# Bouncer vs Clearout: which do AI models recommend for email verification, September 2026

GTM AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition, Email verification. Four of twelve models named Bouncer first on the direct prompt; two named Clearout. Page: https://gtm-ai-index.com/gtm-data/email-verification/bouncer-vs-clearout/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bouncer | 24% | #2 of 11 | 0% | 40 | 11 of 12 |
| Clearout | 6% | #4 of 11 | 3% | 33 | 10 of 12 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Claude Haiku 4.5: bouncer first (first choices: Bouncer, Skrapp) (alternatives: NeverBounce, ZeroBounce)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: bouncer first (first choices: Bouncer) (alternatives: Allegrow, BounceBan, NeverBounce, ZeroBounce)
- Perplexity Sonar: bouncer first (first choices: Bouncer) (alternatives: Hunter, MillionVerifier, ZeroBounce)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: bouncer first (first choices: Bouncer) (alternatives: Hunter, NeverBounce, ZeroBounce)
- Llama 4 Maverick: clearout first (first choices: Clearout, Hunter, Kickbox)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: clearout first (first choices: Clearout) (alternatives: Hunter, Kickbox)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: neither first, one named (first choices: Hunter, ZeroBounce) (alternatives: Bouncer, Clearout, Kickbox)
- Mistral Small: neither first, one named (first choices: ZeroBounce) (alternatives: Bouncer, Clearout, Hunter, NeverBounce)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: ZeroBounce) (alternatives: Bouncer, EmailListVerify, Kickbox, MillionVerifier)
- Kimi K2: neither first, one named (first choices: ZeroBounce) (alternatives: Bouncer, Clearout, Hunter)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither named (first choices: ZeroBounce) (alternatives: Hunter)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither named (first choices: ZeroBounce) (alternatives: Hunter)

## What the models said about Bouncer

- "Well-regarded alternatives with stronger track records ... include Bouncer, ZeroBounce, Kickbox, and NeverBounce" (Kimi K2, negative prompt, first choice)
- "I'd recommend Bouncer as the best all-around value (great accuracy, flexible non-expiring pricing, 100 free credits to trial)" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, budget prompt, first choice)
- "I'd recommend evaluating Skrapp or Bouncer first, as they balance accuracy, ease of use, and workflow integration" (Claude Haiku 4.5, direct prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Clearout

- "Clearout: 94.1% real accuracy" (Kimi K2, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "The best email verification service for a mid-market B2B company is Hunter, Clearout, or Kickbox" (Llama 4 Maverick, direct prompt, first choice)
- "For most mid-market B2B companies, I'd recommend starting with Clearout" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, direct prompt, first choice)
- "would be Hunter, Clearout, or Zerobounce" (Llama 4 Maverick, paraphrase prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all twelve models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.