Free email DNS checkers and setup guides

Set up email on your own domain, without the DNS guesswork

Choose your email provider and the company that hosts your domain. Get the exact records to add, steps written for your dashboard, and a live check that tells you what is still wrong.

Set up new email

Not sure where your DNS is managed? It is usually where you bought the domain, unless you moved its nameservers. See all hosts

What we check

Four records decide whether your email works

Every guide sets up all four, and the checker tests each one against your provider. Here is what each does, in plain English.

  • MX

    Where incoming email goes

    MX records tell every other mail server where to deliver email for your domain. They must point to your provider and nowhere else.

    How MX works
  • SPF

    Which servers may send as you

    SPF is a TXT record that lists the services allowed to send email from your domain, so receivers can spot forgeries.

    How SPF works
  • DKIM

    A signature on every message

    DKIM publishes a public key so receivers can confirm your messages really came from you and were not changed on the way.

    How DKIM works
  • DMARC

    What to do with fakes

    DMARC tells receivers what to do with mail that fails SPF and DKIM, and where to send reports about it.

    How DMARC works

Free Free option

Want an address at your domain without paying for a mailbox?

Use Cloudflare Email Routing. It's available on Cloudflare's Free plan. Email Routing only works when your domain's DNS is managed by Cloudflare.

  • Mail sent to you@yourdomain.com arrives in the inbox you already use, like Gmail.
  • Create addresses like hello@ and orders@, or forward everything with a catch-all.
  • It only receives mail. To reply from your domain address you also need a sending service.

How to send from Gmail as you@yourdomain.com (with Brevo) →

Compare every free option →

See the free setup Check it is working

How it works

Three steps from new domain to working inbox

  1. Step 1

    Pick your provider and host

    Tell us where your email lives (like Google Workspace or Zoho) and where your domain is managed (like GoDaddy or Cloudflare).

  2. Step 2

    Copy the exact records

    Get MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records for that combination, with copy buttons and the field names your dashboard actually uses.

  3. Step 3

    Run a live check

    We look up your domain in public DNS and flag anything missing, duplicated or left over from an old provider, with a one-line fix.

Live check

See exactly what's still wrong

The checker reads your domain's public DNS and explains each record in plain English: correct, needs attention, or missing. Every problem comes with a one-line fix for your DNS host.

Check my domain

DNS check

yourbusiness.com

  • MX

    Incoming mail goes to your provider

    Correct

  • SPF

    Only one SPF record allowed

    2 records found

  • DKIM

    Signing key published

    Correct

  • DMARC

    Policy record at _dmarc

    Missing
Example result.

Coverage

Guides for the services small businesses actually use

Every provider and host pairing gets its own guide, because the same record looks different in every dashboard.

Email providers

Domain hosts

177 step-by-step guides, one for every pairing.

Why this is different

A setup wizard, not just another checker

Made for your exact combination

Generic checkers tell you something is wrong. We tell you what to type, in which box, on the dashboard you are looking at.

Values from official docs

Every record comes from the provider’s own documentation, with a link to the source and the date we last checked it.

Catches the usual mistakes

Duplicate SPF records, old MX entries from a previous host, proxied DKIM records. The things that quietly break email.

Common questions

Which DNS records does business email need?

Usually four. MX records send incoming mail to your provider. An SPF record (a TXT record) lists the servers allowed to send mail for your domain. DKIM publishes a key that lets receivers verify your messages were not altered. DMARC, a TXT record at _dmarc, tells receivers what to do when a message fails those checks. Most providers also ask for a one-time verification record to prove you own the domain.

How long do DNS changes take to work?

Many changes show up within minutes, but cached answers can keep the old value around for up to 48 hours. If a check still fails right after you save a record, give it some time and check again.

Can my domain have two SPF records?

No. A domain must publish exactly one SPF record. Two separate records make SPF fail for every message. If you send from more than one service, combine them into a single record with multiple include entries.

Will changing MX records break my website?

No. MX records only control where email is delivered. Your website uses different records (A, AAAA or CNAME), so you can update email records without touching the site.

Email not working, or already added your records?

Enter your domain. We find what is wrong, explain what it does to your email and show you how to fix it.

Fix my email