Proofy vs Tomba: Different Tools, Different Jobs
Proofy and Tomba get lumped together, but they're not really competitors. Proofy verifies emails you already have. Tomba finds emails you don't. Comparing Proofy vs Tomba is like comparing a spell-checker to a search engine - they solve different problems at different stages of your workflow.
30-Second Verdict
Pick Proofy if you have an email list and need to clean it before sending. It's a verification specialist with close to 99% accuracy, hundreds of strong reviews, and dirt-cheap per-email costs.
Pick Tomba if you need to discover emails from scratch. It bundles finding, verification, enrichment, and phone lookup - but quotas are tight and data freshness gets mixed reviews.
Skip both if you need finding, verification, and mobile numbers in one platform. Prospeo covers all three with 98% email accuracy and a 7-day data refresh cycle, starting free.
What Each Tool Actually Does
Proofy is a pure email verification tool. Upload a CSV, paste a list, or hit their API - Proofy runs SMTP checks, MX validation, syntax analysis, disposable email detection, and catch-all identification. The company claims close to 99% accuracy, and its review scores back that up. It also offers a JavaScript widget for real-time form validation. What it doesn't do is find emails. If you don't already have the addresses, Proofy can't help you.
Tomba is a broader suite. Its database covers 450M+ email addresses across 76 million domains, and the platform includes domain search, email finder, email verifier, phone lookup, data enrichment, technology detection, and a Chrome extension. Think of it as an upstream prospecting tool that also happens to verify what it finds. The trade-off is that none of those individual features run as deep as a dedicated tool would - jack of all trades, master of none, as the saying goes.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Proofy | Tomba | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Email Finding | ✗ | ✓ | Tomba |
| Bulk Verification | ✓ | ✓ | Proofy (deeper checks) |
| Single Verification | ✓ | ✓ | Tie |
| API Access | ✓ | ✓ | Tie |
| Chrome Extension | ✗ | ✓ | Tomba |
| Phone Finder | ✗ | ✓ | Tomba |
| Data Enrichment | ✗ | ✓ | Tomba |
| JS Widget (Forms) | ✓ | ✗ | Proofy |
| Native CRM Integrations | - | ✓ | Tomba |
Proofy goes deep on verification. Tomba goes wide on prospecting.
Proofy verifies but can't find. Tomba finds but quotas run dry. Prospeo gives you 300M+ profiles, 98% email accuracy, and 125M+ verified mobiles - all on a 7-day refresh cycle, no duct tape required.
Replace two subscriptions with one platform. 75 free emails, no contracts.
Pricing Breakdown
Proofy runs on credits that never expire. Here's the tier ladder:
| Plan | Price | Per Email |
|---|---|---|
| Trial (1,000) | $4 | $0.004 |
| 5K | $16 | $0.0024 |
| 10K | $29 | $0.0019 |
| 50K | $99 | $0.0015 |
Unknowns and duplicates aren't charged. Subscriptions get an additional 15% discount.
Tomba's pricing bundles search and verification quotas on annual billing:
| Plan | Annual Price | Monthly Equiv. | Searches + Verifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 25 / 50 |
| Basic | $441/yr | ~$37/mo | 2,500 / 2,500 |
| Growth | $801/yr | ~$67/mo | 5,000 / 5,000 |
| Pro | $1,791/yr | ~$149/mo | 20,000 / 20,000 |
| Pro Plus | $4,041/yr | ~$337/mo | 50,000 / 50,000 |
At the Basic tier, that works out to about $0.015 per search - and that search can include finding and verifying the email depending on what you're doing. Proofy's roughly $0.002/email at common pay-as-you-go volumes is verification only. Not apples-to-apples, so don't let the per-unit cost fool you into thinking Proofy is 7x cheaper for the same job.
What Users Say
Proofy's review volume dwarfs Tomba's. On G2, Proofy has 274 reviews at 4.7/5 - that's 11x Tomba's 25 G2 reviews. On Trustpilot, Proofy sits at 4.9/5 from 309 reviews, while Tomba manages 3.8/5 from 23. The consistent praise for Proofy centers on accuracy, easy CSV uploads, and value. The recurring complaints? Catch-all domain detection (an industry-wide headache) and a limited free tier that doesn't let you test much before buying.
Tomba's reviews tell a different story. Users flag outdated data and enrichment failures. One Woodpecker blog review noted Tomba couldn't find Gmail addresses even when they were publicly listed. Quotas also feel tight - a recurring G2 complaint, especially at the Basic tier where 2,500 searches and 2,500 verifications disappear fast if you're prospecting aggressively.
Here's what we've seen across dozens of email campaigns: experienced marketers stack two or three verification tools because no single provider catches everything. That's just the reality of SMTP-based verification. If your bounce rate still creeps above 3-4% after one pass, run the rejects through a second service before blaming the first.
When Neither Tool Fits
Let's be honest - most teams don't want to manage separate subscriptions for finding and verifying. If you need both plus mobile numbers without stitching tools together, Prospeo handles all three. It delivers 98% email accuracy on a 7-day data refresh cycle, where the industry average hovers around six weeks. There's a free tier with 75 emails per month, no contracts, and paid plans run roughly $0.01/email. With 300M+ professional profiles, 143M+ verified emails, and 125M+ verified mobiles, it replaces the need to pair a finder with a separate verifier.
At ~$0.01/email, Prospeo costs a fraction of managing separate finder and verifier tools. You get finding, verification, and direct dials in one workflow - with data refreshed every 7 days, not every 6 weeks.
Skip the tool stack. One platform, three jobs done.
The Verdict
Need to clean an existing list? Proofy. Cheaper per email, laser-focused on verification, backed by hundreds of strong reviews.
Need to find emails from scratch? Tomba. Broader toolset with finding, enrichment, and phone lookup - just watch the quotas and verify data freshness independently.
Need finding + verification + direct dials in one platform? That's where Prospeo fits.
The Proofy vs Tomba comparison shouldn't really exist. They serve different workflow stages. We've seen teams waste months trying to make a verifier do a finder's job, or vice versa. The real question isn't which one to pick - it's whether you need a point tool or a platform that handles both stages without the duct tape. If your average deal value sits below five figures, you almost certainly don't need to pay for both separately.
FAQ
Can Proofy find email addresses?
No. Proofy is verification-only - it cleans lists you already have. You'll need a separate finder tool upstream, then pass results through Proofy for an extra verification layer.
Does Tomba verify emails too?
Yes. Tomba includes a built-in email verifier, and its plans bundle both search and verification quotas. At the Basic tier, 2,500 searches and 2,500 verifications per month goes fast if you're running both operations on the same lists.
Is there one tool for finding, verifying, and phone numbers?
Prospeo combines all three - 98% email accuracy, 125M+ verified mobiles with a 30% pickup rate, and a free tier with 75 emails per month. No need to stitch separate tools together or manage multiple subscriptions.