How the spam test works
Nothing here is simulated. The address above is a real mailbox on a domain we operate, so when your message arrives our mail server has already evaluated its authentication the same way Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo do. We read that verdict out of the delivered message, add live DNS and blocklist lookups for the server that sent it, then score what the message itself contains.
- Send a real email to the address above — from your app, your newsletter tool, or whatever system you are testing. Send the actual message you plan to send your users, not a blank test.
- Wait a few seconds. This page checks for the message on its own; you do not need to refresh.
- Read your score. Every point you lost is listed with the reason and the specific fix.
What we check
SPF, DKIM and DMARC
The three records that prove you are allowed to send as your domain. We report the result your message actually produced, not whether a record merely exists.
Sending server reputation
The IP that delivered the message, its reverse DNS, whether that name is forward-confirmed, and whether the IP appears on Spamhaus, SpamCop, Barracuda or SORBS.
Header hygiene
Message-ID, Return-Path alignment, Date, and the List-Unsubscribe header that Gmail and Yahoo have required from bulk senders since 2024.
Message content
Plain-text alternative, text-to-image balance, trigger-phrase density, shortened links, blocked attachment types, and the 102 KB size at which Gmail clips your email.
Why your emails go to spam
In practice almost every deliverability problem is one of three things, and the score above will tell you which one you have.
1. Your domain cannot prove it sent the message
If SPF, DKIM or DMARC fails, nothing else you do matters much. A receiving server that cannot verify who you are will not give your content the benefit of the doubt. This is also the cheapest problem to fix — it is three DNS records, and it is usually a single afternoon of work.
2. The server you send from has a bad reputation
Shared hosting and cheap VPS ranges are frequently listed on blocklists because of what a neighbour did, not what you did. A missing reverse DNS record has the same effect. If the reputation section below is red, changing your words will not help; you need a different sending path.
3. The message itself reads like bulk mail
HTML with no plain-text alternative, a wall of images with almost no text, shortened links, and a pile of sales phrases together add up fast. Any one of them alone is survivable. Three or four together is a spam folder.
Frequently asked questions
Is this email spam test really free?
Yes. There is no signup, no email address to hand over and no paid tier for this tool. You get the full report, including every failed check and its fix.
What is a good spam score?
8 out of 10 or higher means your message should reach the inbox at every major provider. Between 5 and 8 you have real problems that stricter providers will act on. Below 5, most providers will filter or reject the message.
How is the score calculated?
Every test starts at 10 and each failed check subtracts a penalty weighted by how much receiving servers actually care about it. Authentication failures cost the most — a missing DKIM signature costs 2 points, a failed SPF check 2.5 — because those are the checks that decide delivery before your content is ever read.
Do you keep the email I send?
No. The message is read once, scored, and deleted from the mailbox in the same request. The report itself is held for two hours so you can re-read it, then it expires. We never publish or forward test messages.
Can I test a newsletter or marketing campaign?
Yes, and you should — send the real campaign rather than a test message. The content checks (trigger phrases, image balance, List-Unsubscribe, Gmail's 102 KB clipping limit) only mean something when the message is the one your subscribers will get.
Why did my SPF pass here but fail at Gmail?
SPF is evaluated against the envelope sender, which some providers rewrite. The most common cause is a Return-Path that does not align with your From domain — that passes plain SPF but fails DMARC alignment. The Return-Path check in your report tells you if that is what is happening.
Nothing happened after I sent the email. What now?
Give it up to a minute; some providers queue outbound mail. If it still has not arrived, your message was almost certainly rejected before it reached us, which is itself a strong signal — check your sending system's bounce log.
How often can I run the test?
As often as you like. Use the "New address" button to start a clean test — reusing an address returns the cached report from the first message.
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