# ZeroBounce vs EmailListVerify: which do AI models recommend for email verification, September 2026

GTM AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition, Email verification. Six of twelve models named ZeroBounce first on the direct prompt; zero named EmailListVerify. Page: https://gtm-ai-index.com/gtm-data/email-verification/zerobounce-vs-emaillistverify/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZeroBounce | 29% | #1 of 11 | 8% | 53 | 12 of 12 |
| EmailListVerify | 4% | #6 of 11 | 10% | 20 | 10 of 12 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

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

## What the models said about ZeroBounce

- "Several providers (ZeroBounce, NeverBounce, Bouncer's monthly credits) expire credits, which punishes infrequent users" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, budget prompt, soft negative)
- "Be Cautious About: Overpriced "Legacy" Providers... ZeroBounce charges up to $129 per 10,000 verifications" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "premium enterprise tools like ZeroBounce charge ~$129 for 10,000 verifications" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, budget prompt, soft negative)
- "Well-regarded alternatives with stronger track records in recent independent testing include Bouncer, ZeroBounce, Kickbox, and NeverBounce" (Kimi K2, negative prompt, first choice)
- "ZeroBounce (Best overall balance for mid-market) ... ZeroBounce for robust list hygiene + extras (top G2 pick for mid-market)" (Grok 4.1 Fast, direct prompt, first choice)
- "ZeroBounce — Best Overall for Mid-Market ... Choose ZeroBounce if you want the safest bet with proven mid-market fit" (Kimi K2, direct prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about EmailListVerify

- "A classic budget option, though some independent audits show lower accuracy than top-tier competitors." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, comparative prompt, soft negative)
- "EmailListVerify: 93.2% real accuracy (lowest tested)" (Kimi K2, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "the best choice is usually EmailListVerify if you want the lowest cost per verification" (Perplexity Sonar, budget prompt, first choice)
- "For the absolute lowest cost: Choose EmailListVerify at $24 for 10K emails." (Mistral Small, budget prompt, first choice)
- "the budget option on this list and delivers accordingly, with free supplementary tools adding real value" (Claude Haiku 4.5, budget prompt, alternative)

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.