What are the best alternatives to ReturnPath for inbox placement and reputation monitoring across multiple SFMC business units?
Matthew Whittaker
Co-founder & CTO, Suped
Published 15 May 2025
Updated 16 Aug 2025
7 min read
For many organizations, particularly those leveraging powerful platforms like Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC) across multiple business units (BUs), robust inbox placement and reputation monitoring are non-negotiable. ReturnPath, now part of Validity Everest, has historically been a go-to solution for these critical tasks. However, with evolving market needs and budget considerations, many are now seeking alternatives that offer comparable functionality without the premium price tag. The challenge often lies in finding a solution that not only provides accurate insights into inbox placement and sender reputation but can also effectively manage and report on the nuances of multiple sending domains and IPs inherent to a multi-BU SFMC setup.
The search for cost-effective monitoring
The primary drivers for exploring ReturnPath alternatives typically revolve around cost efficiency and the specific feature sets required for managing complex SFMC environments. While Marketing Cloud offers some internal reporting, it often lacks the granular detail and proactive monitoring capabilities of a dedicated deliverability platform. This gap necessitates third-party tools, but the investment can be substantial, especially when scaling across several business units, each potentially with its own sending profiles.
Beyond cost, some organizations find that the extensive feature sets of enterprise-level platforms like Everest include many "bells and whistles" they simply don't need, making them overqualified and overpriced for their core requirements. What's often sought after is a lean, effective solution focused on fundamental metrics: inbox placement rates, basic reading statistics, and IP reputation monitoring.
Given the complexities of email deliverability, particularly with large-scale sending from SFMC, it's crucial to identify tools that can provide actionable insights without overwhelming the team or budget. The ideal alternative should simplify the oversight of multiple sending entities while still providing the necessary data to maintain high deliverability.
The challenge for SFMC users
Cost: Enterprise-level tools can be prohibitively expensive for organizations managing several Salesforce Marketing Cloud business units.
Feature Bloat: Many platforms offer advanced functionalities not always needed for basic, yet critical, monitoring.
Multi-BU Complexity: Effectively tracking and reporting deliverability across disparate sending domains and IPs within SFMC is a specific challenge.
Key features for effective monitoring
When evaluating alternatives, I look for a core set of features that provide the most impact on deliverability. The goal is to gain clarity on where emails are landing (or not landing) and to understand the health of my sending reputation without unnecessary complexity.
Key among these is inbox placement testing. This involves sending emails to a seed list of addresses at various mailbox providers (like Gmail, Outlook, etc.) and reporting back on whether the email landed in the inbox, spam folder, or was blocked entirely. The ability to simulate real-world sending conditions is paramount. Similarly, understanding your IP and domain reputation is vital. This involves monitoring if your sending IPs or domains have been listed on any significant public or private blacklists (or blocklists), which can severely impact deliverability.
Another crucial aspect is the capability to monitor and report across multiple Salesforce Marketing Cloud business units. Each BU might have its own dedicated sending domain or IP, and a comprehensive tool should allow for easy management and aggregated reporting across all of them. This holistic view helps identify issues that might be isolated to one BU versus systemic problems affecting the entire sending infrastructure.
Look for tools that provide insights into engagement metrics post-delivery, even if basic. While not strictly deliverability, understanding factors like open rates and click-through rates from different mailbox providers can indirectly signal inboxing issues or filtering, providing another layer of data for optimization. These metrics complement the technical deliverability checks.
Essential features
Inbox Placement Testing: Accurate reporting on where emails land, including inbox, spam, or blocked status.
Reputation Monitoring: Tracking IP and domain health, including blocklist status.
Multi-BU Support: The ability to manage and report across multiple SFMC business units or sending domains.
Basic Engagement Metrics: Provides rudimentary insights into opens and clicks per mailbox provider.
Exploring viable alternatives
Several tools have emerged as strong contenders for those seeking alternatives to ReturnPath (or Validity Everest) for SFMC environments. Glock Apps is frequently mentioned as a cost-effective choice. It offers inbox placement testing, spam filter analysis, and blacklisting checks. While it may not have the extensive feature set of larger platforms, it provides essential insights that can guide deliverability improvements. Its per-test or tiered pricing can be attractive for budgets.
Inbox Monster is another option that focuses on inbox placement, creative testing, and reputation. It aims to provide a more holistic view of deliverability beyond just landing in the inbox. For organizations with multiple SFMC business units, its ability to segment and report on different sending entities could be a significant advantage. Similarly, SendForensics positions itself as a comprehensive deliverability suite, offering predictive analytics alongside standard monitoring features. These tools often provide integration methods, either directly or via API, that can be configured to work with SFMC's sending processes.
When comparing these options, consider not just the price but also the depth of reporting, the responsiveness of their seed list (how quickly results are generated), and their support for authentication checks like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. A tool that highlights authentication failures can be invaluable for diagnosing and resolving deliverability issues.
Some users also leverage Google Postmaster Tools and other free domain reputation tools as supplementary resources. While they don't offer seed list testing, they provide aggregate data on domain and IP reputation directly from major mailbox providers, which can be cross-referenced with your paid tool's data.
Requires separate tests for each BU, manual consolidation
Designed for multi-domain monitoring
Advanced reporting for multiple sending entities
Authentication Checks
SPF, DKIM, DMARC validation
Includes authentication reports
Detailed authentication analysis
Implementing and managing solutions
Once an alternative tool is selected, the next step is to effectively integrate and manage it within your Salesforce Marketing Cloud operations. For multi-BU setups, this often means ensuring that each business unit's sending profiles are correctly configured within the monitoring tool. This might involve setting up specific sending domains or IPs associated with each BU for testing and monitoring.
Leveraging SFMC's seed list capabilities is critical. Most deliverability tools provide a unique seed list that you'll need to include in your SFMC sends. Automating this process within your send definitions ensures consistent and accurate monitoring. This allows the tool to receive copies of your actual campaigns, providing real-time data on how they perform.
Regularly reviewing the reports from your chosen monitoring tool is paramount. Look for trends in inbox placement, sudden drops in reputation scores, or unexpected listings on blocklists. Early detection of these issues allows for swift action, such as adjusting sending volume, cleaning lists, or addressing authentication problems, to mitigate long-term damage to your deliverability.
Finding the right fit for your needs
Choosing the best alternative to ReturnPath for inbox placement and reputation monitoring across multiple SFMC business units ultimately depends on your specific needs, desired feature depth, and budget. While ReturnPath (Validity Everest) offers a comprehensive suite, many robust and cost-effective alternatives provide the essential insights required to maintain healthy email deliverability. By focusing on core features like inbox placement testing, reputation monitoring, and multi-BU reporting, you can find a solution that keeps your email campaigns landing in the inbox without incurring excessive costs.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Regularly monitor your domain and IP reputation using both paid tools and free services like Google Postmaster Tools for a comprehensive view.
Segment your SFMC sends by business unit within your monitoring tool to track performance granularly and identify specific problem areas.
Prioritize email list hygiene and promptly remove inactive or problematic addresses to prevent spam trap hits and improve deliverability.
Conduct A/B testing on email content and subject lines to understand their impact on inbox placement and engagement metrics.
Common pitfalls
Overlooking the specific reporting needs for multiple SFMC business units, leading to fragmented or manual data consolidation.
Solely relying on free tools without dedicated inbox placement testing, which can provide an incomplete picture of deliverability.
Ignoring a drop in IP or domain reputation, as a prolonged issue can severely impact future email campaigns and sender trust.
Underestimating the importance of email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) in maintaining strong sender reputation and avoiding blacklists.
Expert tips
For SFMC users, consider tools that offer seamless integration or clear instructions for adding seed lists to your sends.
Evaluate the responsiveness and accuracy of a tool's seed list, as this directly impacts the reliability of its inbox placement data.
Look for customizable alerts that notify you immediately of significant changes in inbox placement or reputation scores.
Remember that continuous monitoring and adaptation are key to sustained email deliverability success.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says Inboxable and Inbox Monster are worth checking out for email deliverability monitoring.
2021-06-05 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests reviewing Inbox Monster for its email deliverability solutions.
Gmail, 
Outlook, etc.) and reporting back on whether the email landed in the inbox, spam folder, or was blocked entirely. The ability to simulate real-world sending conditions is paramount. Similarly, understanding your IP and domain reputation is vital. This involves monitoring if your sending IPs or domains have been listed on any significant public or private blacklists (or blocklists), which can severely impact deliverability.
