One of fourteen models named NeverBounce first on the direct prompt; zero named Hunter Email Verifier. Both were named by all fourteen models and NeverBounce carries 49 labels and Hunter Email Verifier 29, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Vancouver, founded 2014. Named in four categories this edition.
By Hunter.io, United States, founded 2015. Named in one category this edition.
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the email verification page.
Across every category in the October 2026 Edition, NeverBounce and Hunter Email Verifier were named in the same answer sixty-four times, of the 161 answers naming NeverBounce and the 92 naming Hunter Email Verifier. In those answers Hunter Email Verifier took the first choice eight times and NeverBounce eight.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | ||||||
| GPT-5.4 mini | ||||||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | ||||||
| Perplexity Sonar | ||||||
| Grok 4.1 Fast | ||||||
| Mistral Small | ||||||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | ||||||
| Llama 4 Maverick | ||||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | ||||||
| Kimi K2 | ||||||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | ||||||
| MiniMax M2.5 | ||||||
| GPT-6 Luna | ||||||
| Muse Glimmer 30B |
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Five of six in this category shown.
“After being acquired by ZoomInfo, NeverBounce has faced significant backlash... Price Hikes... Expiring Credits” Gemini 3.5 Flash · negative prompt · hard negative
“Premium services like NeverBounce will often expire your purchased credits after a set timeframe” Gemini 3.5 Flash · budget prompt · soft negative
“The most consistently reliable tier (per multiple 2026 benchmarks) is NeverBounce, ZeroBounce, Hunter, and Bouncer” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · first choice
“NeverBounce and ZeroBounce are the most recommended for their accuracy, ease of use, and feature sets.” Mistral Small · direct prompt · first choice
“If accuracy and advanced features are your priority: ZeroBounce or NeverBounce.” GLM 4.7 FlashX · comparative prompt · first choice
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Five of six in this category shown.
“Be cautious for pure verification ... better as a combo tool than standalone verifier.” Grok 4.1 Fast · negative prompt · soft negative
“Using Hunter for mass cleaning is often overpriced and yields lower accuracy stats.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“Best All-Rounder: Hunter.io ... is the strongest recommendation for mid-sized teams looking to consolidate tools.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“The most consistently reliable tier ... is NeverBounce, ZeroBounce, Hunter, and Bouncer” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · first choice
“the best choice is usually MillionVerifier or Hunter's free plan” GPT-5.4 mini · budget prompt · first choice
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.