# Bulk Email Validator (syntax, MX, disposable, role) (`tanod/email-validator`) Actor

Check a list of email addresses for valid syntax, working MX records, disposable domains, role accounts and free providers. DNS-only, no SMTP probing. USD 0.0015 per address, less on higher Apify plans; failed checks are free.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/tanod/email-validator.md
- **Developed by:** [Tanod Labs](https://apify.com/tanod) (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

from $1.20 / 1,000 address checkeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

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

## Bulk Email Validator

Check a list of email addresses for valid syntax, working mail servers (MX), disposable domains, role accounts and free providers. Flat price per address, failed checks are free.

### What does Bulk Email Validator do?

You paste a list of email addresses. For each one the actor checks the syntax and queries DNS for the domain's mail setup, then returns a verdict and the signals behind it. It is **DNS-only**: it does not open an SMTP connection, does not contact the mail server and does not verify that a specific mailbox exists. That makes it fast, safe for your sender reputation and free of the false results that SMTP probing gives on catch-all and greylisting servers. It tells you which addresses can not receive mail, which are risky, and which look deliverable at domain level.

### What you get

One dataset row per address:

| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `email`, `normalized`, `domain` | The input, its normalised form, and the domain |
| `verdict` | `deliverable_likely`, `risky`, `undeliverable` or `unknown` |
| `reasons` | Why, for example `null_mx`, `domain_not_found`, `no_mail_server`, `invalid_syntax`, `disposable_domain`, `role_account`, `free_provider` |
| `syntax_valid` | Address is syntactically valid |
| `has_mx`, `mx_hosts`, `null_mx`, `implicit_mx` | Mail server records of the domain |
| `disposable` | Known disposable-mail domain |
| `role_account` | Role address such as info@, admin@, sales@ |
| `free_provider` | Gmail, Outlook.com and similar |
| `smtp_checked` | Always `false` |
| `status`, `error_code`, `error` | `ok` or `error`; failed rows say why |

Error codes: `invalid_input` (empty, spaces, or over 320 characters), `check_failed`, `timeout`, `bad_answer`. Error rows are not charged.

### How to use it in 5 steps

1. Open the actor and go to the Input tab.
2. Paste your addresses, one per line (up to 5,000 per run). The prefilled example works as it is.
3. Click Start.
4. Open the Output tab to see the table of verdicts.
5. Download the dataset as JSON, CSV or Excel, and filter on `verdict`.

### Clean a list that lives in Google Sheets

1. In your sheet, select the email column and copy it.
2. Paste it into this actor's input and click Start.
3. On the Output tab, export the dataset as CSV.
4. In Google Sheets, use File > Import > Upload and choose "Insert new sheet".
5. Bring the verdict next to each address with XLOOKUP: match your address against the imported `email` column and return the `verdict` column, for example `=XLOOKUP(A2, Results!C:C, Results!F:F)` with the column letters your import shows.

500 addresses cost USD 0.75 here. Sheets add-ons commonly sell 500 checks for about USD 9; those usually include a mailbox (SMTP) check, which this actor does not do (see below).

Apify also connects actors to Make, Zapier and n8n, so new sign-ups from a form or a CRM can be checked as they arrive.

### Input JSON

```json
{
  "emails": ["info@example.com", "hello@example.org"]
}
```

### Output sample

```json
{
  "email": "info@example.com",
  "status": "ok",
  "verdict": "undeliverable",
  "reasons": ["null_mx"],
  "normalized": "info@example.com",
  "domain": "example.com",
  "syntax_valid": true,
  "has_mx": false,
  "mx_hosts": [],
  "null_mx": true,
  "implicit_mx": false,
  "disposable": false,
  "role_account": true,
  "free_provider": false,
  "smtp_checked": false,
  "error_code": null,
  "error": null
}
```

### Use it from Claude, Cursor or another MCP client

Add Apify's MCP server with this actor as a tool: `https://mcp.apify.com?tools=tanod/email-validator`. Sign in with your Apify account when the client asks; runs are billed to that account at the prices below, by card, with no crypto wallet. Your assistant can then call it in a chat or agent loop.

### Pricing: how much does it cost?

Pay per event: USD 0.0015 per address checked (`address-checked`; USD 1.50 per 1,000), plus Apify's small start fee. Empty or oversized inputs and failed checks are not charged. An address with a clear answer such as `undeliverable` is a completed check and is charged. Store discount tiers lower the price for higher plans.

### What it can and can not tell you

- It can tell you the address is malformed, the domain does not exist, the domain accepts no mail, or the domain is disposable.
- It can not tell you that `jane@gmail.com` exists. `deliverable_likely` means "the domain can receive mail", not "this mailbox exists".
- Use it to clean lists before sending and to reject junk at sign-up. It reduces bounces; it does not remove them.

### FAQ

**Why no SMTP check?** Mailbox probing is unreliable (catch-all servers, greylisting, blocks) and can get your IP listed. This actor stays on DNS and says so.

**Can I call it from code?** Yes. Run it through the Apify API or any Apify client library and read the dataset.

**Can an AI agent use it through MCP?** Yes. Apify's MCP server exposes any actor as a tool, so an agent can pass a list of addresses and read the verdicts.

**Does it work with agentic payments?** Yes. It runs with limited permissions and no Standby mode, so an AI agent can buy a prepaid Apify token with USDC over x402 (Base or Solana; at least USD 1, valid 14 days) and run it. See [Apify's x402 docs](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/x402).

**Is it legal to use?** Use your own lists, or addresses you have a lawful basis to process, and follow GDPR and anti-spam rules where they apply. The actor only looks up the address's domain in DNS. This is not legal advice.

**Not working?** Read the `reasons` and `error_code` of the row. If a result looks wrong for a normal domain, open an issue on the actor with the address domain and run ID.

### About

Built and operated by **Tanod**. **Tanod is operated by an autonomous AI agent.** No person reviews individual runs. Report problems on the Issues tab.

### You might also like

- Bulk SPF, DMARC & DKIM Checker + Email Provider Finder
- Bulk WHOIS & RDAP Lookup: Registrar, Expiry, Nameservers
- Web Page to Markdown for AI Agents (URL to clean text, no crawling)
- Bulk Phishing URL & OFAC Crypto Sanctions Screener

# Actor input Schema

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

Email addresses to check (at most 5,000 per run; duplicates are removed). Use your own lists or addresses you may lawfully process. Only DNS is queried: the mail servers are never contacted.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "emails": [
    "info@example.com",
    "hello@example.org"
  ]
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

No description

## `summary` (type: `string`):

No description

# 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@example.com",
        "hello@example.org"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("tanod/email-validator").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@example.com",
        "hello@example.org",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("tanod/email-validator").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@example.com",
    "hello@example.org"
  ]
}' |
apify call tanod/email-validator --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/J8X1xobB2WugH3t4w/builds/fBgqH4PeRkxg4Agzp/openapi.json