SPF vs. DKIM vs. DMARC: What's the Difference?

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC work together to authenticate email and protect your domain. Learn how each protocol works, how DMARC alignment affects authentication, and how to troubleshoot common email authentication problems.

Targetive Team Deliverability Specialist

October 13, 2026

8 min read

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SPF vs. DKIM vs. DMARC: What's the Difference?

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Written by deliverability specialists and cold email infrastructure architects at Targetive. We research inbox placement, spam filtering algorithms, mailbox warming protocols, and email verification.

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