MailAuthWatch

MailAuthWatch vs MXToolbox

The long-standing DNS and mail diagnostics toolbox; paid monitoring lives in Delivery Center. MailAuthWatch watches the DNS records instead of processing reports, and prices per domain rather than per message. Here is how they differ, using MXToolbox's own published pricing as of 1 September 2026.

DetailMXToolboxMailAuthWatch
Entry paid price$129/month (Delivery Center)$29/month
Domains at entry price5 domains, 500,000 messages/month10 domains
Effective price per domain$25.80$2.90
How price scalesPriced by message volume; Delivery Center Plus is $399/month for 5 domains and 5,000,000 messagesNo volume limit (DNS is read, not mail)
Free trialNone listed; free tier instead14 days, no card
Free tier1 domain, weekly blacklist monitoring, free lookupsUnlimited one-off checks, no signup
DMARC report analysisYes, DMARC report processing plus inbox placement and complaint reportingNo (watches the records, not the reports)
Record monitoring and toolsEmail configuration analysis for SPF, DKIM and DMARC; blacklist and mail-flow monitoring; SPF flattening on PlusDaily re-check of SPF, DKIM, DMARC with alerts on change
APIOn paid plansJSON API on Agency ($79/month, 50 domains)
Data handlingReceives your DMARC reports and monitors mail flowPublic DNS only; never touches your mail flow
MXToolbox figures from mxtoolbox.com/c/products/pricing on 1 September 2026. Tell us if they change: support@mailauthwatch.com.

Choose MXToolbox when

  • You need blacklist, inbox-placement and mail-flow monitoring far beyond the authentication records.
  • You want DMARC report processing and SPF flattening from one vendor, and five domains with high volume fits your estate.
  • Your team already lives in MXToolbox lookups and wants everything in one console.

Choose MailAuthWatch when

  • You only need SPF, DKIM and DMARC watched, and would rather pay $29 for 10 domains than $129 for 5.
  • You want plain-English fixes ranked by impact instead of raw lookup output.
  • You want a report page you can send a client that says what is wrong and what to change.

Questions

Is MailAuthWatch a good alternative to MXToolbox?

For watching SPF, DKIM and DMARC records across many domains and being alerted when they change, yes: MailAuthWatch costs $29 a month for 10 domains and reads public DNS only. If you need DMARC aggregate report analysis, MXToolbox does that and MailAuthWatch does not.

What does MXToolbox do that MailAuthWatch does not?

MXToolbox processes DMARC aggregate reports, so it can show which sources are sending as your domain and in what volume. MailAuthWatch deliberately does not receive reports; it measures and monitors the DNS records those reports depend on.

Can I use both?

Yes. Many teams keep a report analyser for the per-source view and use MailAuthWatch as the daily check that the records themselves are still correct, since a broken record is what most report anomalies trace back to.

See your own domain graded first

The free check takes five seconds and needs no account. Monitoring starts at $29/month with a 14-day trial and no card.

Grade a domainSee pricing