Temporary Email Services Compared: 20 Options by Type

The best temporary email service depends on the job. For a one-off code, any private random inbox will do. For something you might need to check again, you want an inbox with a password, and for an account you want to keep, an alias that forwards to your real inbox. Below are 20 services grouped by how they work, with what each is for and where it falls short.

How this list works

This site, Temp Mail AI, is one of the 20, so there are no scores, stars or rankings here. Scoring our own tool against everyone else's wouldn't be fair. Each entry is based on what the service says it does and how that type of inbox works in general. There are no sponsors and no affiliate links.

Checked October 2026 against each service's own site. Features, limits and prices change often, so check their site before you rely on a detail that matters to you.

One thing is worth understanding before you pick: private or public. A private inbox is tied to your browser session or a password, so only you see the mail. A public inbox is just a name, and anyone who types the same name reads the same mail. Never use a public inbox for a login code or a link that signs you in. If you're new to all this, start with what temp mail is and how it works.

The 20 at a glance

Private random inboxes

You open the page, get a random address, and the mail shows only in your browser. Good for one-off codes and confirmation links. Weak for anything you'll need again, because once the session ends, so does the inbox. All of them use shared domains that plenty of sites refuse.

Temp-Mail.org

One of the best-known names. A random address is ready as soon as the page loads, and it stays until you delete it and get another. It has phone apps and a paid Premium tier with extras such as more addresses at once and custom domains. A solid default for a quick signup.

10MinuteMail

The address expires after ten minutes unless you extend it. That short window is the whole idea: grab a code or click a link, then it's gone. Fine for a download page, wrong for any sender that takes its time.

EmailOnDeck

A plain, no-frills temporary inbox. Get an address, wait for the email, move on. Its own FAQ says a free address usually lasts most of the day, and there's a paid Pro tier with extras such as sending. Keep the free one to signups you'll never return to.

Dropmail.me

Another minimal random inbox with a light page. You can choose how long the address lasts: 10 minutes, 2 hours or with no limit, as long as you keep the page open. Same use case: a code or link you need once, with nothing to set up.

Internxt Temporary Email

A free random inbox from Internxt, a company better known for its cloud storage. The address expires after 3 hours with no activity. It does the same job as the others in this group.

Temp Mail AI (this site)

This is ours, so read it with that in mind. A random address is created when you open the page. It comes from mail.tm, and you can't choose the name or domain yet. It's receive only, and attachments can't be opened here. Verification codes are pulled out and shown in the inbox row so you can copy them with one tap, links show their real destination, and remote images are off by default so tracking pixels don't fire. There's an optional AI spam check and an inbox assistant, both of which only run when you use them. This browser reopens the same inbox for up to 7 days after your last visit, and a recovery key lets you open it elsewhere. mail.tm keeps messages for 7 days.

Public and pick-a-name inboxes

Type a name, read that inbox. No password, no setup. Handy for testing and for mail you don't care about. The catch is that anyone who types the same name sees the same mail, so never use these for login codes, password resets or anything personal.

Mailinator

Free inboxes are public and mail is deleted after a few hours. It's aimed at developers and testers. The public tier has no API, but a free Verified Pro plan for individuals adds a private domain and an API with tight limits, and paid plans go further. If you're testing your own app, see temp mail for developers and QA.

YOPmail

Public any-name inboxes where mail is kept for 8 days, so you can come back to a newsletter or a confirmation later. It's so well known that many sites refuse its main domain, which is why it also offers other domains.

Maildrop

Public inboxes by name with a simple page. An inbox holds up to 10 messages, is cleared after 24 hours with no new mail, and attachments are removed. Good for the newsletter you want to read once and never hear from again.

Guerrilla Mail

Running since 2006. It gives you a random address but lets you set the inbox name, and unusually it can send mail as well as receive it. Mail is held for one hour, then deleted. Treat any name you pick as a name someone else could pick too.

TempMail.plus

Lets you choose the name, pick from several domains, and set how long the mailbox lasts, from 10 minutes to 7 days. As with any service where you choose the name, someone else could choose it too, so use its option to lock the inbox with a PIN.

Inboxes that let you log back in

mail.tm

It gives you an address and a password, so you can log back in later, even from another device. The password can't be reset, so save it, and messages are kept for 7 days. That makes it a better fit than a random inbox for something you might check next week. It also has a documented public API, which is why other tools, this site included, build on it. It's still a free temp service, so its domains get refused on some sites, and it's not where an account you care about should live.

Alias and masking services

An alias isn't a temp inbox. It's an address that forwards to your real inbox. You keep it, and you can switch it off when the spam starts. This is the right tool for any account you want to keep. The full difference is in email alias vs temp mail.

Burner Mail

Creates a separate forwarding address for each site you sign up to, from its web app or browser extension. Since June 2026 new users need a paid plan; people already on the free plan keep it.

Firefox Relay

From Mozilla. The free tier gives you 5 masks that forward to your real address, and the paid tier makes them unlimited. It fits most neatly into Firefox, but you can create and manage masks on its website from any browser.

DuckDuckGo Email Protection

Free @duck.com addresses that forward to your inbox and strip many email trackers on the way through. You can make a new private address for each site. You sign up through a DuckDuckGo browser or extension, and after that the mail goes to whatever inbox you already use. A simple free choice.

Apple Hide My Email

Built into Sign in with Apple, where anyone can use it, and with an iCloud+ subscription you can make addresses whenever you like. Each one is a random address that forwards to your real inbox, and you can turn each one off. The easiest option if you already live in Apple's apps.

SimpleLogin

Open source and owned by Proton. Aliases forward to your inbox and you can reply from them, so the other side never sees your real address. The free plan has 10 aliases, and paid plans let you use your own domain.

addy.io

Open source, formerly AnonAddy. A similar idea to SimpleLogin, with many ways to format your aliases. Replying from an alias needs a paid plan. Good if you like to fine-tune things.

Proton Pass aliases

Built into Proton Pass, Proton's password manager. You can create an alias at the moment you save a login, so the address and password for each site sit together. The free plan has 10 aliases.

Built-in tricks

Gmail plus addressing

Add a plus and a tag to your address, like yourname+shop@gmail.com, and it still lands in your normal inbox. Outlook.com doesn't officially support this for personal accounts, though it often works; an Outlook alias is the safer choice there. Free, nothing to set up, and great for filters or spotting who sold your address. It is not private: your real address is right there, and anyone can delete the tag. Some forms also reject the plus sign.

What about "AI temp mail"?

A few services, this one included, add AI features. They can help once mail arrives: a second opinion on whether something is spam, a summary of what came in. They can't stop a site refusing the domain, and they don't make an inbox last longer. Treat AI as a small extra, not a reason to pick a service. There's more on that in what AI adds to a temp inbox.

How to choose

• A code or download you'll never need again: any private random inbox. Get one here or use any service from that group.
• Something you might check next week: mail.tm with a password.
• Testing your own signup emails: a Mailinator private domain or a proper test tool, not a public inbox.
• An account you want to keep: an alias. Pick whichever fits the apps you already use.
• Sending or replying, not just receiving: Guerrilla Mail can send from a throwaway address. For an alias, SimpleLogin lets you reply on its free plan; addy.io needs a paid plan for that.
• Just sorting your own inbox: plus addressing.
• Never: a public inbox for anything with a login code, a reset link or personal details.

If a site refuses whichever temp address you try, that's normal and it's deliberate. Here's why temp mail gets blocked and what to use instead. For Instagram, Discord and the rest, see temp mail for social media signups.