# Email Validation API - Bulk Email Checker & Verifier (`pink_comic/email-validation-checker`) Actor

Bulk email verification and validation API for lead lists. Check syntax, MX records, disposable/free domains, role accounts, catch-all behavior, and optional SMTP signals. Clean CRM lists and assess email risk without an API key. Results do not guarantee mailbox ownership, reachability, or delivery.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/pink_comic/email-validation-checker.md
- **Developed by:** [Ava Torres](https://apify.com/pink_comic) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Developer tools, Agents
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 119 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 2 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.40 / 1,000 results

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 Verification & Validation API ($0.50/1K)

Assess email addresses in bulk with no API key required. Check list-quality signals before campaigns and flag records that need review. Results are risk signals, not proof that a mailbox is owned, reachable, or able to receive a particular message.

### What it does

For each email address, the actor checks:

- **Syntax validation** - RFC-compliant email format check
- **MX record lookup** - Reports whether DNS mail-exchanger records are configured for the domain
- **Disposable domain detection** - Flags temporary/throwaway email services (Mailinator, Guerrilla Mail, etc.)
- **Free provider detection** - Identifies Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, etc.
- **Role account detection** - Flags generic addresses (info@, admin@, support@, etc.)
- **Optional catch-all signal** - Reports catch-all behavior only when SMTP checking observes it
- **Domain typo suggestions** - Suggests corrections (gmial.com -> gmail.com)
- **Optional SMTP signal** - Attempts to observe whether a mail server accepts the address, subject to provider blocking, greylisting, catch-all behavior, and other inconclusive responses

### Use cases

- **CRM cleanup** - Flag structurally invalid, disposable, or domain-risk records for review
- **Lead-list checks** - Assess scraped email lists before outreach
- **Email campaign prep** - Identify obvious list-quality risks before sending
- **Data quality** - Flag disposable, role-based, and catch-all addresses
- **List hygiene** - Identify free vs business email addresses

### Input

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| emails | string\[] | Email addresses to validate |
| enableSMTP | boolean | Enable SMTP reachability check (default: false) |
| maxResults | integer | Maximum paid dataset items (default demo: 5; max: 100,000) |
| concurrency | integer | Parallel validations (default: 5, max: 20) |

### Output

Each email produces a result with:

`valid` means the syntax is valid, an MX record exists, and the domain is not flagged as disposable. It does **not** mean the mailbox or owner was verified.

```json
{
  "email": "user@gmail.com",
  "valid": true,
  "syntaxValid": true,
  "mxFound": true,
  "disposable": false,
  "freeProvider": true,
  "roleAccount": false,
  "catchAll": false,
  "domain": "gmail.com",
  "localPart": "user",
  "mxRecords": "gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com, alt1.gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com"
}
```

### Use with AI Assistants (MCP)

This actor works as an MCP tool with Claude Desktop, Cursor, and other MCP clients.

**Setup:** Add this to your MCP client configuration:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "email-validator": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=pink_comic/email-validation-checker"
    }
  }
}
```

Then ask your AI: *"Validate these email addresses: john@example.com, sales@acme.com"* -- it will run the validator and return results.

### Pricing and first run

- **$0.0005 per result** ($0.50 per 1,000)
- **No start fee**
- The default five-address demo costs at most **$0.0025**
- `maxResults` and an Apify maximum-total-charge limit both cap paid output
- Bulk Apify output is written in bounded 1,000-row batches so large advertised workflows do not depend on one oversized dataset request

No API key or external account is needed.

### Evidence limits

SMTP checking is disabled by default because datacenter IPs are frequently blocked, servers can greylist requests, and catch-all/provider policies can produce misleading or inconclusive signals. Syntax, MX, and disposable-domain checks establish domain-level risk indicators only.

The output does not prove mailbox ownership, consent, live reachability, inbox placement, message delivery, or compliance with anti-spam rules. Treat `smtpReachable` as a point-in-time signal and `valid` as the documented structural/domain rule—not a deliverability guarantee.

### How to use

1. Open [Email Validation API - Bulk Email Checker & Verifier](https://apify.com/pink_comic/email-validation-checker) in Apify Console and click **Start** (or **Try for free**).
2. Fill in the input form - start with **Email Addresses**, **Max Results**, **Concurrency**. Every field is optional unless marked required, and the form is prefilled with a working example.
3. Set **Maximum results** to cap your cost, then run the Actor.
4. Download the results as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or HTML, or pull them with the Apify API.

#### Example input

```json
{
  "emails": [
    "test@gmail.com",
    "user@mailinator.com",
    "ceo@apple.com",
    "info@microsoft.com",
    "fake@nonexistent-domain-12345.com"
  ],
  "enableSMTP": false,
  "maxResults": 100,
  "concurrency": 5
}
```

### Output example

One record from a real run (long values shortened, contact details partly masked):

```json
{
  "email": "t***@gmail.com",
  "valid": true,
  "syntaxValid": true,
  "mxFound": true,
  "disposable": false,
  "freeProvider": true,
  "roleAccount": false,
  "catchAll": false,
  "domain": "gmail.com",
  "localPart": "test",
  "mxRecords": "gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com, alt1.gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com, alt2.gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com, alt3.gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com, alt4.gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com"
}
```

### FAQ

#### How much does Email Validation API - Bulk Email Checker & Verifier cost?

$0.0005 per result. For example, 1,000 results cost about $0.50. Higher Apify plans get a Store discount.

#### Do I need an API key or login?

No. Just configure the input and run it.

#### Can I run it on a schedule or from code?

Yes. Use Apify Schedules for recurring runs, or call it from the Apify API, the JavaScript or Python client, Make, Zapier, n8n, or any MCP-compatible AI agent.

#### Why did my run return no results?

Your filters are probably too narrow. Remove a filter or broaden the search, then run again. You only pay the result price for records that are actually saved.

#### Is the data accurate and up to date?

Each run fetches live data from the source described above, so results are as current as that source. Verify critical records with the original source before acting on them.

# Actor input Schema

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

List of email addresses to validate. Checks syntax, MX records, disposable domains, free providers, and role accounts.

## `enableSMTP` (type: `boolean`):

Attempt an SMTP mailbox-acceptance signal. Results may be blocked, unknown, or misleading because of datacenter filtering, greylisting, catch-all domains, and provider policy; they do not guarantee mailbox ownership, reachability, or delivery. Disabled by default.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum paid dataset items to return. The five-address default demo costs at most $0.0025 at $0.0005 per result; raise this limit for larger lists.

## `concurrency` (type: `integer`):

Number of emails to validate in parallel. Higher values = faster but more DNS/network load.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "emails": [
    "test@gmail.com",
    "user@mailinator.com",
    "ceo@apple.com",
    "info@microsoft.com",
    "fake@nonexistent-domain-12345.com"
  ],
  "enableSMTP": false,
  "maxResults": 5,
  "concurrency": 5
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

All records from this run in the default dataset, shown with the Overview table view.

# 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": [
        "test@gmail.com",
        "user@mailinator.com",
        "ceo@apple.com",
        "info@microsoft.com",
        "fake@nonexistent-domain-12345.com"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("pink_comic/email-validation-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": [
        "test@gmail.com",
        "user@mailinator.com",
        "ceo@apple.com",
        "info@microsoft.com",
        "fake@nonexistent-domain-12345.com",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("pink_comic/email-validation-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": [
    "test@gmail.com",
    "user@mailinator.com",
    "ceo@apple.com",
    "info@microsoft.com",
    "fake@nonexistent-domain-12345.com"
  ]
}' |
apify call pink_comic/email-validation-checker --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,pink_comic/email-validation-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/sJT7gmvZ0v1VFqpfz/builds/StgVM1PGLsNgywWVo/openapi.json