Understanding Credits

Credits are the currency of TrueMail. Every email validation costs credits, and different validation types have different costs. This guide explains how credits work and how to manage them effectively.

How Credits Work

When you validate an email:

Credits are deducted from your balance
The cost depends on the validation type used
If validation fails due to a filter, no credits are charged
Credits never expire

Credit costs

Validation Type	Credits	Description
MX Validation	1 credit	Domain and mail server check
SMTP Validation	10 credits	Full mailbox verification

Where Credits Come From

Monthly subscription

Subscribers receive credits each billing cycle:

Plan	Monthly Credits
Starter ($29/mo)	10,000 credits
Premium ($99/mo)	50,000 credits

Credits are added automatically when your subscription renews.

Credit packs

Need more credits? Purchase one-time credit packs:

Pack	Credits	Price
Small	10,000	$39
Medium	30,000	$79
Large	60,000	$129
X-Large	500,000	$999
XX-Large	5,000,000	$8,999

See Credit Packs for details.

Welcome credits

New accounts receive 100 free credits to test the service. No credit card required.

Checking Your Balance

Dashboard

Your credit balance is always visible in the dashboard header.

API

Check your balance programmatically:

curl -X GET https://api.truemail.app/v1/usage \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Response:

{
  "credits": {
    "total": 8500,
    "locked": 1000
  }
}

Understanding locked credits

When you start a bulk validation:

Credits are locked (reserved) for the job
As each email is validated, locked credits become spent
This prevents overselling during long-running jobs

Available credits = total (locked credits are already set aside)

Credit Usage Examples

Single email validation

# MX validation: 1 credit
curl -X POST https://api.truemail.app/v1/verify \
  -d '{"email": "[email protected]", "validation_type": "mx"}'

# Response shows credits used
{
  "email": "[email protected]",
  "status": "good",
  "credits_used": 1
}

# SMTP validation: 10 credits
curl -X POST https://api.truemail.app/v1/verify \
  -d '{"email": "[email protected]", "validation_type": "smtp"}'

# Response
{
  "email": "[email protected]",
  "status": "good",
  "credits_used": 10
}

Bulk validation

For a list of 5,000 emails:

Validation Type	Credits Required
MX	5,000 credits
SMTP	50,000 credits

Credits are checked before the job starts. If you don’t have enough, the job won’t begin.

Filtered emails

When an email matches a filter, it’s rejected without using credits:

{
  "email": "[email protected]",
  "status": "bad",
  "reason": "blocked_by_filter",
  "credits_used": 0
}

Managing Credits Wisely

1. Choose the right validation type

MX validation (1 credit): Good for basic cleaning, large lists
SMTP validation (10 credits): Best for important campaigns

Don’t use SMTP for everything—save it for when accuracy matters most.

2. Use filters

Set up filters to block known bad addresses. Filtered emails don’t use credits.

3. Clean before validating

Remove obvious duplicates and malformed addresses before uploading. This saves credits on addresses that would fail anyway.

4. Monitor usage

Check your credit history to understand your consumption patterns:

5. Set up alerts

Keep an eye on your balance. Running out of credits mid-campaign is frustrating.

Credits Never Expire

Unlike some services, TrueMail credits never expire. Whether you get them from:

Monthly subscription
Credit pack purchases
Welcome bonus

They stay in your account until used. Take your time—no pressure to use them quickly.

Running Low?

When your credit balance is low, you have options:

Option 1: Wait for renewal

If you’re on a subscription, you’ll get fresh credits on your next billing date.

Option 2: Buy a credit pack

Purchase a one-time pack for immediate credits. View credit packs →

Option 3: Upgrade your plan

If you consistently need more credits, upgrading to a higher plan may be more cost-effective. View plans →

Insufficient Credits

If you try to validate without enough credits:

API response

{
  "error": "Insufficient account credits",
  "status": 402
}

Bulk upload

The job won’t start. You’ll see a message indicating how many credits are needed.

What to do

Check your current balance
Purchase more credits or wait for renewal
Consider using MX validation instead of SMTP to reduce costs

Credit Transactions

View your complete credit history in Settings → Credit History. You’ll see:

Credits received (subscriptions, purchases)
Credits spent (validations)
Credits locked (in-progress jobs)

This helps you understand your usage patterns and plan accordingly.

FAQ

Do credits roll over?

Yes! Unused credits carry forward indefinitely. They never expire.

What happens if I cancel my subscription?

You keep any credits in your account. You just won’t receive new monthly credits.

Can I get a refund for unused credits?

Credit purchases and subscriptions are generally non-refundable, but contact support for exceptional circumstances.

Why are SMTP credits more expensive?

SMTP validation requires real connections to mail servers, which takes more time and resources. The higher accuracy justifies the higher cost.

Subscription Plans - Monthly credit allowances
Credit Packs - One-time purchases
Validation Types - MX vs SMTP costs