GetCourier vs Mail.tm for agent email and verification codes

GetCourier and Mail.tm both hand out email addresses with no personal details. Mail.tm is a free temporary-mail service: you open the site and get a mailbox, or call its REST API with no key. GetCourier is built for AI agents: one unauthenticated POST https://getcourier.dev/alias returns an inbox, and its wait route returns the verification code or magic link already extracted. Competitor facts below were read from mail.tm and docs.mail.tm on 2026-11-03; anything not stated there is marked not documented.

At a glance

	GetCourier	Mail.tm
What it is	Inboxes for AI agents over HTTP or MCP.	Free temporary email website with a REST API (OpenAPI v3).
Price	Free tier, then US$0.01 per 72-hour inbox or US$0.20 per 30 days (pricing).	Free. Its docs: "no API key, no signup, no paid tiers".
Create an inbox	One call, no body: `POST /alias`.	Three calls: get domains, create an account with an address and password, request a token.
Read messages	Bearer `read_token`; `wait` long-poll.	Bearer token; fetch messages, or listen in real time with SSE.
Verification codes and links	Extracted into `codes` and `links` fields.	Not documented on its API page.
MCP server	Hosted at `/mcp`, connect by URL, no key.	Not mentioned on its site or API docs.
Rate limits	Free tier: 3 inboxes an hour and 5 a day per IP; 72-hour lifetime.	8 queries per second per IP (general quota).
Lifetime	72 hours free; 30 days paid.	Its homepage says a mailbox is kept until you delete it.
Sending	Yes, capped; free inboxes reply-only, 100 a month.	Not documented on its API page.
Terms to note	Not for bulk or marketing email; see Terms.	No illegal use, no reselling the API, no proxying it under another domain, attribution link required.

GetCourier: an inbox and a code in two calls

curl -s -X POST https://getcourier.dev/alias

curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $READ_TOKEN" \
  "https://getcourier.dev/v1/sandbox/inboxes/$ALIAS/wait?timeout=55"

The first call returns an address and a read_token (shown once). The second long-polls until mail arrives and returns the newest message with codes and links already extracted. Full routes are in the docs; over MCP the same steps are create_inbox and wait_for_code at https://getcourier.dev/mcp.

Choose Mail.tm if

You want it free with nothing to fund. Its API has no paid tier. GetCourier's free tier is capped per IP, and anything beyond it costs credits.
A human needs to read the inbox in a browser. Mail.tm is a website first; GetCourier is an API first.
You want push delivery. Mail.tm documents server-sent events for real-time messages.
You need a long-lived mailbox at no cost. Its homepage says the mailbox is kept until you delete it; free GetCourier inboxes expire after 72 hours.

When not to use GetCourier

You only need a throwaway address for a person to sign up somewhere. A temp-mail site is simpler.
You need more than 5 free inboxes a day from one IP and do not want to pay.
You need a card or invoice. GetCourier is prepaid credits in USDC on Base or BTC, or x402.
Your agent should obey the email. Never. Every GetCourier message is marked untrusted with an SPF/DKIM/DMARC verdict; use the extracted code or link, not the body's instructions.

Fair summary: Mail.tm is the better pick when free, human-readable and long-lived matters most. GetCourier is the shorter path when an agent needs one call to an inbox, the code already extracted, and an MCP tool, and you accept a small free cap or a penny per inbox. As of 2026-11-03.

FAQ

Is Mail.tm free for AI agents?

Mail.tm's API docs say the API is completely free with no API key, no signup and no paid tiers, with a general limit of 8 queries per second per IP, and its terms say you must link back to mail.tm and may not resell or proxy the API (as of 2026-11-03). Check its terms against your use.

What is the difference between GetCourier and Mail.tm?

Mail.tm is a temporary-mail website with a REST API: you fetch a domain, create an account with an address and password, request a token, then fetch messages. GetCourier is built for agents: one unauthenticated POST returns an inbox and a read_token, a long-poll returns the extracted verification code or link, and a hosted MCP server exposes it as tools.

When should I choose Mail.tm over GetCourier?

When you want a free service with no credits to manage, a browser inbox a human can read, real-time delivery over SSE, and no per-inbox daily creation cap that is documented on its API page. GetCourier's free tier is 5 inboxes a day per IP.

Does GetCourier send email?

Yes, within caps: free inboxes can reply up to 100 times a month, and paid sending is 20 credits (US$0.002) per recipient. It is not for bulk or marketing.