Which ESP is Best for Deliverability? (Spoiler: It’s the Wrong Question)

Just the other day, I saw someone post another one of those "Deliverability Ranked by ESP" charts, and frankly, it drives me nuts. These charts are inaccurate and misleading. There is no useful way to generate a single "snapshot metric" that tells you you'll get better inbox placement on Platform A versus Platform B. Why? Because that's simply not how deliverability works.So, how do you actually evaluate deliverability when trying to decide which email service provider (ESP) or marketing automation platform is right for you? The reality is nuanced:Good ESPs (of which there are many) will always struggle to get unwanted, spammy mail delivered.Bad ESPs (platforms with loose compliance) can still host successful, good senders, but if they don't police their own client base, or don't have the right expertise, they'll struggle to help you with deliverability issues and even sometimes run into broader blocking issues.With very few exceptions (like certain real-time blocklists), your sender…