---
title: "Switch from NeverBounce to LookValid: what moves"
url: "https://lookvalid.com/switch-from/neverbounce.md"
canonical_url: "https://lookvalid.com/switch-from/neverbounce"
last_updated: "2026-10-26"
type: "how-to"
summary: "What moves from NeverBounce to LookValid, what stays, and what changes in plans and prices."
related: ["https://lookvalid.com/pricing.md", "https://lookvalid.com/docs/quickstart.md", "https://lookvalid.com/docs/credits-and-billing.md", "https://lookvalid.com/docs/errors.md", "https://lookvalid.com/docs/mcp.md", "https://lookvalid.com/integrations.md"]
---

# Switch from NeverBounce to LookValid: what moves

> **For AI agents:** the complete index of LookValid pages is [llms.txt](https://lookvalid.com/llms.txt). Every page is also served as markdown at its URL plus .md.

What moves from NeverBounce to LookValid, what stays, and what changes in plans and prices.

NeverBounce verifies email addresses one at a time or in lists and returns a result code for each. If you call its API today, moving the lookups LookValid covers takes 11 steps: 5 in the LookValid dashboard and 6 in your own code. The lookup listed below has a LookValid counterpart. It answers a narrower question than NeverBounce's, as the overlap table explains. This page shows which is which, what you edit, and how plans and prices compare.

## What moves over

| Item | On NeverBounce | On LookValid and what you do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| API key and request format | A check is a GET to https://api.neverbounce.com/v4.2/single/check with the key in a key query parameter and the address in an email parameter. ([source](https://developers.neverbounce.com/reference/single-check)) | Send the key in an Authorization header as a Bearer token; X-API-Key also works for a client that cannot set that header. A LookValid key is created on the Keys tab, and keys do not transfer between providers. |
| Address and response | Each answer carries a result code of valid, invalid, disposable, catchall or unknown, and an optional timeout parameter caps how long a check may run. ([source](https://developers.neverbounce.com/reference/single-check)) | Each lookup is a POST with a JSON body to https://YOUR_API_HOST/v1/<product>. The product names and parameters differ, so each call is remapped using the overlap table. |
| What a lookup costs | Pay as you go costs $8 per 1,000 credits, and the Growth plan is $49 a month for up to 10,000 emails. ([source](https://www.neverbounce.com/pricing)) | Email Domain Check: 1 credit per address checked. Every lookup draws credits from one plan balance. |
| Balances and history | Pay-as-you-go credits expire 12 months after purchase. ([source](https://www.neverbounce.com/pricing)) | Unused monthly credits stay spendable for 3 months. LookValid has no import for another provider's balance or history, so use or download what you need before you end the old plan. |

### Lookups that overlap

| Lookup | On NeverBounce | On LookValid |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Email address check | GET /v4.2/single/check, answering with a result code such as valid or invalid. ([source](https://developers.neverbounce.com/reference/single-check)) | [Email Domain Check](https://lookvalid.com/products/email-domain-check.md): POST /v1/email-domain-check, 1 credit per address checked, charged only when the lookup finds something. LookValid reads the domain behind an address: mail servers, DNS setup, and disposable, free-provider and role flags. It does not contact the mail server, so it cannot tell you whether one mailbox exists. Keep NeverBounce for mailbox-level checks. |

## How much work it is

11 steps: 5 in the LookValid dashboard and 6 in your own code.

1. **Start a LookValid plan** (dashboard). Starter, Growth and Professional each start with a 7-day trial for $1 that allows 100 credits. The trial runs next to your current provider, so nothing has to stop first.
2. **Create an API key** (dashboard). Open the Keys tab and create one key per application or environment. A key is shown once, so store it before you close the dialog.
3. **Run one lookup by hand** (dashboard). Use the quick lookup on the dashboard overview with a value you already know the answer to, so you see the real response before you write any code.
4. **Point your client at the new address and key** (your code). Requests go to https://YOUR_API_HOST/v1/<product> with the key in an Authorization header as a Bearer token. NeverBounce sends the key as a key query parameter, so the key moves out of the URL and into the header. Read the key from LOOKVALID_API_KEY.
5. **Map each endpoint you call** (your code). Use the overlap table above to swap each path. Anything that has no LookValid counterpart stays with its current provider.
6. **Update how you read a response** (your code). Branch on found instead of success, read the result from data, and read the cost from credits_charged and credits_remaining.
7. **Update how you handle errors** (your code). Error codes are lower case and each carries a retryable flag. Branch on the code and retry only the retryable ones; the errors reference lists every code.
8. **Keep your retry logic** (your code). A 429 carries Retry-After and the X-RateLimit headers on LookValid too, so a back-off that reads Retry-After carries over. The limit is 200 requests per 10 seconds on each key.
9. **Move list jobs to the Jobs tab** (dashboard). If you run lists, upload a CSV, pick the column and the product, and download the results when the job finishes. A file holds up to 10,000 rows.
10. **Reconnect AI clients and automations** (your code). If you use them, point each MCP client at https://YOUR_API_HOST/v1/mcp and send the same style of Bearer key. Rebuild each Zapier, Make or n8n workflow as a request step that calls LookValid with a Bearer key; the integrations pages have a recipe for each tool.
11. **Compare balances, then end the old plan** (dashboard). Check the first runs against the credits LookValid reports for them. When you are satisfied, stop sending those lookups to NeverBounce and end its plan.

## What changes

### Plans and prices

| Plan | NeverBounce | LookValid |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pay as you go | $8 per 1,000 credits, which is $0.008 a credit. ([source](https://www.neverbounce.com/pricing)) | Email Domain Check: 1 credit per address checked, $2.00 to $4.95 per 1,000 lookups across the plans |
| Growth | $49 a month for up to 10,000 emails, with savings at larger volumes. ([source](https://www.neverbounce.com/pricing)) | Starter: $99 a month for 20,000 credits, $0.0050 per credit |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing, typically for 250,000 or more emails a month. ([source](https://www.neverbounce.com/pricing)) | Enterprise on LookValid is set up on a call. |

### Differences

| Topic | NeverBounce | LookValid |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free option | A free list analysis and free test credits come with a new account. ([source](https://www.neverbounce.com/pricing)) | LookValid sells paid plans only (Starter, Growth, Professional online, Enterprise on a call). The free tools on the website run a set of the same lookups with no account. |
| Credit expiry | Pay-as-you-go credits expire 12 months after they are bought. ([source](https://www.neverbounce.com/pricing)) | Unused monthly credits on a LookValid plan stay spendable for 3 months after they arrive. |
| Enterprise | Enterprise pricing is custom and aimed at 250,000 or more emails a month. ([source](https://www.neverbounce.com/pricing)) | Enterprise starts at $1,999 a month for 1,000,000 credits and is set up on a call; larger volumes are quoted there. |

## Questions

### Do I have to change code to move from NeverBounce?

Yes. The address, the key, the paths, the response fields and the error codes differ, so the calls you make and the code that reads their answers are edited. 6 of the 11 steps are code or configuration changes, and 5 happen in the dashboard.

### Can I run LookValid next to NeverBounce while I test?

Yes. A LookValid trial starts without ending anything else, so you can send the same inputs to both and compare the first runs before you change your NeverBounce plan.

### Which of my NeverBounce lookups can I move?

The lookup listed below has a LookValid counterpart. It answers a narrower question than NeverBounce's, as the overlap table explains.

### Can LookValid replace NeverBounce for list cleaning?

No. NeverBounce tests individual mailboxes. LookValid checks the domain behind an address and never contacts the mail server, so it cannot confirm that one mailbox exists. Move the lookups it does cover, such as IP, phone and domain checks, and keep NeverBounce for list cleaning.

### Do I get a LookValid balance to match what is left on my old plan?

No. LookValid credits come from a LookValid plan, and the trial allows 100 credits. Plan credits stay spendable for 3 months after they arrive.

## Sources

- [NeverBounce pricing page](https://www.neverbounce.com/pricing), read 2026-10-26
- [NeverBounce single check API reference](https://developers.neverbounce.com/reference/single-check), read 2026-10-26

Spot something wrong or out of date? Write to hello@meralume.com and we will review it.

## Related

- [Plans, trial and credit pricing](https://lookvalid.com/pricing.md)
- [Quickstart](https://lookvalid.com/docs/quickstart.md)
- [Credits and billing](https://lookvalid.com/docs/credits-and-billing.md)
- [Errors](https://lookvalid.com/docs/errors.md)
- [MCP server](https://lookvalid.com/docs/mcp.md)
- [Tool integrations for phone, email and IP checks](https://lookvalid.com/integrations.md)