Locus product guide · Updated November 10, 2026

Email verification API pricing: NeverBounce vs ZeroBounce

Email verification APIs cost about $0.003 to $0.02 per address. NeverBounce charges $8 per 1,000 checks pay as you go. ZeroBounce starts at $39 for 2,000 checks, $0.0195 each. Kickbox charges $10 per 1,000 and $2,999 per million, and Emailable sells 5,000 credits for $38. Hunter’s Starter plan works out to about $0.0123 per check. Prices checked November 10, 2026.

How much does each email validation API cost?

Each vendor below sells credits, and 1 credit checks 1 address. Hunter is the exception: a check costs half a credit. Prices come from each pricing page on November 10, 2026.

How much does each email validation API cost?
Provider	Entry price	Price per check at that size	At higher volume	Free checks
NeverBounce	$8 for 1,000	$0.008	Growth: $49 a month for up to 10,000	Free test credits and list analysis
ZeroBounce	$39 for 2,000	$0.0195	ZeroBounce ONE subscription from $99 a month	100 a month with a business domain
Kickbox	$5 for 500	$0.01	$500 for 100,000. $2,999 for 1 million.	100 free
Emailable	$38 for 5,000	$0.0076	Lower per credit in bigger packs. 15% off on subscription.	250 at signup
Hunter	$49 for a month of Starter (4,000 checks)	About $0.0123	About $0.0042 on Scale billed yearly	100 a month on the Free plan

Which results and credits cost you money?

The headline rate is half the story. Free unknown results, expiry rules and minimum purchases change the real price per useful check.

Which results and credits cost you money?
Provider	Unknown results	Credit expiry	Smallest purchase
NeverBounce	Not stated on the pricing page	12 months after purchase	Priced from 1,000 credits
ZeroBounce	Free, and so are removed duplicates	Never, while you keep a ZeroBounce ONE subscription	2,000 credits for $39
Kickbox	Credit refunded	Not stated on the pricing page	Paid tiers start at 500
Emailable	Refunded, along with duplicates	Never	Packs start at 5,000
Hunter	Free	Monthly credits reset each cycle	A plan, or the 50 free credits

What does it cost to verify 10,000 emails?

Here is one list of 10,000 addresses priced on each option, cheapest first. Prices checked November 10, 2026.

What does it cost to verify 10,000 emails?
Option	Cost for 10,000 checks	Note
NeverBounce Growth, one month	$49	Covers up to 10,000 checks in the month
Kickbox	$70	Unknown results are refunded
Emailable	$76	Two 5,000-credit packs. Bigger packs cost less per credit.
NeverBounce pay as you go	$80	Credits last 12 months
Hunter Growth, one month	$149	10,000 credits cover 20,000 checks
ZeroBounce pay as you go	Up to $195	At the entry rate. Larger purchases cost less.

Can an agent verify emails through Locus Pro?

Yes. An agent on Locus Pro can verify addresses inline, one call at a time, from one prepaid credit balance that also pays for other providers. There is no credit pack to buy first and no provider account, and credits you buy do not expire.

Both providers below are reviewed vendors in the catalog. Locus charges a fixed price per call, so plan to pay for unknown results too.

Your agent sees the price before each call and can cap it, and a monthly hard limit stops new calls. On Enterprise, you can bill your own customers for the checks their agents run.

Can an agent verify emails through Locus Pro?
Locus endpoint	Provider	Addresses per call
hunter/email-verifier	Hunter	1
zerobounce/validate-email	ZeroBounce	1
zerobounce/validate-batch	ZeroBounce batch	Up to 200

Which email verification API should you pick?

Volume decides most of it.

A one-off list under 10,000: NeverBounce Growth for a month, or pay per check through Locus Pro.
Hundreds of thousands a year: Kickbox volume tiers or Hunter Scale billed yearly, where the price per check falls with volume.
Lists you clean now and then: Emailable, whose credits never expire.
An agent that finds and verifies addresses in the same task: Locus Pro, so the finder and the verifier bill to one balance.
Deliverability tools beyond verification: ZeroBounce ONE.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest email verification API?

At a million checks, Kickbox lists $2,999, or $0.003 each. For a few thousand checks, NeverBounce pay as you go costs $0.008 each and an Emailable 5,000-credit pack about $0.0076.

Does ZeroBounce charge for unknown results?

No. ZeroBounce does not charge for unknown results or for duplicates it removes from a list. Every other check costs 1 credit.

Do NeverBounce credits expire?

Yes. NeverBounce pay-as-you-go credits expire 12 months after purchase. Emailable credits never expire, and ZeroBounce credits do not expire while you keep a ZeroBounce ONE subscription.

Can I verify a few emails for free?

Yes. ZeroBounce gives 100 checks a month to business domains, Kickbox gives 100 and Emailable 250 at signup. Hunter’s Free plan covers 100 checks a month.

Implementation references

Use these first-party references for current request contracts and account requirements. Tool availability, prices, and negotiated terms can change.

Sources

Third-party details were checked on November 10, 2026. Vendors change pricing and features often, so confirm on their site before you decide.