BounceOwl vs ZeroBounce

How the two compare on price, credits, unknown results, catch-all handling and tools. Every ZeroBounce fact links to its source, and the page says where ZeroBounce is the better fit.

Last checked: November 6, 2026

Facts about ZeroBounce come from their website unless marked as a third-party source. Prices change, so check theirs before you decide.

ZeroBounce is the better fit for

Teams that want validation bundled with deliverability tools such as inbox tests, blacklist monitoring and warmup, and AI scoring for catch-all addresses.

BounceOwl is the better fit for

Teams who want to pay only for real answers, see the evidence behind every result, keep credits that never expire, and get addresses checked by anyone on BounceOwl in the last 7 days for free.

Side by side

BounceOwl prices are the cheapest way to buy that many checks today, using our live price list.

Feature	BounceOwl	ZeroBounce
10,000 checks	$15.00	$129source
100,000 checks	$39.00	$649source
1,000,000 checks	$126.00	$3,199source
Subscription needed	No, pay as you go	Yes. ZeroBounce ONE from $99/month (10,000 credits minimum), $79/month billed yearly.source
Credits expire	Never	Accounts created after June 1, 2026: purchased credits expire two years after the most recent purchase, and do not expire while a ZeroBounce ONE subscription is active. Older accounts: never.source
Free credits at signup	100	100source
Unknown results charged	No	No. "We will never charge you for unknown results."source
Duplicates charged	No, checked once	No. "Nor will we charge you for removing duplicate email addresses from your list."source
Recent results from other users	Free for 7 days	Not published
Catch-all handling	Flagged free; deeper check on demand, 5 credits, refunded if unclear	Resolves many catch-alls to valid or invalid during standard validation, plus Verify+ catch-all validation at no added cost. Unresolved ones stay catch-all. Optional AI scoring costs 1 extra credit per address.source
Evidence on results	Mail server, provider or gateway, mailbox answer, catch-all test, time	Status and sub-status per address, plus MX record and SMTP provider fields in the API response.source
API	Yes	Yessource
MCP server	Yes	Yes, official npm package @zerobounce/mcp (github.com/zerobounce/zerobounce-mcp).source

ZeroBounce also states: Guarantees 99.6% accuracy (96%+ on AOL, Yahoo and Office 365). Refunds 5x the shortfall percentage of validation cost, with conditions (opt-in list of 1,000+, mailed within 72 hours, hard bounces only). source

How we keep this page honest

We only compare facts that both companies publish. Where ZeroBounce doesn't publish something, we say so.
We don't quote accuracy percentages, ours or theirs, without a published test method.
Every ZeroBounce fact links to where we found it, with the date we checked.
Spotted something out of date? Email support@bounceowl.com and we'll fix it.

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100 free credits with Google sign-in. Pay as you go after that, and credits never expire.

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