Which product is better for beginners in DMARC?

For beginners, MXtoolbox generally offers a more accessible entry point. Its hosted nature and guided setup reduce the technical barrier, allowing you to focus on understanding DMARC reports rather than managing infrastructure. ELK DMARC requires significant technical expertise to set up and maintain.

Can I use ELK DMARC without prior ELK stack experience?

While it's possible to follow deployment guides, using ELK DMARC effectively without prior ELK stack or Docker experience can be challenging. Troubleshooting issues and customizing dashboards will require learning these technologies, which can be a steep curve.

Does MXtoolbox provide forensic DMARC reports?

MXtoolbox focuses on aggregate DMARC reports (RUAs) for overall domain health and threat detection. While DMARC supports forensic reports (RFAs), these are less commonly shared by receiving mail servers due to privacy concerns and are not a prominent feature in MXtoolbox's offerings based on our experience.

What are the hidden costs of ELK DMARC?

While ELK DMARC is open-source and free, the hidden costs include the infrastructure (server hardware, virtual machine hosting, cloud resources), time spent on setup and ongoing maintenance, and the potential need for skilled IT staff. We recommend a minimum of 8GB memory for Elasticsearch.

MXtoolbox vs ELK DMARC

Choose MXtoolbox for comprehensive hosted tools, choose ELK DMARC for a self-hosted, open-source solution.

4.1 / 5(29)

Compare to Suped

ELK DMARC

0 / 5(0)

Compare to Suped

ELK DMARC

Compare product functionality

Feature set

ELK DMARC

MXtoolbox's DMARC reporting is part of its broader Delivery Center suite, offering a comprehensive set of tools beyond just DMARC. This includes DMARC deployment assistance, verified source management, and SPF/DKIM configuration monitoring. We find the integrated approach quite convenient for a holistic view of email health.

Their platform emphasizes active monitoring and diagnostics, allowing us to not only see DMARC reports but also analyze deliverability, protect against domain impersonation, and even perform adaptive sender blacklist (or blocklist) monitoring. It’s designed to be a complete package for keeping email streams secure and efficient.

ELK DMARC, being an open-source, self-hosted solution, focuses specifically on DMARC reporting by leveraging the powerful ELK stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana). It excels at parsing DMARC aggregate reports (RUAs) and presenting them through customizable Kibana dashboards. This gives us immense flexibility in how we visualize our DMARC data.

While its core is DMARC data ingestion and visualization, ELK DMARC inherently offers strong data retention and search capabilities due to Elasticsearch. However, it's worth noting that features like active source management, domain impersonation protection, or specific SPF flattening are not part of the ELK DMARC project itself, requiring separate solutions or manual implementation.

ELK DMARC

How easy is each product to use

User experience

ELK DMARC

We found MXtoolbox's web interface generally intuitive and straightforward, especially for DMARC reporting and other diagnostic tools. The dashboards are well-organized, making it relatively easy to navigate through various reports and monitoring features. Setting up a new domain and configuring DMARC policies typically involves guided steps, which simplifies the initial deployment process.

However, the sheer volume of features can sometimes make it feel a bit crowded. While powerful, some advanced configurations might require a deeper dive into their documentation. Overall, it's a solid experience for those who prefer a managed, all-in-one platform.

ELK DMARC's user experience is fundamentally different because it's a self-hosted solution. The initial setup requires significant technical expertise in Docker, the ELK stack, and system administration. This isn't a click-and-deploy tool, and we've spent a fair amount of time configuring the environment, parsing scripts, and Kibana dashboards.

Once deployed, the flexibility of Kibana allows for highly customized dashboards and visualizations, which is fantastic for deep analysis. However, ongoing maintenance, updates, and troubleshooting are entirely our responsibility. For those comfortable with the command line and managing their own infrastructure, it offers unparalleled control. For others, it might feel like assembling IKEA furniture without an instruction manual.

ELK DMARC

Which product has the best support

Support

ELK DMARC

MXtoolbox offers structured customer support, typically through their ticketing system and sometimes phone support for paying customers. When we encountered issues or had questions, we found their responses to be reasonably timely and helpful. They also provide comprehensive documentation and guides within their platform, which can often answer common queries without needing to contact support.

The existence of dedicated support staff is a significant advantage, especially for businesses that rely on consistent email deliverability and need quick resolutions for security incidents or configuration challenges. It’s part of the value proposition of a commercial SaaS offering.

Support for ELK DMARC primarily comes from the open-source community, GitHub issues, and self-help. There's no dedicated support team to call or email. When we ran into a particularly thorny configuration problem or a bug, we relied on scouring GitHub, forums, or our own ELK stack expertise to find a solution.

This model can be empowering for highly technical teams who prefer to troubleshoot and customize, but it can also be a significant hurdle for those without in-house expertise. The quality and speed of solutions depend heavily on community engagement and the publicly available resources, which can be inconsistent.

ELK DMARC

Who should use each product

Suitability

ELK DMARC

MXtoolbox is well-suited for a broad range of users. Small to medium businesses (SMBs) can leverage its user-friendly interface and integrated tools to manage their email deliverability and DMARC compliance without needing extensive technical staff. For enterprises, it offers scalability and a robust feature set for complex email environments, including multi-domain management.

Managed Service Providers (MSPs) would also find MXtoolbox beneficial, as it allows them to monitor and manage DMARC and email health for multiple clients from a centralized platform, offering a clear, actionable overview. Its hosted nature means less infrastructure burden for the MSP.

ELK DMARC is ideal for organizations with strong internal IT or DevOps teams that prefer to self-host their solutions. Enterprises with specific data residency requirements, or those already heavily invested in the ELK stack, will find it a natural fit. It’s perfect for those who want absolute control over their DMARC data and visualization.

For SMBs, the technical overhead of deploying and maintaining ELK DMARC might be prohibitive without dedicated resources. While an MSP *could* manage an ELK DMARC deployment for a client, it requires a higher level of specialized expertise in the ELK stack compared to managing a SaaS solution. It's truly for the DIY crowd, not the set-it-and-forget-it type.

ELK DMARC

How does MXtoolbox compare with ELK DMARC?

ELK DMARC

DMARC report analysis

Parses and visualizes aggregate and forensic DMARC reports.

Source detection

Identifies sending sources based on DMARC data.

Forward detection

Helps identify legitimate email forwarding issues.

Spoof detection

Detects unauthorized use of your domain for sending email.

Notifications and alerts

Provides alerts for DMARC policy changes or threats.

Requires custom setup within ELK stack

Reporting

Offers various DMARC compliance and deliverability reports.

Customizable Kibana dashboards

API

Application Programming Interface for data integration.

Not a formal DMARC product API

Multi-tenancy

Manages multiple domains or client accounts.

Typically single-instance deployment

SPF flattening

Helps manage SPF record limits.

Available in Delivery Center Plus

Hosted DMARC

Vendor-managed DMARC reporting infrastructure.

BIMI

Support for Brand Indicators for Message Identification.

Requires manual integration

MTA-STS/TLS-RPT

Monitors or helps deploy email transport security standards.

Requires manual setup

Blocklists and reputation

Monitoring for email blacklists and domain reputation.

Not its primary focus

AI copilot

AI-driven assistance for DMARC management.

DNS monitoring

Monitors DNS records for changes and health.

Not its primary function

Self hostable

Can be installed and run on your own servers.

Free trial/free tier

Offers a free way to test or use the service.

Free tier with limited features

Open-source, free to use

Drawbacks and what to watch out for

MXtoolbox users have expressed concerns regarding their billing practices, particularly with trial periods and contract cancellations, which some describe as 'scammy'. The pricing structure for higher tiers is also a frequent point of contention. ELK DMARC, while technically robust, presents drawbacks in its complex setup and the lack of official support, placing the burden of maintenance and troubleshooting entirely on the user.

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)

ELK DMARC

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 tiered pricing that scales with features and email volume, including a free option, whereas ELK DMARC is open-source and free, but incurs self-hosting infrastructure costs.

ELK DMARC

Small

Up to 10k emails / month

Free tier available (1 domain, weekly blocklist monitoring)

Free (self-hosted, requires hardware costs)

Medium

Up to 100k emails / month

Delivery Center: $129/month (5 domains, 500k emails)

Free (self-hosted, requires hardware costs)

Large

Up to 1 million emails / month

Delivery Center: $129/month (5 domains, 500k emails). Contact for higher volume