Email Spam Score Checker
Test your email subject and body for spam trigger words, formatting issues, and deliverability risks. Free, instant, no data stored.
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Enter your subject line and email body above to see your spam score.
How do spam filters score your email content?
Spam filters assign points to email signals: spam trigger words in the subject and body, ALL CAPS words, excessive punctuation, too many links, and shortened URLs all raise your spam score. Most email providers use a threshold of around 5 points, above which emails are routed to spam automatically.
The checker above scores your email across 6 signal categories and shows exactly which words and patterns are contributing to your score. Unlike real spam filter systems (which are proprietary and vary by provider), this tool focuses on the universally recognized signals that reliably raise scores across Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail simultaneously.
What is the ideal cold email length and format?
The ideal cold email body is 75 to 150 words, plain text or minimal HTML, with one link maximum. Emails in this range are long enough to provide context and short enough to read in under 30 seconds. Short emails with a link pattern (under 30 words plus a URL) closely match phishing templates and trigger filters automatically.
Avoid attaching files to cold emails. Attachments dramatically increase spam scores on most email security gateways. If you need to share a document, link to a Google Doc or a landing page instead. Keep your call to action simple: one question or one link, not both in the same email.
Why do cold emails land in spam even with a clean list?
Content quality is only one factor. Even a perfectly written email lands in spam if your sending domain has a poor reputation, your SPF or DKIM records are misconfigured, or you are sending too fast from a new domain. Check your DNS records with the SPF DKIM DMARC Checker after fixing your content.
Recipient engagement also affects future deliverability. If many recipients delete your email without opening, or mark it as spam, Gmail and Outlook lower your sender reputation score over time. This means your future emails are more likely to be filtered even if the content is clean. Sending to a smaller, more targeted list consistently outperforms blasting a large unqualified list. Also test subject lines with the cold email subject line tester and set up authentication with the DMARC record generator.
Frequently asked questions about email spam scoring
What is an email spam score?
An email spam score is a numerical rating that estimates how likely your email is to be filtered into spam. It is calculated based on spam trigger words in the subject and body, formatting signals like ALL CAPS and excessive punctuation, link patterns, and text-to-HTML ratio. Lower scores mean better deliverability.
What spam trigger words should I avoid in emails?
Common spam trigger words include: free, guaranteed, act now, click here, buy now, limited time offer, winner, cash, prize, earn money, no obligation, risk free, and 100% satisfied. Using these words does not guarantee spam filtering but raises your spam score significantly.
Why is my email going to spam even with no spam words?
Content is only one factor. Other causes include a poor sender reputation score, missing or incorrect SPF/DKIM/DMARC records, sending from a new domain that is not warmed up, high bounce rates from previous campaigns, or recipients marking your emails as spam in the past.
Does email length affect spam filtering?
Yes. Extremely short emails (under 50 words) with a link can trigger spam filters because they match phishing patterns. Very long emails with many links also raise spam scores. Cold emails perform best at 75 to 150 words with one clear call to action.
How many links can I include in a cold email?
For cold email, limit links to 1 or 2 maximum. Emails with 3 or more links are more likely to be flagged as promotional or spam. Avoid link shorteners like bit.ly in cold email as they are heavily associated with spam. Use your full domain URL instead.
Does using ALL CAPS in email hurt deliverability?
Yes. ALL CAPS words in email subject lines and body text are a strong spam signal. Even a single ALL CAPS word like FREE or URGENT raises your spam score. Use sentence case or title case throughout your email.
What is a good spam score for email campaigns?
A spam score of 0 to 2 is excellent. Scores of 3 to 5 are acceptable but should be improved. Scores above 5 mean your email is likely to be filtered by major providers. The goal for cold email is a score as close to 0 as possible.
Should I use HTML or plain text for cold emails?
Plain text emails have better deliverability for cold outreach because they look like personal messages rather than marketing blasts. HTML emails with heavy formatting, images, and multiple links trigger spam filters more easily. Use plain text or minimal HTML for cold email.
How do I test my email before sending a campaign?
Use this spam checker to test your content. Also send a test email to a Gmail account, a Outlook account, and check where it lands. Use tools like Mail Tester for a full deliverability check including DNS records. Always test before sending to more than 50 recipients.
What is the text-to-link ratio in email?
The text-to-link ratio compares the amount of readable text to the number of links in your email. A ratio of 1 link per 100 words is safe for cold email. More than 3 links in a short email, or any link shortener URLs, significantly raise your spam score.
Related tools
Use these tools alongside the spam checker to improve deliverability before you send a campaign.