Have you ever sent an email to your recipient, got all the details correct, even used the best email template checker for your content, but somehow your email still ended up in the spam folder?
If this ever occurred, there is a huge chance that there can be something wrong with your email headers.
As experts in email deliverability, we at Warmy.io understand that email headers are just as crucial as the email content. Email headers contain technical data that confirms whether an email is legitimate or potentially malicious, which can boost your email open rates.
Email header analyzers are one of the most powerful ways to verify email authenticity, troubleshoot potential delivery issues, and ensure that your email address is credible, alongside email testers and email warmup services.
However, with the increasing sophistication of phishing attempts, the rise of spam content, and other malicious activities, acquiring an email warm-up service and email header analyzer is essential to troubleshoot email issues effortlessly. Check out our guide to the top email header analyzer tools.
What is Email Header and Why You Should Analyze It
Email headers contain crucial technical data, including the sender’s address, the recipient’s address, the email’s route, and authentication details. Email header analyzers use these data to identify the inception of an email and track its delivery path. It can verify critical information and details such as:
- Sender and recipient information: Verify the sender’s information. Confirm if the sender’s domain matches the name or email address in the “From” field.
- Timestamps: Analyze when the email was sent and whether it passed through multiple mail servers.
- Routing and path information: Tracing the path the email took from sender to recipient.
- Authentication results: Checking whether SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) records align with the sender’s domain.
Careful examination of email headers can help detect phishing attempts, and verify whether an email is legitimate. It is also an effective way to troubleshoot email delivery problems.
An Overview of Microsoft and Google Email Header Analyzer
Two of the most well-known and commonly used email header analysis tools are Microsoft Email Header Analyzer, and Google Email Header Analyzer. Both have critical functions that make them effective in their own rights. The following summarizes both of their key features and other potential advantages it can bring.
Microsoft Email Header Analyzer
Microsoft offers an Email Header Analyzer tool that offers users an easy way to examine email headers giving them the ability to troubleshoot issues or detect fraud in a straightforward manner.
This tool is especially useful for Microsoft Exchange and Outlook users and offers a user-friendly interface for parsing complex header data and decode email headers, making it simpler to interpret them.
Key Features and Functions
- Decoding Email Headers: The tool decodes headers into a more readable format, making it easier to trace the email’s origin and path.
- IP Traceability: It provides the ability to trace the IP addresses involved in the email’s routing process, which can help identify malicious senders or spam sources.
- Spam Detection: The tool highlights potential spam issues, helping users detect fraudulent emails early.
- Authentication Results: It allows you to quickly assess whether the email passed authentication protocols such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
Pros
- User-Friendly: Simplifies complex header data for easy analysis.
- Free Tool: Accessible to anyone using Microsoft products.
- Ideal for Outlook Users: Easy integration with Outlook and Exchange, providing seamless support for Microsoft users.
Cons
- Limited to Microsoft Ecosystem: Less effective for non-Microsoft email clients.
- Basic Functionality: While useful for common troubleshooting, it may lack some advanced features that other tools provide.
Ideal Use Case
Perfect for troubleshooting emails in Outlook and Exchange environments, especially for users who need to verify the authenticity of incoming emails or analyze delivery issues.
Google Email Header Analyzer
The Google Email Header Analyzer is another excellent tool for inspecting email headers, especially for Gmail users. This tool can decode email headers from Gmail and display them in an easy-to-understand format, which is useful for both individuals and businesses.
Key Features and Functions
- Detailed Header Breakdown: It decodes and analyzes Gmail email headers, displaying all key information in a readable format.
- Spam Detection and Phishing Alerts: It can detect whether an email is flagged as spam or if the email appears suspicious.
- IP Tracing: The tool provides IP addresses involved in the email’s journey, helping identify potential security risks.
- Authentication Check: It verifies the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC results, providing a clear view of the email’s authenticity.
Pros
- Gmail-Specific: Tailored for Gmail users, making it a perfect tool for Gmail-based email systems.
- Free and Easy-to-Use: Accessible online and simple to use.
- Detailed Analysis: Provides a comprehensive breakdown of the email header.
Cons
- Limited to Gmail: May not work as effectively with other email providers.
- No Advanced Features: Lacks some advanced features that other enterprise-level tools provide.
Ideal Use Case
The Google Email Header Analyzer is ideal for Gmail users who want to analyze headers for phishing detection, spam filtering, and delivery troubleshooting.
Industry-Leading Email Header Analyzers
Although Microsoft and Google Header Analyzer tools are prominent email header analyzers, its limitations do not warrant usage and may hinder your capability to completely analyze potential header issues when it comes to other platforms.
Fortunately, there are other tools that you can use to effectively improve your email deliverability.
Warmy.io
Warmy.io is best known for its email warmup features guaranteed to take your email to the intended recipient, and ensure that it will not end up in spam. These advantages can ultimately maximize your deliverability and engagement.
It also provides a free email template checker that will verify if your content, or email is spammable. Besides that, it can also offer tons of other features that makes it one of the most ideal email warm-up systems that you can use.
Key Features
- Free Email Template Checker to avoid spams
- Send up to 5000 warm-up emails per day.
- Up to 100 DNS record test
- Up to 100 Inbox Placement Tests
- Choose Warmup topic, language and settings
- 24/7 Premium Support: Zoom calls and chat
- Deliverability autotest and academy
- Affiliate Programs
- Earn a 25% recurring commission on sales for every successful customer referrals
Underrated Feature: Flexible pricing plans with tons of features to ensure that you have a reputable email domain, avoid SMTP errors.
MXToolbox
MXToolbox is one of the most popular email header analyzer tools in the market. It provides detailed analysis of email headers and offers additional features such as DNS lookups, SMTP diagnostics, and blacklist checks.
Key Features:
- Comprehensive header analysis
- Email path tracing.
- Spam filtering and blacklist checks.
- Email server diagnostics.
- IP traceability and geolocation.
Underrated Feature: Offers detailed analysis for both email headers and email server performance, making it suitable for IT teams and network administrators.
Mailgun Email Headers Analyzer
Mailgun is another tool designed for email professionals who need detailed insights into email headers, particularly for troubleshooting deliverability issues. It supports SPF, DKIM, and DMARC checks, as well as real-time email tracking.
Key Features:
- Full header analysis with a clear display of routing and authentication.
- Integration with Mailgun’s email delivery services for easy troubleshooting.
- Real-time spam and phishing detection.
Underrated Feature: Integrates with email campaigns and offers deep insights into email deliverability.
Header Analyzer by Email-Toolkit
Email-Toolkit’s Header Analyzer is another well-regarded tool for analyzing email headers. This tool provides a simple interface for users to copy and paste email headers and get a clear breakdown of key email information.
Key Features:
- Provides a comprehensive breakdown of email routing and IP tracing.
- Highlights authentication issues such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
- Detects phishing attempts and email spoofing.
Underrated Feature: User-friendly interface and free to use.
SpamAssassin
While SpamAssassin is primarily a spam filter, it also offers powerful email header analysis to help identify potential spam and phishing attempts. It works by scoring emails based on various characteristics, including email headers.
Key Features:
- Automatically analyzes emails for potential spam based on headers.
- Provides a spam score and details on why an email was flagged.
- Includes a spam-assessment tool that uses email header information to determine the likelihood of spam.
Underrated Feature: Effective at detecting and flagging spam and phishing attempts.
Choosing the Best Email Header Analyzer Tool
When deciding on the best email header analyzer tool, it’s essential to consider the following:
- Platform Compatibility: Choose a tool that works seamlessly with your email platform (e.g., Microsoft Outlook, Gmail, or Mailgun).
- Ease of Use: If you’re not a tech expert, opt for tools that provide a simple interface and clear reports.
- Advanced Features: For businesses and IT teams, tools like MXToolbox and Mailgun offer advanced features such as IP tracing, server diagnostics, and email delivery monitoring.
- Integration: Consider whether the tool integrates with other services like email campaigns, CRM systems, or email security services.
Warmy.io: More Than Your Average Email Header Analyzer
For email users, email header analyzers are an essential step in maintaining email security and optimize your email communications. However, confirming if your email headers are reputable may not suffice. Warmy.io goes beyond ensuring emails are delivered to your intended recipient’s inbox. It supplies free email deliverability tests, with the capability to warm up your email domain and improve your sender reputation.
It also provides free SPF and DMARC Record Generators to develop your email authentication process. The SPF and DMARC record generators are vital for reducing the risk of phishing attempts, and potentially eliminate other security risks and errors.
Warmy.io provides that gradually and meticulously evaluate your email delivery capabilities, identify any potential problems you may have in your email settings, and offer a long list of solutions to ensure your emails are not blacklisted.
Here are some of Warmy’s benefits that ensure your email deliverability is at peak performance:
Ensure Reputable Emails with Our Email Warmups
In some cases, even if your email headers passed all the email header inspections, if your email is new or inactive, email address or domain servers are most likely to consider your email as spam.
Since new email domains do not have any foundation that confirms their emails are reputable, resulting in your emails getting potentially blacklisted. Warming up your email domain is the best solution for this quandary. It helps you build a solid sender reputation over time, and avoid sudden spam flags.
Add Your Own Template with Free Template Checker
Google and Microsoft Header analyzers are ideal systems for each of their own servers, but they have limited capabilities when it comes to other email services.
This creates a confusion for email service providers since there are varying protocols and violations that are exclusive for each email service provider.
We offer a free template checker to avoid spammy email headers, contents, or subject lines.
Guarantee a Healthy Mail Service with DNS Testing
Our free email deliverability test can also give you the ability to check your IP or domain. Perform up to 100 DNS testing per month and guarantee a healthy mail server, which moves you out of the blacklist.
Obtain Peak Email Performance with Our Email Deliverability Expert
We have an Email Deliverability Expert from Warmy.io that can provide personalized assistance providing topnotch advice, analysis and guidance for the best email performance.
Want to achieve a reputable email? Sign up for the 7-day free trial, or book a demo to improve your email marketing performance.
