FairValid vs ZeroBounce: 10,000-credit pricing and billing compared (checked 2026-10-24)

The question this article answers

If you need to verify about 10,000 email addresses, what do FairValid and ZeroBounce charge, and how do their billing rules differ? FairValid publishes this article, so read it as a vendor comparison, not an independent ranking. Everything below comes from official pricing and help pages captured on 2026-10-24. Prices and terms can change, so check the live pages before you buy.

We have not run hands-on accuracy or deliverability tests for this comparison. The screenshots show what each page said when it was captured. They don't show how accurate either service is or whether mail gets delivered.

Comparing the same quantity: 10,000 credits

The ZeroBounce capture shows a quote for 10,000 credits, and FairValid lists a 10,000-credit price. That makes 10,000 credits the fairest place to compare.

FairValid. The FairValid pricing page lists a monthly plan of 10,000 credits for $19.50 per month. That works out to about $1.95 per 1,000 credits, excluding tax. The same page lists a one-time top-up of 10,000 credits at $19.50, also excluding tax. Top-ups can be any whole amount from 2,000 to 1,000,000 credits. FairValid also tells buyers to review the current quote and tax before you pay.

ZeroBounce. The ZeroBounce pricing page quotes 10,000 pay-as-you-go credits at $0.0129 per credit, or $129. The minimum purchase is 2,000 credits. The page also lists "volume pricing," so the per-credit rate may be different at other quantities. ZeroBounce offers 15% off with a ZeroBounce ONE subscription. The 15% figure is stated, but the capture doesn't show the subscription fee or the total cost of a subscription bundle. Buyers who need more than 1 million credits are asked to contact ZeroBounce for enterprise pricing.

How to read the difference. For a one-time purchase of 10,000 credits, the captures show $19.50 at FairValid (excluding tax) and $129 pay-as-you-go at ZeroBounce. Two caveats apply. First, FairValid's price is stated before tax, and the ZeroBounce capture doesn't say whether tax is included. Second, if ZeroBounce's 15% subscription discount applied to the $129 quote, those credits would cost about $109.65. The capture doesn't show what the subscription itself costs, though, so the total bundled cost is unknown.

Free credits each month

• FairValid includes 300 free credits each month with every account. Free credits are used first, and the monthly allowance doesn't roll over.
• ZeroBounce's Freemium plan includes 100 validation credits a month. It also includes 1 inbox test, 1 email server test, 1 blacklist monitor scanned every 24 hours, and 10 Email Finder uses. The page says Freemium credits "refill every month" and also that "credits don't expire." The capture doesn't explain how those two statements fit together, so ask ZeroBounce if this matters to you. As captured, the page also appears to say Freemium leaves out activity data and doesn't give access to Warmup or DMARC monitoring.

What you pay for uncertain results

Both services say they don't charge for Unknown results:

• FairValid charges 1 credit per completed valid or invalid result. Unknown and catch-all results carry a 0 net charge, and any held credits are released or returned.
• ZeroBounce says "Unknown results are free" on all accounts.

Since both offer this, free Unknown results aren't an advantage for either service. FairValid's page also says catch-all results have no net charge. The ZeroBounce capture doesn't say how catch-all results are billed, and we aren't drawing any conclusion from that.

FairValid explains its result statuses in its results guide. Unknown means the check couldn't return a dependable answer. Still checking means there's no final answer yet. The pricing page says a credit hold keeps room for a running check and that a hold is not a completed charge. The guide also says technical failures and unprocessed items don't create a net verification charge. FairValid states that a valid result never guarantees inbox delivery.

Credit expiry and rollover

On FairValid monthly plans, credits are added each month and paid credits carry forward. The free 300-credit allowance doesn't roll over. ZeroBounce says its credits never expire. Both pages describe paid credits that last, so neither service has a clear advantage here.

Where FairValid has an evidenced advantage

• Lower listed price at 10,000 credits. The captures show 10,000 credits for $19.50 excluding tax at FairValid and $129 pay-as-you-go at ZeroBounce. Even with 15% off, the ZeroBounce credits would come to about $109.65, before any subscription fee. The tax caveat above still applies.
• More free verification credits each month. FairValid includes 300 free credits a month, and ZeroBounce Freemium includes 100 validation credits. ZeroBounce's free tier also includes other tools, so this advantage is narrow.

Where ZeroBounce may fit better

• One credit pool for several tools. ZeroBounce says its credits can be used for email validation, scoring, Email Finder and Domain Search. If you want all of those from one vendor, that may matter. The FairValid pages we captured don't describe these tools, and we aren't assuming anything either way.
• Extra tools in the free tier. Freemium includes an inbox test, an email server test, a blacklist monitor and Email Finder uses.
• Other listed features. ZeroBounce lists 24/7 customer support, multiple API keys, 18 validation tools, IP address geolocation, an inbox placement test and detailed status codes. It also advertises "99.6% Validation Accuracy Guaranteed." That's ZeroBounce's own claim, and we haven't tested it.
• Enterprise volumes and subscription discount. For more than 1 million credits, ZeroBounce offers enterprise pricing on request. It also offers 15% off with a ZeroBounce ONE subscription.

A practical way to decide

If you mainly need list verification and price matters most, the captured prices favor FairValid at 10,000 credits. If you want validation bundled with scoring, email finding or inbox tests, ZeroBounce's listed extra tools may be worth its higher listed price. Whichever you choose, check the live quote, tax and terms before you pay.

To try FairValid, you can start with the 300 free monthly credits on a small list. The results guide explains what each result means and when it costs a credit.