MXtoolbox excels in offering a broad suite of tools that extend beyond DMARC, covering general DNS health, blocklist (or blacklist) monitoring, and SMTP diagnostics. Its DMARC reporting integrates well with its existing ecosystem of utilities, allowing users to quickly pivot from DMARC insights to other related email infrastructure checks.
We've found that MXtoolbox's strength lies in its ability to provide quick, actionable insights across various email deliverability and security vectors. It's particularly useful for diagnosing immediate issues, making it a go-to for frontline IT support and system administrators.
Agari Brand Protection, as its name suggests, focuses heavily on securing a brand's email presence from advanced threats like spoofing, phishing, and domain impersonation. Its DMARC solution is part of a larger, more comprehensive security platform, emphasizing threat intelligence and proactive defense mechanisms.
Our experience indicates that Agari provides deeper forensic analysis and sophisticated policy management capabilities. It's designed for organizations that require robust, AI-driven protection against highly targeted attacks, extending beyond basic DMARC enforcement to cover the full spectrum of email-borne brand abuse.
How easy is each product to use
User experience
MXtoolbox offers a functional, albeit somewhat traditional, user interface. The tools are organized logically, and navigating between different checks like DMARC, SPF, and blocklists is intuitive. It prioritizes direct access to diagnostic tools, which can be a boon for experienced users who know exactly what they're looking for.
However, the extensive array of tools, while powerful, can sometimes lead to a slightly fragmented experience. We've observed that newer users might face a steeper learning curve to fully leverage all the available features effectively, especially within the paid 'Delivery Center' plans.
Agari Brand Protection generally presents a more polished and modern interface, reflecting its enterprise-grade design. The dashboard provides a high-level overview of DMARC compliance and threat landscapes, with options to drill down into specific incidents or reporting data. Its focus is on making complex security data digestible for security operations teams.
While the overall aesthetic is clean, we've found that configuring advanced policies or understanding the nuances of its threat intelligence can require a good grasp of email security concepts. Some users have noted that curating specific policies can be challenging for those without a technical background.
Which product has the best support
Support
MXtoolbox provides support primarily through its online resources, including documentation and FAQs, for its free tools. For paid subscribers, they offer more direct support channels. We've noted that while the self-service options are extensive for common queries, direct assistance can sometimes involve a back-and-forth process.
Customer reviews for MXtoolbox occasionally highlight concerns regarding the responsiveness and resolution process for support tickets, especially concerning billing or cancellations. This suggests that while technical guidance is available, administrative issues might require more persistence.
Agari, being an enterprise solution, typically offers dedicated customer support and account management. This usually includes onboarding assistance, technical guidance, and direct access to experts for complex issues or incident response. Their support model is geared towards larger organizations with critical security needs.
However, even with enterprise-level support, some feedback suggests that response times can occasionally be slow, particularly for less urgent policy configuration queries. While the quality of support is generally high, immediate resolutions might not always be guaranteed, which is a common challenge for sophisticated security platforms.
Who should use each product
Suitability
MXtoolbox is an excellent fit for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and individual IT professionals who need reliable, quick diagnostic tools for email deliverability and DNS issues. Its free tools are invaluable for routine checks, and its paid plans offer more extensive monitoring for those managing a moderate number of domains. For MSPs, it offers good value if they are managing clients primarily interested in core email health and DMARC basics.
It's less suited for large enterprises requiring deep, AI-driven threat intelligence or extensive brand protection beyond standard DMARC enforcement. While it offers blacklist (or blocklist) monitoring and DMARC, its focus remains more on diagnostic utility rather than a holistic security framework.
Agari Brand Protection is squarely aimed at large enterprises and organizations with significant brand value to protect from sophisticated email attacks. It's ideal for businesses that require advanced threat intelligence, comprehensive anti-phishing capabilities, and robust policy enforcement across a complex email ecosystem. It is also highly suitable for MSPs serving enterprise clients with demanding security postures.
For SMBs or users with simpler DMARC needs, Agari's comprehensive feature set and likely higher price point would be overkill. Its strength lies in its ability to integrate with broader security strategies and its focus on mitigating brand-damaging email threats at scale, rather than just basic DMARC reporting.
DMARC report analysis
Ability to parse and visualize DMARC aggregate and forensic reports.
Source detection
Identify all sending sources for your domain.
Forward detection
Identify legitimate email forwarding that may affect DMARC alignment.
Spoof detection
Identify unauthorized email sending (spoofing) using your domain.
Notifications and alerts
Receive alerts for DMARC failures, domain impersonation, or blocklist listings.
Reporting
Customizable reports on DMARC compliance and email health.
API
Programmatic access for integration with other systems.
Available in paid tiers.
Common for enterprise solutions.
Multi-tenancy
Manage multiple client domains or organizations from a single account.
Supported in higher-tier plans.
Designed for large organizations and MSPs.
SPF flattening
Technique to reduce the number of DNS lookups for SPF records.
Included in Delivery Center Plus.
Typically offered in advanced DMARC solutions.
Hosted DMARC
Assistance with DMARC record creation and management.
BIMI
Support for Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI).
Available in paid plans.
Key for brand protection platforms.
MTA-STS/TLS-RPT
Support for Mail Transfer Agent Strict Transport Security and TLS Reporting.
Not a primary focus of their DMARC offerings.
Standard for advanced email security.
Blocklists and reputation
Monitoring of domain/IP reputation and blocklist status.
Strong feature, including a free tier.
Part of broader threat intelligence.
AI copilot
AI-powered assistance for DMARC configuration or threat analysis.
Leverages advanced analytics for threat detection.
DNS monitoring
Continuous monitoring of DNS records for changes or misconfigurations.
Core offering, including free tools.
Integrated into their broader platform.
Self hostable
Option to deploy the software on your own infrastructure.
Free trial/free tier
Availability of a free trial or a permanently free usage tier.
Offers a generous free tier and paid trials.
Typically requires contacting sales for demos/access.
When considering the drawbacks, MXtoolbox has faced criticism regarding its business practices, particularly around billing and cancellations for its paid services, with some users reporting difficulties in getting refunds after canceling within advertised trial periods. Its user interface, while functional, could also benefit from a more modern design and consolidated dashboards. For Agari Brand Protection, the primary concerns revolve around the complexity of policy curation for non-technical users and occasional reports of slow customer support response times, which can be frustrating given its enterprise focus.
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.
4.1 / 5(29)
4 / 5(1)
Business Practices are scammy
0.0 / 5
It helped us solve the small issue we had with our emails going to customers spam folder. 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. I don't recommend them because of their shady business practices. fixing a problem with emails going to spam
Sam B.
IT Director Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)
Descent Email Security
4.0 / 5
I am a new user of cloud email protection and I am extremely fond of the added security layer it offers to the users of office 365. Most amazing feature is the added notification whenever a suspicious mail is there. I have observed that the other folder segregation doesn't always work in the office 365 but here it works like magic. The policies are a bit off to curate for an individual from a non tech background. And the support provided by the team are a little slow. Rest everything is up to the mark and I'll still continue to use it further. It is enabling an added security layer to the emails with confidential content to make it a little better and secure for all the individuals within an organization.
Think twice before doing their paid plans. Deceptive "risk-free" 30 day trial
0.0 / 5
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. 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. 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. 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
The free tools are good, and one wouldn't mind paying something for them, but one does object to being defrauded - see below. 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. Simple things like reverse DNS lookup helped us to check our email setup.
Alexander S.
Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)
MXtoolbox offers tiered pricing with a generous free plan, while Agari Brand Protection requires direct contact for pricing, indicative of its enterprise focus.
Small
Up to 10k emails / month
$0 (Free tier) or $129
Contact for pricing
Medium
Up to 100k emails / month
$129 (500k volume)
Contact for pricing
Large
Up to 1 million emails / month
$399 (5m volume)
Contact for pricing
Enterprise
Over 1 million emails / month
$399 (5m volume), custom for more
Contact for pricing
Suped hard sell incoming!
Still not satisfied with MXtoolbox or Agari Brand Protection?