What is a good image to text ratio for email?

The widely used guidance is 60 percent text to 40 percent images by area. This tool marks anything at or under 40 percent image area as passing, 41 to 60 percent as worth improving, and above 60 percent as a real deliverability risk.

Does the image to text ratio really affect spam filtering?

It is one signal among many, not a hard rule. SpamAssassin includes rules that fire on image heavy messages with little text, and the major mailbox providers use similar heuristics, because sending copy as pixels was historically the easiest way to hide wording from text analysis.

How is the ratio calculated here?

Image area comes from the declared width and height of every img tag. Text is converted to an approximate rendered area of 140 pixels per visible character. The ratio is image area divided by the sum of both, which compares like with like rather than pixels against characters.

What happens when an image has no width or height?

The tool assumes a 600 by 300 area for that image and flags it, because an image without declared dimensions is also a rendering bug: Outlook on Windows draws it at the full natural size of the file.

Is my email HTML sent to a server?

No. The markup is parsed in your browser with DOMParser and nothing is transmitted. Campaign HTML usually contains unreleased pricing, merge tags and account specific tracking URLs, so it should not be pasted into a tool that uploads it.

Are tracking pixels counted?

No. Any image measuring three pixels or less on both sides is treated as a spacer or an open tracking pixel and excluded from the area calculation. It is reported separately so you can confirm the count looks right.

Does hidden preheader text count as text?

No. Elements hidden with display none, visibility hidden or a zero font size are removed before counting, because the recipient never reads them. Padding a preheader to improve the ratio does not work.

Why does alt text matter for deliverability?

Several clients block remote images by default, so alt text is the only copy those recipients see. It also gives filters readable words in place of an opaque image, and it is what a screen reader announces.

Does this check CSS background images?

It reports how many elements use one but does not count their area, since the rendered size cannot be read from the markup. It matters separately because Outlook on Windows ignores CSS backgrounds without VML fallback.

My ratio passes but the campaign still lands in spam. Why?

Image ratio is a small factor next to authentication and reputation. Check that SPF, DKIM and DMARC pass, that the list is permission based, and that complaint rates are low. The ratio is worth fixing, but it will not rescue a poor sending history.

Free Email Image to Text Ratio Checker

Paste your campaign HTML and see how much of the rendered message is image and how much is readable text. The check measures pixel area from your img tags, audits alt text on every image, and says why each finding affects deliverability. Nothing is uploaded to a server.

Free, no signup Runs in your browser Alt text audit included

Paste your email HTML

The full source, table markup and all. It stays in this tab.

Ratio checked? Next is the send

A balanced template still needs somewhere to send from.

Grigora Email builds campaigns with live text blocks rather than sliced images, keeps your list and your website on one platform, and handles the authentication records that matter far more to the inbox than any single ratio.

Start free Explore Email

How to check your image to text ratio

Four steps from campaign HTML to a fixed template.

Copy your email HTML

Export or view the source of the campaign in your email platform and copy the full HTML.

Paste it in

Drop the markup into the box. Nothing is uploaded, the parsing happens in your browser.

Read the ratio and findings

Check the image share against the 40 percent ceiling and read why each finding matters.

Convert images back to text

Rebuild headlines and body copy as live HTML text, add alt text, then check again.

How to check the image to text ratio, step by step

Real screenshots of the tool, taken while checking an image heavy campaign.

1
Paste the email HTML
Export it from your builder, or copy the source of a campaign you already sent. Nothing is uploaded anywhere.
2
Use the example to try it first
The example is a typical image heavy campaign, the kind that lands in Promotions and shows almost nothing when images are switched off.
3
See the ratio and what is missing
The split weighs visible text against image area, and flags images with no alt text, because a blocked image with no alt is a blank space to most readers.

When senders use it

Six moments the ratio is worth measuring.

Before sending a promotional campaign

Offer emails lean on graphics. Check the ratio while you can still edit the template.

When a campaign lands in Promotions

Image heavy mail is a common cause of tab placement changing between sends.

Auditing a designer built template

Sliced PSD templates often ship entire sections as one flat image.

Checking accessibility of a send

The alt text audit doubles as a screen reader check for every image.

Testing with images blocked

See what remains readable when a client refuses to load remote images.

Reviewing an agency handover

Confirm the HTML you inherited is not one banner with a footer under it.

Getting the HTML out of your platform

Where the source lives, by platform.

Mailchimp

Open the campaign and choose Edit design.
Use the code view or export the HTML.
Paste the full markup above.

Klaviyo

Open the template and switch to the HTML editor.
Select all and copy the source.
Paste it in and run the check.

Grigora Email

Open the campaign draft.
Export or preview the HTML source.
Check the ratio before scheduling the send.

Hand coded HTML

Open the .html file in a text editor.
Copy everything including the table markup.
Paste above, no minifying needed.

Grigora vs. other ratio checkers

Side by side.

Capability	Grigora	Web checkers	Seed test tools	ESP built in
Runs without upload	Yes, in your browser	Uploads your HTML	Requires a test send	Requires account
Measures pixel area	Yes, from width and height	Counts images only	Yes	Varies
Per image alt audit	Yes	No	Sometimes	Yes
Explains the filtering reason	Yes, on every finding	Score only	Score only	Partly
Signup required	No	No	Yes	Yes

Common problems and how to fix them

Eight issues behind most failing ratios.

Whole email is one image

Cause: A designer exported the layout as a single JPG.

Fix: Rebuild headline, body and button as HTML text. Keep images for photography only.

No alt text

Cause: Images added without an alt attribute.

Fix: Write alt text that says what the image communicates, not "banner1.jpg".

Text baked into a banner

Cause: Headline set in Photoshop rather than HTML.

Fix: Use a background colour plus live text, so the words are selectable and readable.

Missing width and height

Cause: Image tag has a src and nothing else.

Fix: Declare both in attributes. Outlook falls back to the natural size otherwise.

Gmail clips the message

Cause: Total HTML plus image markup past about 102KB.

Fix: Shorten the message and cut duplicated inline styles so the footer stays visible.

CSS background not showing

Cause: Section uses background-image in a style attribute.

Fix: Add a solid background colour fallback, and VML if Outlook support matters.

Preheader counted as content

Cause: Hidden preheader stuffed with keywords.

Fix: Keep the preheader short and honest. Hidden text does not lift the ratio.

Ratio passes but copy is thin

Cause: Fifty words of text next to one small image.

Fix: Write for the reader first. A passing percentage with no message still fails.

Numbers worth remembering

The thresholds this check is built around.

60/40

Text to image split most senders aim for by area

102KB

Size at which Gmail clips a message and hides the footer

3px

Size at or below which an image is treated as a tracking pixel

Bytes of your email HTML sent to a server by this tool

Frequently asked questions

Ten answers about image to text ratio in email.

Related free tools

Other utilities that pair with the Email Image to Text Ratio Checker.

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