What is the primary difference in DMARC focus between Mail Tower and MXtoolbox?

Mail Tower is a specialized DMARC reporting and monitoring platform, offering deep analytics and actionable insights specifically for DMARC compliance. MXtoolbox integrates DMARC as part of a broader suite of email and DNS diagnostic tools, providing more general oversight rather than a singular, in-depth DMARC focus.

Which product is better for small businesses just starting with DMARC?

For small businesses, MXtoolbox offers a free tier with basic blacklist monitoring and some DMARC tools, which can be a good starting point. However, if your small business requires more dedicated DMARC guidance, a platform like Suped with its generous free plan, provides a more focused path to DMARC compliance and security.

Does either product offer SPF flattening capabilities?

Yes, both Mail Tower and MXtoolbox offer SPF flattening. For MXtoolbox, this feature is specifically included in their higher-tier Delivery Center Plus plan. This helps in managing SPF records to stay within the 10-lookup limit.

Are there any concerns about MXtoolbox's billing or trial practices?

Based on G2 reviews, some users have reported issues with MXtoolbox's billing practices and its "risk-free" trial. These include difficulties in canceling subscriptions and not receiving promised refunds, suggesting a need for careful review of their terms before signing up for paid plans.

Which product is better for multi-domain management?

Both Mail Tower and MXtoolbox support multi-domain management, making them suitable for organizations or MSPs with multiple domains. Mail Tower's dedicated DMARC focus might offer a more streamlined experience for DMARC policy management across domains, while MXtoolbox provides broader email health oversight.

Mail Tower vs MXtoolbox

Choose Mail Tower for focused DMARC, choose MXtoolbox for broad email tools.

0 / 5(0)

Compare to Suped

4.1 / 5(29)

Compare to Suped

Compare product functionality

Feature set

Mail Tower provides a comprehensive suite of DMARC reporting features. We found its dashboard offers a granular view of authentication results, making it quite effective for pinpointing issues quickly. It is clearly built with DMARC compliance at its core, focusing on aggregate (RUA) and forensic (RUF) report analysis.

Beyond core DMARC, it offers strong insights into email sources, helping us identify legitimate senders versus potential spoofing attempts. The platform is designed to guide users through the process of achieving and maintaining DMARC enforcement with clear visualization tools and actionable recommendations.

MXtoolbox, while offering DMARC reporting, integrates it as one component within its broader suite of email and DNS diagnostic tools. We've used their DMARC analytics to get an overview of authentication statuses, which is useful for general monitoring, but it doesn't always go into the same depth as a dedicated DMARC-first platform.

Their strength lies in the multitude of free tools available, like DNS lookups, blacklist (or blocklist) checks, and SMTP diagnostics. When it comes to the paid Delivery Center, it expands on these, including DMARC deployment assistance, SPF/DKIM monitoring, and domain impersonation protection, making it a more generalized email health platform.

How easy is each product to use

User experience

Mail Tower offers a clean, modern interface that we found intuitive to navigate. The dashboard presents DMARC data in an easily digestible format with helpful graphs and summaries, reducing the learning curve for new users. Setting up domains and policies feels straightforward, guiding us through each step.

The focus on DMARC means the UI is tailored specifically for this task, avoiding clutter from unrelated features. This streamlined approach makes it easy to find specific DMARC-related insights and take action, even for those who are not deep experts in email authentication.

MXtoolbox's user experience is a mixed bag for DMARC. While its free tools are easily accessible and self-explanatory, the paid Delivery Center has an interface that feels a bit more traditional. We've noticed the navigation can sometimes involve clicking through multiple links to reach specific reports.

The platform's strength is its tool-centric nature. If you know exactly what you're looking for, like an MX lookup or a blacklist check, it's quick to find. However, for a holistic view of DMARC compliance and email deliverability, the dashboard might require some familiarity to extract all the relevant information efficiently.

Which product has the best support

Support

Given Mail Tower's more focused offering, we anticipate their support to be highly knowledgeable in DMARC and email authentication. Although we haven't found extensive public reviews on their support, a specialized platform often translates to focused and expert assistance.

Typically, for newer or niche platforms, support often comes directly from product experts, which can be a significant advantage when dealing with complex DMARC configurations. We expect accessible documentation and perhaps direct contact options like email or chat.

MXtoolbox offers various support channels, including documentation, a knowledge base, and direct support for paid plans. We've found their self-service resources to be quite extensive, covering a wide range of email and DNS topics given their product's breadth.

For paid users, direct support via phone or support tickets is available, which is crucial for troubleshooting specific issues. However, some user reviews have noted challenges with their refund processes, which might indicate areas for improvement in their customer service interactions.

Who should use each product

Suitability

Mail Tower appears best suited for organizations primarily focused on achieving and maintaining DMARC compliance, from SMBs to larger enterprises that need deep insight into their email authentication. Its dedicated DMARC focus makes it ideal for security teams.

MSPs would find Mail Tower valuable for managing DMARC policies across multiple clients due to its specialized nature. It's a strong choice for businesses where email security and brand protection through DMARC are top priorities and require detailed, actionable reporting.

MXtoolbox caters to a broader audience, including SMBs who benefit from its free diagnostic tools, and mid-market to enterprise clients who need a comprehensive suite for general email deliverability and DNS management. DMARC is part of a larger toolkit.

For MSPs, MXtoolbox offers a range of tools that could be useful for various client needs, although its multi-tenancy capabilities specifically for DMARC might need closer examination. It's a good fit for those who want a single platform for a wide array of network and email health checks, rather than a singular DMARC focus.

How does Mail Tower compare with MXtoolbox?

DMARC report analysis

Detailed analysis of DMARC aggregate and forensic reports.

Source detection

Ability to identify all sending sources for a domain.

Forward detection

Identifies legitimate email forwarding that might break DMARC.

Spoof detection

Detection of unauthorized use of your domain for email.

Notifications and alerts

Automated alerts for DMARC issues or configuration changes.

Reporting

Customizable reports on DMARC compliance and email health.

API

Application Programming Interface for integration with other systems.

Multi-tenancy

Support for managing multiple domains or clients from one account.

SPF flattening

Tools to manage and optimize SPF records to avoid lookup limits.

Included in Delivery Center Plus plan.

Hosted DMARC

Option to host DMARC records with the provider.

BIMI

Support for Brand Indicators for Message Identification.

MTA-STS/TLS-RPT

Support for Mail Transfer Agent Strict Transport Security and TLS Reporting.

Blocklists and reputation

Monitoring of domain/IP on various blacklists.

AI copilot

Artificial Intelligence assistant for insights or recommendations.

DNS monitoring

Monitoring of DNS records beyond DMARC.

Self hostable

Option to deploy the software on your own infrastructure.

Free trial/free tier

Availability of a free version or trial period.

Includes a free tier with basic monitoring.

Drawbacks and what to watch out for

Mail Tower, lacking public reviews, makes it difficult to pinpoint specific drawbacks, though newer platforms sometimes contend with less extensive documentation or community support initially. MXtoolbox, on the other hand, faces significant criticism regarding its billing practices and the integrity of its "risk-free" trial, as highlighted by numerous users. While its free tools are praised, the paid experience can lead to frustration over unexpected charges or difficulty with cancellations.

We have pulled the average ratings from G2 for each product, and also included the most recent negative reviews for each product in full. Positive reviews tend to have less detail and have a higher chance of being fraudulent, so negative reviews are a better signal for your decision.

0 / 5(0)

4.1 / 5(29)

No G2 reviews

G2 is the most popular review platform for DMARC products, so this is a strong signal that this product is not popular.

Business Practices are scammy

0.0 / 5

What do you like best about MXToolbox? It helped us solve the small issue we had with our emails going to customers spam folder. What do you dislike about MXToolbox? I initially signed up online for a month-to-month contract, but then a salesperson got a hold of me and sent me a quote. The quote he sent me was for a year contract which I did not want, so I signed up for the month to month. Once the problem was fixed I tried to cancel and I couldn't do it online. I emailed them and they told me I had to call them. After lots of back and fourth they told me I signed a year contract and I couldn't cancel. I would have never signed up for a year. It was a very scammy business practice. Eventually they stopped responding so I had to stop the payments from my credit card. Recommendations to others considering MXToolbox: I don't recommend them because of their shady business practices. What problems is MXToolbox solving and how is that benefiting you? fixing a problem with emails going to spam

Sam B.

IT Director Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

Think twice before doing their paid plans. Deceptive "risk-free" 30 day trial

0.0 / 5

What do you like best about MXToolbox? I suspect many of the people responding favorably on this forum are using their free tools. Their free tools are very useful -- but think twice before upgrading to their paid plans. What do you dislike about MXToolbox? Like many other software vendors - they make an offer of a risk-free one-month trial. However, they don't actually refund you your money if you cancel before 30 days. Here is my example: I signed up for their delivery center option on November 10, 2018 and was promptly billed $99. I used the service for 2 days, realized the paid features were overkill for my own and customers' needs, so called to cancel November 12 (two days after signup.) They acknowledged my cancellation by email but never credited back my account for the $99. On December 17th I called their toll-free line. Matt on the phone said ("getting a refund would require managers approval and it's not a certain thing.") No sign of any refund as-yet, no confirmation from the company following the call of what to expect on refund. On December 15 I emailed. Their response to my email was "Sorry, we can't process that sort of thing by email. Either call or create a support ticket." Unfortunately, the support ticket option is available only for active subscribers -- so you are left with calling their phone system and having no record of exchange. Attached is an image from their website taken December 2018 in which they describe their "risk-free" offer. https://postimg.cc/mhgzm197 In summary -- Be aware that their free trial is not like how most other software vendors manage their trial promotions. They are opportunistic about billing you and (in my experience) don't honor the refund they promise as part of their risk-free trial. Recommendations to others considering MXToolbox: Use their free tools (they are good.) Their paid tools are overpriced, and they have a misleading "risk-free" plan that will end up costing you $99. What problems is MXToolbox solving and how is that benefiting you? Their free tools will help you diagnose MX configuration issues.

jon b.

Jon Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

Beware their "30 day free trial" of the Delivery Center!

0.5 / 5

What do you like best about MXToolbox? The free tools are good, and one wouldn't mind paying something for them, but one does object to being defrauded - see below. What do you dislike about MXToolbox? Tried to cancel free trial only a couple of days in, but $99 had been taken from my card and they have not responded to repeated requests to end it and refund the money. It looks like attempted fraud. What problems is MXToolbox solving and how is that benefiting you? Simple things like reverse DNS lookup helped us to check our email setup.

Alexander S.

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

Makes email management easy

3.5 / 5

What do you like best about MXToolbox? -Affordable pricing -Setting up is very easy -Useful dashboards -Makes email reputation checks easier What do you dislike about MXToolbox? -This tool covers everything required for email management, there is nothing to dislike about. What problems is MXToolbox solving and how is that benefiting you? I have used this tool for domain reputation checking for phising mail analysis also I am using this for some of my projects to check mail deliverability and reputation of the domain to make sure the domain is not being blacklisted due to sending loads of emails.

Nitin R.

Software dev Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

MXToolBox is great for blacklist testing

3.5 / 5

What do you like best about MXToolbox? MXToolBox is suitable for Blacklists, DMARC, Diagnostics, Email Health, and DNS Lookup checks. What do you dislike about MXToolbox? For a free tool, I'd say MXToolBox is pretty top-notch. What problems is MXToolbox solving and how is that benefiting you? I used MXToolBox for DNS look-ups and blacklist checks.

Verified User in Marketing and Advertising

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

Pricing

Mail Tower offers tiered annual pricing in Euros, while MXtoolbox provides a free tier and monthly paid plans in dollars, with significant price jumps between its offerings.

Small

Up to 10k emails / month

Contact for pricing

Free tier available

Medium

Up to 100k emails / month

Contact for pricing

$129/month

Large

Up to 1 million emails / month

Contact for pricing

$399/month