MXtoolbox excels as a comprehensive suite for all things email and DNS. Beyond DMARC, we found its core strength lies in its extensive toolkit for general email deliverability, including blacklist monitoring, SMTP diagnostics, and deep DNS lookups. The DMARC reporting is integrated into this broader ecosystem.
For DMARC specifically, MXtoolbox offers deployment assistance, verified source management, SPF and DKIM configuration monitoring, and DMARC analytics. It provides a good overview of DMARC compliance, but its interface tends to present DMARC data alongside other diagnostics, which can be both a strength and a slight distraction depending on your primary focus.
DMARCLytics, as its name suggests, is purpose-built for DMARC reporting and analysis. We observed a streamlined focus on aggregate reports, data enrichment, and automated alerts directly related to DMARC enforcement and email authentication. It clearly prioritizes DMARC compliance as its central mission.
Its features include detailed aggregate reports, configurable alerts, a threat map, and DMARC Aggregate Geomaps. For businesses primarily concerned with achieving and maintaining DMARC compliance, DMARCLytics provides the specific tools and visualisations needed without the broader array of general email diagnostics found in MXtoolbox.
How easy is each product to use
User experience
Navigating MXtoolbox feels like stepping into a well-stocked garage; there are many tools, each with its own purpose. Its free tools are incredibly straightforward to use for one-off checks, making it a go-to for quick diagnostics. However, the paid Delivery Center can feel a bit fragmented.
While the dashboards are useful, getting a consolidated DMARC view often requires clicking through various links. If your primary need is a single, clear DMARC compliance dashboard, we found the experience can involve a bit more digging compared to a dedicated DMARC platform.
DMARCLytics offers a user experience centered around DMARC, making it relatively simple to get started with DMARC report monitoring. We found the setup process to be intuitive for adding domains and configuring DMARC records.
The interface presents DMARC data with clear visualizations and actionable insights, which is beneficial for users whose main objective is to understand their email authentication status quickly. While it lacks the broad diagnostic tools of MXtoolbox, its focused approach ensures a more direct path to DMARC-specific information.
Which product has the best support
Support
Our experience and reviews indicate that while MXtoolbox provides various resources, including help guides, some users have reported challenges with their customer support, particularly regarding cancellations and refunds for paid plans. This can be a point of friction for those seeking more agile support.
While the free tools are self-service, for paid services, it's worth noting the feedback on the process of engaging with their support team. Direct phone support is available, but the lack of clear email-based tracking for certain issues has been a reported concern.
DMARCLytics offers email support across all its plans, which is a good baseline for assistance. For higher-tier plans, like Enterprise, they provide a dedicated DMARC engineer, suggesting a more hands-on and specialized support approach for complex environments.
The 14-day free trial across all plans also implies a level of support to help users get started, although specific details on response times or support channels beyond email are less prominent. The focus on DMARC allows their support to be highly specialized in that area.
Who should use each product
Suitability
MXtoolbox is well-suited for a broad range of users. For SMBs, its free tools are invaluable for quick DNS and blacklist checks. For enterprise clients, its adaptive blacklist (or blocklist) monitoring and overall deliverability diagnostics are robust, helping maintain email reputation.
For MSPs, MXtoolbox can be a handy tool in their arsenal for diagnosing client-side email issues, but its DMARC-specific features might not offer the multi-tenant scalability or dedicated reporting that some MSPs require for managing numerous client domains under one roof.
DMARCLytics is an excellent choice for businesses primarily focused on DMARC compliance. SMBs can leverage its Starter plan for essential email protection, while larger organizations can benefit from the Business and Enterprise plans for advanced features and higher email volumes.
MSPs would find DMARCLytics appealing for its DMARC-centric approach and the Enterprise plan's unlimited domains, which can simplify managing DMARC for multiple clients. Its dedicated DMARC focus ensures that teams can quickly implement and monitor DMARC policies effectively.
How does MXtoolbox compare with DMARCLytics?
DMARC report analysis
Ability to parse and present DMARC aggregate and forensic reports.
Source detection
Identify legitimate and illegitimate sending sources.
Forward detection
Identify emails forwarded by third parties.
Spoof detection
Detect fraudulent emails impersonating your domain.
Notifications and alerts
Receive automated alerts for DMARC issues or blacklist events.
Reporting
Generate various reports on email deliverability and DMARC compliance.
API
Access data programmatically via an API for integration.
Mentioned for SIEM integration.
Multi-tenancy
Manage multiple client domains under a single account (useful for MSPs).
Limited domains per plan, no explicit multi-tenancy features.
Unlimited domains on Enterprise plan.
SPF flattening
Reduce the number of DNS lookups for SPF records.
Available in Delivery Center Plus.
Available in Enterprise plan.
Hosted DMARC
Service provides DMARC record hosting and management.
No explicit mention.
Available in Business and Enterprise plans.
BIMI
Support for Brand Indicators for Message Identification.
Not explicitly mentioned.
Not explicitly mentioned.
MTA-STS/TLS-RPT
Support for secure email transport protocols.
Not explicitly mentioned.
Not explicitly mentioned.
Blocklists and reputation
Monitoring and reporting on email blocklists and sender reputation.
Strong feature with free tier monitoring.
Not a primary, dedicated feature.
AI copilot
Utilizes AI for guided DMARC policy adjustments or insights.
Not explicitly mentioned.
Not explicitly mentioned.
DNS monitoring
Comprehensive monitoring of various DNS records.
Extensive free and paid DNS tools.
Limited to DMARC-related DNS checks.
Self hostable
Option to deploy the software on your own infrastructure.
Not a self-hostable solution.
Not a self-hostable solution.
Free trial/free tier
Offers a free entry point to test the service.
Free tier for blacklist monitoring.
14-day free trial across plans.
Drawbacks and what to watch out for
When considering the drawbacks, MXtoolbox has faced criticism regarding its billing practices and the clarity of its 30-day "risk-free" trial, with some users reporting difficulties in obtaining refunds after cancellation. This suggests a need for caution when signing up for paid plans. DMARCLytics, on the other hand, lacks public reviews, making it harder to assess common user-reported issues, but this also means less readily available feedback on potential pain points.
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)
0 / 5(0)
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.)
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.
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
MXtoolbox offers a free tier for basic monitoring, with paid DMARC-inclusive plans starting at a higher price point for substantial email volumes, while DMARCLytics has a tiered pricing structure starting with a more affordable entry point for DMARC-focused features.
Small
Up to 10k emails / month
$0 (basic monitoring, DMARC starts at higher volume)
£9.99 (Starter, 150k emails)
Medium
Up to 100k emails / month
$129 (Delivery Center, 500k email volume)
£9.99 (Starter, 150k emails)
Large
Up to 1 million emails / month
$399 (Delivery Center Plus, 5M email volume)
£30 (Business, 3M emails)
Enterprise
Over 1 million emails / month
$399 (Delivery Center Plus, 5M email volume)
Contact for pricing (unlimited emails)
Suped hard sell incoming!
Still not satisfied with MXtoolbox or DMARCLytics?
4.1 / 5(29)
