MailTester vs SMTP Labs

MailTester checks why email may reach spam and returns a deliverability score out of 10. To run a test, generate a disposable address, send the message there and receive a report in seconds. Scoring starts at 10, subtracts points for detected issues, and explains penalties with suggested fixes. Authentication checks include SPF, DKIM, DMARC, domain alignment, reverse DNS and forward-confirmed reverse DNS. Sending IPs are checked against Spamhaus, SpamCop, Barracuda and other DNS blocklists. Content analysis covers HTML, text-to-image ratio, links, subject, List-Unsubscribe and Message-ID. Rspamd supplies a spam score and triggered rules. Newsletter checks include one-click List-Unsubscribe under RFC 8058, message size and text-image ratio. MailTester offers web, API and self-hosted platforms. Its API creates test addresses and reads report status and scores as JSON. The free plan costs nothing, needs no account and provides 25+ checks per test.

SMTP Labs is an email testing service that receives test messages over SMTP and lets you inspect them on the web, through IMAP or POP3, or via an API. Messages remain in a sandbox and cannot reach external recipients. Inspection includes HTML and plain text, headers, MIME structure, raw source, and attachments. SPF, DKIM, and DMARC checks appear in the interface and API, while a deliverability audit reviews sender configuration, HTML, links, and content patterns associated with spam filters. The REST API covers domains, accounts, mailboxes, messages, and tokens; server-sent events can push new messages. SMTP, IMAP, and POP3 work without a vendor SDK. The Lite plan is free at free with one domain, 50 accounts, and seven-day retention. Pro costs $7 a month, and Max costs $20 a month, with longer retention and expanded domains or accounts. Email and account data are primarily processed in the United States.