Email Deliverability Audit
An email deliverability audit finds out why your email lands in spam or never arrives, and gives you a ranked plan to fix it. We test where your mail actually lands at Gmail, Microsoft and corporate spam filters, then trace each problem back to its cause.
After a full audit and remediation of the issues that keep messages from their intended recipients, Formula Inbox clients see inbox placement rates above 90%, based on seed list tests that reflect their ideal customer profile.
- From $2,499
- Results in 7 to 10 business days
- Written report and 1-hour review call
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Signs You Need an Email Deliverability Audit
Get an audit when your email performance takes a major, negative turn and you are not sure what caused it or how to fix it. Common signs:
Open or reply rates dropped and you can’t find a reason.
Your ESP says mail was delivered, but B2B recipients stopped replying.
Performance fell after you changed ESPs, domains or sending volume.
Bounce or spam complaint rates spiked.
Your domain or IP landed on a blocklist.
Results From Our Audits
Each of these engagements started with an audit.
What Audit Clients Say
Read all reviewsFormula Inbox was exactly what I needed for a messy deliverability situation. They audited our email content, diagnosed what was actually causing the issue, and handed me a clear action plan I could take to my team. What I appreciated most was that they communicated everything in plain language without making me feel like I needed a computer science degree to follow along. Fast, thorough, and easy to work with. Would hire again without hesitation.
Formula Inbox was very helpful in helping me understand and unravel a list bomb attack and a whole set of deliverability issues. I plan to work with them again if I have any future issues.
Amazing consultation! Very knowledgeable. On a completely different level than other deliverability conversations we've had. If you need somebody for SERIOUS deliverability and email infrastructure you're in good hands.
How the Email Deliverability Audit Works
Starting at $2,499- 1
Day 1: Kickoff
You give us read access to your DNS, your ESP or sequencer, and any reputation tooling you already run. We confirm your goals and which domains and programs are in scope. Days count from when we have access.
- 2
Days 2 to 9: Testing and Analysis
Our experts run seed placement tests across mailbox providers and corporate spam filters, review your authentication, reputation and sending history, and trace each problem back to its cause.
- 3
Day 10: Report and Review Call
You get a written report with every finding mapped to a fix, plus a task list ranked by urgency, impact and effort. We walk through it together on a 1-hour call.
Next: the Fix
We turn your roadmap into a fixed-price fix plan and implement it, then recommend three months of support and monitoring so the fixes hold. Or hand the roadmap to your own team.
Email going to spam right now? Get a free diagnosticortalk to a human
What the Audit Checks
- All sending domains
- Marketing, transactional, and business email platforms
Inbox placement
- Overall IPR (inbox, tabs, spam, missing)
- IPR by mailbox provider
Engagement and volume
- Open, click, and unsubscribe rates
- Spam complaint rate
- Bounce rate, hard vs soft, bounce codes
- 12-month volume trend and spikes
- Campaigns vs automated flows
- Sending cadence consistency
Reputation
- Google domain reputation
- Domain blacklists
- IP reputation, shared vs dedicated fit
- IP blacklists
- Feedback loop data
- Postmaster delivery errors
DNS and authentication
- MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, TLS records
- Marketing and business email checked separately
- DMARC policy level and conflicts
- Per-source DMARC alignment
- BIMI readiness
Spam filters
- Microsoft EOP
- Barracuda
- SpamAssassin
- Proofpoint
- Mimecast
Content and sending practices
- No-reply vs monitored sender address
- Link count, image count, image size
- Link-tracking domain reputation
- One-click unsubscribe
- Spam trigger words
- ESP-injected headers
List quality
- Active contacts and provider breakdown
- Typo, role-based, and legacy domains
- Full list vs list actually mailed
- Verification status
Consent and sunset policy
- Consent collection method and placement
- SMS opt-in separation
- Sunset rules enforced or not
Regulations
- CAN-SPAM
- GDPR
- CASL
- CCPA/CPRA
- UK PECR
What You Get
- A written report covering your sending health, reputation, authentication, spam filter results, content, list hygiene and compliance, with every finding mapped to a specific fix.
- A remediation task list ranked by urgency, impact and effort, grouped into phases so your team knows what to do first.
- A 1-hour review call with Truitt Dill, your project manager and the experts who worked on your audit.
- A prioritized roadmap you can hand to your team, or have us implement as a fixed-price fix.
Who the Audit Is For
Marketing teams sending from Klaviyo, HubSpot, or another ESP.
We focus on inbox placement, spam complaint rates and list health.
Product teams sending transactional email through Mandrill, Resend, or a self-hosted setup.
We check that receipts, password resets and alerts reach the inbox and stay separate from marketing reputation.
Cold outbound teams on Instantly, Apollo, Smartlead, or another sequencer.
The audit also covers domain and mailbox architecture and warming state.
Each program is evaluated on its own, against its own standards. Not ready for a full audit? Start with the free deliverability assessment.
Where the Audit Fits
Every fix starts from an audit, so we fix causes, not symptoms.
Launching a new program or setting up a new platform from scratch? That's an email infrastructure build, a separate service.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the audit actually cover?
Authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and BIMI where relevant), DNS configuration, sending domain and IP reputation, blacklist status, gateway placement across the major filters (Microsoft EOP, Proofpoint, Mimecast, Barracuda, Google), list hygiene, and the ESP or sequencer setup itself. For cold outbound programs it also covers domain and mailbox architecture and warming state. You get findings mapped to specific fixes, not a generic checklist.
How much does an email deliverability audit cost?
Audits range from $2,499 to $10,000. The price depends on how many sending domains and email service providers are in scope.
How long does an email deliverability audit take?
An audit takes 7 to 10 business days from when we receive access to your systems to the review call. In a full 10-day audit, day 1 is kickoff, days 2 to 9 are testing and analysis, and day 10 is your report and review call.
Do you fix the problems or just find them?
The audit is a diagnostic. It ends with a written report, a prioritized roadmap and a review call. Fixes are a separate service: our Email Deliverability Fix turns the roadmap into a fixed-price plan that we implement for you, verified with a follow-up placement test. Or hand the roadmap to your own team. After the fix, we recommend three months of support and monitoring.
What do you need to start an email deliverability audit?
Read access to your DNS, your ESP or sequencer, and any inbox-placement or reputation tooling you already run. For gateway filtering issues we also ask for a few seed addresses on the receiving side so we can run placement tests against real environments.
How often should a company get an email deliverability audit?
Get an audit when your email performance takes a major, negative turn and you are not sure what caused it or how to fix it. When performance is steady, ongoing monitoring catches problems before they need an audit.
Will we need to switch email service providers?
Usually not. Most ESPs offer similar infrastructure. A switch makes sense when your ESP uses IPs with a poor reputation, does not allow custom tracking links, does not give you the data you need to maintain high deliverability, or cannot automate list cleaning.
Can I audit my own email deliverability?
You can check the basics yourself: authentication records, blocklist status and a free inbox placement test. Our guide to what an email deliverability audit includes walks through a basic version. A full audit adds placement testing against corporate filters, reputation and sending history analysis, and a ranked plan of fixes.
Is an email deliverability audit limited to certain ESPs?
No. We are ESP-agnostic and audit whatever you send on, whether that is Instantly, Apollo, Smartlead, Klaviyo, HubSpot, Mandrill, Resend, or a self-hosted setup. Cold outbound, marketing, and transactional each get evaluated as their own program with their own standards.
Take the Next Step With Formula Inbox
Industry Experts
Our team of email deliverability managers possesses deep experience in email deliverability, anti-spam compliance, and email infrastructure.
Data-Driven Approach
We utilize advanced analytics to identify why your emails aren’t reaching inboxes.
Proven Fixes & Best Practices
We don’t just consult; we implement solutions that work.
Customized Solutions
Every email program is different. We tailor our recommendations specifically to your needs.
100% Compliance-Focused
We help your emails comply with GDPR, CAN-SPAM, CASL, and other global regulations.