--- title: "Proxy Mail QA vs Mailinator: private test inboxes compared · Proxy Mail QA" description: "Mailinator's public inboxes are open to anyone and kept for hours; its paid plans add private domains and an API. Here's how it compares with Proxy Mail QA for testing sign-up and login emails." url: https://proxymail.qa/compare/mailinator --- 1. [Home](https://proxymail.qa/) 2. [Compare](https://proxymail.qa/compare) # Proxy Mail QA vs Mailinator Mailinator is the best-known disposable inbox, with free public inboxes and paid plans for automated email and SMS testing. Proxy Mail QA is built for people testing sign-up and login flows by hand, with private inboxes and the code or link on each account's row. Updated October 12, 2026 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, and returned on their own by the API and MCP server | 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 | REST API and MCP server for agents, on every plan; no webhooks yet | 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 webhooks or routing rules.** Mailinator can push each message to your systems as it arrives. Proxy Mail QA’s API waits for the code or link instead, and doesn’t push webhooks 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. - **Agents included, free.** The MCP server lets Claude Code or Cursor create an address and wait for its code, on the Free plan. ## Moving from Mailinator’s public inboxes 1. Create a free account and a project for the app you’re testing. 2. Create one address per test account instead of reusing public inbox names. 3. Save the password you sign up with on the address, so the next tester can sign in as that user. ## Try it on your next sign-up test Free plan, no credit card. Create an address and watch the code or link arrive. [Create a free account](https://app.proxymail.qa/?mode=signup) ## Questions ### Is Mailinator's free inbox private? No. Mailinator's FAQ says public emails can be read by anyone, so never use a public inbox for an account you care about. Its paid plans add private domains. Every Proxy Mail QA address is private to your account, including on the Free plan. ### How long does Mailinator keep public emails? Its FAQ says several hours, after which they're deleted for good. Paid plans keep mail until storage fills up. Proxy Mail QA keeps an address and its mail for the lifetime you pick, up to 30 days on the Free plan during the beta. ### Can I use both? Yes. Teams that automate email checks in CI often keep an API service for that and use Proxy Mail QA for manual and exploratory testing, where testers need personas, saved passwords and notes alongside each test account. ## Related guides - [Proxy Mail QA vs MailosaurA free tool for testers working by hand, against a paid platform built for automated email and SMS tests.](https://proxymail.qa/compare/mailosaur) - [Proxy Mail QA vs MailSlurpReady-made test accounts in a web app, against an API for creating inboxes, sending and SMS.](https://proxymail.qa/compare/mailslurp) - [Proxy Mail QA vs testmail.appAddresses that last up to 30 days with codes on the row, against a low-cost API for test pipelines.](https://proxymail.qa/compare/testmail) - [Proxy Mail QA vs Gmail plus-addressingWhy one inbox and a pile of name+test addresses stops working for QA, and what to use instead.](https://proxymail.qa/compare/gmail-plus-addressing) [See every email testing problem we solve →](https://proxymail.qa/solve) Mailinator is a trademark of its owner. Proxy Mail QA is independent and isn't affiliated with or endorsed by them.