About EmailDNSTools

Business email on your own domain, set up right the first time

EmailDNSTools is a free set of guides and checkers that shows small business owners exactly which DNS records their email needs, where to add them, and what is still wrong.

EmailDNSTools logo: an envelope with a gear, the MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC badges and the tagline Free Email DNS Checkers and Setup Guides
setup guides
177
email providers
12
DNS hosts
16
official sources cited
102

Why we built it

Two sets of instructions that never quite line up

Setting up email on your own domain should take ten minutes. Often it takes an afternoon. Your email provider gives you a list of records, your domain host has its own dashboard with different field names, and nothing connects the two.

The mistakes are small and easy to miss, and mail still sends. It just lands in spam or bounces, and nothing tells you why. EmailDNSTools closes that gap: pick the provider and the host you actually use, and you get one set of instructions written for both.

  • MX
  • SPF
  • DKIM
  • DMARC

Common mistakes

  • Two SPF records, so SPF fails for every message
  • Old MX records left behind by the domain host
  • A name field that adds the domain twice (_dmarc.yourdomain.com.yourdomain.com)
  • A DKIM record proxied through Cloudflare, so it can’t be read

What EmailDNSTools does

  • The exact records for your provider, in the order to add them
  • Steps that use the field names your DNS host shows you
  • Warnings for the quirks of that host, right where they matter
  • A live check that finds what is still missing or wrong

What you get

Everything for your email DNS in one place

How we keep it accurate

Every value comes from an official source

DNS instructions go out of date quietly. This is how we make sure the records on this site are the ones your provider actually asks for.

  1. 1

    Read the official documentation

    Record values, priorities, DKIM selectors and dashboard steps come from the provider’s and the host’s own help pages. A provider’s guide for a specific host counts too.

  2. 2

    Store the source with every value

    Each value is saved with the link it came from and the date it was last read. Every guide lists those sources at the bottom.

  3. 3

    Never guess

    If a value can’t be confirmed, it is marked as unconfirmed instead of filled in. Values unique to your account, like DKIM keys, are never invented: we show where to find them.

  4. 4

    Check again by hand

    Sources are also re-read by hand. A guide shows “Sources checked” with a date only once every source on it has had that check.

What we stand for

Free, private and independent

Nothing to sign up for

No account, no tracking scripts, no ad cookies. The checkers only read public DNS records, the same ones anyone can look up.

Independent

We are not affiliated with any email provider or domain host. If a link ever earns us a commission, the page says so clearly, and it never changes the records we recommend.

Written for business owners

Plain English first. Technical terms are explained the first time they appear, and every problem comes with what it does to your email.

Spotted something that doesn’t match your dashboard?

Dashboards change. Tell us what you see and we will check the guide against the official documentation.

Contact us Fix my email