Mail.cx vs Maildrop

Mail.cx provides short-lived inboxes for developers, QA teams, and product teams checking account verification, transactional messages, notification pipelines, or application integrations. It only receives email; it does not send it. A web inbox can be opened without signup by choosing a username or generating one, and server-sent events can push arriving mail to the browser. Its REST API supports long-polling, retrieval of parsed or raw email, attachment downloads, and event delivery. API use is limited to 10 requests per second per token; long-polling allows one concurrent wait per token and 10 per address. Free messages are automatically deleted after one hour, while Pro messages are retained for 72 hours. The Free plan is free, and Pro is $9.90 a year. A separate pricing note lists paid plans from $4/mo. Mail.cx says connections use TLS and that passwords and API tokens are stored as hashes. Its terms caution that message retention and recovery are not guaranteed, and advise against relying on the service for critical, sensitive, or business-essential communications.

Maildrop provides temporary disposable email inboxes for receiving messages without sharing a real address. It requires no signup or password and supports custom addresses, making it suitable for one-off purchases and website registrations. Developers can use a GraphQL API to retrieve mailbox listings and messages, delete messages, and automate email testing. Incoming mail passes through Heluna antispam filters, which Maildrop says reduce spam by more than 90%. Every inbox is public, so other users can read its messages, and Maildrop cannot send email. Plain-text and HTML messages under 500k are accepted; attachments are removed. An inbox holds at most 10 messages, and inactive inboxes may be cleared after 24 hours or sooner. Mail servers not previously seen may be greylisted, delaying delivery by at least 15 minutes and sometimes up to an hour. Maildrop says it logs email and web connections and does not promise complete anonymity. The service is free and available through its web interface and API.