# Email Domain Checker (`sterlingverify/email-domain-checker`) Actor

Bulk email domain checker: validate MX records, SPF, DMARC, disposable/temporary email and free webmail providers for any list of emails or domains. Clean lead lists, cut fake signups and check deliverability. CSV/JSON, API or schedule.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/sterlingverify/email-domain-checker.md
- **Developed by:** [Luke Mangan](https://apify.com/sterlingverify) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Developer tools, Automation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$0.50 / 1,000 email/domain checkeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Email Domain Checker

Check emails or domains in bulk: MX records, mail provider (Google/Microsoft...), SPF, DMARC policy, disposable and free-provider flags. Clean lead lists before sending, without mailbox probing.

### How it works

Uses DNS lookups (DNS-over-HTTPS via Google and Cloudflare public resolvers) and the community disposable-email-domains blocklist (CC0). It does not connect to mail servers or verify individual mailboxes, so it's fast and won't get your IP blacklisted.

### Output

`input, domain, syntaxValid, hasMx, mailProvider, spf, dmarcPolicy, disposable, freeProvider, deliverable`

### Pricing (pay-per-event)

- `email-checked`: **$0.0005** per result ($0.5 / 1,000). Platform usage is included; you pay only for results.

### Example input

```json
{
  "emails": [
    "info@apify.com",
    "someone@gmail.com",
    "example.co.uk"
  ]
}
```

### Example output

```json
{
  "input": "info@apify.com",
  "domain": "apify.com",
  "syntaxValid": true,
  "hasMx": true,
  "mailProvider": "Google Workspace",
  "spf": "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all",
  "dmarcPolicy": "reject",
  "disposable": false,
  "freeProvider": false,
  "deliverable": "likely"
}
```

### Disclaimer

Domain-level signals only, with no guarantee that a mailbox exists. Use it responsibly and follow anti-spam laws (PECR, CAN-SPAM, GDPR).

### FAQ

**Does it send emails to verify addresses?**
No. It checks the domain with DNS only (MX, SPF, DMARC) plus disposable and free-provider lists, so nothing is sent and no mailbox is contacted.

**Can it detect disposable or temporary emails?**
Yes, each row flags disposable/temporary domains and free webmail (e.g. consumer mailbox providers).

**What is it good for?**
Lead list cleaning, signup and merchant onboarding fraud checks, DMARC/SPF audits and email deliverability checks.

### Related SterlingVerify tools

- [Domain Age & RDAP Lookup](https://apify.com/sterlingverify/domain-rdap-lookup)
- [SSL Certificate Expiry Checker](https://apify.com/sterlingverify/ssl-expiry-monitor)
- [Merchant Website Compliance Checker](https://apify.com/sterlingverify/merchant-compliance-checker)
- [Payments Stack Detector](https://apify.com/sterlingverify/payments-stack-detector)
- [Schema.org Extractor](https://apify.com/sterlingverify/schema-org-extractor)

Part of the **SterlingVerify** UK payments & compliance toolkit. Browse all tools: https://apify.com/sterlingverify

# Actor input Schema

## `emails` (type: `array`):

Email addresses or bare domains. Each line is one charge; DNS is cached per domain within a run.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "emails": [
    "info@apify.com",
    "test@mailinator.com"
  ]
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

All results in the default dataset

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "emails": [
        "info@apify.com",
        "test@mailinator.com"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("sterlingverify/email-domain-checker").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "emails": [
        "info@apify.com",
        "test@mailinator.com",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("sterlingverify/email-domain-checker").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "emails": [
    "info@apify.com",
    "test@mailinator.com"
  ]
}' |
apify call sterlingverify/email-domain-checker --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,sterlingverify/email-domain-checker"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/1grSazKxQIlVkv9dG/builds/oAk0eU0FAAmmMrY8D/openapi.json