ZeroBounce vs NeverBounce: Pricing, Accuracy and Which to Choose

NeverBounce is cheaper to start, at $8 per 1,000 credits, and suits one-off list cleaning. NeverBounce credits expire 12 months after purchase.

ZeroBounce costs more per credit on small purchases. ZeroBounce adds 100 free credits every month, an AI scoring tool for catch-all addresses and 24/7 support.

Choose NeverBounce if you clean lists a few times a year. Choose ZeroBounce if you validate every month or your list has many company domains.

Key facts at a glance

• NeverBounce pay-as-you-go price: $8 per 1,000 credits.
• ZeroBounce pay-as-you-go price: from $39 for 2,000 credits.
• ZeroBounce ONE subscription: from $99 per month for 10,000 credits.
• NeverBounce Growth plan: $49 per month for up to 10,000 emails.
• NeverBounce credit expiry: 12 months after purchase.
• ZeroBounce credit expiry: none while a ZeroBounce ONE subscription is active.
• ZeroBounce free plan: 100 credits every month.
• Catch-all label: “catch-all” in ZeroBounce, “accept-all” in NeverBounce.
• NeverBounce owner: ZoomInfo.

Sources: ZeroBounce pricing, ZeroBounce billing FAQ, NeverBounce pricing, ZeroBounce ONE volume prices recorded by Activepieces, and volume prices recorded by Bouncer and emaillistvalidation.com. Check both calculators before you buy.

What is ZeroBounce?

ZeroBounce is an email validation service that checks whether email addresses are deliverable before you send. ZeroBounce sells credits on pay-as-you-go and through the ZeroBounce ONE subscription.

ZeroBounce also offers an Email Finder, an AI scoring tool, Activity Data and deliverability tests. ZeroBounce lists 24/7 support by phone, email and chat.

What is NeverBounce?

NeverBounce is an email verification and list-cleaning service operated by ZoomInfo. NeverBounce sells credits on pay-as-you-go and through its Growth plan.

NeverBounce offers three main products: Verify (real-time checks), Clean (bulk lists) and Sync (automatic list cleaning). NeverBounce does not charge for duplicate addresses in a file.

Pricing: which is cheaper?

NeverBounce is cheaper than ZeroBounce at almost every pay-as-you-go volume. ZeroBounce narrows the gap only on its subscription.

NeverBounce pricing

• Pay-as-you-go: $8 per 1,000 credits, with a 1,000-credit minimum.
• Growth plan: $49 per month for up to 10,000 emails, with CRM auto-sync.
• Enterprise: custom pricing, typically for 250,000+ emails a month.

ZeroBounce pricing

• Pay-as-you-go: $39 for 2,000 credits (about $19.50 per 1,000), $129 for 10,000 and $649 for 100,000.
• ZeroBounce ONE: from $99 per month for 10,000 credits, or $79 per month billed annually.
• Subscribers get 15% off extra pay-as-you-go credits.
• ZeroBounce does not charge for duplicates or “unknown” results.

Which is cheaper for your use case?

• One list of 10,000, once a year: NeverBounce ($80) costs less than ZeroBounce ($129).
• About 10,000 new contacts every month: NeverBounce Growth ($49) costs less than ZeroBounce ONE ($99), but ZeroBounce ONE includes Activity Data and blacklist monitoring.
• Buying credits now to use later: NeverBounce credits expire after 12 months, so unused credits are lost.

Do ZeroBounce and NeverBounce credits expire?

Credit expiry is the biggest difference between the two tools, and most comparisons leave out the conditions.

NeverBounce credit expiry

NeverBounce credits expire 12 months after purchase.

ZeroBounce credit expiry

ZeroBounce credits never expire while you have an active ZeroBounce ONE subscription. For newer pay-as-you-go-only accounts, Bouncer reports that credits expire two years after the most recent purchase. Confirm the current rule before buying a large pack.

Accuracy: what the claims really mean

What each vendor claims

ZeroBounce claims 99.6% accuracy. NeverBounce’s own comparison describes up to 99.9% deliverability. ZeroBounce’s comparison page says NeverBounce offers a refund if your bounce rate goes above 3%. All of these figures come from the vendors themselves.

Why published accuracy can’t settle it

Independent tests on other comparison pages are small: one used 10 addresses, another 563. Accuracy also depends on the list. B2B lists of company domains behave differently from consumer lists of Gmail and Yahoo addresses.

How to test both tools on your own list in one hour

1. Take 500 to 1,000 real addresses, including known bounces and active customers.
2. Run the same file through each tool, using its free credits.
3. Count how many each tool marks valid, invalid, catch-all (accept-all) and unknown.
4. Check the addresses you already know the answer for.
5. Choose the tool that is right on your known addresses and leaves the fewest unknowns.

Catch-all addresses: catch-all vs accept-all

What is a catch-all domain?

A catch-all (or accept-all) domain accepts mail for any address, so a verifier cannot confirm whether a specific mailbox exists. Many company domains on Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 behave this way, so B2B lists often contain many catch-all addresses.

How NeverBounce reports catch-all addresses

NeverBounce labels these addresses “accept-all”. You decide whether to send to them or suppress them.

How ZeroBounce reports catch-all addresses

ZeroBounce labels these addresses “catch-all”. ZeroBounce also offers an AI scoring tool, which uses credits, to estimate how likely a catch-all address is to be real.

What to do with catch-all addresses

Send to catch-all addresses in smaller batches and watch bounces. Why no validator can be fully certain about catch-all domains explains the limits.

Features, integrations and support

Integration counts and support hours are vendor-stated. Check that your ESP or CRM is on each list.

Which should you choose?

Gamalogic: an alternative to ZeroBounce and NeverBounce

Gamalogic is an email validation API and bulk verifier. Gamalogic is worth testing alongside ZeroBounce and NeverBounce if neither pricing model fits (see pricing).

Gamalogic pricing

Gamalogic charges $5 to $7 per 1,000 credits. 10,000 checks cost $50 to $70 on Gamalogic, compared with $129 on ZeroBounce and $80 on NeverBounce pay-as-you-go.

Gamalogic credit expiry

Gamalogic credits never expire, with or without a subscription. The same credits cover real-time checks, bulk lists and email finding.

How Gamalogic handles catch-all and protected domains

Gamalogic runs dedicated catch-all validation instead of only labelling catch-all addresses. Gamalogic also checks addresses behind secure email gateways and on servers that use SMTP tarpitting. These cases cause most “unknown” results on B2B lists.

Ways to use Gamalogic

• Bulk CSV list cleaning.
• A real-time API for apps and back-end jobs.
• A no-code JS widget for signup forms.
• A Google Sheets add-on.
• Integrations with ESPs such as Mailchimp, Brevo and ActiveCampaign.

Gamalogic free credits

Gamalogic gives 500 free credits on signup, with no card. 500 credits are enough to run the one-hour test above, compared with ZeroBounce’s 100 free credits a month.

Compare Gamalogic head to head

• ZeroBounce vs Gamalogic
• NeverBounce vs Gamalogic
• ZeroBounce alternatives with pricing
• NeverBounce alternatives compared

Run the one-hour test with Gamalogic as a third tool, then validate your list free.

Frequently asked questions

Is ZeroBounce better than NeverBounce?

ZeroBounce is better for teams that validate every month and need catch-all scoring and 24/7 support. NeverBounce is better for occasional bulk cleaning at a lower price per credit.

Which is cheaper, ZeroBounce or NeverBounce?

NeverBounce is cheaper at most volumes. NeverBounce costs $8 per 1,000 credits and $400 for 100,000, while ZeroBounce pay-as-you-go costs $129 for 10,000 and $649 for 100,000.

Do ZeroBounce and NeverBounce credits expire?

NeverBounce credits expire 12 months after purchase. ZeroBounce credits do not expire while you have an active ZeroBounce ONE subscription.

Do ZeroBounce and NeverBounce have free plans?

ZeroBounce gives 100 free credits every month. NeverBounce offers a free start with test credits and no card.

Which is better for catch-all email addresses?

ZeroBounce is better for catch-all addresses, because it offers an AI scoring tool for catch-all results. NeverBounce labels them “accept-all” without a score.

Who owns NeverBounce?

NeverBounce is operated by ZoomInfo.

What is a good alternative to ZeroBounce and NeverBounce?

Gamalogic is an alternative with 500 free credits, $5 to $7 per 1,000 credits and credits that never expire. Gamalogic includes catch-all, secure email gateway and SMTP tarpitting checks.

Test ZeroBounce, NeverBounce and Gamalogic on your own list.

Gamalogic gives you 500 free credits with no card, enough to run the one-hour test above, and your credits never expire. Get 500 free credits