7 IP Reputation Checkers that Work [2024]

What is IP Reputation? And Why You Need to Check It

Frustrated by spam folder purgatory? Tired of constantly checking your engagement rate with no luck? A poor IP reputation will cause problems for your email marketing strategy.

But don't worry, there's a solution.

IP reputation checkers are like bug spray for your emails, helping you identify and fix any issues with your IP reputation to ensure your emails make it to the coveted inbox.

With so many options available, it can be tough to know which ones are worth your time and money. That's why we've done the legwork for you and compiled a list of the top 8 IP reputation checkers that work in 2024. So put down the fly swatter and keep reading to find out which ones made the cut.

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What is IP Reputation in Emails?

IP reputation is the cornerstone of email deliverability, directly impacting your ability to reach subscribers' inboxes. It's a dynamic score assigned to your sending IP address, reflecting your email practices and recipient engagement.

High IP reputation signals to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that you're a trustworthy sender, increasing the likelihood of your emails bypassing spam filters and landing in the primary inbox.

Maintaining a strong IP reputation requires a multi-faceted approach. Employing intelligent sending algorithms, implementing rigorous authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, and proactively monitoring engagement metrics are crucial strategies.

For high-volume senders, utilizing dedicated IPs provides greater control over sending reputation. When you focus on IP reputation management, email marketers can significantly boost their deliverability rates. This in turn ensures their messages consistently reach their intended audience and drive meaningful engagement.

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Why You Should Use an IP Reputation Checker Even If Your Emails Aren't Going to the Spam Folder

An IP reputation checker can help you identify and fix any potential issues before they become a problem. Even if your emails are currently being delivered to the inbox, small issues with your IP reputation can snowball over time and eventually lead to problems with deliverability.

Email service providers (ESPs) often use the same mail server to send emails from multiple clients, which means that you are sharing an IP address with other senders. If one of these senders sends emails to an un-opted list or sends spam emails, it can damage the IP's reputation, which can in turn affect your email deliverability as you are using the same IP address.

To know more about how email deliverability works, download this guide.

Using an IP reputation checker can help you identify and fix any potential issues before they become a problem, ensuring that your emails are delivered to the inbox consistently.

TL;DR: Quick and Easy Summary to Get You Up to Speed

Short on time or just want a quick rundown of the top IP reputation checkers?

Our TL;DR section has you covered. Get the lowdown on the top 7 tools, and decide which one might be the best fit for your needs.

IP Reputation Checker

Notable Features

Sender Score

Measure your IP reputation on a scale of 0-100

Talos

Talos will show you if your domain & IP are part of any blacklists.

Trusted Source

The only reputation system available that is able to provide numerical scoring for every IP address across the Internet 

BarracudaCentral

Categories IP addresses as having ‘good’ or ‘poor’ reputation

MxToolbox

Immediate alert to changes in your email reputation.

MailTester

Analyze your message, mail server & sending IP. 

Get detailed report of what's configured properly and what's not

IP Reputation Investigation

Only allows you to check IPv4 addresses and not IPv6.

 

Top 7 IP Reputation Checkers

Ensuring that newsletters reach your customers’ inbox on time is Email-Campaign 101.

Every email comes from a particular IP address. So if your ESP is linked with an IP reputation that’s subpar then most of your emails will go to spam boxes.

Even if you have followed all the correct content guidelines and your list is clean.

But you can take measures to fix it if you know what the IP reputation is. It's not so complex if you use an IP reputation checker tool to help you get on good IP reputation lists. Your marketing agency should bring out the IP reputation issues to you, but if you don't have an agency there are easy-to-use tools that will help diagnose the issues quickly.

These tools rank IP addresses according to their reputation.  You can just enter it in one of the tools mentioned below and instantly see how it ranks.

1. Sender Score

Using this IP score checker, you can measure your IP reputation on a scale of 0-100. Higher is your score, better is your IP reputation.

If your IP reputation score is between 0 to 70, then emails will be heavily filtered. If it is between 70 & 100, then your emails will have minimal filtering.

You also get a series of other numbers (accepted, rejected, complaint, etc) to show how your final score is calculated. This calculation is done based on a 30-day rolling average.

It is provided by ReturnPath. You can access it here.

2. Talos

In this IP reputation lookup tool, you can enter your email server IP or your domain to check the reputation of both.

It will show you if the reputation of your domain or IP is judged as Good/Neutral/Poor by other email service providers. Good means nothing to worry about. Neutral means there is scope for improvement. Poor means that most of your emails might not be going into the inbox.

Talos will show you if your domain & IP are part of any blacklists.

It is provided by Cisco. You can access it here.

3. TrustedSource

It is run by McAfee and provides reputation scores for not just IP Addresses but also for URL’s, Domains, and email/web content.

It works by analyzing in real-time traffic patterns from email, web and network data flows from McAfee's global set of security appliances and hosted services

It is also the only reputation system available that is able to provide numerical scoring for every IP address across the Internet (approximately 4.2 billion).

You can access it here.

4. BarracudaCentral

It categorizes IP addresses as having ‘good’ or ‘poor’ reputation. It does this through a real-time database.

The sending history associated with the IP addresses of all sending mail servers is analyzed to determine the likelihood of legitimate messages arriving from those addresses.

You can access it here.

5. MxToolbox

MxToolbox provides you with information on:

  • Who is sending an email purporting to be from your domain
  • What is the reputation of your senders' IPs
  • Geolocation of your senders
  • You also get an immediate alert to changes in your email reputation.

Free users receive one free monitor with access to the top 30 blacklists.

Paid users get access to multiple monitors, more blacklists, and advanced email delivery tools.

You can access it here.

6. MailTester

MailTester will analyze your message, mail server & sending IP. It will then generate a detailed report of what's configured properly and what's not. It’s a cheap, simple, and efficient way to quickly test the quality of your emails.

Your result will be accessible for 7 days with the free version, or for 30 days if you choose a paid plan and create an account.

If you occasionally perform manual tests, you can access their web-interface for free, without even creating an account.

You can access it here.

7. IP Reputation Investigation

This is a simple one-page website that allows you to investigate an IP address. However, it only allows you to check IPv4 addresses and not IPv6.

If your IP is given a negative reputation, that means a lot of spam emails are being sent from that and you need to check into it.

You can access it here.

Spam Control has taken its toll on online legitimate marketing campaigns. Seeing your hard work not reaching its maximum potential is a sore sight. To avoid this, using an IP reputation checker on a regular basis is a must for every email marketer.

If you’d like to take the easy way out and get yourself on a good IP reputation list, SendX enables you to send bulk email, and all these issues have been taken care of from scratch.

Is it enough to just have an IP reputation checker?

It's important to remember that while an IP reputation checker can be a valuable tool for identifying and fixing any issues with your IP reputation, it's only one part of the puzzle. To truly optimize your email marketing strategy, you'll also need a good email marketing software that ensures your emails are being sent from a reputable IP address.

There are several factors that can contribute to a good IP reputation, including the volume and frequency of emails you send, the content of your emails, and the health of your email list. A good email marketing software can help you manage all of these factors, ensuring that your emails are delivered to the inbox consistently.

For even better email deliverability, it's worth considering an email marketing tool like SendX. With a reputation for high deliverability and a range of features to help you optimize your emails, SendX is a powerful choice for any email marketer.

Try SendX Plus + for high volume sending.

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How to Improve IP reputation?

If you've determined your IP reputation score and found it to be low, it's time to improve it. Even if it's neutral, you should bring it to a 'good score' state.

A good reputation will ensure that your emails land at the top of the inbox, while a poor reputation can send your emails straight to the spam folder.

By following these tips, you can achieve higher engagement and better results for your email marketing efforts.

SendX Can Help You With IP Management

SendX empowers marketers with cutting-edge tools and expertise to optimize IP reputation and maximize email deliverability. Our platform leverages advanced algorithms and industry-leading practices to ensure your messages consistently reach the inbox, not the spam folder.

Key features of SendX's IP reputation management include:

  1. Intelligent Sending Algorithms: Our system automatically optimizes send times and volumes to maintain ideal sending patterns, crucial for building and preserving a strong IP reputation.
  2. Robust Authentication Protocols: SendX seamlessly implements SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, establishing your credibility with ISPs and significantly boosting your deliverability rates.
  3. Real-time Monitoring and Analytics: Our comprehensive dashboard provides instant insights into your IP health, allowing you to proactively address any issues before they impact your deliverability.
  4. Dedicated IP Options: For high-volume senders, SendX offers dedicated IPs, giving you complete control over your sending reputation and enabling personalized warming strategies.
  5. Automated List Hygiene: Our platform actively manages your subscriber lists, removing inactive or invalid emails that could potentially harm your IP reputation.

Simply by choosing SendX, you're not just selecting an email marketing tool – you're partnering with email deliverability experts.

We have a proven track record of maintaining pristine IP reputations for businesses across various industries. This ensures that your messages will consistently reach and engage your target audience, driving measurable results for your email marketing efforts.

Try SendX Plus + for high volume sending.

LET'S TALK

Make Your Email Marketing Profitable

FAQs

1) What is an IP reputation checker?

An IP reputation checker is an email authority, service or tool which gives scores to an IP based on their internal analysis of mails sent from it.

2) How will an IP reputation checker help me?

An IP reputation checker helps you to keep monitoring the quantity and quality of emails originating from the IP and also reports on certain negative server or user behaviors on receiving these emails. The user behaviors include: marking them as spam, marking them as phishing or malicious, etc. Server behaviors include: filtering, rejecting, blacklisting etc.

3) How can I check the reputation of an IP?

In order to check the reputation of an IP, you need to go to the website or login to the tools which help check IP reputation score. Some of them cost subscription fees to check scores. You can find the list of tools here.

4) What constitutes a good IP?

It depends on the IP checking tool in question. Some have definite scores to determine whether the IP is good or not and some have Yes/No outputs for the same. For example, Senderscore provides a comprehensive score from 0-100 to monitor your IP Reputation, whereas Talos Intelligence ranks your IP reputation on a three-point scale: Good, Neutral or Poor.

5) How can I improve the reputation of an IP?

As a rule of thumb, two clear indicators are the bounce rates and spam rates related to your campaigns. If either or both of them are higher than 3% and 0.05% respectively, there is a good chance the IP will fail. Keeping them low as much as possible is how one can improve IP reputation. Apart from issues in infrastructure, if any, this can be caused due to bad list hygiene, wrong targeting of campaigns, non-engaging content/subject lines etc. Having these under control will lead to improvements in IP reputation.

6) What is an IP reputation list?

These are listings available online for checking the health of an IP other than the reputation scores. Inbox providers(like Gmail, Yahoo etc) skim through these listings while delivering emails. These are generally color coded based on whether the listing is for good or bad reasons. They are blacklists, whitelists, greylists, brown-lists etc. A process example would be that if the IP is blacklisted at some list, the likelihood of delivering would be lower and if it is whitelisted it would be higher. If not listed, it would not have any effect in email delivery.

7) Why do IPs get blacklisted?

Blacklisting of IPs happens upon spam incidents, phishing attempts and proliferation of malicious content, when inbox providers and spam traps inform the linked IP reputation lists of the issue. This can be avoided by maintaining list hygiene and sending the right content to the right audience and avoiding spams.

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