- 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 and AOL; core 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'd rather start free or at $9/mo than $500/mo. Litmus raised its entry Core plan to $500/mo (about $5,000/yr on annual billing) on 1 August 2025 and removed its old sub-$100 Basic tier
- You want published, predictable pricing with a 14-day no-questions refund instead of an Enterprise sales quote
// Unspam vs Litmus
A Litmus alternative that runs real-seed inbox placement, not just spam-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. Unspam covers spam testing too, then adds real-seed inbox placement across 6+ providers and AI eye-tracking heatmaps, with a free tier and paid plans from $9/mo. Litmus's entry Core plan is listed at $500/mo as of June 2026.
Compared from public pricing and product pages, June 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 unlimited seats on Enterprise
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 Spotted something outdated?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
7-day free trial
First paid plan
$9/mo
$500/mo (Core)
Spam score testing
Yes
Yes20+ filter simulations
Inbox placement tests
Yes
—Nosimulation only; real seeds via paid add-on
Client previews & screenshots
Yes
Yes100+ clients and devices
AI attention heatmap
Yes
—No
Blacklist monitoring
Yes
Partialwithin spam test
SPF / DKIM / DMARC checks
Yes
YesSPF/DKIM/DMARC/BIMI
AI fix recommendations
Yes
PartialLitmus Assistant
Scheduled automatic tests
Yes
Partialautomated QA on higher tiers
API access
YesWhite Label plan
Partialpaid add-on
Email verification
Yes
—No
Automated inbox warmup
—No
—No
DMARC report monitoring
Partialchecked per test
—No
Deliverability consulting
Yesseparate service
PartialEnterprise services
What each one costs.
Litmus's public pricing page now shows Core ($500/mo) and Enterprise (Contact Sales). 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. Real-seed inbox placement is a paid Deliverability add-on (Validity Everest), not part of core Litmus. Validity acquired Litmus in April 2025 and merged Everest deliverability into Litmus in early 2026. Verified June 2026.
- Free $0
10 spam tests, 10 previews, 10 heatmaps, 3 inbox placement tests per month. AI assistant included.
- Basic $9/mo
50 spam tests, 50 previews, 10 heatmaps, 10 inbox placement tests per month. Historical results.
- Business $19/mo
200 spam tests, 200 previews, 50 heatmaps, 50 inbox placement tests per month. Historical results.
- Agency from $29/mo
500 spam tests, 500 previews, 250 heatmaps, 250 inbox placement tests per month.
- White Label Custom
Spam tests, previews, heatmaps, and inbox tests sized to your contract. Custom API access.
- Core $500/mo
5 users, 2,000 email previews/month, automated QA checks and previews across 100+ clients and devices, spam-filter testing, builder, analytics
Listed Core rate after the 1 August 2025 price change. Annual billing saves about 17% (about $5,000/yr versus $6,000/yr billed monthly).
- Enterprise Contact sales
Unlimited seats and usage, all-in-one collaboration and proofing hub, enterprise ESP integrations, advanced security and permissions; optional upgrades for Deliverability (inbox placement insights, powered by Validity Everest), Sender Certification and Email Guardian
Pricing unpublished; routed through Litmus/Validity sales.
Litmus pricing and feature information was collected from publicly available sources in June 2026 and may have changed since; it is provided for general comparison only and is not guaranteed to reflect current offers. Confirm current pricing on the vendor's website. Litmus is a trademark of its respective owner. Unspam is not affiliated with or endorsed by Litmus.
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 6+ providers and reports inbox versus spam for each.
A $500/mo entry point
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; the public pricing page now lists Core and an Enterprise sales quote. Unspam publishes every plan: a free tier with no card, paid plans from $9/mo to $29/mo, 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.
// FAQ
Unspam vs Litmus, answered.
Is Unspam a full replacement for Litmus?
Not for rendering QA. 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. Where Unspam pulls ahead is placement and content testing: it runs real-seed inbox placement across 6+ providers, plus AI heatmaps, where core Litmus only simulates spam filters. Neither tool does inbox warmup.
How does Unspam's pricing compare to Litmus?
Litmus's entry Core plan is listed at $500/mo (about $5,000/yr on annual billing) as of June 2026, after an August 2025 price increase that removed its old sub-$100 Basic tier; Enterprise is a sales quote. Unspam's paid plans run from $9/mo to $29/mo, with a free tier, 2 months free on annual billing and a 14-day refund.
Does Litmus actually test inbox placement?
Core 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 paid Deliverability add-on (powered by Validity Everest) on Enterprise. Unspam delivers test emails to real seed inboxes at Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, Zoho, ProtonMail and AOL on every plan. See inbox placement.
Is there a free way to try each tool?
Litmus offers a 7-day free trial of Litmus Enterprise. Unspam's free plan renews every month: 10 spam tests, 10 previews, 10 heatmaps and 3 inbox placement tests, with the AI assistant included and no credit card required.
// see for yourself