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10 Best Email Testing Tools For Optimized Delivery [2023]

The Best Email Testing Tools List

Here’s the list of the best email testing software and apps that I’ll cover in this article.

  1. 1. Stripo — Drag-n-Drop, all-in-one email design platform for creating email templates
  2. 2. SendinBlue — Best for small to medium enterprises
  3. 3. Email On Acid — Cloud-based, comprehensive email marketing, preparation and tracking software
  4. 4. MailChimp Transactional Email — Best for marketing automations
  5. 5. MailHog — Best for app developers
  6. 6. Litmus ESP — Best for integrations
  7. 7. MailCatcher — Best free email testing tool
  8. 8. GlockApps — Best for spam testing email campaigns
  9. 9. MailTrap — Best for email testing in staging environments
  10. 10. Wormly — Best for email + web monitoring

Email testing is often neglected, however, is important considering how many emails are sent a day by a single person working at a company. Sometimes, the problem is finding the right tool for your company and your situation.  

In this article, I have selected a shortlist of just some of the best email testing tools in the market. With a range of tools suitable for developers, QA testers, and email marketers alike, there is something for every level of expertise.  

Comparison Criteria

What do I look for when I select the best email testing solutions? Here’s a summary of my evaluation criteria: 

  1. User Interface (UI): I look for user-friendly and clean dashboards for pleasant user experience, ensuring everything is clear, concise and organized.
  2. Usability: I look for effective but easy to use platforms with extensive documentation for reference and training.
  3. Integrations: I look for easy and efficient email integration opportunities through various social media platforms, email providers such as Gmail and Outlook, and analytics that are easily executed.
  4. Value for $: I look for what features and access levels you get for your money—is it worth what you’re paying?

Email Testing: Key Features

  1. Email Integration: Email testing tools should work with all the most popular email providers, including Gmail, Outlook, AOL, iCloud, and so on.
  2. Spam Tests: Email testing tools should be able to detect whether or not your email campaigns can make it through common spam filters.
  3. Sender Score: The software should give you an idea of your sender score—AKA how likely you are to be able to make it in front of your target audience.
  4. Defect tracking: If a problem arises, the tool should appropriately flag and log it so that your team can address it in a timely fashion.
  5. Deliverability optimization: The platform should provide insights that improve your likelihood of emails reaching their target destination. 

Overviews Of The 10 Best Email Testing Tools

Here’s a brief description of each email testing platform to showcase each tool’s best use case, some noteworthy features, and screenshots to give a snapshot of the interface. 

1

Stripo

Drag-n-Drop, all-in-one email design platform for creating email templates

Stripo is an email design platform that allows teams to design responsive emails with little or no HTML skills required. It is equipped with a comprehensive drag-n-drop editor and a set of basic blocks that allow users to create real-time content with no coding skills. Stripo was one of the first email builders to implement AMP for Email technology.Stripo allows you to reuse and save email modules, even across different email campaigns. It comes with automated processes, custom modules libraries, and provides a host of personalization like the ability to embed custom HTML code to create interactive elements.It provides users with over 1000 free and ready-to-use responsive email templates that are also mobile optimized. Stripo comes with over 100,000 stock images along with the opportunity to personalize and export emails, then track conversions thereafter.Stripo can be integrated with over 60 ESPs/CRMs tools. This provides users with versatility and flexibility of functionality, for instance, to push emails to automation systems with only a click of a button.Stripo has a lifetime free version. The other versions are billed annually: Basic ($150 or $12.5 per month), Medium ($450 or $37.5 per month), Pro ($950 or $79 per month), and Prime, with pricing available upon request.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.7 106

Free Version

Basic ($150 or $12.5 per month), Medium ($450 or $37.5 per month), Pro ($950 or $79 per month)

2

SendinBlue

Best for small to medium enterprises

Sendinblue is an email and marketing automation tool designed specifically for small to medium enterprises. Sendinblue boasts a full, easy-to-use marketing hub, including automation features, email validation, reporting and email design templates. Sendinblue’s email automation tool lets you send rules and execute commands depending on end user action.

Sendinblue provides targeted communication using behavioural, email and contact data, helping you to build basic and advanced workflows and separate your contacts and email list based on website activity. Their jack-of-all-trades approach to email creation, marketing, automation, and testing is something that many SMEs prefer over juggling an endless email tech stack.

The cost of Sendinblue starts at $25/month for up to 20,000 emails. Sendinblue also offers a free version with some account limitations

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.5 1436

Freemium version available

From $25/month

3

Email On Acid

Cloud-based, comprehensive email marketing, preparation and tracking software

Email on Acid is an email platform that specializes in quality assurance and pre-deployment functionality. It enhances organizations’ ability to deliver error-free emails that maintain brand reputation to ultimately boost marketing ROI. Email on Acid strives to provide consistency in visual email rendering across different devices and platforms, ensuring generated emails get displayed as intended. It streamlines the email testing and pre-deployment process with campaign prechecks, URL validation, image optimization, and so on. Email on Acid allows you to run checklists that matter like UTM validation and ADA compliance.Email on Acid improves email deliverability rates with spam checks in addition to providing access to blacklisted domains. This allows developers and email designers to verify their email list against up to over 20 popular spam filters while also testing IP addresses against popular block list services.Email on Acid comes with an editor for building templates along with team collaboration tools for better efficiency. Email on Acid has four pricing tiers, each with a free trial period and billed annually. The Basics is $74/month, Premium is $134/month, Professional costs $449/month, while the Enterprise tier is custom priced.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.5 36

The Basics is $74/month, Premium is $134/month, Professional costs $449/month, while the Enterprise tier is custom priced.

4

MailChimp Transactional Email

Best for marketing automations

Mailchimp is an all-in-one marketing platform with a robust content creation suite, marketing analytics, and add-on options for advanced email testing features. Mailchimp is AI-powered and provides user-friendly tools on an intuitive user interface, offering accessibility to users who lack deep technical knowledge. Mailchimp offers comprehensive reporting for deliverability, open rates, click-throughs, and conversions.

Mailchimp provides marketing automation features so you can manage transactional deliveries and automate tasks and communications. The tool is scalable, allowing you to send a large quantity of emails at once. Mailchimp also offers website hosting and design, making it easy for the user to create landing pages from a variety of basic templates (or code your own from scratch).

To get access to the Transactional Email add-on, you’ll need a Standard Mailchimp plan or above: $14.99/month. Then, add $20/block (AKA 25,000 emails)—or, access lower per-block rates for bulk purchases.

$14.99/month. Then, add $20/block (AKA 25,000 emails)

5

MailHog

Best for app developers

MailHog is an email testing tool with a fake SMTP server that is designed specifically for app developers. The tool allows you to configure your application to use MailHog for SMTP delivery, view messages in a web UI, or retrieve them with the JSON API, and optionally release messages to real SMTP servers for delivery.

MailHog is a lightweight tool that you do not have to install, therefore it can be run on multiple

operating systems, including Windows, Linux and MacOS. This allows easy access for developers to test web app’s email sending and receiving capabilities. MailHog also provides real-time updates using an EventSource web interface. Captured emails can be stored in in-memory message storage and persisted in a MongoDB database and file-based stored system.

MailHog is an open source and free tool that can be used by anyone.

6

Litmus ESP

Best for integrations

Litmus ESP is an email marketing tool that helps you build, test, and analyze all email service providers (ESPs). Litmus allows you to chart the specific reasons why an email may fail to deliver, as well as allow you to see the time taken to load an image and have accessibility to real world processing into inboxes.

Litmus’s user interface provides fast loading screenshots of all current email clients, organization of emails within one folder system, preview testing of email content and a Builder for checking and testing various code against different email clients, allowing you to streamline your processes. The user interface also allows for team commenting and editor functionality.

Litmus connects with a wide range of ESPs and other services, including Acoustic Campaign, Adobe Campaign Standard, Adobe Marketo, Hubspot, Oracle Eloqua, Oracle Responsys, Pardot, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, and SAP Marketing Cloud.

The cost for Litmus ESP starts at $79/month for the basic package. The tool also offers a 7-day free trial.

7 Days Free Trial

$79/month for the basic package

7

MailCatcher

Best free email testing tool

MailCatcher is an email testing tool that is designed to intercept all mail from any web or mobile

app and store it for display. MailCatcher runs a fake SMTP server and shows HTML and CSS emails, Plain Text emails and Source versions of messages as applicable. It also rewrites HTML enabling display of embedded images and can open links in a new window. This allows you to effectively test all aspects of your email and check the formatting before it goes to your client.

MailCatcher mail appears instantly if WebSockets is supported on your browser, otherwise it

updates every thirty seconds. It also offers command line options to override the default

SMTP/HTTP IP and port settings, which allows you to manipulate your testing the best way for

your practice.

MailCatcher is a free email testing tool and instructions on how to download it can be found on their site.

8

GlockApps

Best for spam testing email campaigns

GlockApps is an inbox delivery and spam filter testing tool that allows users to fix any email deliverability problems prior to hitting send. GlockApps provides a one-stop-shop for all email delivery tools including a “Reputation Check,” which allows you to audit your IP address and domain you are sending from against industry blacklists. You also have access to DMARC Email Analytics to monitor, capture, separate and or/reject any email pretending to be you.

Glockapps provides detailed spam and blacklist reports in order to allow the user to troubleshoot and fix problems that improve email deliverability. This feature is particularly useful should you wish to test marketing campaigns and deliverability of email marketing providers. The report shows all IP addresses that were used to send emails and details whether they are on any blacklists, allowing you to get an overall view of the email campaign’s performance.

GlockApps costs from $59/month for the basic plan, and also provides a free version specifically for personal use.

$59/month for the basic plan

9

MailTrap

Best for email testing in staging environments

MailTrap is an online tool for safe email testing in development and staging environments. The tool is used as a fake SMTP server to catch test emails, view them in virtual inboxes, and debug before they are sent to real users. MailTrap allows you to test and iterate over new emails efficiently in order to avoid emails mistakenly being sent to clients and other employees from dev environments. MailTrap can be integrated via API or as an SMTP server.

MailTrap offers numerous features, including Bcc testing. Most email testing tools do not support Bcc as it is not a regular SMTP header like To or Cc. MailTrap displays all Bcc’ed addresses and is able to verify whether they stay invisible for the main recipients. MailTrap also provides a customizable email address for each inbox, allowing you to run tests in a production environment in addition to a development environment.

The cost of MailTrap starts at $9.99/ month for 1 user and up to 5 inboxes. MailTrap also offers a free version specifically for a single inbox and up to 500 email tests per month.

$9.99/ month for 1 user and up to 5 inboxes

10

Wormly

Best for email + web monitoring

Wormly is a website uptime monitoring solution that tracks things like site uptime, CPU usage, and SMTP server testing for new mail servers. You can access SMTP testing and Remote Ping testing for free through their site by adding a few details into an on-page form. Wormly provides detailed website and app uptime reporting and runs on all major operating systems including Windows and Linux.

In addition to email testing, Wormly offers a website monitoring service which continually monitors your website infrastructure and will alert you if a failure is detected, allowing you to act quickly and minimize downtime. The tool also offers sensors to monitor TCP/IP services to their full extent which allows you to get a picture of your infrastructure availability and uptime.

Wormly costs from $39/month for 10 test targets at 1-min frequency (1 user). They offer some free services on their website. Paid plans come with a free trial.

Free Trial

$39/month for 10 test targets at 1-min frequency

Need expert help selecting the right Email Marketing Software?

We’ve joined up with Crozdesk.com to give all our readers (yes, you!) access to Crozdesk’s software advisors. Just use the form below to share your needs, and they will contact you at no cost or commitment. You will then be matched and connected to a shortlist of vendors that best fit your company, and you can access exclusive software discounts!

The 10 Best Email Testing Tools Summary

Tool Free Option Price
1
Stripo

Drag-n-Drop, all-in-one email design platform for creating email templates

Free Version

Basic ($150 or $12.5 per month), Medium ($450 or $37.5 per month), Pro ($950 or $79 per month) Visit Website
2
SendinBlue

Best for small to medium enterprises

Freemium version available

From $25/month Visit Website
3
Email On Acid

Cloud-based, comprehensive email marketing, preparation and tracking software

Not available

The Basics is $74/month, Premium is $134/month, Professional costs $449/month, while the Enterprise tier is custom priced. Visit Website
4
MailChimp Transactional Email

Best for marketing automations

Not available

$14.99/month. Then, add $20/block (AKA 25,000 emails) Visit Website
5
MailHog

Best for app developers

Not available

Visit Website
6
Litmus ESP

Best for integrations

7 Days Free Trial

$79/month for the basic package Visit Website
7
MailCatcher

Best free email testing tool

Not available

Visit Website
8
GlockApps

Best for spam testing email campaigns

Not available

$59/month for the basic plan Visit Website
9
MailTrap

Best for email testing in staging environments

Not available

$9.99/ month for 1 user and up to 5 inboxes Visit Website
10
Wormly

Best for email + web monitoring

Free Trial

$39/month for 10 test targets at 1-min frequency Visit Website

Other Options

Here’s a few more that didn’t make the top list.

  1. Stripo - Free drag-and-drop email creation tool with 5 daily test emails as a part of the entry level plan. 
  2. Email on Acid - Easy email testing tool with UTM validation, accessibility checks, GIF checking, and more.
  3. SparkPost - Email sender reputation tool using data-driven analytics to parse bounce, delivery, and engagement events.
  4. Mailosaur - API for automating your email tests—works with frameworks like Cypress, Selenium, and Webdriver.io.
  5. ZeroBounce - Email validation service that uses AI-powered deliverability scoring to increase your deliverability and open rates.

Related Read: HOW TO EFFECTIVELY MONITOR SERVER PERFORMANCE

Conclusion

So: should QAs care about email testing? Short answer is YES! 

Email testing is important as a part of a broader brand communication and marketing strategy. These tools are designed to improve deliverability and minimize risk when sending out hoards of emails to clients, each tool also harbouring their own specific strength so that you are able to make an informed decision based on your needs. 

Be sure to subscribe to The QA Lead newsletter (yes, it’s email tested!) to keep up with new articles, industry thought leadership, and QA community events. Get started by checking this blog out: HOW TESTING SKILLS MADE ME A BETTER AUTOMATION DEVELOPER

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By Jess Charlton

My name is Jess, and I am a writer and Digital Marketing Technician specializing in quality assurance testing of Content Management Systems for corporations. My expertise lies in frontend and backend software testing using a variety of QA testing tools. Find me on LinkedIn.

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