PowerDMARC offers a robust and comprehensive suite of DMARC-focused features, designed to provide deep insights into email authentication. We find its reporting granular, allowing us to drill down into specific sending sources, alignment issues, and potential threats. The platform integrates various email security protocols, giving us a centralized hub for managing DMARC, SPF, DKIM, BIMI, MTA-STS, and TLS-RPT.
Beyond core DMARC reporting, PowerDMARC excels with hosted services like PowerSPF for SPF flattening, and tools for real-time threat intelligence. These features streamline the process of achieving and maintaining full DMARC enforcement, which is particularly beneficial for organizations with complex email infrastructures or those looking to implement advanced email security standards like BIMI.
MXtoolbox, while offering DMARC reporting, positions itself more as a broad network diagnostic tool with a DMARC component. Its strength lies in its extensive range of free tools for DNS lookups, blacklist checking, and general email health diagnostics. The paid Delivery Center plans expand upon this, offering DMARC analytics alongside inbox placement analysis and sender reputation monitoring.
For DMARC, MXtoolbox provides essential monitoring and reporting, helping identify senders and alignment issues. However, it focuses less on hosted services for protocols like MTA-STS or BIMI, making it more suited for those primarily interested in DMARC monitoring within a wider suite of network and deliverability checks rather than comprehensive email authentication enforcement.
How easy is each product to use
User experience
PowerDMARC generally receives high marks for its user-friendly interface and guided setup process. Many users, including us, find it easy to navigate, with clear dashboards and intuitive tools for troubleshooting. The platform provides ample video tutorials and guides, making the initial configuration straightforward, even for those new to DMARC management.
While the overall experience is positive, some users have noted that certain UI elements could be more modern or require a few extra clicks to reach desired information. However, the ease of setup for SPF, DKIM, and DMARC policies, often using sliders for desired settings, greatly simplifies what can otherwise be a complex task.
MXtoolbox's free tools are widely praised for their simplicity and quick results for ad-hoc checks. For tasks like reverse DNS lookups or blacklist checks, the interface is direct and efficient. However, when transitioning to the paid Delivery Center, the user experience can become a bit more separated, with different tools requiring separate navigation.
Some users describe the UI as basic, and we've observed that its search functionality isn't always precise, sometimes redirecting to default tools. While functional, it might lack the streamlined, integrated dashboard experience that a dedicated DMARC platform offers, particularly for consistent, in-depth DMARC reporting and management.
Which product has the best support
Support
PowerDMARC's support consistently stands out as a major strong point. G2 reviews frequently highlight the team's responsiveness, knowledge, and willingness to provide in-depth assistance through various channels, including phone, email, chat, and screen-sharing sessions. Many users commend the
support staff for detailed explanations and effective troubleshooting, often resolving issues quickly.
The strong emphasis on customer support, especially for complex DMARC implementations and ongoing management, gives us confidence. They offer guided setup, video tutorials, and dedicated partner programs with managed services, reflecting a commitment to ensuring user success.
MXtoolbox primarily offers support through its website and, for paid users, via phone. For its popular free tools, community resources and self-help documentation are the main avenues. While the tools themselves are generally intuitive for quick checks, comprehensive guidance for complex scenarios might require reaching out.
Unfortunately, some G2 reviews raise concerns regarding MXtoolbox's customer service, particularly concerning billing and cancellation processes, which we'll detail later. This suggests that while basic support for tool usage might be available, issues outside of direct technical diagnostics can be more challenging to resolve.
Who should use each product
Suitability
PowerDMARC is exceptionally well-suited for organizations that prioritize comprehensive email security and brand protection. Its deep focus on DMARC, SPF, DKIM, and related protocols makes it ideal for enterprise-level clients and mid-market companies seeking to achieve strict email authentication compliance and prevent spoofing and phishing attacks.
For Managed Service Providers (MSPs), PowerDMARC offers specific features like multi-tenant control panels, whitelabel support, and dedicated partner programs, making it an excellent choice for managing email security across multiple client domains. Even SMBs can benefit, especially those with growing email marketing needs or stringent security requirements, leveraging its user-friendly interface to secure their communications.
MXtoolbox is best for IT administrators, small to medium businesses (SMBs), and individuals who need a versatile suite of tools for general network and email diagnostics. Its free tools are invaluable for quick checks on DNS records, MX records, and immediate blacklist status. For DMARC, it serves those looking for essential monitoring to identify basic email authentication issues.
While it offers some DMARC reporting, MXtoolbox might be less suitable for large enterprises or MSPs with complex DMARC enforcement needs, as it doesn't offer the same depth of specialized DMARC features or dedicated multi-tenancy support as PowerDMARC. It's an excellent choice for those who need a broad 'swiss army knife' for email deliverability and network health, with DMARC as one of many functionalities.
How does PowerDMARC compare with MXtoolbox?
DMARC report analysis
Ability to process and visualize DMARC aggregate (RUA) and forensic (RUF) reports.
Comprehensive and granular reporting with detailed drill-downs.
Provides essential DMARC analytics for identifying sending sources.
Source detection
Identifies all sources sending email on behalf of your domain.
Automatic and unlimited auto-detected subdomains.
Verified source management in Delivery Center plans.
Forward detection
Capability to identify and differentiate forwarded emails.
Distinguishes forwarded emails for accurate reporting.
Helps diagnose mail deliverability problems including forwards.
Spoof detection
Identifies and helps mitigate unauthorized email spoofing attempts.
Strong DMARC enforcement helps protect against spoofing and phishing.
Offers domain impersonation protection.
Notifications and alerts
Configurable alerts for DMARC policy changes, spoofing, or other issues.
Email and webhook alerts available (paid tiers).
Early warning for blacklist status, configurable alerts in paid plans.
Reporting
Generation of various DMARC compliance and threat reports.
Geographic, threat maps, detailed RUA/RUF, scheduled PDF reports (paid tiers).
Email delivery performance and DMARC analytics reports.
API
Programmatic access to DMARC data and management features.
API access available in higher-tier plans.
No explicit DMARC reporting API mentioned.
Multi-tenancy
Dashboard and features designed for managing multiple client domains (e.g., for MSPs).
Dedicated MSP/MSSP program with multi-tenant control panel.
Not designed with multi-tenancy for DMARC reporting in mind.
SPF flattening
Tool to simplify SPF records to avoid the 10-lookup limit.
Includes Power SPF for hosted SPF flattening (paid tiers).
SPF flattening available in Delivery Center Plus plan.
Hosted DMARC
Ability to host DMARC records directly within the platform.
Hosted DMARC included across all plans.
Does not offer hosted DMARC services.
BIMI
Support for Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI).
Hosted BIMI included, and assistance with implementation.
Does not explicitly offer BIMI support.
MTA-STS/TLS-RPT
Support for Mail Transfer Agent Strict Transport Security and TLS Reporting.
Hosted MTA-STS and TLS-RPT available (paid tiers).
Does not explicitly offer MTA-STS or TLS-RPT support.
Blocklists and reputation
Monitoring of IP and domain reputation against various blacklists (blocklists).
Reputation monitoring (IP/Domain) available (paid tiers).
Strong focus on blacklist checking and adaptive sender blacklist monitoring.
AI copilot
AI-powered assistance for DMARC policy generation or analysis.
DNS monitoring
Monitors changes to DNS records, including DMARC, SPF, and DKIM.
Real-time domain health check and DNS timeline.
DNS lookup checks and configuration monitoring.
Self hostable
Option to self-host the DMARC reporting solution on private infrastructure.
Free trial/free tier
Availability of a free plan or a trial period for full features.
Free plan for personal domains (1 domain, 10k emails).
Free tools and a free tier for blacklist monitoring (1 domain).
Drawbacks and what to watch out for
PowerDMARC generally receives very positive feedback, with minor complaints about UI complexity or billing module visibility. MXtoolbox, however, faces significant criticism regarding its billing practices and refund policies, which is a crucial aspect to consider for any paid service.
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.
4.9 / 5(208)
4.1 / 5(29)
N/A
4.0 / 5
What do you like best about PowerDMARC?
Easy to use, easy to implement, comprehensive
What do you dislike about PowerDMARC?
Nothing to report except perhaps the billing module, which is a bit difficult to find.
What problems is PowerDMARC solving and how is that benefiting you?
Email security management for our clients
Verified User in Computer & Network Security
Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)
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.)
E-mail security made easy
4.0 / 5
What do you like best about PowerDMARC?
Very easy to set up. You can start with the basics and add features later. The system also guides you through the set-up process and provides recommendations for improvement.
What do you dislike about PowerDMARC?
For reporting and advanced features a subscription is required. However, for basic security for personal domains it's free!
What problems is PowerDMARC solving and how is that benefiting you?
More and more emails where rejected by email servers, or put in the SPAM folder of the recipient. Turns out a DMARC record is required by more and more e-mail providers. With PowerDMARC it is easy to solve this! Emails send from our domain are now fully compliant!
Juriaan K.
Personal domain for emailing 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.)
Fantastic All-in-One DMARC Management, But Needs Easier Client Switching and More Whitelabel Options
4.5 / 5
What do you like best about PowerDMARC?
I really appreciate how convenient it is to handle all the DMARC settings within a single, user-friendly platform. Their support team has been excellent in walking us through set up and troubleshooting for our specific clients.
What do you dislike about PowerDMARC?
I would like to see more customization options available in the Whitelabel section. Some of the current image sizing choices don't work well with our logo, which isn't a major issue, but having more flexibility would be a nice improvement.
Additionally, switching between clients in the MSSP view is a little tedious. Right now, you have to log in as a specific client and then log out to return to the MSSP view. It would be much easier if there were a "User/Client" drop-down menu in the upper right corner, allowing you to quickly switch back and forth.
What problems is PowerDMARC solving and how is that benefiting you?
It is helping us protect our clients emails and reputations by blocking spoofing.
Zohra M.
Chaos-to-Order Transformation Expert 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.)
Easy Platform for DMARC Management
4.5 / 5
What do you like best about PowerDMARC?
Easy to use and great tools for troubleshooting. Theres also great guides that take you through the process of setup. We have most of our managed domains in PowerDMARC, as integration is very easy. We use PowerDMARC almost everyday for its various reporting tools. So when were not setting up new domains were monitoring our current ones. Customer Support also is very responsive, on the odd occassion where I need support, an advisor is back in touch within the hour.
What do you dislike about PowerDMARC?
There isn't much we dislike about PowerDMARC.
What problems is PowerDMARC solving and how is that benefiting you?
DMARC, DKIM and SPF policies are held in one place, which makes it easy to pick and choose what settings are required for each domain.
We havent go to spend time typing out a policy as we can use sliders to get our desired settings, which is then made for us.
We can see how secure we are bu the reporting.
We also get great reporting tools which we show our end users.
Marcus M.
Senior Technical Engineer 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.)
Great service
4.5 / 5
What do you like best about PowerDMARC?
Camilo was incredibly helpful. He gave detailed explanations of the changes that were recommended.
What do you dislike about PowerDMARC?
I don't disliked anything. The platform is full featured.
What problems is PowerDMARC solving and how is that benefiting you?
Moving our DMARC policy from quarantine to reject.
Colin S.
Senior Information Security Engineer 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.)
Pricing
PowerDMARC offers a free plan and then custom pricing for higher tiers, whereas MXtoolbox has a free tier for basic blacklist monitoring and two distinct paid plans with fixed prices based on email volume.
Small
Up to 10k emails / month
$0 (Free plan, 1 domain, 10-day history)
$0 (Free tier, weekly blacklist, 1 domain)
Medium
Up to 100k emails / month
Contact for pricing (Basic plan and up)
$129/month (Delivery Center, up to 500k emails)
Large
Up to 1 million emails / month
Contact for pricing
$399/month (Delivery Center Plus, up to 5M emails)
Enterprise
Over 1 million emails / month
Contact for pricing
$399/month (Delivery Center Plus, up to 5M emails)