6 Best Email List Scrubbing Tools to Land in the Inbox, Not Spam

Looking for an email list scrubber? You're in the right place! 

Email marketers often agree that your list is your goldmine. 

Now, here’s the part you don’t often hear: up to 25% of that goldmine could be fool's gold!

"Bad emails? No big deal," you might think. 

But turn a blind eye to list hygiene; and these bad addresses send bounce rates soaring!

When that happens, your bottom line takes a hit (since you can't land in the inbox). 

That’s why I'm bringing you a review of six email list scrubbers that are worth your time and investment:

• Emailable
• Clearout
• Hunter
• ZeroBounce
• Bounceless
• Bouncer

Let's dive in!

No time to waste?

Check out our favorite tool Emailable!

Emailable: Best Email Scrubber

Email deliverability can make or break a campaign. As marketers, we've all felt the sting of meticulously crafted emails landing in the spam folder or worse, bouncing back entirely.

Emailable is an email list cleaner that eliminates irrelevant, spammy, and invalid email addresses from your database. 

 It offers:

• Bulk email checking 
• Email list cleaning automation
• Real-time email verification service
• A comprehensive deliverability tool suite

But here's where Emailable really shines: its speed. In a world where every minute counts, Emailable gets it.

It's fast, efficient, and doesn't keep you waiting.

Many users report switching over because their old tools took hours or days to complete email verification. In my experience, scrubbing my data only takes a few seconds. For a large list, it will be slightly longer.

The simplicity of Emailable's email cleaning process is noteworthy. It provides clear descriptions of each type of result, making it easy to act on.

Emailable is no slouch when it comes to security, either. Emailable safeguards data with GDPR compliance and 256-bit TLS encryption.

Also, the platform integrates with the email service provider, customer relationship manager, and marketing platforms you already use. 

The pricing is competitive, and most importantly, it works even better than advertised. 

You can be confident that your email marketing efforts are built on a solid foundation of reliable, verified email addresses.

Pros vs Cons 

Pricing 

Clearout (#2 Email Scrubber)

Clearout offers a suite of email marketing tools designed to streamline and enhance email marketing efforts. 

From verifying emails at the point of capture to maintaining data hygiene, Clearout excels.

What sets Clearout apart as an email scrubber is its accuracy. It not only removes invalid email addresses but also ensures that the emails that do make it through are high quality.

We can avoid the traps of spam email addresses, which keeps my open rates high (and overall ROI positive).

Clearout's speed is another standout feature. Whether I'm verifying a handful of emails or a list of thousands, Clearout easily handles it.

This efficiency is crucial - no more waiting days for results.

Data security is a top priority, and Clearout doesn't disappoint. Data is well-protected with 256-bit SSL encryption and adherence to GDPR, SOC 2 Type 2, and ISO norms.

The flexibility of Clearout's integration capabilities is also a big plus. The rest API is adaptable and can integrate with any programming language.

Looking at other user reviews, it's clear that my positive experience with Clearout is not unique. Users have praised its accuracy, affordability, and user-friendly interface. 

This kind of feedback reinforces my confidence in the platform.

Pros vs Cons

Pricing

Hunter (Popular Email Scrubber)

Hunter.io, at its core, is a tool designed to streamline the process of cold outreach by finding and verifying professional email addresses. (By the way, here's our full Hunter.io review)

Compared to tools like Emailable and ZeroBounce, which focus more on their bulk email verification service, Hunter.io focuses more on outbound lead generation.

Yes - bulk email verification is a part of that, so there is also some overlap.

Hunter.io's features include:

• Domain Search
• Email Finder
• Email Verifier
• Email Marketing Campaigns

The process begins with the Domain Search feature. Instead of spending hours trawling through LinkedIn or company websites, I enter the domain name into Hunter.io.

In an instant, I have a list of professional email addresses from that domain.

Once I have these potential leads, the next step is to ensure their valid email addresses. At this point, I’ll use the verifier, which ensures 95% accuracy.

However, where Hunter.io truly stands out is its Email Campaigns feature.

Unlike other tools that stop at email verification, Hunter.io takes it a step further by allowing me to compose, schedule, and track email campaigns directly from the platform.

In terms of use cases, Hunter.io excels in roles where outbound lead generation is key.

For example:

• Salespeople targeting decision-makers
• Bloggers performing backlink outreach

If you want to further explore solutions for this outbound use-case, you can check out our best Hunter.io alternatives.

Pros vs Cons

Pricing

Note: Annual pricing plans offer a 30% discount.

ZeroBounce

 ZeroBounce is a comprehensive email validation service that offers:

• Email list validation
• Email list cleaning services
• Additional data appending
• Improved deliverability

The accuracy is impressive, with a 99% accuracy claim that holds up in practice.

This was evident in the case of MediaShares, where their bounce rate dropped from 12% almost to 0% after using ZeroBounce.

It's GDPR, SOC 2 Type 2, and PCI compliant and uses military-grade data encryption to protect data. 

ZeroBounce integrates with existing email marketing platforms and CRMs, enabling smooth data transfer. The real-time verification feature is also a bonus, validating emails as they are collected.

The Activity Data service is a unique feature that provides insights into subscriber engagement, allowing for improved email list performance. 

The AI-driven email scoring system is another plus, predicting subscriber interaction with your emails.

ZeroBounce's reputation is strong, with numerous positive customer reviews and testimonials. They also have a free trial for Niche Pursuits readers, allowing you to test the tool's capabilities before purchasing. 

Pros vs Cons

Pros

• Fast email verification process
• Reliable email verification results
• Improves list hygiene
• Identifies invalid email address, inactive subscribers, disposable emails
• Excellent value

Cons

• Some issues reported with API and credit balance

Pricing

They offer both pay-as-you-go and monthly options. For smaller lists or infrequent use, I recommend the pay-as-you-go plan. The monthly pricing may offer better value for regular use.

Emails	Pay-as-you-go ($/email)	Monthly ($/email)
Up to 2,000	Free	$0.0075
From 2,000	$0.008	$0.0075
From 5,000	$0.0078	$0.007
From 10,000	$0.0065	$0.0064
From 25,000	n/a	n/a
From 50,000	n/a	n/a
From 100,000	$0.0039	$0.0035
From 250,000	$0.003	$0.00255
From 1,000,000	$0.00225	$0.00191

Bouceless

Whether you're verifying a list of email addresses or searching for new ones, Bounceless delivers results quickly without compromising on accuracy.

It offers:

• Email verification
• Email finder
• Deliverability
• Blacklist monitoring

Under the hood, Bounceless employs advanced techniques to ensure top-notch email management. 

It intelligently cleans spam trap records, removing any potential risks. Duplicate email addresses are swiftly eliminated. Risk validation scans for and eliminates high-risk keywords and domains in email addresses.

To improve deliverability, Bounceless validates the Mail-Transfer-Agent (MTA) and ensures the syntax of email addresses is valid.

It also removes emails with invalid addresses, inactive, or parked domains and identifies catch-all domains.

Not only is Bounceless powerful, but it's also incredibly easy to use. Most users report completing their first email cleanup within just 20 minutes. 

In the 57 email test that I ran, it performed slightly slower than Emailable.

And when it comes to bounce rates, Bounceless delivers impressive results. Users have experienced a remarkable 234% improvement.

The pay-as-you-go pricing model offers flexibility that's hard to find.

Compared to tools like Hunter, Bounceless does offer more options. It's also nice that you have flexibility to choose a package without being tied to a monthly subscription.

In addition to its technical prowess, Bounceless offers detailed reporting so you can always keep track of your email list's health.

Pros vs Cons

Pricing

The monthly package includes an email finder, inbox placement, and blacklist monitoring.

Bouncer

Bouncer is an email list scrubber laser-focused on email verification and deliverability.

It's a no-nonsense solution that gets the job done, and it does it well.

First, let’s talk about email verification. Bouncer identifies undeliverable emails before you send your campaign, ensuring you get far fewer bounced emails.

The API is another strong point. It's robust, reliable, and easy to use.

Users have praised its straightforwardness and the quick response from the support team. The API offers both batch and real-time verification options, making it a versatile tool for any business.

Bouncer's Toxicity Check feature is another standout. It's an extra layer of protection, removing potentially harmful email addresses, such as breached ones, spam complaints, and potential spam traps. 

The Deliverability Kit is a proactive feature that monitors your inbox placement and blacklists, alerting you when things go awry. 

Bouncer's ability to verify email addresses hosted by different email service providers, including deep catch-all Google Workspace and Office365 verification, is impressive.

It does this with few unknown results (0.3-3%), which is phenomenal.

In terms of speed, Bouncer can check over 200,000 emails per hour, and the results speak for themselves. Users have reported a significant drop in bounce rates, from 25% to a mere 1-1.5%.

It does all this with a fair pricing model.

The fact that Bouncer allows you to test your list’s quality completely free is a big plus. It will pull a sample from your list, check it, and will tell you if it needs cleaning. That way, you don’t burn unnecessary credits.

Pros vs Cons

Pricing

Email scrubber - Final Thoughts

Remember, maintaining a clean email list is just as important as growing it. A clean email list can improve your deliverability rate, reduce your bounce rate, and ultimately increase your ROI.

So, invest in a good email scrubber like Emailable. It's one that will pay for itself in the long run.

P.S. List cleaning and maintaining sender reputation are necessities for landing in the inbox, but so are avoiding spam trigger words. So make sure to pay attention to those as you craft your emails!

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