Business email checker: is this a real work email?
This business email checker answers four things about one address: is it on a company domain or a free service like Gmail (matched against 158 free and ISP domains), who receives the domain's mail according to its MX record, whether it's a shared inbox like sales@, and whether the mail server accepts the mailbox. Nothing is sent.
Five checks a minute, no account needed. Nothing is sent to the address — we ask its mail server whether the mailbox exists, then disconnect.
Sample result
jane@acme.example is a work address, and its mail server confirmed the mailbox.
- jane@acme.example
- Address type
- Work address (company domain)
- Role address
- No
What this means for you
A company domain plus a confirmed mailbox; the domain alone wouldn't prove either.
- Matches the domain against free and ISP mail
- Names the mail host from MX
- Flags shared inboxes like info@
- Asks the server about the mailbox, nothing sent
- Work email
- Role flag
- MX host
By SimpleVerifier Team · Last updated
How do I check if an email is a business email?
- Type or paste one address, such as
jane@acme.example. - Press Check. The domain is matched against the free-provider list, its MX record is looked up, and the mail server is asked about the mailbox.
- Read Address type first: a work address is on a company domain, a personal one is on a service anyone can sign up to.
- Then read the verdict. Valid means the server accepted the mailbox and rejected a made-up one; risky means it couldn't be confirmed, often because the domain accepts every address.
Example
- You enter
- An illustrative address:
jane@acme.example. - You get
- Address type "Work address (company domain)", role address "No", the mail host named from the domain's MX (for example Google Workspace or Microsoft 365), and the live verdict: valid if the server accepted the mailbox and rejected a made-up one, risky with "Accepts all addresses" if it accepted both.
info@acme.exampleis flagged as a shared inbox and comes back risky; a gmail.com address is labelled personal webmail. - Limits
- Five checks a minute per IP address, one address at a time, no account needed.
How do you tell if an email address is a work email?
By the domain after the @. A work address is on a domain the organisation owns, such as acme.example. A personal one is on a mailbox service anyone can open, such as gmail.com, outlook.com or yahoo.com, or on an internet provider's domain such as comcast.net. The checker matches the domain exactly against our list of free email providers, so gmial.com or a lookalike counts as a company domain; the live check then shows whether it has a mail server at all.
Hosting doesn't change the answer. A company on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 still sends from its own domain, so jane@acme.example is a work address even though Google or Microsoft runs the mailbox. The Mail host line names that provider from the domain's MX record.
Does a work email domain prove the mailbox is real?
No, and the two answers are kept apart on purpose. The address type comes from the domain alone, so a domain registered last week for one person looks the same as a large company's. The live check is what tells you whether the mailbox exists: it asks the domain's mail server about the address at the RCPT TO step and disconnects before anything is sent.
Company domains are also where catch-all setups live. If the server accepts a random address that can't exist, the result is risky with "Accepts all addresses", because no single mailbox can be confirmed there. What is a catch-all domain? explains why, and business email vs personal email covers when each kind of address is the right contact.
Why flag role addresses like info@ and sales@?
Because they're shared inboxes, not a person. Many sending platforms restrict or block them on imported lists, and a cold message to info@ usually reaches a queue rather than a decision maker. The checker flags common shared prefixes (info, sales, support, hello and others) and system addresses such as postmaster@ and abuse@, which shouldn't be on a marketing list at all.
The live check also treats the common role prefixes as risky without probing the mailbox, so a role address never comes back valid here. More in role-based email addresses.
Who uses this tool, and for what?
- B2B sales teams
- See at a glance whether a demo request came from a company domain, which provider runs its mail, and whether the mailbox is live before booking a call.
- SaaS signups
- Spot-check addresses on a work-email-only trial: personal webmail, ISP mail and shared inboxes are each labelled.
- Recruiters
- Confirm a candidate's or hiring manager's work address exists before sending, and see when a domain accepts everything so the answer can't be trusted.
What can’t this tool tell you?
- Work or personal comes from the domain alone. It doesn't prove the business is real or that the person still works there.
- Small regional providers not among the 158 listed domains count as company domains.
- Catch-all domains and domains behind a security gateway come back risky, because their servers accept every address.
- Consumer Microsoft and Apple addresses (outlook.com, hotmail.com, icloud.com and their siblings) aren't probed; they come back risky with "Provider hides mailbox status".
- One address at a time, five a minute.
Common questions
- What is the difference between a business email and a personal email?
- A business email is on a domain the organisation owns, like jane@acme.example. A personal email is on a public service anyone can sign up to, like gmail.com, outlook.com or yahoo.com, or on an internet provider's domain.
- Is a Gmail address ever a business email?
- Not by its domain. Some sole traders run their business from a Gmail address, but anyone can open one, so this checker labels gmail.com as personal. A company that uses Google Workspace sends from its own domain instead, and that counts as a work address.
- Are zoho.com and proton.me addresses personal or business?
- Personal: anyone can open a mailbox at zoho.com or proton.me. A company that hosts its own domain at Zoho or Proton is different; those addresses are work addresses, and the Mail host line shows Zoho Mail or Proton Mail.
- Can I check a whole list for business emails?
- Yes. The business email filter splits a pasted list or CSV into company and free addresses in your browser. To check every mailbox as well, sign in with Google for 100 free email checks, no card.
- Why is a company address marked risky?
- Usually because the domain accepts mail for any address (catch-all), or a security gateway answers in front of the real mail server, so the mailbox can't be confirmed. It can also mean the address is a role inbox, or the server gave a temporary reply.
- Is this business email checker free?
- Yes, five checks a minute with no account. Nothing is sent to the address.
That was one address. Most people have a list.
The free checker does five addresses a minute, one at a time — fine for spot-checking, useless for a CSV of 40,000.
- Upload a CSV up to 100,000 rows
- Valid, risky and invalid exported as separate files
- Repeat checks free for 14 days, no new connections
One plan, cancel anytime, no contract. Sign in with Google and your first 100 email checks are free, no card. The free tools stay free either way.