What are the free DMARC reporting services and open source options?

Summary

Multiple free DMARC reporting services are available, including free tiers from commercial providers like Valimail, Postmark, and dmarcian. These services often have limitations on data volume and features. Open-source options include OpenDMARC and configuring Rspamd for DMARC checks and reporting, but these require technical expertise and resources for self-hosting. Community sources mention URIports as another option. Building a custom DMARC reporting tool is also possible. Regardless of the approach, consistent monitoring and analysis of DMARC reports is crucial. Several DMARC report visualization tools exist. Tools for checking DMARC records exist from providers such as cloudns.

Key findings

  • Commercial Free Tiers: Valimail, Postmark, and dmarcian offer free tiers for DMARC reporting, suitable for smaller organizations.
  • Open-Source Options: OpenDMARC and Rspamd (configured for DMARC) provide open-source solutions for DMARC analysis.
  • Custom Builds: Building a custom DMARC reporting tool is possible using open-source libraries.
  • Report Visualization: Visualization tools can aid in understanding DMARC data.
  • Cloudns Checker: Cloudns provides a checker that makes it easy to check DMARC records.

Key considerations

  • Volume Limits: Free tiers often have limitations on the volume of data processed or reporting features.
  • Technical Skills: Open-source solutions require technical skills for implementation and maintenance.
  • Ongoing Monitoring: Consistent monitoring and analysis of DMARC reports are essential for effective email authentication.
  • Cost/LOE Balance: It's essential to balance the cost and level of effort required for in-house solutions versus using managed services.

What email marketers say
15Marketer opinions

Several free DMARC reporting services and open-source options are available. Commercial providers like Valimail, Postmark, and dmarcian offer free tiers with varying features. For those seeking open-source solutions, tools like OpenDMARC and rspamd (configured for DMARC) can be implemented, though this requires technical expertise. Community insights from Reddit and Stack Overflow highlight alternative tools (e.g., URIports) and the feasibility of building custom solutions. Managing DMARC effectively, whether through a service or in-house, necessitates consistent monitoring and analysis of aggregate reports.

Key opinions

  • Free Tiers Exist: Commercial DMARC providers often offer free tiers suitable for smaller organizations or initial DMARC implementation.
  • Open Source Available: Open-source DMARC solutions like OpenDMARC and rspamd offer alternatives to paid services.
  • Custom Solutions Feasible: It's possible to build custom DMARC reporting tools using open-source libraries, but this requires significant development effort.
  • Reporting is key: Aggregate reporting is important to the DMARC process and can be found at EmailSecurityDNS or built in house.

Key considerations

  • Volume Limitations: Free tiers of commercial services often have limitations on the volume of data or reporting features.
  • Technical Expertise: Implementing and maintaining open-source DMARC solutions requires technical skills and ongoing effort.
  • Monitoring Required: Regardless of the chosen solution, consistent monitoring and analysis of DMARC reports are essential for effective email authentication and deliverability.
  • Free Record Checkers: There are free tools available from providers like cloudns that check DMARC records are set up correctly.
Marketer view

Email marketer from Postmarkapp.com responds that they provide a free DMARC monitoring tool, offering insights into email authentication and potential deliverability issues.

October 2023 - Postmarkapp.com
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks mentions the need to balance the cost/LOE of in-house DMARC reporting versus guidance from a provider.

August 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from dmarcian.com shares that they offer free tiers for their DMARC reporting service, providing basic analytics and reporting features for domain owners to monitor their email authentication status.

September 2022 - dmarcian.com
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit mentions other free or freemium DMARC reporting tools like URIports, suggesting a wider range of options beyond the commonly known ones.

January 2025 - Reddit
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks notes that DMARC isn’t useful unless someone stays on top of it, whether using a SaaS service or an in-house solution.

June 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from EmailSecurityDNS shares information on how to use aggregate reports to view DMARC data.

October 2023 - EmailSecurityDNS
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks suggests <http://dmarcian.com|dmarcian.com> which has a free tier and mentions an open-source software package for DMARC reporting.

August 2024 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Valimail.com shares that they offer a free DMARC monitoring tool with limited features, suitable for smaller organizations or those just starting with DMARC.

May 2023 - Valimail.com
Marketer view

Email marketer from LearningDMARC shares two options for getting DMARC aggregate reports: using a DMARC reporting service or building your own in-house solution.

August 2022 - LearningDMARC
Marketer view

Email marketer from Stackoverflow explains you can build your own open source tool and shares resources such as 'dmarcts-report-parser' to help to develop it.

January 2025 - Stackoverflow
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks mentions that there are free services for high volume and thinks it’s Valimail and Postmark.

June 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks shares that it's possible to set up an in-house DMARC reporting system using open source tools.

July 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks shares a monitoring tool: <https://dmarc.postmarkapp.com/>.

June 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from cloudns shares a free DMARC record checker that you can use to check DMARC records.

June 2024 - cloudns
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that some, if not all, DMARC analytic providers offer free reporting with paid options, mentioning dmarcian as an example. The best option will probably come down to volume requirements.

March 2023 - Email Geeks

What the experts say
1Expert opinion

Word to the Wise notes the existence of DMARC report visualization tools.

Key opinions

  • Visualization Tools Exist: DMARC report visualization tools are available to aid in understanding DMARC data.

Key considerations

  • Further Research Needed: The specific tools and their capabilities are not detailed, requiring further investigation.
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise explains there are some DMARC report visualisation tools available.

November 2023 - Word to the Wise

What the documentation says
4Technical articles

OpenDMARC is an open-source implementation of the DMARC standard that helps email receivers verify message authenticity and generate reports. Rspamd, when configured correctly, can also perform DMARC checks and generate reports, enabling self-hosted DMARC analysis. Agari documentation details how and where to obtain DMARC aggregate reports. Google provides general documentation on how DMARC works and how to set it up for a domain.

Key findings

  • OpenDMARC: OpenDMARC is a toolset for verifying email authenticity and generating aggregate reports.
  • Rspamd Configuration: Rspamd can be configured to perform DMARC checks and generate reports for self-hosting analysis.
  • Agari Reports: Agari provides information regarding the retrieval of DMARC aggregate reports.
  • Google Info: Google provides DMARC information, and how to setup DMARC.

Key considerations

  • Configuration Complexity: Configuring Rspamd for DMARC reporting may require technical expertise.
  • Self-Hosting Resources: Self-hosting DMARC analysis requires infrastructure and resources.
  • Report Analysis: Understanding and acting on DMARC reports requires expertise in email authentication.
Technical article

Documentation from Trusted Domain Project explains that OpenDMARC is an open-source project implementing the DMARC standard, providing a toolset for email receivers to verify the authenticity of incoming messages and generate aggregate reports.

June 2024 - Trusted Domain Project
Technical article

Documentation from Google shares information on how DMARC works and how to setup DMARC on your domain.

February 2025 - Google
Technical article

Documentation from Agari responds with details on where and how to get DMARC aggregate reports.

May 2023 - Agari
Technical article

Documentation from Mailhardener shares a guide on how to configure Rspamd, an open-source spam filtering system, to perform DMARC checks and generate reports, enabling users to self-host their DMARC analysis.

July 2021 - Mailhardener