Prices and limits below are from Mailinator’s pricing page and FAQ on 12 October 2026. Check them for current details.
At a glance
| Proxy Mail QA | Mailinator | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Testing sign-up, login and email flows by hand | Public throwaway inboxes, and automated email and SMS tests on paid plans |
| Free | The whole product under fair use (up to 50 new addresses a day) | Public inboxes with no sign-up; “Verified Pro” at $0 with 1 private domain, 60 emails a day |
| Paid | Team plan coming soon | Business $79 a month billed yearly (5 seats); Business Plus $159 (10 seats); Enterprise from $699 |
| Who can read the inbox | Only you (and, in an organisation, people on the project) | Public inboxes: anyone. Private domains: your team |
| How long mail stays | The lifetime you choose, 1 to 30 days | Public: several hours. Paid: until storage fills up |
| Codes and links | Shown on each account’s row, ready to copy or click | Read through the web inbox or the API, which can return a message’s links |
| Test account details | Personas, notes, tags, encrypted saved passwords, QA reports | Not the focus |
| API | Not yet (planned) | Yes, with webhooks |
| SMS | No | Yes (numbers cost extra on paid plans) |
| Attachments | Not stored, except the original file in debug mode | Not on public inboxes |
Where Mailinator is the better choice
- You need an API today. Mailinator has a REST API, webhooks and routing rules for automated tests. Proxy Mail QA’s API and MCP server are planned but not built yet.
- You test SMS. Mailinator offers phone numbers for SMS testing. Proxy Mail QA receives email only.
- You need a quick inbox with no account at all, and don’t mind that anyone can read it.
Where Proxy Mail QA is the better choice
- Privacy on the free plan. Every address belongs to a signed-in account and nobody else can read it. On Mailinator’s public tier, anyone who guesses the inbox name can open your verification link first.
- Test accounts, not just inboxes. Each address can carry a generated persona, the password you signed up with (encrypted, every reveal logged), notes and tags, so the account can be picked up again days later.
- The code is already on the row. The newest code gets a Copy button, with a countdown when the email states one, and links become a button named for what they do, such as Activate account or Reset password.
- Reports for clients. Export a project’s addresses, personas, notes and every email’s code or link as CSV or PDF.
Moving from Mailinator’s public inboxes
- Create a free account and a project for the app you’re testing.
- Create one address per test account instead of reusing public inbox names.
- Save the password you sign up with on the address, so the next tester can sign in as that user.