Email deliverability test – check inbox placement across every major provider
Why this test exists
An email marked as “delivered” isn’t necessarily sitting in the inbox.
Mailbox providers like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo decide where incoming messages land based on hundreds of signals: sender reputation, authentication, content quality, engagement history, and more. A message can pass through the server just fine and still end up in spam, Promotions, or another filtered folder.
This tool runs an inbox placement test across major providers so you can see exactly where your emails land, and flags any authentication or content issues before they affect a real campaign.
What inbox placement actually means
Inbox placement is where your email ends up after delivery: inbox, spam, Promotions tab, or another folder. It’s different from delivery rate, which only tells you whether the receiving server accepted the message.
A 99% delivery rate can coexist with poor inbox placement. The email arrived; it just didn’t land where anyone would see it. That gap is what an inbox placement test measures.
Gmail routes messages into Primary, Promotions, Social, and spam. Outlook splits between Focused and Other. Yahoo has its own filtering logic. Inbox placement varies by provider, which is why testing across all of them matters. A message that reaches the Gmail inbox may still go to Outlook’s spam.
What we check
- Inbox placement by provider: See whether your emails land in the inbox, spam folder, or another tab across major mailbox providers.
- SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication: Verify that your email authentication records are configured correctly.
- Content quality signals: Identify content issues that may trigger spam filtering.
- Blacklist status: Check whether your domain or sending infrastructure appears on common email blacklists.
- Sender reputation indicators: Review factors that may influence how mailbox providers view your emails.
- Links and URLs: Detect broken, suspicious, or potentially problematic links within your email.
How it works
1. Send a test email
Send an email to the addresses the tool provides. Use the same sending platform, content, links, and settings you’d use for a real campaign. Testing under real-world conditions gives you accurate placement results.
2. We analyze your email
The tool checks inbox placement across major mailbox providers and runs parallel checks on authentication records, sender reputation signals, blacklist status, content quality, and links.
3. Review your report
You get a report showing exactly where your email landed per provider and any issues affecting placement. Use it to fix problems before your next send.
Who needs this?
Cold outreach teams
A well-written cold email won’t generate replies if it lands in spam. Run a placement test before launching outreach at scale to catch inbox placement issues early.
Newsletter senders
Poor inbox placement hurts open rates even when subscribers want to hear from you. Regular testing catches problems before they affect campaign performance.
Agencies
Agencies managing multiple clients need placement visibility across different domains, providers, and sending platforms. Testing catches issues before they become client problems.
Recruiters
Inbox placement matters whether you’re contacting candidates directly or running recruitment campaigns at scale. A deliverability test can surface authentication, reputation, or content issues that are keeping your messages out of the inbox.
Spam test vs. deliverability test
A spam test focuses on the email itself. It analyzes content, links, authentication records, HTML structure, and other signals that may trigger filters. If you want to check a specific email before sending it, our Email Spam Test is the right place to start.
A deliverability test, also called an inbox placement test, takes a broader view. It sends to real seed addresses and reports back on where the message actually landed across providers.
The short version:
- A spam test asks: “Could this email trigger spam filters?”
- An inbox placement test asks: “Where did this email actually land?”
Use a spam test to check individual emails before sending. Use a deliverability test to monitor inbox placement and sender reputation over time.
Frequently asked questions
What is an inbox placement test?
An inbox placement test sends your email to seed addresses across major mailbox providers and records where it landed: inbox, spam, Promotions tab, or elsewhere. It’s the most direct way to see how providers are routing your messages.
What’s the difference between an email placement test and a spam test?
A spam test analyzes your email’s content and configuration for signals that may trigger filters. An email placement test actually delivers to seed inboxes and records the outcome. The spam test predicts; the placement test confirms.
What is an email deliverability test?
An email deliverability test shows where your emails land across different mailbox providers, including inboxes, spam folders, and other tabs, and checks the authentication, reputation, and content factors affecting placement.
How does the test work?
You send a test email to a set of monitoring addresses. The tool checks inbox placement across providers and runs parallel checks on authentication records, reputation signals, blacklist status, and content quality.
Why are my emails going to spam?
Common causes include poor sender reputation, missing authentication records, blacklist listings, low engagement history, and content that triggers spam filters. The test report flags which of these apply to your sending setup.
What’s the difference between delivery and deliverability?
Delivery means the receiving server accepted the message. Deliverability, or inbox placement, refers to where the message ended up: inbox, spam, Promotions, or another folder.
How often should I test?
Test before major campaigns and after making changes to your domain, sending platform, or authentication settings. If email is central to your business, regular testing catches drift before it affects results.
Can email warmup improve inbox placement?
Yes. Warmup builds sender reputation by generating positive engagement signals over time. Combined with correct authentication and clean lists, it directly improves inbox placement rates.
Improve your inbox placement
Testing shows you where the problem is. Fixing it requires consistent reputation building over time.
If your emails are landing in spam or getting routed to Promotions, try our Email Warmup Tool to build sender reputation and improve inbox placement long-term.