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ActiScan vs doing it by hand
The real alternative most MSPs weigh before they shop any vendor: free lookup tools, a spreadsheet, and whoever remembers to re-check.
The short version
Checking by hand works for one domain, checked once. It doesn't scale to a client base, and it has no memory of what changed since last time.
The risk isn't the first check. It's the quiet regression six months later that nobody happens to re-check for.
ActiScan's free tools cover the same one-off checks for a domain you haven't added yet. This comparison is about the domains you're responsible for every month.
Past a handful of domains or more than one client, the hours spent checking cost more than the software.
Side by side
The same jobs, two ways
| Task | Doing it by hand | With ActiScan |
|---|---|---|
| Checking one domain's SPF, DMARC, DKIM, BIMI and MTA-STS | A handful of separate lookup tools, read and cross-referenced by hand | One scan, one letter grade, every check run automatically |
| Checking 40 domains at once | 40 times the work above, with no single view of the results | Bulk import, scanned straight away, one view of every client |
| Noticing a record that broke last week | Only if someone happens to re-check that exact domain | Rescanned on a schedule, with an alert the moment something changes |
| Writing the fix for a failing check | Reading the spec yourself and hand-writing the DNS record | The exact record, worked out from the domain's current setup |
| Publishing that fix | Logging in to the DNS console and pasting it yourself | One click, or automatic for safe fixes once you opt in |
| Showing a client their security | A verbal summary, or a document put together by hand | A branded PDF, share link or monthly report from the same live data |
| Routing a new finding to the right technician | Someone has to notice it and open a ticket | A newly failing check can open a PSA ticket under the right client |
| Cost at 40 domains | $0 in software, plus hours of repeated manual work | $120/mo: the $90 base plan for 30 domains plus 2 five-domain packs |
Where doing it by hand still makes sense
A single domain, checked once, isn't worth setting up a dashboard for. The free tools exist for exactly that. The case for monitoring gets stronger the moment there's more than a handful of domains, more than one client, or a real cost to not noticing a regression until a client does.
Questions
Isn't manual checking free?+
The tools often are; the time isn't. Checking, tracking and re-checking DNS records by hand grows with every domain you add, while a monitored dashboard costs less per domain the more you manage.
What's the biggest risk of doing this by hand?+
Not the first check; it's the regression nobody notices. A DMARC record that was fine at onboarding and quietly breaks six months later stays broken until someone looks again, unless something is watching on a schedule.
Do I need to give up my own free tools?+
No. ActiScan's 36 free, no-signup tools cover the same one-off checks for a domain you haven't added yet. The difference is what happens for the domains you're responsible for on an ongoing basis.
See what your domains look like today
Scan any domain free, or add your clients and let ActiScan watch them. Free for 30 days, with no sales call.