Comparison Email Intel vs Scrubby
Email Intel vs Scrubby
Scrubby resolves catch-alls by actually sending mail. We resolve them from public signals, and never send anything.
A catch-all specialist that resolves risky and catch-all addresses by sending real test messages from burner accounts.
Where the two approaches actually differ
| Dimension | Email Intel | Scrubby |
|---|---|---|
| Method | Public signals only — DNS, MX, certificate transparency, published naming patterns. No message is ever sent to the address. | Sends actual test emails via burner accounts (as described in Scrubby's own published method). |
| Turnaround | Sub-second on the API, synchronous. | 48–72 hours, per Scrubby's published turnaround. |
| Recipient-side footprint | None. The recipient's mail server never sees a connection attempt for the address. | A real delivery attempt reaches the recipient's infrastructure and appears in their MTA logs. |
| Published price | $0.001–0.005 per lookup depending on tier; catch-all resolution is a premium SKU. | $0.01–$0.037 per email, per published pricing. |
We are not the right answer for everyone.
Sending a real message is direct evidence. If your compliance posture permits test sends and a 48–72 hour turnaround fits your workflow, that directness is a genuine advantage over inference.
Where we fit instead: Teams who cannot or will not send unsolicited test messages to prospects — for privacy, deliverability, or legal reasons — and who need an answer during a form submission rather than two days later.
Why there is no accuracy number on this page.
We do not publish a head-to-head accuracy comparison. Our historical benchmark was withdrawn from marketing use because its labels were third-party probabilistic labels rather than observed delivery outcomes. A replacement measured on real customer bounce outcomes is in progress. Until it reports, we compare on method — which you can verify today — and not on accuracy.
If you are evaluating vendors, the useful question is not whose number is bigger — it is whose number you can reproduce. Ask any vendor, us included, what the ground truth was, who labelled it, and whether the labels came from observed delivery outcomes or from another tool's guess.
Where these facts come from
Test-send method, 48–72h turnaround and $0.01–0.037/email pricing as published by Scrubby.
docs/COMPETITIVE-ANALYSIS.md, Tier 4 (catch-all specialists).
Spotted something out of date or misrepresented — including if you work at Scrubby? Tell us and we will correct it.
Bring us your catch-all segment.
Send the addresses your current tool marks “risky” or “accept-all” and see what evidence exists for them. No test messages are sent, to anyone.
Review my catch-alls ↗