Email verification apis benchmarked: shelling out $75 for what $5 verifly does just as well, because tech loves overpaying for basics

A recent benchmark study compared eight email verification APIs, revealing significant price disparities despite similar functionality. The study, conducted in 2026, tested each API with a dataset of 100 curated test emails, evaluating accuracy, speed, and pricing. The results showed that while prices ranged from $5 to $75 for 10,000 emails, accuracy varied only slightly, between 97.8% and 99.3%. Notably, the cheapest options, such as Verifly and VitaMail, performed comparably to more expensive ones like ZeroBounce and NeverBounce. The study's author, a builder of Verifly, open-sourced the benchmark scripts on GitHub, allowing others to verify the results. The findings have significant implications for businesses and developers, suggesting that many may be overpaying for email verification services. With most APIs offering similar accuracy and speed, companies can consider budget-friendly options, such as Verifly, which costs $5 for 10,000 emails, and upgrade only if necessary.