Data Validation · head-to-head

Lob.com vs PurgoMalum

Lob.com

Lob's US Address Verification API checks, standardizes, and CASS-certifies a US postal address in real time, returning delivery-point-validation flags, vacancy and building-type metadata, and a corrected/deliverable address in one JSON response. It's the same verification engine behind Lob's broader direct-mail automation platform (mail creation, printing, and USPS tracking), so a key created for one Lob product works across the rest. Authentication is a single API key sent as the HTTP Basic Auth username, with separate test and live keys so integrations can be built and tested before any usage is billed.

PurgoMalum

PurgoMalum is a free, keyless GET-only web service that strips or flags profanity and obscenity in a submitted text string, recognizing common character substitutions ("@" for "a", "$" for "s") and an internal profanity list that can be extended per-request with an `add` parameter of extra blocked words. Separate request-type paths return the cleaned text as plain text, XML, or JSON, or return just a "true"/"false" verdict via its `containsprofanity` endpoint, so callers pick the shape they need without content negotiation headers. It's a single-purpose text-moderation utility rather than a full profile of a company's platform — there is no dashboard, key, or paid tier.

Lob.comPurgoMalum
AuthenticationAPI KeyNone
Pricingmeteredfree
FormatsJSONJSON, XML, Plain Text
CORSyesyes
HTTPSYesYes

PurgoMalum needs no API key, while Lob.com requires API Key — pick PurgoMalum to start without signup.

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