. NOT a mailbox ping or
• allowDisposable — Controls whether known temporary mailbox domains can pass. Example disposable domains include mailinator.com and yopmail.com. Defaults to false for lead-quality workflows. NOT a full real-ti
• allowRoleAccounts — Controls whether generic addresses such as info@, sales@, or support@ can pass without a risk flag. Defaults to true because many business contacts use shared inboxes. NOT a person-name veri
• outputInvalidOnly — Writes only invalid records to the dataset while still counting all checked emails in OUTPUT. Use this when cleaning a large list and only needing rejects. Defaults to false so every email g
• maxEmails — Maximum number of unique email addresses processed in one run. Accepts 1 to 10000, for example 500. Defaults to 1000 to keep runs predictable. NOT the number of rows guaranteed in output whe

API and automation example

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('muhammadafzal/email-address-validator').call({
  // Add the same input fields you use in the Apify Console.
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

Related Apify Actors

Use these dedicated tools when a neighboring data source or workflow is a better match:

• Leads Finder Pro - B2B Leads with Emails [Apollo Alternative]
• Yellow Pages US Scraper — Business Leads & Reviews
• Yellow Pages Australia Scraper — Business Leads & Reviews
• GitHub Repo Search — Stars, Language & Topics
• Gelbe Seiten Scraper — German Yellow Pages Leads with Emails
• Texas State Licensed Contractor Scraper — TDLR License Data
• California CSLB Contractor License Scraper
• Contractor Lead Scraper — Verified Emails (HVAC, Plumbing)
• Instagram Followers & Following Scraper — With Cookies
• Facebook Ads Library Scraper — Meta Ad Intelligence Tool

Frequently asked questions

How many results can I scrape with Email Validator?

The practical total depends on the source, input limits, pagination, available records, run timeout, and upstream restrictions. Start with a small run, verify the output, and increase the limit gradually.

Can I integrate Email Validator with other apps?

Yes. Use Apify integrations, webhooks, schedules, dataset exports, Make, Zapier, Google Sheets, cloud storage, or your own application.

Can I use Email Validator with the Apify API?

Yes. Start runs with the Apify REST API or an official Apify client, then retrieve records from the run's default dataset. Keep your API token in a secret or environment variable.

Can I use Email Validator through an MCP Server?

Yes. The Apify MCP server can expose the Actor to compatible AI clients and agents. Review the input and expected cost before allowing an autonomous workflow to run it at scale.

Do I need proxies?

It depends on the source and volume. Use the default configuration first. For larger or geographically sensitive jobs, select an appropriate proxy configuration only when the Actor supports it.

Is it legal to scrape this data?

Scraping rules vary by source, jurisdiction, data type, and intended use. Collect only data you are authorized to access, respect applicable terms and privacy laws, and avoid restricted or personal data misuse. This documentation is not legal advice.

Your feedback

If a field is missing, a source layout has changed, or you need a supported use case documented, open an issue on the Actor page with a reproducible input and run ID.