Comparison prepared by the VerificarEmails team. Because it includes our own service, we explain how we compared and link each data point to its source so you can check it. We tested VerificarEmails with our own numbers. We opened accounts with the others: HLRLookup.com starts with 0 credits, Numverify only allows lookups via API and Twilio Lookup is a developer API, so what we say about their results comes from their documentation. Reviewed on 11 November 2026.
Short answer
If you are looking for the best APIs to verify phone numbers from Spain or Latin America, we recommend VerificarEmails. With a single account you can run an MNP lookup, which tells you which operator a number belongs to today after porting, and an HLR lookup, which tells you whether the line is active.
- Coverage on Spanish networks: according to its price list, the VerificarEmails HLR returns line status on 24 of the 32 Spanish networks, including Movistar, Vodafone and Orange. In our test, a Movistar mobile came back “connected”. HLRLookup.com documents that on those three networks it only returns the operator, without the status, and still charges for the lookup.
- MNP + HLR with file uploads: look up numbers one by one or upload a CSV, XLS, XLSX or TXT file from the dashboard or via API. Every response includes the number normalized to E.164.
- Euros, no subscription: packs valid for one year, renewed when you top up the same service.
- Data in the EU: a Spanish company based in Barcelona, with data processed in the EU.
- Remote MCP: connect your AI assistant with OAuth, with nothing to install; it also uploads files and downloads results.
- One account for everything: it also verifies emails, names and postal addresses, and offers pop-ups with email verification for your forms.
In Mexico, Colombia and Peru, VerificarEmails offers MNP lookups to find the current operator, from the same dashboard. HLRLookup.com’s coverage comes from its coverage checker: we have not yet verified it with our own test.
Comparison table: HLRLookup.com, Twilio Lookup, Numverify and VerificarEmails
| HLRLookup.com | Twilio Lookup | Numverify | VerificarEmails | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Company | 3G Telecommunications group, now Acudo (UK) | Twilio Inc. (US) | apilayer, part of the Idera group (Austria) | Spanish company (Barcelona) |
| Support | Monday to Friday, UK business hours | Chat and phone only on paid plans | No support on the free plan | By phone, chat and email |
| Format / numbering plan | Free, with an account | Free | Yes: it is all it does | Yes, paid (syntactic) |
| MNP (current operator) | Yes, ½ credit per lookup | Not documented (except in Canada) | No | Yes |
| HLR (line status) | Yes | Line Status, in public beta | No | Yes |
| Line status in Spain | Movistar, Vodafone and Orange only return the network | No published coverage | Not applicable | 24 of 32 networks, according to its price list |
| Charges for indeterminate results? | Yes, except “no coverage” and non-mobile numbers | Not documented | Yes: every request counts | Yes, including rejected and no-coverage lookups |
| 100,000 HLR lookups | £370 ≈ €442.88 | $700 ≈ €624.22 | Not applicable | €860 |
| File uploads | Portal and batch API | Not self-service (private beta) | No: one number per request | Dashboard and API (CSV, XLS, XLSX, TXT) |
| Payment model | Credits in pounds; expire after 18 months | Pay as you go in dollars | Monthly subscription in dollars | Packs in euros; valid for 1 year |
| Official MCP | Remote, with key (4 tools) | Only searches its documentation | None | Remote, with OAuth (14 tools) |
| Extras | Date of the last port | SIM swap and Identity Match (in Spain, with approval) | — | Email, name and postal address |
| Where data is processed | Region not published | US or Ireland, your choice | US, Germany and Finland | EU |
How we compared: format, MNP and HLR
We organized the comparison by what each lookup checks, because that decides whether a provider is right for you:
- Format or numbering plan. Checks that the number has a possible prefix and length for its country, says whether it is a mobile or a landline based on its range, and normalizes it to the E.164 international format. It does not query the network: a number with a valid format may not be in service.
- MNP (number portability). Tells you which operator the number belongs to today, even if it has switched providers. It is useful for routing SMS and detecting ported numbers, but it does not tell you whether the line is active. We explain it in MNP lookup.
- HLR. Asks the mobile network whether the number is connected, switched off or disconnected. It only works with mobiles and depends on the operator responding: that is why some networks have no coverage and some results are inconclusive. More details in HLR lookup and why HLR verification fails.
Of the HLR lookup and validation providers we compared, only VerificarEmails and HLRLookup.com offer all three lookups. Twilio Lookup offers format and line status (in beta), and Numverify, format only.
For each provider and lookup type we reviewed what it returns and where the data comes from, coverage in Spain, what it charges when the result is indeterminate, the price of 1,000, 10,000, 50,000 and 100,000 lookups excluding tax, bulk uploads, the API and MCP, support and privacy. The data is from 11 November 2026.
We tested VerificarEmails with four of our own numbers from its dashboard, via MCP and with a file. At HLRLookup.com the account starts with 0 credits and you have to buy a package before the first lookup; Numverify does not allow verification from its dashboard, only via API; and Twilio Lookup is used via API, with a key and secret. What we say about their results, including HLRLookup.com’s coverage in Spain, comes from their public documentation. We explain this in the methodology at the end.
Verdict on each provider
VerificarEmails
It is the option we recommend for verifying phone numbers from Spain and Latin America. It runs all three lookups from the same account, in euros: syntactic, MNP and HLR, with file uploads from the dashboard or via API, and a remote MCP with OAuth. According to its price list, its HLR returns line status on 24 of the 32 Spanish networks, including Movistar, Vodafone and Orange; in our test, a Movistar mobile came back “connected”.
In Spain, the practical approach is to combine both lookups: MNP gives the current operator (in our test, Digi for a mobile ported from Vodafone) and HLR gives the line status. Every response includes the number in E.164, so you don’t need to pay separately for format validation. For MNP it costs less than HLRLookup.com at 1,000 lookups and less than Twilio at 50,000 and 100,000. It charges in euros, with no subscription, with packs valid for one year; it processes data in the EU, offers support by phone, chat and email and, with the same account, verifies emails, names and postal addresses. In Mexico, Colombia and Peru it offers MNP.
More information in verify phone numbers and the phone validation API.
HLRLookup.com
Not to be confused with HLR-Lookups.com. HLR-Lookups.com, with a hyphen, is a different company. HLRLookup.com belongs to the British group 3G Telecommunications, which renamed itself Acudo in March 2026. This comparison covers HLRLookup.com only.
It sells credits in pounds, with no subscription. It validates format for free, offers MNP and HLR, and from 10,000 lookups its HLR and MNP prices are the lowest in the table. It does not charge for lookups with no coverage or for non-mobile numbers. In Spain, according to its coverage checker, Movistar, Vodafone and Orange only return the network, without line status, and that lookup costs 1 credit, like a full HLR. The minimum package is 2,500 credits and, unless you turn it off, your results are stored in a cache shared with other customers.
Full comparison: HLRLookup.com vs VerificarEmails.
Twilio Lookup
It charges per lookup, in dollars. It validates format for free, and its line status lookup (Line Status) costs $0.007. It also offers SIM change detection (SIM swap) in Spain, with prior approval and pricing on request. Line Status is in public beta, with no published coverage for Spain and no information on whether it charges for “Unknown” results. Nor does it document whether its operator data reflects porting. It does not allow self-service file uploads, and its terms prohibit using some packages, such as Line Type Intelligence, “for marketing purposes” (it is unclear whether that includes list cleaning).
Full comparison: Twilio Lookup vs VerificarEmails.
Numverify
It only validates the number against the numbering plan: format, country, line type and an operator that it does not identify as the original or the current one. It does not do HLR or MNP, so it cannot tell you whether a line is active or which provider it has been ported to. It is paid by monthly subscription in dollars (5,000 lookups for $14.99 ≈ €13.37), the free plan of 100 lookups a month is for non-commercial use only, and it does not support bulk uploads.
Full comparison: Numverify vs VerificarEmails.
Pricing by lookup type
VerificarEmails sells packs in euros, with no subscription, valid for one year and renewed when you top up the same service, and you can upload files from the dashboard or via API. HLRLookup.com sells credits in pounds; Twilio charges per lookup in dollars, and Numverify, a monthly subscription in dollars. We calculated the cost of 1,000, 10,000, 50,000 and 100,000 lookups with each provider’s cheapest option, excluding tax.
Format or numbering plan
| Lookups | VerificarEmails (syntactic) | HLRLookup.com | Twilio Lookup | Numverify (per month) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | €5 | Free | Free | $14.99 ≈ €13.37 |
| 10,000 | €40 | Free | Free | $59.99 ≈ €53.50 |
| 50,000 | €120 | Free | Free | $59.99 ≈ €53.50 |
| 100,000 | €220 | Free | Free | $129.99 ≈ €115.92 |
If you already run MNP or HLR lookups with VerificarEmails, you don’t need to pay separately for syntactic verification: every response includes the number in E.164. And if you do need it, at 1,000 and 10,000 lookups it costs less than Numverify, with no monthly fee. HLRLookup.com and Twilio don’t charge for format validation; Numverify costs less than syntactic verification from 50,000 lookups a month, with a subscription in dollars.
MNP: current operator
| Lookups | VerificarEmails (MNP) | HLRLookup.com (MNP) | Twilio (Line Type Intelligence) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | €10 | £12.50 ≈ €14.96 (minimum package of 2,500) | $8 ≈ €7.13 |
| 10,000 | €80 | £22.50 ≈ €26.93 | $80 ≈ €71.34 |
| 50,000 | €240 | £102.50 ≈ €122.69 | $400 ≈ €356.70 |
| 100,000 | €440 | £195 ≈ €233.41 | $800 ≈ €713.39 |
At 1,000 lookups, VerificarEmails costs less than HLRLookup.com (€10 vs ≈ €14.96), because HLRLookup.com makes you buy 2,500 credits. At 50,000 and 100,000, it costs less than Twilio, which also does not document whether its operator data reflects porting. HLRLookup.com costs less from 10,000 lookups (at 100,000, about €233.41 vs €440), in pounds and without publishing which countries it offers MNP in.
HLR: line status
| Lookups | VerificarEmails (HLR) | HLRLookup.com (HLR) | Twilio (Line Status) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | €20 (1,100 credits) | £12.50 ≈ €14.96 (minimum package of 2,500) | $7 ≈ €6.24 |
| 10,000 | €90 | £43 ≈ €51.47 | $70 ≈ €62.42 |
| 50,000 | €430 | £195 ≈ €233.41 | $350 ≈ €312.11 |
| 100,000 | €860 | £370 ≈ €442.88 | $700 ≈ €624.22 |
According to its price list, the VerificarEmails HLR returns line status on 24 of the 32 Spanish networks, including Movistar, Vodafone and Orange, and you pay in euros, with no subscription. HLRLookup.com and Twilio publish lower prices at all four volumes (at 100,000 lookups, about €442.88 and €624.22, vs €860), in pounds and dollars. Bear in mind what each lookup includes in Spain: HLRLookup.com charges 1 credit for Movistar, Vodafone and Orange numbers even though, according to its coverage checker, it only returns the network, and Twilio’s Line Status is in public beta, with no published coverage for Spain.
- VerificarEmails HLR: each lookup in Spain costs 1.10 credits, so 1,000 lookups need 1,100 credits. Outside Spain, its per-country price list shows a higher rate (0.02 vs 0.01) that we have not tested.
- Expiry: at VerificarEmails, 1 year, renewed if you top up the same service; at HLRLookup.com, 18 months. Numverify’s quotas are monthly and unused lookups don’t roll over. Twilio does not publish whether the balance expires.
- Indeterminate results: VerificarEmails charges for all lookups, including rejected ones and those with no coverage. HLRLookup.com charges for inconclusive and absent results and for networks that only return the operator, but not for lookups with no coverage or for non-mobile numbers. Twilio does not document whether it charges for Line Status “Unknown” results. Numverify counts every request.
- Minimums and free trials: VerificarEmails gives you test credits when you create your account. HLRLookup.com sells from 2,500 credits and gives you 200 when you sign up with a business email. Twilio offers 100 trial lookups in a 30-day trial account. Numverify gives 100 lookups a month for non-commercial use only and, when you sign up for a plan, pre-selects paid support (Platinum), which you can untick.
- Currency: HLRLookup.com sets its prices in pounds and recalculates the euro amounts it displays every day. That is why we started from the pound, at the ECB rate.
You’ll find all the phone packs on the VerificarEmails pricing page.
How to choose for your use case
We recommend VerificarEmails in these cases:
- Cleaning a list of Spanish mobiles before an SMS campaign: run MNP first, to find the current operator, and then HLR, for the status. Treat a “no coverage” or rejected number as “unverifiable”, not as invalid. VerificarEmails documents line status on Movistar, Vodafone and Orange; HLRLookup.com does not. More context in verifying Spanish phone numbers.
- Routing SMS or finding out which operator a number has been ported to: the VerificarEmails MNP lookup gives you the current operator, in euros, from the same dashboard as your email verification.
- Normalizing numbers from a form or a CRM: if you already run MNP or HLR lookups with VerificarEmails, the response includes the number in E.164 (
format.e164) and you don’t need to pay separately for syntactic verification. - Uploading a file without coding: VerificarEmails accepts CSV, XLS, XLSX and TXT in its dashboard. HLRLookup.com also accepts files; Twilio and Numverify don’t offer it as self-service.
- Using it from an AI assistant (MCP): the VerificarEmails MCP is remote, with OAuth, and also uploads files and downloads results. HLRLookup.com’s is remote, with a key, and looks up to 80 numbers per call. Twilio’s official MCP only searches its documentation, and Numverify has none.
- Mobiles in Mexico, Colombia or Peru: VerificarEmails offers MNP in those countries. HLR is not available there or in the US.
- You also verify emails, names or addresses: VerificarEmails, with the same account (multi-data verification).
HLRLookup.com may be a fit if your main concern is the price per lookup above 10,000 or you need the status of US mobiles. Twilio may be a fit if you want to detect a SIM change before sending a code by SMS (in Spain, in private beta and with approval).
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between format validation, an MNP lookup and an HLR lookup?
Format validation checks the number against the numbering plan, without querying the network: it tells you whether the number is possible and what type it is, but not whether it is in service. An MNP lookup tells you which operator the number belongs to today after porting. An HLR lookup asks the mobile network whether the line is connected, switched off or disconnected.
How can I tell if a phone number is still active without calling?
With an HLR lookup, which only works with mobiles. Of these four providers, VerificarEmails, HLRLookup.com and Twilio (Line Status, in public beta) offer it; Numverify does not. In Spain, VerificarEmails returns the status on 24 of the 32 networks, according to its price list, including Movistar, Vodafone and Orange. The result depends on the operator responding, so some numbers will be inconclusive. We explain it in how to tell if a phone is active.
How do I find out which operator a number belongs to in Spain?
The prefix is not enough, because numbers can be ported to another provider. You need an MNP lookup, which returns the current operator. In our test, a mobile with a Vodafone number ported to Digi came back with Digi as the current operator in the VerificarEmails MNP lookup, while the HLR only returned the original network.
Numverify or Twilio Lookup?
If you only need format validation, Twilio Lookup does it for free and Numverify charges a monthly subscription. Twilio also offers, for a fee, the line type with an operator (Line Type Intelligence) and the network status (Line Status, in beta). Numverify only checks the numbering plan and does not say whether its operator data is the original or the current one. If you need the current operator after porting or the line status in Spain, VerificarEmails runs MNP and HLR from the same account.
Is there a free API to verify phone numbers?
For format, yes: HLRLookup.com (with an account) and Twilio offer it for free, and Numverify gives 100 lookups a month for non-commercial use. MNP and HLR lookups are paid with every provider that offers them. To try them, VerificarEmails gives you test credits when you sign up, HLRLookup.com gives 200 credits if you sign up with a business email, and Twilio, 100 lookups in its trial account.
Are HLR lookups that return no result charged?
It depends on the provider. VerificarEmails charges for all lookups, including rejected ones and those with no coverage (1.10 credits in Spain). HLRLookup.com charges for inconclusive results and for networks that only return the operator, but not for lookups with no coverage or for non-mobile numbers. Twilio does not document whether it charges for Line Status “Unknown” results.
Methodology, review date and sources
- Date: data and test from 11 November 2026.
- VerificarEmails test: HLR and MNP lookups, via MCP and with a file, on four of our own Spanish numbers: a Movistar mobile, a mobile ported from Vodafone to Digi, a number from an unassigned range and a Barcelona landline. The results are in the table below.
- HLRLookup.com, Twilio Lookup and Numverify: we opened accounts with all three. HLRLookup.com starts with 0 credits, Numverify only allows lookups via API and Twilio Lookup is a developer API, so we have not measured their results with our sample: what we say about them comes from their public documentation.
- Prices: each provider’s public pages on that day, without temporary promotions or tax, using the ECB reference rate of 10 November 2026 for pounds and dollars.
- Limits: four numbers do not measure any service’s coverage, only how each lookup responds.
| Number | HLR at VerificarEmails | MNP at VerificarEmails |
|---|---|---|
| Movistar mobile | connected, with original and current network | Movistar |
| Mobile ported from Vodafone to Digi | no-coverage; only returns the original network, Vodafone | Digi, as the current operator |
| Number from an unassigned range | inconclusive, rejected | unknown, rejected |
| Barcelona landline | inconclusive, rejected, type landline | landline, rejected |
format.e164). All lookups were charged: 1.10 credits per HLR and 1 per MNP.HLRLookup.com sources: pricing, API documentation, charging by result, coverage checker, processing agreement, MCP and terms of service.
Twilio Lookup sources: pricing, API v2, Line Status, Line Type Intelligence, SIM swap, bulk lookups (private beta), terms of use and MCP.
Numverify sources: pricing, API documentation, FAQ, terms and sub-processors.
VerificarEmails sources: phone pricing, phone API documentation, data processing agreement and MCP.
Do you also verify emails? See our comparison of the best email verification tools.
