TL;DR
- Instantly charges 0.25 credit per lead verified. That works out to about $0.0078 on Growth and about $0.0049 from the $97 plan up, per its published credit plans.
- Monthly plan credits expire 2 months after purchase. Mail Exchange credits never expire.
- Mail Exchange is cheaper than Instantly's Growth-plan verification and equal to it at the $97 tier; it also refunds unknowns.
- Instantly's own bounce brake pauses a campaign above 5% after 200 emails. Verifying first keeps you from ever hitting it.
What Instantly's verification does
Verification in Instantly isn't automatic: you tick Verify leads when you upload, or run it from a campaign or the Leads tab. Results come back as Verified, Invalid or Risky, and Invalid and Risky leads are not contacted by default (you can change that under Settings, Advanced, Sending rules). Catch-all checking is included at the same price. Instantly doesn't name its verification provider and publishes no accuracy figure; its own benchmark post says it chains several providers and tries more sources when one returns unknown.
Cost per verified lead
| Instantly Growth | Instantly $97 plan | Mail Exchange (5K pack) | Mail Exchange (100K pack) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost per lead | about $0.0078 | about $0.0049 | $0.0058 | $0.0030 |
| Credits expire | 2 months (monthly plans) | 2 months (monthly plans) | Never | Never |
| Unknown results | Not refunded (per reviewers) | Not refunded (per reviewers) | Refunded | Refunded |
Instantly figures: 0.25 credit per verification and plan credit allowances from Instantly's help center, checked 2026-10-17. Mail Exchange: $29 for 5,000 and $299 for 100,000. Reviewer reports of no refunds are anecdotal; check Instantly's current terms.
Why a separate verifier can win
- Price at your volume. Instantly's per-lead cost falls as you move up plans. If you buy credits mainly to verify, a 100,000-address pack at $299 is hard to beat.
- Credits you keep. Verification credits you don't use inside the 2-month window are gone. Pay-as-you-go credits that never expire suit lumpy, campaign-by-campaign work.
- One clean list, any sender. Clean once, then use the list in Instantly, Smartlead or anything else, and re-verify later without being tied to one platform's credits.
- A second opinion. A different verifier can catch addresses the first let through. See what the states mean.
How to use both
- Export or collect your leads as CSV and verify them with Mail Exchange first.
- Remove undeliverable and (for cold email) risky addresses; keep a separate file of catch-alls to decide on later. See catch-alls in cold email.
- Upload the clean file to Instantly. You can still tick Verify leads for a second pass if you want it.
- Watch bounces: Instantly pauses a campaign above 5% after 200 emails, so a clean list means the brake never triggers. See why campaigns pause.
When Instantly's verifier is enough
If you only verify a few hundred leads a month and already have spare credits, doing it inside Instantly is convenient and costs nothing extra to set up. The case for a separate verifier grows with list size, with how often you re-verify, and with how much you value credits that don't expire.
FAQ
How much does Instantly charge to verify an email?
0.25 credit per lead. On the Growth plan that is about $0.0078, and about $0.0049 on the $97 plan, based on Instantly's published credit allowances (checked 2026-10-17).
Does Instantly verify catch-all emails?
Yes, catch-all verification is included at the same price. Instantly claims it recovers extra contacts but publishes no method, so test it on your own list.
Can I use Mail Exchange with Instantly?
Yes, as a CSV workflow: verify your list here, then upload the clean file. There is no native Instantly connector yet.
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