Free tool
Cold email domain checker
Type your domain, and we check if your emails can get into the inbox. If something is wrong, we tell you what it means in plain words, and we show you what to copy and paste.
- Free, and you do not sign up
- It works in your browser
- Check up to ten domains
- Copy and paste the fixes
What the checker looks at
Before anyone reads your email, Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo check four settings on your domain. Here is what each one does, in plain words.
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Who can send for you SPF
SPF is a list of the tools that can send email from your domain.
For example, Google Workspace and your cold email tool. Inboxes trust email from tools on the list. The list can have a maximum of 10 lines, and we count them for you.
What a good one looks like
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all -
Email signature DKIM
DKIM adds a hidden signature to each email you send.
Inboxes check the signature, and then they know the email really came from you. You turn it on in the settings of your email provider. We look for it in 35 common places.
What a good one looks like
google._domainkey v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=MIIBIjANBg… -
Fake email rule DMARC
DMARC tells inboxes what to do when someone sends fake email with your domain.
It can let the email through, send it to spam or block it. It can also send you a report, so you see who sends email as you. Gmail and Yahoo need it from bulk senders.
What a good one looks like
v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com -
Replies MX
MX tells the internet where to deliver email for your domain.
When people reply to you, their reply goes there. Without it, replies bounce back, and spam filters trust your domain less.
What a good one looks like
1 smtp.google.com
What a cold email domain needs in 2026
Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook now block email that fails their checks. Your domain is ready to send cold email when you can say yes to each of these.
Do you want the full setup? Read our 2026 deliverability guide. It tells you how many domains to use, how long to warm up, and how to rotate your inboxes.
- Use a separate domain for cold email, and keep your main domain for your team.
- Have one list of who can send for you (SPF), with 10 lines or less.
- Turn on the email signature (DKIM) in your email provider.
- Add a fake email rule (DMARC), and read the reports it sends you.
- Make sure people can reply to you (MX).
- Get less than 3 spam reports per 1,000 emails, and less than 2 bounces per 100.
- Add a one-click unsubscribe link to marketing emails.
How the score works
Your score is out of 100. Higher is better. Each check gives points: 30 for who can send for you, 30 for the fake email rule, 25 for the signature and 15 for replies. Green gets all the points, yellow gets some, and red gets none.
- 90+ Ready to send
- 70 to 89 Almost ready
- 45 to 69 At risk
- Under 45 Your mail will bounce
Questions
What does this tool check?
It checks four settings on your domain. Together they tell Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo that your email is real. SPF lists who can send for you, and DKIM signs your email. DMARC is your rule for fake email, and MX makes sure people can reply. For each problem, the tool tells you what to copy and where to paste it.
What is DNS, and where do I find it?
DNS is the settings page for your domain. You find it on the website where you bought your domain, for example GoDaddy, Namecheap or Cloudflare. Log in, open your domain, and look for DNS, DNS records or Manage DNS. You add each fix there.
The tool says my email is not signed, but I set it up. Why?
Some tools save the signature under a special name, and we cannot guess every name. We try the 35 most common ones. Click “Do you know your DKIM selector?”, type the name, and check again. To find the name, open an email you sent, show the original message, and look for s= in the DKIM-Signature line.
My fake email rule only watches. Is that OK?
Yes, for a new domain. A rule that only watches (p=none) meets the Gmail and Yahoo rules. After two or three weeks, read your reports. If only your own tools send as you, change it to p=quarantine. Then fake email goes to spam, and inboxes trust you more.
Why can my sender list have only 10 lines?
Inboxes read a maximum of 10 lines in your SPF list, and the lists inside it count too. If your list is longer, inboxes stop reading, and your email fails the check. Each new email tool adds a line, so remove the tools you do not use any more.
Do I need all of this on each domain I send from?
Yes. Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook check the domain you send from, and they block email that fails. So if one of your domains has no setup, its email does not arrive.
Do you save the domains I type?
Yes, we keep a record of them. Your own browser runs the check, with free public tools from Cloudflare and Google. But we put the domain in the page address, so you can share the report, and our analytics tool, PostHog, records that address. It also records the domains you check and their scores, so we can see how people use the tool and make it better.
Can you fix this for me?
Yes. We set up domains, inboxes and all of these settings for our clients, and we run their cold email campaigns too. Book a call, and we go through your report with you.