MXtoolbox provides a broad suite of network diagnostic tools, often acting as a foundational resource for IT administrators. Its DMARC capabilities are integrated into a larger framework that includes DNS lookups, SPF/DKIM verification, and blacklist (or blocklist) checks. We find it excels at quickly diagnosing specific email configuration issues rather than offering a holistic deliverability management platform.
While it offers DMARC deployment assistance and analytics, its strength lies in its diagnostic utility. For instance, we can check if a domain is on a specific blacklist, or quickly verify MX records. This makes it a great utility for spot checks, but less so for ongoing, in-depth DMARC enforcement and optimization.
InboxMonster is purpose-built for email deliverability and performance, providing a comprehensive set of features focused on ensuring emails reach the inbox. Its DMARC monitoring offers deep insights into authentication failures, spoofing attempts, and source detection. We appreciate its real-time analytics and detailed reporting on inbox placement across various ISPs.
Beyond DMARC, InboxMonster offers creative proofing, device renderings, spam trap monitoring, and reputation analysis. It's a platform designed to give email marketers and deliverability specialists granular control and visibility, allowing us to not only enforce DMARC but actively optimize our email channel's health.
How easy is each product to use
User experience
The user experience with MXtoolbox can feel a bit like a collection of disparate tools rather than a unified platform, especially when comparing its free and paid offerings. While individual checks are straightforward and quick, navigating between different diagnostic functions and then to DMARC reporting can be a slightly disjointed experience. The interface is functional but not always modern.
We've found that for quick, on-the-spot diagnostic tasks, MXtoolbox is incredibly efficient. However, for a more integrated workflow, such as continuous DMARC monitoring and proactive issue resolution, the user might need to click through multiple sections to gather a complete picture, which can impact overall efficiency.
InboxMonster generally offers a more intuitive and streamlined user interface, designed specifically for email deliverability workflows. While the sheer depth of data it provides can initially seem overwhelming, especially for new users, the platform is structured logically. We've found that with a little familiarization, the navigation becomes quite easy.
Its strength lies in consolidating complex deliverability data into actionable insights, often supported by its
Which product has the best support
Support
MXtoolbox's support varies, largely depending on whether you're using their free tools or a paid subscription. For free users, support is primarily self-service through documentation. For paid plans, they offer more direct assistance, but some user reviews have noted challenges with responsiveness and administrative issues, particularly regarding cancellations and refunds.
Our experience indicates that while technical assistance for specific diagnostic queries is generally available for paying customers, the "human touch" and proactive guidance that some other platforms offer might be less prominent. We've seen some G2 reviews indicate frustration with their billing practices and customer service interactions.
InboxMonster stands out for its hands-on and proactive customer support. They emphasize a "white glove set up" and frequently assign dedicated account representatives who provide ongoing consulting and strategic recommendations. Users consistently praise the responsiveness and expertise of their support team.
We've observed that InboxMonster cultivates a partnership approach, with reps like Josie, Thom, Anna, and Brad frequently mentioned in positive reviews for their instrumental role in improving deliverability. They offer real-time platform support and are often proactive in flagging issues before they escalate, which is a significant advantage for managing complex email programs.
Who should use each product
Suitability
MXtoolbox is best suited for IT administrators, web hosts, and small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) who need quick and reliable diagnostic tools for email and DNS issues. Its free tools are invaluable for routine checks, while its paid DMARC and monitoring features are good for those looking for basic enforcement and alerting without deep deliverability dives.
For Managed Service Providers (MSPs), it can serve as a valuable utility for client domain health checks. Enterprises might find it useful as a supplementary tool for their network operations teams, but it's not typically the primary platform for comprehensive email marketing deliverability or advanced DMARC management at scale.
InboxMonster is ideal for email marketing teams, deliverability specialists, and medium to large enterprises (and some SMBs with high email reliance) where email performance directly impacts revenue. Its robust features and dedicated support are designed for organizations that need deep insights into inbox placement, sender reputation, and DMARC enforcement.
MSPs managing extensive email programs for multiple clients will find InboxMonster's comprehensive tools and proactive support highly beneficial. It's particularly well-suited for businesses that demand a strategic partner in optimizing their email channel and resolving deliverability challenges, rather than just a reporting tool.
How does MXtoolbox compare with InboxMonster?
DMARC report analysis
Analyzes DMARC aggregate and forensic reports.
Provides DMARC analytics and deployment assistance.
Deep insights, real-time DMARC monitoring and reporting.
Source detection
Identifies legitimate and illegitimate email sending sources.
Includes verified source management.
Comprehensive identification of sending sources.
Forward detection
Ability to identify email forwarding in DMARC reports.
Not explicitly detailed as a specific feature.
Part of comprehensive DMARC analysis capabilities.
Spoof detection
Detects unauthorized email spoofing attempts.
Includes domain impersonation protection.
Robust protection against spoofing and phishing.
Notifications and alerts
Provides alerts for DMARC issues, blacklists, etc.
Offers blacklist monitoring alerts.
Customizable alerts for deliverability issues.
Reporting
Generates various email performance and security reports.
Supports Brand Indicators for Message Identification.
Not explicitly mentioned in features.
Often included in advanced deliverability platforms.
MTA-STS/TLS-RPT
Monitoring for MTA-STS and TLS-RPT.
Not explicitly mentioned as a feature.
Part of a comprehensive email security suite.
Blocklists and reputation
Monitors email sending IPs and domains against blocklists.
Weekly and adaptive sender blacklist monitoring.
Spamtrap and blocklist monitoring, reputation analysis.
AI copilot
Offers AI-powered assistance for insights or tasks.
No AI features mentioned.
Includes Apple & Gmail AI summaries.
DNS monitoring
Monitors DNS records for changes or issues.
Comprehensive DNS lookup and monitoring tools.
Monitors DNS health as part of reputation analysis.
Self hostable
Option to self-host the software.
Cloud-based service.
Cloud-based service.
Free trial/free tier
Availability of a free version or trial period.
Offers a free tier with basic monitoring.
No public free trial, but offers white glove setup.
Drawbacks and what to watch out for
MXtoolbox faces some notable drawbacks, particularly regarding its paid plans. Several users report issues with perceived deceptive practices around their "risk-free" trials and difficulties securing refunds. This can lead to unexpected charges and administrative headaches for customers. Additionally, while its free tools are excellent, the user interface for paid features can feel somewhat dated and less integrated, requiring more clicks to get a full picture. InboxMonster, while powerful, comes with a significantly higher price tag, which might be a barrier for smaller organizations. The depth of its data can also present an initial learning curve, making it a bit challenging for users without prior deliverability expertise to navigate independently. There were also mentions of seed list data outages in a G2 review, though this might be a historical or rare occurrence.
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)
4.9 / 5(44)
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.)
Josie + InboxMonster has helped our email team tremendously!
4.0 / 5
What do you like best about Inbox Monster?
I'm newer to the email team that utilizes InboxMonster but from what I've gathered from my coworker who has worked with Josie and InboxMonster for over a year, Josie was instrumental in providing actionable insights to enhance deliverability.
What do you dislike about Inbox Monster?
We don't have a proper CRM tool to leverage so InboxMonster isn't as much a problem as the tool we're using for email.
What problems is Inbox Monster solving and how is that benefiting you?
At the beginning of the year, the team discussed solutions such as better domain/IP allocation, stricter demark policies, and monitoring iCloud; they also noted the impact of email frequency and rogue franchisees on complaint rates. Next steps included investigating unsubscribe inconsistencies, exploring click activity data, discussing IP address optimization, and a future demo of Inbox Monster's "Creative Projects" tool; Josie Garcia will also provide further ISP and deliverability information. Most recently, Josie shared SendGrid-specific recommendations, best practices, and provided platform training, including user management, notifications, campaign tagging, subscriber insights, and spam trap analysis.
Verified User in Maritime
Small-Business (50 or fewer 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.)
Great toolset and helpful account support
4.0 / 5
What do you like best about Inbox Monster?
The toolset is very robust and they are consistently adding to the functionality. The account support has also been great and incredibly proactive. Thom is the best and always super helpful.
What do you dislike about Inbox Monster?
Right now, there is nothing currently that I do not like or appreciate about Inbox Monster.
What problems is Inbox Monster solving and how is that benefiting you?
Inbox Monster is helping us manage and get insight into deliverability problems when they arise. There is a great toolset that is built behind this management and the additional tools with respect to content rendering is super helpful.
Verified User in Publishing
Mid-Market (51-1000 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.)
Valuable Deliverability Insights
4.5 / 5
What do you like best about Inbox Monster?
Inbox Monster provides a lot of valuable insights into how are email deliverability is across many different email service providers.
What do you dislike about Inbox Monster?
Inbox Monster has many features and data sets, but not all of the data feels immediately actionable and I don't understand what every feature does.
What problems is Inbox Monster solving and how is that benefiting you?
Before Inbox Monster, we couldn't see where our emails were landing or what seeds were having deliverability issues.
Verified User in Higher Education
Mid-Market (51-1000 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.)
A Game-Changer for Email Deliverability
4.5 / 5
What do you like best about Inbox Monster?
Inbox Monster has been a life saver for our email program. We have worked with Josie for just under a year, but the amount of dedication and support she provided to analyze our deliverability, help us come up with an action plan to remediate our poor deliverability and sender reputation, and ongoing monitoring of trends after working through our issues, has played a significant role in the health and success of our email marketing.
Josie is always quick to respond and will walk through the issues with us, giving us valuable insights and recommendations along the way. My team does not have a strong background in deliverability, but Josie and the Inbox Monster team, has made a very technical part of email marketing very easy to understand and action against, allowing us to grow our skillset while also educating the rest of the company on deliverability best practices to ensure we do not fall into the same mess that we worked so hard to pull ourselves out of.
In October 2024, we found out, with the help of Inbox Monster, that our inbox rate with Gmail was at 1% with low sender reputation. After working with Josie, we were able to increase and maintain our Gmail inbox rate to 95-100% with high sender reputation within 4 months. I cannot recommend Inbox Monster enough.
What do you dislike about Inbox Monster?
Email deliverability is overwhelming. This is not an Inbox Monster issue. The team at Inbox Monster is incredibly knowledgeable and gives so much information. A lot of the time, the analysis is easy to follow while meeting with the Inbox Monster team, but the amount of numbers and tabs within the platform make it a little difficult to follow on our own. We have a wonderful support team who are willing to meet at our cadence to discuss, but it's a bit difficult to do our own analysis outside of those meetings.
What problems is Inbox Monster solving and how is that benefiting you?
Inbox Monster helps provide valuable insight to our email deliverability and sender reputation.
Verified User in Health, Wellness and Fitness
Enterprise (> 1000 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.)
Great tool with excellent consulting support
4.5 / 5
What do you like best about Inbox Monster?
Clear reporting to understand our deliverability/inboxing, as well as domain/IP reputation factors. And the consulting services offered save us a ton of time, as they leverage existing relationships with email providers to troubleshoot/address inboxing issues. Super easy to use and onboard as well.
What do you dislike about Inbox Monster?
Everything is worth it, but the tool costs more than other deliverability platforms, however, that's largely because they are taking on the work of coordinating with email providers
What problems is Inbox Monster solving and how is that benefiting you?
They offer a one-stop shop of crucial information to understand our sending domain/ip health, and most importantly, offer services that help us work with email providers quickly and effectively. This saves our team a ton of time we would otherwise have to spend coordinating with each ESP
MXtoolbox provides a free tier and more budget-friendly paid options, while InboxMonster has a significantly higher starting price point with its specialized suites, all billed annually.
Small
Up to 10k emails / month
$0/month (Free tier, 1 domain, weekly blacklist)
Contact for pricing (Creative Suite starts at $3,000/year)
Medium
Up to 100k emails / month
$129/month (Delivery Center, 5 domains, 500k emails)
Contact for pricing (Deliverability Suite starts at $15,000/year)
Large
Up to 1 million emails / month
$129/month (Delivery Center, 5 domains, 500k emails)
Contact for pricing (Deliverability Suite starts at $15,000/year)
Enterprise
Over 1 million emails / month
$399/month (Delivery Center Plus, 5 domains, 5M emails)
Contact for pricing
Suped hard sell incoming!
Still not satisfied with MXtoolbox or InboxMonster?