Overview

Founded in 2003 and based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Mailinator pairs temporary public inboxes with subscription-based private domains and a REST API. Private-domain addresses can receive test messages without first creating inboxes, which suits automated onboarding, password-recovery, OTP, and MFA checks. Public inboxes are readable by anyone and typically auto-delete after several hours, so they are appropriate only for non-sensitive test messages.

Mailinator cannot send email or fill out forms. That is a meaningful boundary for teams testing complete user journeys: it can verify receipt, but not the sending side of the workflow. Its security posture also distinguishes private and public systems: web traffic uses HTTPS and private system email bodies are encrypted at rest, while public system email is not encrypted.

Key features

API and workflow automation

The REST API retrieves inboxes, email, and SMS, and supports message injection and CI/CD integration. Inbound webhooks can accept HTTP POST messages from alert systems, Zapier, or Twilio and apply configured rules. This gives engineering teams options for feeding and checking messages in automated workflows, rather than relying solely on manual inbox review.

Email and SMS testing

Email testing covers delivery, OTP, MFA, onboarding, and password recovery at scale. SMS can be routed to an inbox or API for automated OTP and 2FA checks. SMS numbers cost $500 per number per year or $50 per month, including 500 messages monthly; the fixed per-number cost makes this a better fit for a planned test program than occasional, low-volume checks.

Security and support

Mailinator says private system email bodies are encrypted at rest, but public system email is not. Its security page lists certifications for its hosting providers: Linode has SOC 1 Type 2, SOC 2 Type 2, HIPAA Type 1, HITECH, and PCI DSS; DigitalOcean has SOC 2 Type 2, SOC 3 Type 2, and PCI DSS. These are hosting-provider certifications, not a claim that public inbox messages are private. Documentation is available around the clock. Public issue emails are usually answered within 24–72 hours, while subscribers receive priority support.

Pricing

Mailinator is freemium, with paid plans from $79.00 USD per month billed yearly and a two-week Business trial. The free options serve different purposes: Public - Free offers unlimited public inboxes, temporary storage, and no sign-up; Verified Pro is free with Verification and adds private inboxes and one private domain, but is tightly capped at 2K emails per month and 60 per day annually, 10 emails per second, 10MB permanent storage, and one user.

Business costs $79.00 USD per month billed yearly. It includes unlimited private inboxes, one private domain, 50MB permanent storage, up to 20 emails per second, 100K emails per month, a 3,333-per-day limit, and five team seats. It is the entry point for a small team that needs private, automated testing rather than public disposable inboxes.

Business Plus costs $159.00 USD per month billed yearly. It raises the limits to three private domains, 100MB permanent storage, up to 100 emails per second, 300K emails per month, 10K per day, and 10 team seats. Teams with greater message volume or several products and environments to separate have a clear reason to step up; others may not need the added capacity.

Enterprise has custom pricing, with unlimited private inboxes, five or more private domains, custom storage, up to 500 emails per second, 3MM+ emails per month, and custom daily limits and team seats. Its scale and configurable limits suit larger programs, but the custom-price structure is less straightforward to budget. The public free tier's temporary storage and lack of privacy make it unsuitable for sensitive test content.

Platforms

Mailinator is available on the web and through an API. That combination supports both manual inspection and integration into automated development workflows.

Who it's for

Mailinator fits development and QA teams that need to receive messages reliably across automated email and SMS scenarios, especially where private-domain addresses, CI/CD integration, and team-level volume limits matter. It is less suitable for anyone who needs to send test email, submit forms, or use public inboxes for confidential content.

Pros and cons

Pros: Private-domain addresses can receive messages without inbox pre-creation, reducing setup friction in automated tests.
Pros: REST API retrieval, message injection, SMS routing, and inbound webhooks support several ways to connect message checks to existing workflows.
Pros: Paid plans scale email throughput, monthly volume, domains, and team seats, with a two-week Business trial.
Cons: Public inbox messages are visible to anyone and are not encrypted at rest, making them inappropriate for sensitive content.
Cons: The service cannot send email or fill out forms, so it covers only the receiving side of a workflow.
Cons: Private-domain plans impose storage, message, and seat limits; SMS testing also adds a per-number charge.

Alternatives

For a lighter request-based option, MailDrop has a free tier with 300 requests per day, one mailbox per 24 hours, all public domains, and community support; its Starter plan costs $5.00 USD per month for 30,000 requests per month and 10 mailboxes per 24 hours. Consider it when those request and mailbox limits suit the workload better than Mailinator's private-domain and team plans.

EmailOnDeck is another freemium option, with web, API, mobile, and extension platforms. SecureTempMail offers web, API, extension, and desktop platforms, with a $39.00 USD per year Premium plan that includes up to 30-day retention, private domains, attachment downloads, and inbox history and search. Pick it when longer retention or attachment handling matters more than Mailinator's workflow automation.

Temp-Mail.org has web, API, mobile, and extension access, with free messages stored for up to 1–2 hours and a receive-only model. Mail.tm is a free API-only service with 8 QPS per IP, no API key, no sign-up, and no paid tiers; it may suit API-only use where those limits are sufficient. MailTub and SpamEater are free alternatives.

Guerrilla Mail offers a custom-domain plan for $9.99 USD per year, using a domain the customer owns; choose it when that custom-domain arrangement is preferable to Mailinator's subscription plans. For broader comparisons, see Disposable Email Services, Email Testing Software, and Temporary Email Services.

Verdict

Choose Mailinator if your team needs private-domain message receipt, API-driven email or SMS checks, and plan limits that can scale with testing volume. Its strongest advantage is the range of automation paths around receiving messages; its main limitation is equally clear: it cannot test sending or form submission, and public inboxes are not private.

	MailCatch	Mailinator
Free plan	No	Yes
Free trial	No	Yes
Paid from	—	$79/mo
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Web	api, Web
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Inbox lifespan	hours	—
Inbox protection	none	—
Paid from	—	79 /mo
API access	—	Yes

MailCatch vs Mailinator

MailCatch

Mailinator