Email Deliverability & Inbox Placement Test

See the Exact Folder Your Email Lands In

Email deliverability testing for teams that live by the inbox. See exactly where your mail lands at every major provider — the real folder, the SPF, DKIM and DMARC verdict, the sending-IP reputation and the fix behind it. Start free below, no signup.

Run your free inbox placement test

No account required · 1 free test per day

See how it works → · Already in spam? Check your DMARC record

7
major providers · real seed inboxes
~60s
to a full placement report
4
checks per provider: SPF, DKIM, DMARC & IP
Free
1 test a day · no signup
The Problem

You Can’t See Your Own Deliverability

Email yourself a test and it lands in your inbox — everything looks fine. But your recipients are on different providers with different filters. The message that hits your Gmail inbox can sit in Outlook’s spam or Gmail’s Promotions tab. Nothing bounces, there’s no error — the send just quietly underperforms.

Falls short
Send and hope
You only notice when open rates quietly collapse
Falls short
Check your own inbox
It never shows how other providers treat the same mail
Falls short
Buy an enterprise seed tool
Contracts and pricing built for big senders, not you

Dmarclytics shows the truth. One email in. Every provider’s real folder, authentication, IP reputation and the fix — out.

Why Placement Testing Matters

Reaching the Inbox Is Not Guaranteed

Deliverability is measured, not assumed. Every figure below is attributed to a named industry source so you can check it yourself.

~1 in 6

emails never reaches the inbox — roughly 84% global inbox placement.

Source: Validity Email Deliverability Benchmark (2024)
5,000+ /day

to Gmail makes you a “bulk sender” that must pass SPF, DKIM and DMARC.

Source: Google email sender guidelines (2024)
Under 0.3%

spam-complaint rate in Postmaster Tools — cross it and Gmail starts filtering you.

Source: Google email sender guidelines (2024)
Real Seed Mailboxes

Tested at the Inboxes Your Customers Actually Use

Gmail
Outlook
Yahoo
Apple Mail
Microsoft
Proton
Zoho

One send, a real mailbox at each. These seven cover the consumer and business inboxes most recipients use — Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, Apple Mail, Microsoft, Proton and Zoho — so seed coverage goes where your audience actually is, rather than spreading thin across niche hosts. Each is read for the exact folder you landed in.

Inside Every Report

Every Signal That Decides Where You Land

Placement is the headline — but each report also shows the authentication verdict, the sending-IP reputation and an AI-written fix for every provider. The full picture an enterprise seed tool gives you, in about a minute.

Inbox placement report

The real folder at every major provider

We deliver your email to a live seed mailbox at each provider and read the exact folder it reached — Inbox, Spam, Promotions, Blocked or Undelivered — side by side, with the authentication verdict on every row.

Inbox Placement Report
3 / 5 Inbox
From news@yourdomain.comIP 198.51.100.241 blocklist
ProviderFolderSPFDKIMDMARC
GmailInbox
OutlookSpam
YahooPromotions
Apple MailInbox
ZohoBlocked

Why Outlook went to spam:DKIM failed and DMARC isn't aligned. Fix DKIM and placement flips to inbox.

Gmail tab detection

Promotions is not the inbox

Landing in Gmail’s Promotions tab still counts as “delivered.” We flag the Promotions tab separately from the Primary inbox, so a campaign that looks delivered isn’t quietly underperforming.

Gmail
Promotions
Primary
empty
Promotions
1 new
Social
empty
Your Q3 campaignPROMOTIONS

Delivered — but filed under Promotions, not Primary, where it typically sees far lower engagement.

Authentication breakdown

The exact check that filtered you

Per-provider SPF, DKIM and DMARC verdicts, each translated into plain English — so you see precisely which check failed, on which mailbox, instead of guessing.

Outlook · why it filtered
Spam
Inbound message · 4 signals checked
SPFPASS

Sending IP is authorized in your SPF record.

DKIMFAIL

No valid signature — Outlook can’t verify the message is really from you.

DMARCFAIL

Nothing aligns, so your policy can’t vouch for the message.

IP reputationFAIL

198.51.100.24 is listed on SpamCop — request delisting.

The fix: publish a DKIM signature, delist the IP, then re-test.

Sending IP & blocklist

Reputation checked against the major blocklists

We pull the sending IP from your message headers and check it against Spamhaus, Barracuda, SpamCop and more — so a quiet blocklisting can’t sink your delivery unnoticed.

Sending IP & Reputation
1 listing
198.51.100.24
Reverse DNS · mail.yourdomain.com
Spamhaus ZEN
Barracuda
SpamCop
SORBS
Microsoft SNDS
Cloudmark
AI recommendations

Not just “you’re in spam” — what to do

Guardian AI reads each failing result and writes the fix in plain English, ranked by impact, with the failing IP, record or alignment issue called out directly.

AI Recommendations
Guardian AI

Your email reached Outlook's spam folderbecause the message isn't fully authenticated. Fix these in order of impact:

1
Publish a DKIM signature

No valid DKIM was found. Add the DKIM record from your ESP so Outlook can verify the message.

2
Align DMARC

SPF passes but isn’t aligned with your From domain. Once DKIM signs, DMARC will align and pass.

3
Delist the sending IP

198.51.100.24 has a SpamCop listing. Reduce volume for 48h and request delisting.

History & folders

Every fix re-tested and tracked over time

Name each test, group them into folders, and watch the inbox rate climb version over version as you fix authentication — proof the change worked, not a guess.

Test history
12 tests
Q3 newsletter — v3
Today
86%
Q3 newsletter — v2
Yesterday
71%
Cold sequence A
2 days ago
57%
Q3 newsletter — v1
Last week
43%

▲ 43 pts since v1 — every fix re-tested and tracked over time.

Process

From Send to Report in Four Steps

  1. 01

    Start the test

    Click start and we generate a unique test ID plus a set of seed addresses — one live mailbox for every major provider. No account, no list upload.

  2. 02

    Send one email

    From your normal sending tool, send a single email containing the test ID to all of the seed addresses. That's the only thing you do.

  3. 03

    We read every mailbox

    We check each seed inbox, record the exact folder your email reached, and pull the SPF, DKIM, DMARC, sending-IP and blocklist result behind it.

  4. 04

    See placement and the fix

    Get a per-provider report showing where you landed and why — with each issue linked to the tool or AI recommendation that resolves it.

Why Trust These Results

Real Inboxes. Real Verdicts. No Black Box.

Most “spam checkers” predict a score by scanning your content. This is different: we measure where a real message actually lands, then show the signals behind it. Here is why the result is trustworthy.

Real seed inboxes, not simulations

We deliver your email to live mailboxes at each provider and read the actual folder it reached. There is no spam-filter emulation and no predictive scoring — you see the same result your recipients would.

Built by a DMARC monitoring platform

Dmarclytics monitors DMARC, SPF and DKIM for domains every day. Inbox placement testing runs on the same authentication signals we already track, applied to a single send.

No account, nothing from your list

The free test needs no signup and is identified by a one-time test ID. You send to our seed addresses — we never touch your real recipient lists or connect to your mailbox.

See it for yourself in about 60 seconds

You do not have to take our word for it. Run a real test now and read the per-provider report the product generates. Proof beats assertion.

Fix It, Then Stay There

A Clear Path Back to the Inbox — and a Way to Hold It

Fix and re-test

Change one thing, confirm it flipped

Every failure links straight to the free tool, guide or AI recommendation that resolves it. Make the change, re-run the test, and watch the folder flip from Spam to Inbox — no more send-and-pray.

  • Each issue linked to the tool that fixes it
  • Re-test in about a minute and confirm the flip
  • Inbox rate tracked version over version
Open the DMARC checker →
Re-test after the fix
BeforeDKIM missing
Spam
Add the DKIM record, then re-test
AfterDKIM signed & aligned
Inbox
Continuous monitoring

Catch deliverability drops before they cost you

A free test is a snapshot. On a paid plan, Dmarclytics watches your DMARC reports continuously, tracks inbox placement over time, and alerts you the moment authentication slips — so you fix it before a campaign falls flat, not after.

  • Inbox-rate trend across every provider, week over week
  • Alerts when SPF, DKIM or DMARC starts failing
  • Move to an enforced DMARC policy without breaking real mail
See plans & pricing →
Deliverability monitor
98% inbox
98%
Inbox rate · all providers
▲ 36 pts
DMARC moved to enforcement in week 4 — placement climbed and held.
Who It’s For

Built for Everyone Who Lives or Dies by Email

Marketing & Email Teams

Know placement before the campaign goes out

Test the exact creative and sending domain before you hit send to thousands. Catch a Promotions-tab or spam problem while it's still fixable.

  • Pre-send placement checks
  • Promotions-tab visibility
  • Per-provider breakdown
Sales & Outbound

Make sure cold email actually arrives

Outbound only works if it reaches the inbox. Confirm your domain authenticates, your IP is clean and you land at Gmail, Outlook and the rest before you scale a sequence.

  • Inbox vs spam at each provider
  • Authentication + IP reputation
  • Fix before you scale
Agencies & MSPs

Answer "why are we in spam?" instantly

When a client's emails disappear, run a test and show them the exact folder, failing check and blocklisting — in minutes, not after a week of back-and-forth.

  • Client-ready evidence
  • Root-cause per provider
  • Repeatable across domains

Guessing vs. Knowing

The Usual Way
Dmarclytics
Where your email lands
You check your own inbox — it looks fine
Live folder at 7 real providers
Why it was filtered
Guesswork
SPF · DKIM · DMARC per provider
Sending IP reputation
Unknown until you're blocked
Checked against major blocklists
Promotions tab
Invisible — counts as "delivered"
Detected and flagged
What to fix
You research it yourself
AI recommendation, ranked by impact
Setup
Seed-list warm-up, contracts
One email, no signup
Time to a result
Days
About 60 seconds
Cost
Enterprise pricing
Free — one test a day

Common Questions

What is an inbox placement test?

An inbox placement test sends your email to a set of real seed mailboxes across the major providers and reports exactly where each copy landed — Primary inbox, Promotions, Spam, Blocked or Undelivered. Unlike a content-only spam checker that predicts a score, a placement test is empirical: it shows what Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo and the rest actually did with your message.

Why does my email land in spam on Gmail but reach the inbox on Outlook?

Each provider runs its own filters, reputation systems and authentication checks, so the same message is judged differently at each one. Outlook leans heavily on its own sender reputation network, while Gmail weighs recipient engagement and its tab system. That is why testing a single mailbox is misleading — an inbox placement test sends to seed mailboxes at every major provider and shows where each copy actually landed.

What is a good inbox placement rate?

A strong sender aims for inbox placement in the low-to-mid 90s percent across major providers. For context, Validity's 2024 Email Deliverability Benchmark put the global average around 84%, meaning roughly one in six emails never reaches the inbox. If your placement sits below the mid-80s, authentication, sending-IP reputation or recipient engagement is usually the cause.

What is the difference between a spam score and inbox placement?

A spam score is a prediction: a tool scans your content and authentication and estimates how spammy the message looks, often against a filter like SpamAssassin. Inbox placement is a measurement: the email is actually sent to seed mailboxes and the real folder it reached is recorded at each provider. A good spam score is encouraging, but only placement testing tells you what mailbox providers really did with the message.

Why do emails go to the Promotions tab instead of Primary in Gmail?

Gmail sorts incoming mail into tabs, and bulk or marketing-style messages are frequently filed under Promotions. It still counts as "delivered," but the Promotions tab typically sees far lower engagement than Primary, so a campaign can look delivered while quietly underperforming. We flag the Promotions tab separately from the Primary inbox so you can see it before you send at scale.

Does passing SPF, DKIM and DMARC guarantee I reach the inbox?

No. Authentication is necessary but not sufficient: it gets you past the gate, but content, sending-IP reputation and recipient engagement decide the rest. Passing SPF, DKIM and DMARC with a clean sending IP is the single biggest lever you control, which is why an inbox placement test shows the authentication verdict alongside the actual folder at every provider.

How do the Google and Yahoo bulk sender requirements affect deliverability?

Since February 2024, senders of more than 5,000 messages a day to Gmail must authenticate with SPF, DKIM and DMARC, offer one-click unsubscribe, and keep their spam-complaint rate in Postmaster Tools below 0.3%. Yahoo enforces equivalent rules. Failing them means throttling or spam placement, so an inbox placement test that shows your per-provider SPF, DKIM and DMARC verdict is a direct way to confirm you meet the requirements before you send.

Find Out Where You Really Land

Run the free email deliverability test now — one email, every major provider, the reason behind each result. Ready to test on every send? Move to unlimited testing, saved history and continuous monitoring.

Free test: no account · no credit card · one test a day