Clean a 1 million email list: what it costs and how long it takes

1 million emails on SimpleVerifier

Every plan or pack that takes the whole list in one go, cheapest first. Per 1,000 is the price divided by 1,000,000.

• Pro, one month$39 ($0.04 per 1,000)

  the first 100,000 checks a month at full speed, then slower, never cut off: 100,000 of this list at full speed, the other 900,000 in the slower lane

• Business, one month$99 ($0.10 per 1,000)

  the first 300,000 checks a month at full speed, then slower, never cut off: 300,000 of this list at full speed, the other 700,000 in the slower lane

• Agency, one month$249 ($0.25 per 1,000)

  the first 750,000 checks a month at full speed, then slower, never cut off: 750,000 of this list at full speed, the other 250,000 in the slower lane

Pro is never cut off: the first 100,000 checks a month at full speed, then slower, never cut off. Monthly plans renew until you cancel; packs are one payment.

How long 1 million emails take

• We run about 13,000 mailbox checks a day today, shared by all customers. At today's shared pace, 1,000,000 checks in one list take about 77 days to finish. The list queues and its card shows the ETA; nothing is cut off.
• Check capacity is shared by all customers: list jobs run at up to about 60 addresses a minute while the day's capacity lasts, so a very large list queues rather than failing and can take days.
• Bad syntax, dead domains and disposable addresses come back at once, and results confirmed in the last 14 days return instantly, so a list you checked recently finishes sooner. Each job card shows an estimated finish time.
• At that pace the list runs for about 3 billing months. A monthly plan renews each month until you cancel, so budget for every month the list is running, not just the first.
• On Pro this list goes past 100,000 a month, so the rest runs in the slower lane: when the shared queue is busy it still gets at least 2,000 rows a day, and when nobody else is waiting it runs at the normal pace. It is never cut off.
• Uploads take up to 100,000 rows each, so split this list into 10 files first with the email list splitter and upload them one after another.

What you get back

Valid

The recipient's mail server confirmed the mailbox exists.

Risky

The domain works but the mailbox could not be confirmed, usually a catch-all domain that accepts every address. Anything unconfirmed is reported as risky, never as valid.

Invalid

The server confirmed the mailbox does not exist, or the syntax is broken, the domain has no mail server, or the domain is a known disposable provider.

Results download as separate files for valid, risky and invalid. The email column is found by its header or its contents, every other column in your file is kept, and the cleaned files come back with your original columns, so they import straight back into your sending tool.

Common questions

How much does it cost to verify 1 million emails?

On SimpleVerifier it costs $249 (one month of Agency, the first 750,000 at full speed, then slower). Other verifiers' published prices for the same size run from $364.65 on Proofy to $8,000 on Scrubby, each read off the vendor's pricing page on the date shown in the table.

How long does it take to verify 1 million emails?

About 77 days at today's shared pace of about 13,000 mailbox checks a day, shared by all customers. The list queues rather than failing, the job card shows an estimated finish time, and nothing is cut off.

What do I get back?

Every address marked valid, risky or invalid. Results download as separate files for valid, risky and invalid. The email column is found by its header or its contents, every other column in your file is kept, and the cleaned files come back with your original columns, so they import straight back into your sending tool.

Can I upload 1 million emails in one file?

Not in one file: uploads take up to 100,000 rows each, so split the list into 10 files first (the free email list splitter does it in the browser) and upload them one after another.

Is Pro unlimited for a list of 1 million?

Pro is never cut off, on fair use: the first 100,000 checks a month at full speed, then slower, never cut off. A list of 1 million goes past that, so the rest runs in the slower lane at no extra charge; Business (the first 300,000 checks a month at full speed, then slower, never cut off) and Agency (the first 750,000 checks a month at full speed, then slower, never cut off) keep more of it at full speed.

Do I pay for duplicates or addresses that can't be checked?

No: duplicates and addresses we cannot check are not counted, and confirmed results are cached for 14 days, so re-checking an overlapping list costs nothing.

Can I try it before paying?

Yes: the first 100 email checks are free with a Google sign-in and no card, on the same SMTP mailbox check the paid plans run. Upload a sample of the list first, then pick the plan or pack that fits.