How we test newsletter and email tools

Every review on InboxTested comes from the same repeatable test, run in a real account, with a dated log you can ask to see.

The standard test

Sign up as a normal user. We open a free plan or free trial using our own test address, exactly as a new customer would. We do not ask vendors for special accounts.
Time the setup. From signup to a verified sending address and a working signup form, with each step recorded.
Build the same newsletter. One signup form, one welcome email, one three-email welcome sequence where the plan allows it, and one broadcast. Same copy in every tool.
Send test emails. To a small set of seed inboxes we control at major providers. We record inbox, promotions or spam for each send.
Check pricing at the source. We read each vendor's official pricing page and record the price at fixed list sizes, with the date and currency.
Score and write. The score follows the rubric below. The writer works only from the test log.

Area	Weight	What we look at
Ease of setup	20%	Minutes and steps to a working form and first send
Free plan and pricing	25%	What the free plan allows; cost at 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 subscribers
Core features	25%	Forms, automations, segmentation, templates
Deliverability test	20%	Seed-inbox placement across our test sends
Fit for creators	10%	Monetization tools, website or archive, migration help

Seed-inbox tests use a small number of inboxes and a brand-new sender. They show a direction, not a guarantee for your list.
Prices change. Every price shows the date we read it, and we re-check at least every quarter.
We test free plans and trials. When a feature is only on a paid plan we did not buy, we say we did not test it.

Affiliate partnerships do not change the method, the score or the order of results. Tools without an affiliate program are tested the same way.