- You want to know where mail actually lands, not how a filter might score it. Unspam delivers to real seed inboxes at Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, Zoho, ProtonMail, AOL and GMX; Litmus spam testing simulates filters and, in its own words, shows where Gmail puts mail when it has no prior knowledge of you
- You want AI eye-tracking heatmaps alongside testing. Litmus has no AI attention heatmap; its analytics track engagement, not predicted attention
- You want client previews without an enterprise price tag. Unspam renders your email across 50+ real clients and devices, each in light and dark mode, on every plan including the free one
- You'd rather start free or at $5/mo than negotiate a contract. Litmus publishes no price at all now: its last public entry rate, Core at $500/mo, was withdrawn along with the rest of the pricing, and the product is sold as Validity Engage on a quote
- You want published, predictable pricing with a 14-day no-questions refund instead of an Enterprise sales quote
A Litmus alternative that runs real-seed inbox placement, not a filter simulation
Litmus is an email QA platform built around rendering previews across 100+ clients and devices, with a spam-filter simulation, authentication checks, a builder, and analytics. It is sold as Validity Engage now: litmus.com leads with the Validity Engage hero, every Get started routes to contact sales, and neither site publishes a price, a plan name or a trial. Unspam covers spam testing too, then adds real-seed inbox placement across 7 providers, client previews across 50+ real clients and devices in light and dark mode, and AI eye-tracking heatmaps, with a free tier and paid from $5/mo.
Compared from public pricing and product pages, September 2026.
Which one fits you?
- Rendering QA is your main job. Litmus previews across 100+ clients and devices with dark-mode and code views, well beyond Unspam's preview breadth, and it is the established standard for email QA
- You live inside an ESP workflow. Litmus has mature integrations (Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Marketo and others), a code builder, a collaboration and proofing hub, and post-send Analytics (read rates, engagement, geolocation) that Unspam does not offer
- You want a one-stop QA suite for a large email team: automated QA checks, Email Guardian monitoring and Personalize, with seat counts and usage settled in the contract
Why teams move from Litmus to Unspam.
Simulation versus real placement
Litmus's spam testing scans content against 20+ filters and checks SPF, DKIM, DMARC and BIMI, but it does not deliver to real inboxes. A Litmus director describes the test as behaving like someone you have never emailed, showing where Gmail would place mail with no prior knowledge of you. Unspam sends to real seed inboxes across 7 providers and reports inbox versus spam for each.
No published price at all
On 1 August 2025 Litmus moved its entry Core plan to $500/mo (about $5,000/yr on annual billing) and removed the prior sub-$100 Basic tier. Both are gone now: the product is sold as Validity Engage on a sales quote, and neither litmus.com nor validity.com publishes a rate, a plan name or a trial. Unspam publishes every plan: a free tier with no card, paid from $5/mo, priced per test, and a 14-day no-questions-asked refund.
The heatmap Litmus doesn't have
Litmus is strong on rendering previews but has no AI attention heatmap; its analytics report engagement after the send. Unspam includes AI eye-tracking heatmaps on every plan, including the free one, alongside spam scoring and real-seed inbox placement, with results in about 30 seconds.
Previews included on every plan
Rendering is Litmus's core product, with coverage across 100+ clients and devices. Unspam now ships client previews too: pixel-accurate renders across 50+ real clients and devices, from Gmail and Outlook to Apple Mail, iPhone and Android, each in light and dark mode, included on every plan. The free plan comes with 3 device previews a month and no card required.
Unspam vs Litmus, feature by feature.
Based on public product pages and documentation. Spotted something outdated? Tell us in the chat and we'll fix it.
Feature
Unspam
Litmus
Free plan or trial
Free plan, no card
No trial published
First paid plan
$5/mo minimum, usage-priced
Not published (quote only)
Spam score testing
Yes
Yes20+ filter simulations
Inbox placement tests
Yes
Nosimulation only; real seeds via paid add-on
Client previews & screenshots
Yes50+ clients, light & dark
Yes100+ clients and devices
AI attention heatmap
Yes
No
Blacklist monitoring
Partialon-demand checker
Partialwithin spam test
SPF / DKIM / DMARC checks
Yes
YesSPF/DKIM/DMARC/BIMI
AI fix recommendations
Yes
PartialLitmus Assistant
Scheduled automatic tests
Yesplacement + spam score
Partialautomated QA on higher tiers
Scheduled spam score tests
Yesdaily, weekly, or monthly
Partialautomated QA, higher tiers
Sender accounts
YesUnlimited
No
API access
YesCustom plan
Partialpaid add-on
MCP server
YesCustom plan
YesValidity Engage connector, Claude only
Email verification
Yes
No
Automated inbox warmup
No
No
DMARC report monitoring
YesCustom plan, first domain free
No
Deliverability consulting
Yesseparate service
PartialEnterprise services
Compared from public pricing and product pages, September 2026.
What each one costs.
Litmus is sold as Validity Engage and publishes no prices: litmus.com/pricing redirects to contact sales, validity.com/pricing redirects to a lead form, and neither site shows a plan name, a rate or a trial. On 1 August 2025 it replaced the prior Basic (about $79-99/mo) and Plus (about $159-199/mo) tiers with Core at $500/mo and removed the entry-level plan; Core has since been withdrawn from the public site along with the rest of the pricing. Validity acquired Litmus in April 2025 and merged Everest deliverability into Litmus in early 2026. Real-seed inbox placement is a separate Engage capability, not part of email QA.
- Free $0
5 spam tests, 3 inbox placements, 3 device previews, 5 screenshots, 5 heatmaps per month. AI assistant included.
- Custom $5/mo
Pay per test: spam tests $0.18, inbox placements $0.50, device previews $0.75, screenshots $0.20, heatmaps $0.30. Volume discounts to 30%, 15% off annual, $5 monthly minimum. API, MCP and three years of history included. DMARC monitoring is $6 per domain per month, first domain free.
- Validity Engage Contact sales
Email Creation and Testing, powered by Litmus: previews across 100+ clients and devices, automated QA, and 24/7 monitoring of deployed email.
The only path either site publishes. Every Get started on litmus.com routes to contact sales.
Every Litmus plan and price in full
Compared from public pricing and product pages, September 2026. Litmus is a trademark of its respective owner. Unspam is not affiliated with or endorsed by Litmus.
Unspam vs Litmus, answered.
Is Unspam a full replacement for Litmus?
Not for the full QA suite. Litmus previews across 100+ clients and devices and offers a builder, a proofing hub, ESP integrations and post-send analytics that Unspam does not match, though Unspam's email preview tool now covers 50+ real clients and devices in light and dark mode. Where Unspam pulls ahead is placement and content testing: it runs real-seed inbox placement across 7 providers, plus AI heatmaps, where core Litmus only simulates spam filters. Neither tool does inbox warmup. Rendering QA is really its own purchase, and the only other dedicated option in the tool comparison is Email on Acid at $99/mo, itself mid-migration to Mailgun Inspect.
How does Unspam's pricing compare to Litmus?
Litmus publishes no price at all now. It is sold as Validity Engage on a sales quote, and litmus.com shows no plan name, no rate and no trial. Unspam's paid plans run from $5/mo, priced per test, with a free tier, 15% off annual billing and a 14-day refund.
Does Litmus actually test inbox placement?
Litmus spam testing is a simulation: it scores content against spam-filter rules and checks SPF/DKIM/DMARC/BIMI, but it does not deliver to real mailboxes. Real-seed placement is a separate Validity Engage capability, Inbox Placement and Deliverability, not part of email QA. Unspam delivers test emails to real seed inboxes at Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, Zoho, ProtonMail, AOL and GMX on every plan. See inbox placement.
Is there a free way to try each tool?
Litmus publishes no trial now, and every Get started on its site routes to contact sales. Unspam's free plan renews every month: 5 spam tests, 3 inbox placements, 3 device previews, 5 screenshots and 5 heatmaps, with the AI assistant included and no credit card required.