Temp-mail.org alternatives with an API, for developers and AI agents
Need temp mail with an API, or an inbox an AI agent can use? How temp-mail.org and seven alternatives compare on privacy, retention, API access, and price.
On this page
Temp-mail.org is one of the best-known disposable email sites, and it’s built for one thing: a person opening a browser tab to grab a throwaway address. Developers and AI agents need something else. They need the mail through an API, an inbox nobody else can read, and an address that still works next week.
Here’s how temp-mail.org compares with seven alternatives on exactly those points, and why Agent Temp Mail is the one built for automation.
At a glance
| Service | Private inbox | API | How long it lasts | Extracts codes | MCP server |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agent Temp Mail | Yes | Free | Address: forever | Yes | Official |
| temp-mail.org | No (free tier) | Paid, via RapidAPI | Mail: 1–2 hours | No | No |
| Mail.tm | Yes | Free | Address: until deleted | No | Community |
| tempmail.lol | Yes | Free for non-commercial use | Inbox: 1 hour (free) | No | No |
| Guerrilla Mail | No | Free | Mail: 1 hour | No | Community |
| Mailinator | Public by default | Account needed | Mail: a few hours | Links only | Official |
| Maildrop | No | Free | Up to 10 messages | No | No |
| YOPmail | No | None | Mail: 8 days | No | No |
Filled dot: yes. Half dot: partly. Empty dot: no. From each service’s own pages, checked 10 October 2026.
Where temp-mail.org falls short for automation
Temp-mail.org does offer an API, sold through RapidAPI: a free plan with 100 requests a day, then $19 to $99 a month. But the service underneath was designed for browsers, and it shows:
- Free inboxes aren’t private. Its terms of service say received mail is viewable by any user of the system and ask users not to receive anything private or confidential. That rules it out for sign-in codes.
- No per-inbox secret. The API identifies a mailbox by an MD5 hash of its address; the documentation describes no inbox password or token.
- Mail disappears fast. Incoming mail is deleted within one to two hours.
- Some senders are blocked. Government services and major financial institutions can’t deliver to its addresses.
- Nothing for agents. No code extraction, no MCP server, and an agent would need a RapidAPI key in its environment.
- Mixed signals on automation. Its terms say to access data only through the website, without mentioning the API it sells.
Agent Temp Mail: temp mail rebuilt for agents and scripts
Agent Temp Mail keeps what people like about temp mail—no signup, an address in seconds—and rebuilds the rest for software:
- No signup, no API key. An address is derived from a key your code or agent generates, so it exists the moment you need it.
- Private by construction. Every read is signed with the inbox’s private key. Knowing the address isn’t enough to read it.
- Addresses never expire. Come back next week for a password reset; the address still works. Messages clear after 24 hours by default, configurable up to seven days.
- Codes extracted for you. Likely one-time codes and verification links arrive pre-extracted, with their context.
- Built for agents. An official MCP server for Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor, a Node.js SDK and CLI, and a read link ChatGPT can open with nothing installed.
- Free API. No paid tiers, no per-request billing.
Want to see it? Open an inbox in your browser, or read how a key-derived address never expires.
The other alternatives
Mail.tm
Private, password-protected inboxes and a free keyless API at up to eight requests a second, with messages kept seven days. There’s no code extraction or official MCP server, and its terms require attribution and forbid wrapping the API in a paid product.
tempmail.lol
Private, token-protected inboxes and a handy /wait endpoint. Free inboxes last an hour, reading mail deletes it, and commercial use requires a paid plan.
Guerrilla Mail
A long-running service with a keyless API from 2011. Its own documentation says anyone who knows an inbox ID can read it, mail is kept an hour, and rate limits exist but aren’t published.
Mailinator
A QA staple. Its public inboxes are open to anyone and clear within hours; private domains and API access require an account. Mailinator, MailSlurp, and Mailosaur for agents.
Maildrop, YOPmail, 10MinuteMail, and 1secmail
Maildrop and YOPmail are public by design; Maildrop keeps ten messages per inbox and strips attachments, and YOPmail has no official API and shows a CAPTCHA under heavy use. 10MinuteMail is private but browser-only and lasts ten minutes. 1secmail, once a popular free API, appears to be offline.
Why a public inbox is the wrong place for codes
On a public inbox, a verification code or magic link is readable by anyone who knows or guesses the address, and sign-in codes are exactly what someone hijacking an account wants. The same goes for everything the account receives later: password resets, “new sign-in” alerts, receipts. For a one-off download that may not matter. For anything an agent or a test suite will rely on, the inbox has to be private.
Which should you use?
- AI agents and automation: Agent Temp Mail. Private, free, no signup, codes extracted, MCP and ChatGPT ready.
- End-to-end tests: Agent Temp Mail, with a fresh address per test. Here’s the Playwright setup.
- A person skipping a newsletter signup: any temp-mail site will do, including temp-mail.org—or Agent Temp Mail in your browser.
Sources
- temp-mail.org: API page, FAQ, terms of service; RapidAPI pricing
- Mail.tm: API documentation, FAQ
- tempmail.lol: API, pricing, terms
- Guerrilla Mail: about, API document
- Mailinator: pricing, public mailboxes
- Maildrop: how it works; YOPmail: home; 10MinuteMail: FAQ
- Checked 10 October 2026. temp-mail.org is operated by Privatix LTD; product names are trademarks of their owners, used for identification only, and Agent Temp Mail isn’t affiliated with them.