Free tool · Cold email Email Spam Checker
Paste your cold email and see how spam filters (and busy readers) react before your prospects do. We score spam risk, grade readability, and flag every word to rewrite. Runs entirely in your browser.
What hurts your spam score
Spam filters score messages on dozens of signals. You can't control all of them, but the content-level ones are entirely in your hands, and they're where most cold emails go wrong. Here's what this checker weights.
Spam-trigger words, by category
Promotional and urgency language is the strongest content signal, but not every word is equal. We check hundreds of trigger words across nine weighted categories, and a pharma or scam word hurts far more than a common salesy word like offer or price. Your results show exactly which category each match falls into:
- Shady / scammy:
risk free,no catch,you're a winner,this is not spam - Health / pharma:
weight loss,miracle cure,no prescription - Gambling / adult:
casino,jackpot,free spins - Overpromise / hype:
amazing,guaranteed results,once in a lifetime - Money / financial:
cash,make money,financial freedom - Urgency / pressure:
act now,limited time,expires today - Spammy greeting:
dear friend,to whom it may concern - Pushy call-to-action:
click here,buy now,call now - Salesy / promotional:
free,discount,deal(fine in context, flagged gently)
The point isn't to scrub every one of these. It's density and context. One offer in a relevant sentence is fine; five urgency words plus a pharma term is what triggers filters. Want the complete reference? See our list of 355+ spam trigger words, grouped by category.
Links and shortened ones
More than one or two links, especially on a first touch, reads as bulk mail. URL shorteners (bit.ly, tinyurl) are worse. They hide the destination and are a strong spam signal. Keep it to a single link to your real domain, or none, and earn the click by getting a reply first.
ALL-CAPS, exclamation marks, and emojis
Capitalized words, strings of exclamation marks, and a row of emojis all look like shouting to prospects and filters alike. One exclamation mark is plenty; $$$ and !!! are textbook spam patterns; a single tasteful emoji is fine but several make a cold email read like a newsletter.
Deceptive subject lines
We also check the subject line: a fake Re: or Fwd: on a first-touch email, ALL-CAPS, exclamation marks, and emojis are all penalized by recipients and filters. Keep it short (under 50 characters), specific, and honest.
Length
Extremely short emails (a line and a link) look automated, while very long ones lose the reader. For cold outreach, roughly 50–150 words tends to perform best.
Beyond spam: is your email actually readable?
Clearing spam filters only gets you into the inbox. It doesn't earn a reply. That's why this tool also grades readability, the difference between an email a busy decision-maker skims and answers versus one they ignore. Here's what we check.
- Reading ease & grade level: a Flesch score and grade level. Aim for 60+ (8th-grade or simpler); executives skim, so plain language wins.
- Passive voice: “it will be sent” is longer and weaker than “I'll send it.” We flag passive sentences so you can make them active.
- Long sentences: anything over 20 words is hard to skim on a phone. We list the offenders so you can split them.
- Adverbs:
really,quickly,actually. An-lyadverb usually signals a weak verb; cut most of them. - Filler words:
just,very,basically. They add length without meaning. - Clichés:
circle back,touch base,hope this email finds you well. Overused openers make you instantly forgettable. - You vs. I/we focus: prospects care about themselves. If you say “I” and “we” more than “you,” the email is about you, not them.
- A clear ask: every cold email needs one specific, low-friction call-to-action. We flag emails with no question or CTA.
Fix the spam triggers to reach the inbox; fix the readability to earn the reply. The best cold emails do both.
Content is only half of deliverability
A clean, human-sounding email still lands in spam if the domain it's sent from isn't properly authenticated and warmed up. Once your copy scores well here, check the technical side: run the email deliverability test on your sending domain, or verify your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records individually.
Want emails that are both well-written and well-delivered? That's the whole job. See how we run cold email infrastructure, or read the deliverability guide.
Frequently asked questions
How does the email spam checker work?
Paste your subject line and body and we analyze the content against the patterns spam filters weight most heavily: trigger words and phrases, the number of links, ALL-CAPS words, excessive punctuation, and length. You get a 0–100 risk score (lower is better) plus a specific list of what to fix. It all runs in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server.
What words trigger spam filters?
Filters react to language that signals promotion or urgency: "free", "act now", "limited time", "guarantee", "cash", "click here", and hundreds of similar terms. No single word dooms an email, but a cluster of them, combined with multiple links or ALL-CAPS, pushes a message toward the spam folder. The tool highlights every trigger word it finds so you can rewrite them.
How many links should a cold email have?
Ideally one, and often zero on the first touch. Multiple links, especially shortened or mismatched ones, are a strong spam signal and reduce replies. If you need to share something, ask for permission first and send the link once the prospect responds.
Does a low spam score guarantee inbox placement?
No, content is only half of deliverability. Even a perfectly clean email lands in spam if the sending domain isn't authenticated (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), warmed up, and in good standing. Run the email deliverability test on your sending domain to check the other half.
Is this a cold email checker or just a spam checker?
Both. It's a complete cold email checker and grader. On top of the spam score, it works as a free email readability checker: it grades reading level and flags passive voice, long sentences, adverbs, filler, clichés, weak personalization, and a missing call-to-action. One tool tells you whether your email reaches the inbox and whether it earns a reply.
Does this check readability too?
Yes, alongside the spam score, it grades readability and clarity. It calculates your Flesch reading-ease score and grade level, then flags passive voice, sentences over 20 words, -ly adverbs, filler words ("just", "really", "very"), corporate clichés ("circle back", "touch base"), a sender-centric "I/we" focus, and a missing call-to-action. Clear, easy-to-read emails get more replies.
What reading level should a cold email be?
Aim for a Flesch reading-ease score of 60 or higher, roughly an 8th-grade level or simpler. Busy decision-makers skim, so short words and short sentences win. If your email reads at a college level, shorten the sentences, cut adverbs and filler, and swap jargon for plain language.
Is my email content private?
Yes. The entire analysis, spam and readability, happens locally in your browser using JavaScript. Your subject line and body are never transmitted to or stored on any server. You can verify this by disconnecting from the internet after the page loads; the checker still works.
Keep your outbound landing.
Email Deliverability Test
Check SPF, DKIM, DMARC and MX for any domain in one pass, and get a single 0 to 100 score with specific fixes.
355+ Spam Trigger Words to Avoid in Email
Act now for a risk-free, 100% free trial with guaranteed results.
- Act now
- Urgency / pressure
- risk-free
- Shady / scammy
- 100% free
- Salesy / promotional
- guaranteed results
- Overpromise / hype
The 2026 list, grouped by category: urgency, money, pharma, clichés and more. Pair it with the free spam checker to scan your own copy.
SPF Record Checker
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:sendgrid.net include:mailgun.org ~all
"~all" (softfail) is set, a safe default.
Validate your SPF record. Catch the 10 DNS-lookup limit, duplicate records, and weak fail policies that route outbound to spam.
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