Mailmeteor's Email Checker runs the address through 15+ technical checks:

1. Syntax — the address must follow a valid format (local part + domain).
2. Disposable domain — we flag throwaway services (Mailinator, Yopmail, etc.).
3. Role-based — addresses like info@ or support@ are marked accordingly.
4. DNS & MX records — the domain must be configured to receive mail.
5. SMTP handshake — we ping the mailbox to confirm it accepts incoming mail.
6. Catch-all detection — we test whether the domain accepts any address.

The whole process takes a few seconds and returns a status, a score, and the reason behind it.

• Valid — the mailbox exists and is accepting mail. Safe to send.
• Risky — the address responds but shows warning signs (catch-all domain, role-based, low-reputation provider). Send with caution; avoid for cold outreach at scale.
• Invalid — the mailbox doesn't exist, the domain has no MX, or the provider rejects the handshake. Don't send — it will bounce.
• Unknown — the provider blocks verification (common with large mailbox hosts). Results are inconclusive.

A verified mailbox can still bounce if the recipient's inbox is full, their provider rate-limits your sending IP, or your domain fails authentication. Verification reduces hard bounces (mailbox doesn't exist) but doesn't eliminate soft bounces. Pair verification with proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for best results.

Yes — significantly. Under the 2024 Gmail and Yahoo bulk-sender guidelines, a bounce rate above 0.3% can hurt your reputation and push future emails to spam. Verifying your list before sending keeps bounces low, which in turn:

• Protects your sender reputation
• Keeps your IP and domain off blocklists
• Improves inbox placement for future campaigns

A catch-all domain accepts mail to any address at that domain, even if no mailbox exists. Email servers return "accepted" for the handshake, so we can't confirm whether a specific person reads that inbox. Catch-all addresses are marked as risky — safe for occasional outreach, but risky for large campaigns since some of them silently drop.

This page verifies one address at a time. For lists, use our Email Verifier for Google Sheets add-on — it verifies thousands of addresses directly inside a spreadsheet.

For very high volumes, we partner with specialists (Bouncer, Clearout, Emailable, Neverbounce, Zerobounce). Get discounts on our partners page.

Email Checker is completely free for manual use — no sign-up, no credit card. We apply a fair-use policy to prevent automated scraping. If you need higher volume or API access, use the Google Sheets add-on or one of our bulk-verification partners.

Your data stays yours — like all products made by Mailmeteor. Addresses you verify are not stored, sold, or shared with third parties. We may briefly log requests for abuse prevention. This page uses Google Analytics, so Google's Privacy Policy also applies.

Remove invalid addresses, segment risky ones for careful sending, then launch your campaign with Mailmeteor. It's the most popular Gmail mail merge, trusted by 6 million people for sending personalized mass emails directly from Gmail and Outlook.