InboxMonitor and Google Postmaster Tools
Use Postmaster Tools when you send enough mail to personal Gmail accounts to see Google's spam rate, reputation, and authentication dashboards for a domain you verify.
Use InboxMonitor when you want the published SPF, DKIM, DMARC, MX, PTR, and two blocklist records checked every day, including for domains that do not send enough mail for Google to show a chart.
Their site: Google's Postmaster Tools help
Read on November 12, 2026.
Side by side
| Topic | Google Postmaster Tools | InboxMonitor |
|---|---|---|
| Blacklists checked | The setup guide does not describe a DNS blacklist scan. Dashboards cover spam rate, reputation, authentication, and delivery errors for mail sent to personal Gmail accounts. | PSBL and 0spam, for sending addresses the check can see. Spamhaus is not queried unless a paid key is set. A timeout or refusal is neither a listing nor a clean result. |
| How often | Dashboards reflect mail already sent to personal Gmail accounts. Google says a day can be blank when volume is too low, to protect privacy. | Once a day. |
| Alerts | The setup guide describes dashboards you open in a Google account. It does not describe an email when a DNS record changes. | Email when a daily check gets worse. Paid plans include a weekly digest. Slack is on Agency and Agency Pro. |
| Result page | Postmaster Tools dashboards after you add and verify the SPF or DKIM domain. Data applies only to messages sent to personal Gmail accounts (@gmail.com or @googlemail.com). | A domain page in the app: a 0–100 score, Healthy, Watch, or At risk, and the finding that changed the score. |
| Price | The setup guide does not list a fee. It requires a Google account or a Google Workspace account. | Free is 3 domains, no card. Starter is $39 a month or $390 a year for 25 domains. Agency is $129 or $1,290 for 100. Agency Pro is $249 or $2,490 for 300. Paid plans include a 14-day trial with no card. Add a card before it ends to stay on the plan. InboxRescue Audit is $149 once for one domain. |
They do this, we do not
- Spam rate and domain or IP reputation come from Gmail itself. InboxMonitor never sees that.
- Authentication and delivery-error views are about mail that actually arrived at personal Gmail accounts.
- You can grant other Google accounts read access to a verified domain.
We do this, they do not
- The check runs on the DNS you published, even when Gmail has no chart for that day.
- PTR, MX, and the two named blocklists are part of the same daily result.
- You do not verify the domain with a Google TXT record to see the InboxMonitor page.
Questions
Is InboxMonitor a Google Postmaster Tools alternative?
No. Postmaster Tools reports how Gmail saw your mail. InboxMonitor reads DNS. They answer different questions, and a good setup often uses both.
Can I use both?
Yes. Verify the domain in Postmaster Tools for Gmail's spam rate and reputation. Use InboxMonitor for a daily reading of the records and the two blocklists, with an email if a check gets worse.
How is pricing different?
The Postmaster Tools setup guide does not quote a price. InboxMonitor Free is 3 domains with no card. Paid plans start at $39 a month for 25 domains. The 14-day trial does not need a card.
Sources
- https://support.google.com/mail/answer/9981691Postmaster Tools monitors outgoing mail to personal Gmail accounts; dashboards include spam rate, reputation, authentication, and delivery errors; setup needs a Google or Google Workspace account; low-volume days can be blank.