Sign-in records
We run the same three checks a receiving server runs. SPF: was the server that sent it on your domain's list? DKIM: does the signature match the key in your DNS? DMARC: did one of them pass for the domain in your From line?
Why is my email going to spam?
Email Spam Test
Send one email to a free test address and see what a receiving server sees: sign-in records, blocklists, links and format, with a plain fix for each problem.
- Copy this one-time address.
- From your normal email account, send it the email you are worried about. Send it the way you send to prospects.
- Stay on this page. The result shows up here, usually within a minute.
Your test address (works for one hour)
Making your address...Waiting for your email.
- Free, no sign-up
- Your email is never stored
- Every rule shows its source
What the test looks at
Each check rests on an email standard or on Gmail’s published rules for senders. Writing tips are labeled as hygiene. A check that cannot finish is marked Not checked, never failed.
Sending server
We look up the server that handed us the email on seven free blocklists, check that its address has a matching reverse DNS name, and check that it used an encrypted (TLS) connection.
Links
We count the links, and flag shortened links and links whose words show one address but go to another. This is writing hygiene, not a study result.
Writing hygiene
The email itself
We check the parts every email should have (one From line, a date, a message ID), a plain text version, pictures with few words, risky attachments, and a shouting subject.
Questions
How does the email spam test work?
The page gives you a one-time address. You send it the email you are worried about from your normal account, and our server reads it the way a receiving mail server does: it checks SPF, DKIM and DMARC, looks up the sending server on free blocklists, and reads the links and format. The result shows on the page, usually within a minute.
Why are my emails going to spam?
The most common reasons are missing or broken SPF, DKIM or DMARC records, a sending server on a blocklist, and an email that looks like bulk mail (many links, short links, mostly pictures). Mailbox providers also weigh how people treated your earlier emails, which no outside tool can see. The test covers what can be checked from outside.
Can this test tell me if my email will reach the inbox?
No tool can promise that. Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo each decide using signals only they see, like how often people open, reply to or report your emails. The test shows what a receiving server sees about your setup and your email, which is where most fixable problems are.
What is an email blacklist check?
Blocklists (often called blacklists) are lists of server addresses that have sent spam. Mail servers look up a sending server on them before they accept an email. The test checks seven free lists. If your server is listed and it belongs to Google, Microsoft or a newsletter service, tell their support; if it is your own, fix what sent the spam and ask the list to remove it.
Why is Spamhaus not on the list?
Spamhaus refuses lookups made through public DNS resolvers like the one this site uses, and its free service is for non-commercial use. Rather than show a result we cannot trust, we leave it out. Spamhaus has its own free lookup page for one address at a time.
Do you keep my email?
No. Our server reads the test email once, keeps only the result (the checks, the From domain and the subject line) for one hour so this page can show it, then deletes it. The words of your email are never stored. Nothing you type on this page is stored.
Every source is on the sources page, labeled as a standard or a mailbox provider rule.
Fixing a record? The SPF Checker, DKIM Checker and DMARC Checker give the exact line to paste.
Setup passes? Check the words
The Free Sales Email Grader grades your subject and body against published sales research and suggests a rewrite.
Try the Free Sales Email Grader