ComparisonAll comparisons
Email Spam Tester vs Mail-Tester
Mail-Tester made the ten-point spam score famous. This page puts Email Spam Tester next to it on the same email, including where Mail-Tester is still the better pick.
Pick Email Spam Tester if
- you test more than three emails a day and do not want to pay for it
- you need to know whether the message reached the inbox, not only how it scores
- you want DMARC, one-click unsubscribe and the Gmail and Yahoo sender rules checked in the same report
- you script your tests and want an API without a subscription
Pick Mail-Tester if
- you have used its score for years and your team reads reports in its format
- you need white-label reports for your own clients
- three tests a day are plenty
Run both tests on the same email
The fairest comparison is your own message. Get an address, send the email you were going to test anyway, and put the two reports next to each other.
Side by side
| Feature | Email Spam Tester | Mail-Tester |
|---|---|---|
| Free tests | No daily cap (first 100,000 reports), then 5 a day per IP | 3 per 24 hours |
| Account needed | No | No for manual tests |
| Score | 0 to 10, plus 0 to 100 | 0 to 10 |
| Checks named | 42 in six groups, each explained in the docs | SPF, DKIM, rDNS, SpamAssassin, HTML body, blacklists, broken links |
| DMARC, one-click unsubscribe, bulk-sender rules | Yes | Not named in its documentation |
| Spam engines | SpamAssassin, Rspamd and an AI judge | SpamAssassin, default install |
| Blocklists | 21, listed by name | 26 in an example from 2013; current count not stated |
| Inbox placement | Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo and other providers, same send | No; its own link sends you to EasyDMARC |
| Fix plan | Ordered fixes with DNS records to copy | Not described in its documentation |
| Report kept | Indefinitely; anyone with the link can open it | 7 days, 30 with an account; anyone with the test address can open it |
| API | Free; no key needed for a test | Paid plans only |
| Paid plans | None | $10/month for 50 tests up to $250 for 7,500; its pricing page also lists one-time packs from $5 for 10; no refunds |
| Languages | 31 | 24, translated by volunteers |
What each report covers
Both services hand you an address, wait for your email and read it. Mail-Tester's documentation lists SPF, DKIM and reverse DNS, an out-of-the-box SpamAssassin, the HTML body, blacklists and broken links.
Since February 2024 Gmail and Yahoo have asked bulk senders for more, among other things a DMARC record, a one-click unsubscribe header and TLS. Email Spam Tester checks those as a group of their own, called Bulk sender rules, and skips them for messages they do not apply to, like a password reset. Mail-Tester's documentation does not name them, though its current report may cover some.
The score you know, and a second one
The 0 to 10 score here is built on the familiar scale: start at ten, subtract penalties, SpamAssassin's verdict included. If you are used to aiming for a ten, aim for a ten. Next to it there is a 0 to 100 score that also counts what the old scale ignores, such as DMARC, the bulk-sender rules and the reputation of the links in the message.
The two can disagree. A newsletter with no DMARC record and no one-click unsubscribe can get a near-perfect ten and 72 out of 100, because the ten-point scale counts neither.
Inbox placement
Mail-Tester
A score says how the message looks. It does not say what Gmail did with it, and Mail-Tester says as much in its own FAQ. For the folder, Mail-Tester's site points to a different product, run by EasyDMARC, the company group Mail-Tester belongs to.
Email Spam Tester
On Email Spam Tester it is an option on the same test. Tick it, add the marker to your subject, send once to the test address and to the provider inboxes listed, and the report shows inbox, promotions or spam at Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo and other providers next to the checks.
Limits and privacy
Mail-Tester allows three free tests in 24 hours. After that you pay: monthly plans from $10 for 50 tests, or one-time packs from $5 for 10 that its pricing page still lists, although its terms describe subscriptions as the model now. Payments are not refunded. Email Spam Tester has no daily cap while the first 100,000 reports last, and five free tests per IP address per day after that.
On Mail-Tester, anyone who knows your test address can open the result for seven days. Here the report stays at its link for good, and anyone who has the link can open it too. Neither is private in the strict sense, so do not test an email with a customer's personal data in it on either.
What people who tried it said
I took a closer look at it, and it convinced me. […] Every warning names the RFC section behind it. You don't have to believe the tool, you can check it.
Translated from GermanIch habe ihn mir genauer angesehen, und er hat mich überzeugt. […] Jede Warnung nennt die zugrunde liegende RFC-Stelle. Man muss dem Tool nicht glauben, man kann es nachprüfen.
Philipp ZöldEmail deliverability consultantlinkedin.com If you send emails and you don't know where they land, it's a simple first check. And it costs nothing.
Vincent RobinCo-founder, My Deliverability Expertlinkedin.com I just tried your tool and I really like it - good job!
Georg LauterbachMaintainer, docker-mailservergithub.com Questions
Is Email Spam Tester the same as Mail-Tester?
No. They are unrelated services that work the same way from the outside: you send an email to a generated address and get a report. Email Spam Tester is an independent tool built by Serg Tanichev. Mail-Tester is run by Mail Tester LLC, part of the EasyDMARC group according to its privacy notice.
Will I get the same score on both?
Not necessarily. The scales match, but the engines and the rules behind the penalties are not the same. If the scores differ, read what each report says is wrong; that is where the difference comes from.
Does Mail-Tester check inbox placement?
No. It scores the message. Its own site sends people who want the inbox placement rate to an EasyDMARC tool. Email Spam Tester shows the folder at Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo and other providers as part of the same free test.
How many free tests does Mail-Tester allow?
Three within a rolling 24 hours, according to its FAQ. For more, its pricing page lists monthly plans from $10 for 50 tests and one-time packs from $5 for 10.
Other comparisons
All comparisonsRun both tests on the same email
The fairest comparison is your own message. Get an address, send the email you were going to test anyway, and put the two reports next to each other.