DomainScan vs MXToolbox — Which DNS & Email Tool Is Right for You?

MXToolbox is the most-visited DNS and email diagnostics site on the internet — 864K monthly visitors, #1 rankings on DNS lookup, blacklist check, SPF checker, DKIM lookup, DMARC lookup, and email header analyzer. It earned that position by building comprehensive tools before anyone else and keeping them free. If you’ve done any email deliverability debugging in the last decade, you’ve almost certainly used it.

So why look for an alternative?

Because MXToolbox was designed for a different era. No AI remediation, no MCP endpoint for automating checks, no white-label reports for client-facing work, and monitoring pricing that starts where most small agencies’ entire tool budget ends. DomainScan was built to address exactly these gaps.

What Each Tool Does

MXToolbox

MXToolbox is a diagnostics platform with 35+ tools across DNS, email, and network infrastructure:

• DNS lookup — A, MX, TXT, SOA, CNAME, NS, PTR lookups (#1 for “dns lookup”)
• Blacklist check — checks against 100+ DNSBLs (their strongest tool: 6,001 referring domains)
• Email auth — SPF, DKIM, DMARC validators, email header analyzer, DMARC record generator
• Network — reverse IP, subnet calculator, open port check, ping, traceroute
• Email deliverability — paid email health scoring, deliverability test, SMTP diagnostics
• Monitoring — uptime, DNS change, blacklist alerts (paid, starts ~$149/mo)

DomainScan

DomainScan is a domain intelligence platform combining 50+ diagnostic tools with AI analysis and a monitoring layer:

• Full DNS suite — DNS lookup, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, blacklist, reverse IP, SSL
• Prism AI — reads your domain’s results and writes plain-English diagnosis + exact fix instructions
• MCP endpoint — your AI agent (Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT) can call DomainScan tools directly
• Domain monitoring — blacklist alerts, DNS change detection, SSL expiry, email auth drift
• White-label reports — client-branded PDF/HTML reports for agency workflows
• API — included in paid plans

Feature Comparison

Pricing Comparison

MXToolbox Pricing

MXToolbox’s free tools require no login. Paid plans unlock monitoring:

Monitoring includes uptime + blacklist alerts. DNS change monitoring and email authentication drift require Professional+.

DomainScan Pricing

DomainScan Pro at $9/mo includes all monitors (blacklist, DNS, SSL, email auth), email + Slack + webhook alerts, API access, and MCP endpoint. The Agency tier adds white-label PDF reports and client workspaces.

Where MXToolbox Wins

Blacklist depth. MXToolbox checks 100+ DNSBLs vs DomainScan’s 50+. If blacklist monitoring is your primary use case and maximum list coverage is critical, MXToolbox has the edge.

Email diagnostics maturity. MXToolbox’s email health score, SMTP diagnostics, and deliverability test are battle-tested tools with years of refinement. The email deliverability product is their flagship paid feature.

Brand recognition. When sharing a check result with a client or a sysadmin, MXToolbox links are universally recognized. No explanation needed.

DNS tool breadth. MXToolbox has niche tools DomainScan doesn’t yet have — TLS renegotiation tests, extended SMTP server tests, connection timeout diagnostics.

Where DomainScan Wins

AI remediation. When your SPF fails or your DMARC is misconfigured, MXToolbox tells you what’s wrong. DomainScan’s Prism AI tells you exactly what to do — the precise DNS record value to add, which setting in which provider to change. For domain owners and agencies managing authentication for clients, this difference is significant.

MCP integration. No other DNS or email tool has an MCP endpoint. If you use Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible AI assistant, you can run DomainScan tool checks directly from your AI chat — “check blacklist status for client.com and draft a removal request.” No equivalent exists at MXToolbox.

White-label reporting. Agencies charge clients for domain health deliverables. MXToolbox generates reports only for your own account. DomainScan’s Agency tier produces client-branded PDF/HTML reports under your name — your logo, their domain, your deliverable.

Monitoring affordability. MXToolbox Basic monitoring starts at $149/mo for 5 monitors. DomainScan Pro covers 10 domains with full monitoring (blacklist, DNS changes, SSL expiry, email auth drift) for $9/mo. For agencies monitoring many client domains, this difference compounds significantly.

Monitoring bundle. MXToolbox sells monitoring as add-ons requiring higher tiers. DomainScan includes blacklist monitoring, DNS change detection, SSL expiry alerts, and email auth drift monitoring in the base paid plan.

The Decision

Use MXToolbox if:

• You primarily need email deliverability diagnostics and SMTP testing
• You need maximum blacklist coverage (100+ lists)
• You want a brand everyone on your team already knows
• You have budget for $149+/mo monitoring plans

Use DomainScan if:

• You want AI-powered explanations and fix instructions alongside raw results
• You use AI coding assistants or automation workflows (MCP)
• You need white-label client domain health reports
• You manage multiple client domains and want monitoring bundled in your plan
• You want a modern tool built with today’s agency workflow in mind

Both tools are free for basic lookups. Run the same domain through both and compare the experience — the difference between Prism’s AI output and raw DNS data will be clear immediately.