Test your Email Score
Find out if your emails reach the inbox. Test SPF, DKIM, DMARC and more in just a few clicks.
Start your Email Test
Click the button below to generate a unique test email address. Then send an email to this address and receive your score instantly.
No registration required. Results are available immediately.
What we check
We analyze 8 critical aspects of your email configuration
SPF Record
Verifies if your domain has a valid SPF record and if it is correctly configured.
DKIM Signature
Checks if your emails are digitally signed with DKIM for authentication.
DMARC Policy
Validates your DMARC policy and whether it effectively protects against spoofing.
MX Records
Validates your MX records and checks for redundancy for reliable email delivery.
Blacklist Check
Scans your sending IP on known spam blacklists.
Spam Analyse
Analyzes your email content for spam triggers and suspicious patterns.
Reverse DNS
Checks if your mail server has a valid PTR record.
Link Check
Analyzes links in your email for suspicious patterns and URL shorteners.
How it works
Start the test
Click "Start Test" to get a unique test email address.
Send an email
Send an email to the generated address from your regular email client.
View your score
Receive an instant detailed analysis with improvement suggestions.
Why is email authentication important?
Email authentication is essential for any organization that communicates seriously via email. Without proper SPF, DKIM and DMARC configuration, you risk your emails ending up in spam or not being delivered at all.
SPF (Sender Policy Framework)
SPF tells receiving mail servers which servers are allowed to send email on behalf of your domain. This prevents spammers from abusing your domain.
DKIM (DomainKeys)
DKIM adds a digital signature to every email. Recipients can use this to verify that the email really comes from you and has not been modified.
DMARC Policy
DMARC combines SPF and DKIM and tells mail servers what to do with suspicious emails. You also receive reports about abuse.
Without proper email authentication, the following problems can occur:
- Your emails end up in recipients' spam folders
- Important business emails are not delivered at all
- Spammers can abuse your domain for phishing
- Your domain reputation is damaged with major mail providers
- Customers lose trust due to phishing emails "from" your company
With our free Email Score Tester, you can check within 2 minutes whether your email configuration is set up correctly. You will receive immediate concrete improvement points if something is wrong.
Why Hostingradar Email Tester?
Compare our tool with other email testers
| Feature | Hostingradar | Other tools |
|---|---|---|
| Completely free, unlimited use | ||
| Clear explanations and recommendations | ||
| No account or registration required | ||
| 8 comprehensive checks (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, etc.) | ||
| Concrete step-by-step fix instructions | ||
| Check on 25+ spam blacklists | ||
| IPv6 support | ||
| Reverse DNS and link analysis |
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know about email authentication
An SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record is a DNS TXT record that indicates which mail servers are allowed to send mail on behalf of your domain. Without SPF, spammers can abuse your domain to send spam, which damages your domain reputation. Most major mail providers like Gmail and Outlook check SPF and mark emails without valid SPF as suspicious.
Setting up DKIM is done in two steps: first you generate a DKIM key pair at your email provider (such as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365), then you add the public key as a TXT record in your DNS. Your email provider gives you the exact value to add. After 24-48 hours of DNS propagation, you can activate DKIM.
DMARC policy determines what happens to suspicious emails. With p=none, emails are only monitored (test phase). With p=quarantine, suspicious emails go to spam. With p=reject, suspicious emails are refused. Always start with p=none, analyze the reports, then increase to quarantine and eventually reject for maximum protection.
Emails can end up in spam for various reasons: missing or incorrect SPF/DKIM/DMARC configuration, your sending IP is on a blacklist, your email contains spam triggers (lots of capitals, exclamation marks, suspicious links), or you don't have a reverse DNS (PTR) record. Our tool checks all these factors.
DNS changes can take 5 minutes to 48 hours to propagate worldwide, depending on the TTL (Time To Live) setting. Usually changes are active within 1-4 hours. For SPF, DKIM and DMARC records, you can test after 30 minutes whether the change has been applied.
~all (tilde, softfail) means that emails from unauthorized servers are marked as suspicious but not refused. -all (minus, hardfail) means that emails from unauthorized servers are refused. For maximum protection use -all, but start with ~all during testing to avoid problems.
No, you can only have one SPF record per domain. If you use multiple email providers (for example Google Workspace and a marketing tool), combine them in one SPF record with multiple include statements, for example: v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:sendgrid.net -all
First you need to solve the cause of the blacklisting (hacked account, spam complaints, etc.). Then you can request delisting from most blacklists via their website. Spamhaus, SpamCop and Barracuda have online forms. The delisting process usually takes 24-72 hours.
Learn more about email authentication
Comprehensive guides to perfect your email configuration