MXtoolbox provides a broad suite of diagnostic tools, covering everything from DNS lookups and SMTP tests to IP blocklist (or blacklist) monitoring. Its DMARC reporting features are integrated into this wider ecosystem, allowing users to verify DMARC records alongside SPF and DKIM.
We found MXtoolbox particularly useful for quick, on-demand checks and for maintaining general email health. While it offers DMARC monitoring, its strength lies in its comprehensive diagnostic capabilities, making it a generalist's toolbox rather than a DMARC specialist.
Skysnag focuses heavily on DMARC automation and email authentication. Its platform is designed to streamline the implementation and management of DMARC, SPF, and DKIM records, offering continuous monitoring and enforcement.
The product excels in providing detailed insights into email traffic, identifying legitimate and fraudulent senders, and offering features like BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) and MTA-STS/TLS-RPT for advanced security. Skysnag’s approach is more specialized, aiming for a high degree of DMARC compliance with minimal manual intervention.
How easy is each product to use
User experience
The user experience with MXtoolbox is functional and straightforward. Its interface, while not ultra-modern, is efficient for performing specific diagnostic tasks. We appreciate the direct access to various tools, though it sometimes requires navigating through multiple links to reach a desired report or check.
For users familiar with email diagnostics, the learning curve is minimal. However, new users might find the sheer volume of individual tools a bit overwhelming initially, and the DMARC features are less integrated into a single, cohesive workflow compared to a dedicated DMARC platform.
Skysnag offers a relatively intuitive dashboard with a guided onboarding process, which helps in setting up DMARC records. While some users have noted that the interface can be a bit overwhelming at times due to its comprehensive features, we found the automation aspects made day-to-day management simpler once configured.
The platform aims to simplify complex email authentication, but initial configuration might require a deeper understanding of DNS records. We did observe occasional reports of slower dashboard loading speeds, particularly when accessing global analytics maps.
Which product has the best support
Support
MXtoolbox offers support through various channels, including phone, email, and support tickets for active subscribers. While their free tools are widely praised and well-documented, we noted some negative feedback concerning the handling of cancellations and refunds for paid plans, which can be a significant point of concern.
Accessing support for specific issues related to paid features might sometimes involve navigating a slightly opaque process, with some users reporting difficulties in getting timely resolutions for billing-related disputes.
Skysnag is generally lauded for its responsive and technically proficient support team. Users frequently highlight the team's ability to assist with complex DMARC setups and resolve issues at their root, which is crucial for a specialized security platform.
While some initial setup difficulties were mentioned, the support team appears capable of guiding users through these challenges effectively. We found their expertise in DMARC and related protocols to be a strong asset for clients needing in-depth assistance.
Who should use each product
Suitability
MXtoolbox is best suited for IT administrators, webmasters, and small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) who need a versatile set of tools for general email health, DNS diagnostics, and quick blocklist (or blacklist) checks. It's a great companion for immediate troubleshooting.
For managed service providers (MSPs), its domain limits on paid plans might necessitate multiple accounts or careful management, making it less ideal for extensive multi-tenancy. Enterprise users might integrate its lookup functionalities into broader security information and event management (SIEM) systems for contextual data.
Skysnag is ideal for organizations of all sizes prioritizing robust, automated DMARC enforcement and advanced email authentication to combat spoofing and improve deliverability. SMBs can benefit from its simplified setup, ensuring emails land in inboxes.
Enterprise clients and MSPs will find Skysnag valuable for its comprehensive protection, visibility, and automation capabilities, including support for BIMI and MTA-STS, which are critical for high-stakes email environments. Its multi-tenancy capabilities also make it suitable for MSPs managing multiple client domains.
How does MXtoolbox compare with Skysnag?
DMARC report analysis
Aggregated and forensic DMARC report processing and visualization.
Provides DMARC summary and detail reports.
Comprehensive DMARC analytics with advanced threat intelligence.
Source detection
Identifies email sending sources that are using your domain.
Detects known and unknown email sending sources.
Automated identification and classification of sending sources.
Forward detection
Ability to track and analyze email forwarding paths.
Primarily focuses on direct sender authentication.
Offers insights into email forwarding anomalies.
Spoof detection
Identifies and alerts on email spoofing attempts.
Monitors for domain impersonation and spoofing.
Proactive detection and prevention of email spoofing attacks.
Notifications and alerts
Real-time alerts for DMARC policy changes, spoofing, or deliverability issues.
Alerts for blacklisting and email configuration issues.
Customizable alerts for DMARC events and domain health.
Reporting
Offers various reports on email deliverability, DMARC compliance, and security.
Provides deliverability, performance, and configuration reports.
Detailed compliance, threat, and traffic reports.
API
Programmable interface for integration with other systems.
API available for integrating lookups with SIEM tools.
API for advanced automation and integration.
Multi-tenancy
Manages multiple domains or client accounts from a single dashboard.
Requires separate account management for distinct clients.
Designed for managing multiple domains and client environments.
SPF flattening
Combines multiple SPF records to stay within the 10-lookup limit.
Available in the Delivery Center Plus plan.
Automated SPF flattening to prevent exceeding limits.
Hosted DMARC
Manages DMARC records directly on the platform.
Offers DMARC deployment assistance and hosting.
Provides hosted DMARC services with automated updates.
BIMI
Supports Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI).
Not a primary focus of the platform's DMARC features.
Includes BIMI digital trademark package and support.
MTA-STS/TLS-RPT
Supports SMTP MTA Strict Transport Security and TLS Reporting.
Focuses on DMARC, SPF, and DKIM only.
Integrates MTA-STS and TLS-RPT for enhanced security.
Blocklists and reputation
Monitors domain and IP addresses against email blocklists.
Extensive weekly and adaptive blocklist monitoring.
Primarily focused on DMARC for domain reputation.
AI copilot
Uses AI for automated recommendations or issue resolution.
Relies on manual diagnostics and analysis.
Autonomous software approach for DMARC enforcement.
DNS monitoring
Monitors DNS records for changes or issues.
Monitors SPF, DKIM, and other DNS configurations.
Ensures DNS records are correctly setup and maintained.
Self hostable
Option to host the software on your own infrastructure.
Cloud-based SaaS offering.
Cloud-based SaaS offering.
Free trial/free tier
Offers a free version or a trial period for paid features.
Includes a free tier with weekly blacklist monitoring.
Offers a free plan or trial period.
Drawbacks and what to watch out for
MXtoolbox, while offering robust diagnostic tools, has faced criticism regarding its billing practices and the refund policy for its paid trials. Its user interface is also perceived as dated by some. Skysnag, despite its advanced DMARC features, can be challenging to configure initially and has received feedback about occasional dashboard loading delays.
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)
4.6 / 5(17)
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.)
Best platform to configure Email Deliverability!
4.0 / 5
What do you like best about Skysnag?
Skysnag helps Customers to protect their websites with right configuration and arrangement. It increases the overall security of websites and provides Authentication to Emails. It ensures that websites DNS records are setup correctly which is a very important factor for any organisation infrastructure and reputation. Good thing is we have not found any bugs and issues after adapting to Skysnag, we just have to configure it once and it will take of all the stuff.
What do you dislike about Skysnag?
Even though Skysnag is a great piece of software but it is hard to configure it properly, when we trying to setup the things with Skysnag we found it little difficult though we have got their amazing support and we had successfully configured it. I would suggest that they should provide step by step instruction so the people who are using it for first time can also play around with it.
What problems is Skysnag solving and how is that benefiting you?
Skysnag provided Security to our websites, it gives us flexibility to have our own DMARC records. Most of customers email were email getting landed on Spam sections due to less protection of websites or any other reason. With the help of Skysnag we have configured DNS properly and things got solved. We would highly recommend this platform to ensure safety of websites.
Rohit M.
Cloud Analyst Enterprise (> 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.)
Must try to avoid mail spamming
4.0 / 5
What do you like best about Skysnag?
Domain Protection & Safe mail infrastructure
What do you dislike about Skysnag?
Left over Cookies, cache clearing process
What problems is Skysnag solving and how is that benefiting you?
Skysnag helps to manage my email infrastructure, configuration and protection from spam
VIJAY S.
Researcher 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.)
Secure Email Communication and DMARC Compliance
4.0 / 5
What do you like best about Skysnag?
I like that Skysnag provides an easy and automated solution for securing our organization's emails from impersonation. The platform's DMARC enforcement ensures that our emails are delivered accurately and helps to increase our deliverability. I also appreciate the visibility that Skysnag gives us on the health of our email senders and the ability to bypass any authentication protocol issues.
What do you dislike about Skysnag?
I dislike that the platform can be difficult to navigate at times. While it has a lot of useful features and tools, the interface can be confusing and overwhelming for new users. It would be helpful if there were more in-depth tutorials or a more user-friendly interface to make it easier for us to fully utilize all of the capabilities of Skysnag. Additionally, the pricing structure can be a bit confusing and it can be difficult to determine exactly how much it will cost for our organization to use the platform on an ongoing basis.
What problems is Skysnag solving and how is that benefiting you?
Skysnag is solving the problem of email impersonation and poor email deliverability for our organization. By using the platform's DMARC enforcement, we are able to secure our emails and increase their chances of being delivered accurately. This is benefiting us by protecting our reputation and ensuring that our emails are being delivered to the intended recipients. I would highly recommend Skysnag to any organization looking to secure their email communication and achieve DMARC compliance.
James P.
Engineer 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.)
We used Skysnag for email authentication
4.0 / 5
What do you like best about Skysnag?
Their services in domain securing and email authentication. We were able to automate our operations and save both Money and time.
What do you dislike about Skysnag?
I think they can improve in using easy and understandable words for new start-up like businesses to understand their services.
What problems is Skysnag solving and how is that benefiting you?
Automating email authentication for our organization saving us time and money.
Verified User in Computer Software
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.)
A phenomenal email authentication service that boosts peace of mind
4.0 / 5
What do you like best about Skysnag?
Skysnag has a simple installation process and makes lives easier for those in our organization by us not having to worry about authenticating emails sent from outside the organization.
What do you dislike about Skysnag?
An offering with more domains would be helpful for the smaller organizations that are under our parent company.
What problems is Skysnag solving and how is that benefiting you?
Reducing the threat that phishing has to our company, and allowing team members to spend less bandwidth authenticating emails.
Verified User in Financial Services
Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)
Pricing
MXtoolbox offers a free tier and structured paid plans based on domain count and email volume, whereas Skysnag's pricing is tiered by traffic and domains, with a separate BIMI package, requiring direct contact for specific quotes.
Small
Up to 10k emails / month
Free tier available (weekly blacklist monitoring, 1 domain)