How this checker works
It measures the size of your HTML in bytes, the way Gmail does, and compares it with the 102KB limit. It also estimates how much a quick minify would save, and how much your email platform's click-tracking links might add: each tracked link is typically around 100 bytes longer than the original.
Images hosted on a server don't count towards the limit. Images embedded straight into the HTML as data: do. For the full explanation and how to cut an email down, read why Gmail clips your email, and how to stay under 102KB.