Is the email DNS checker free?

Yes. You confirm your email once with a 6-digit code, then you can check any domain as often as you like for 30 days. No credit card, no paid tier, and we never send you marketing emails.

Why do my business emails go to spam even though I use Gmail or Outlook?

Using Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 does not set up your domain records for you. If SPF does not include your provider, DKIM is not switched on, or there is no DMARC record, receiving servers cannot verify your messages. Run the check: the report shows which of the three is missing and the record to add.

Should my SPF record end with -all or ~all?

Both are fine once DMARC is in place. ~all (softfail) is the common choice and lets DMARC make the final decision; -all (hardfail) is stricter. Never use +all, which allows every server in the world to send as you, and avoid ?all, which says nothing.

What is the SPF 10-lookup limit?

SPF may trigger at most 10 DNS lookups through include, a, mx, ptr, exists and redirect terms, counting nested includes. Above 10 the whole record fails with a permanent error, so all your mail fails SPF. Remove tools you no longer use, or replace includes with the provider’s smaller include.

What DMARC policy should a small business use?

Start with p=none and a rua report address to see who sends email as your domain. After 2 to 4 weeks of clean reports, move to p=quarantine, then p=reject. If your domain never sends email, publish p=reject straight away together with “v=spf1 -all”.

Why does the tool say no DKIM key was found when I have one?

DKIM keys live at a name chosen by your provider (the selector), and there is no public list of them. We try your provider’s selectors and about 25 common ones. If yours is different, open an email you sent, find “s=” in the DKIM-Signature header, type that selector in the optional field and check again.

Can you set up my business email records for me?

Yes. Our business email setup service configures SPF, DKIM and DMARC and tests delivery to Gmail and Outlook. Or we build you a new website and app for free with email records set up correctly from day one; you see it finished and pay $150 one-time only if you are happy.

Free tool

Free Business Email DNS Checker (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, MX)

Your emails land in spam, quotes never reach customers, or Gmail bounces your messages? In most cases the cause is three small DNS records: SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Enter your domain and in about 10 seconds you see which records exist, which are wrong, which provider handles your email, and the exact records to copy into your DNS to fix it.

Step 1: verify your email

We send a 6-digit code. Verify once and use every free tool for 30 days. We send no other emails.

What this checker tests

We read your domain’s public DNS records the same way Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo do when your email arrives. Nothing is sent from or to your mailbox, and we never need a password. 14 checks in three groups:

Receiving: MX records exist, the mail servers resolve, and which email provider you use (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoho, Hostinger, GoDaddy, Proton, Fastmail and more).
Sender authentication: exactly one SPF record, a safe ending (-all or ~all, never +all), the 10-DNS-lookup limit that silently breaks SPF, whether SPF allows your own provider, and a DKIM key (we try your provider’s selectors and 25 common ones, or the selector you type) with its key size.
Policy and extras: DMARC record, policy (none, quarantine or reject), pct, report address, plus MTA-STS, TLS-RPT and BIMI for information.

Why emails from your business domain go to spam

Anyone can type your address in the “From” line of an email. SPF tells receivers which servers may send for your domain, DKIM adds a signature that proves the message was not changed, and DMARC tells receivers what to do when a message fails both, and where to send reports. Without them, inbox providers cannot tell your real invoices from a scammer’s copy, so they play safe and use the spam folder.

Since February 2024 Gmail and Yahoo require SPF or DKIM from every sender, and SPF, DKIM and DMARC from anyone sending more than 5,000 messages a day. Gmail began rejecting non-compliant mail outright in November 2025, and Outlook.com, Hotmail and Live addresses have enforced the same rules for high-volume senders since May 2025. A small business sending a few dozen emails a day still needs SPF and DKIM to reach the inbox reliably, and DMARC is what stops others from spoofing you.

The 3 most common mistakes we find

These come up again and again when we set up email for small businesses:

Two SPF records. Adding a second “v=spf1” record for a newsletter tool, instead of merging it into the first, makes SPF fail for every email. There must be exactly one.
DKIM never switched on. Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 do not sign with your domain until an admin turns DKIM on and publishes the key, often months after the mailbox was created.
DMARC stuck on p=none with no reports. It satisfies the minimum rule but protects nothing. Collect reports for 2 to 4 weeks, then move to quarantine and later reject.

How to read your result

Each check is green (fine), amber (works but weak) or red (a real problem). Grey items are optional extras and do not change the grade. The grade drops to F when there is neither SPF nor DKIM, because Gmail and Outlook may then reject your email.

At the end you get copy-paste DNS records: a merged SPF record for your provider, a starter DMARC record and where in your provider’s admin to switch on DKIM. Add them in the DNS zone where your domain is managed (your registrar, your host or Cloudflare). Changes usually show up within an hour; run the check again to confirm.

What this tool does not check

It reads public DNS only. It does not send a test email, read message headers or check whether your server IP is on a spam blacklist, and DKIM can only be found when the selector is one we know or the one you type (you can see yours in the “DKIM-Signature: … s=” header of an email you sent). For your website itself, use the SSL & security headers checker or the website health check.

Frequently asked questions

Is the email DNS checker free?: Yes. You confirm your email once with a 6-digit code, then you can check any domain as often as you like for 30 days. No credit card, no paid tier, and we never send you marketing emails.
Why do my business emails go to spam even though I use Gmail or Outlook?: Using Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 does not set up your domain records for you. If SPF does not include your provider, DKIM is not switched on, or there is no DMARC record, receiving servers cannot verify your messages. Run the check: the report shows which of the three is missing and the record to add.
Should my SPF record end with -all or ~all?: Both are fine once DMARC is in place. ~all (softfail) is the common choice and lets DMARC make the final decision; -all (hardfail) is stricter. Never use +all, which allows every server in the world to send as you, and avoid ?all, which says nothing.
What is the SPF 10-lookup limit?: SPF may trigger at most 10 DNS lookups through include, a, mx, ptr, exists and redirect terms, counting nested includes. Above 10 the whole record fails with a permanent error, so all your mail fails SPF. Remove tools you no longer use, or replace includes with the provider’s smaller include.
What DMARC policy should a small business use?: Start with p=none and a rua report address to see who sends email as your domain. After 2 to 4 weeks of clean reports, move to p=quarantine, then p=reject. If your domain never sends email, publish p=reject straight away together with “v=spf1 -all”.
Why does the tool say no DKIM key was found when I have one?: DKIM keys live at a name chosen by your provider (the selector), and there is no public list of them. We try your provider’s selectors and about 25 common ones. If yours is different, open an email you sent, find “s=” in the DKIM-Signature header, type that selector in the optional field and check again.
Can you set up my business email records for me?: Yes. Our business email setup service configures SPF, DKIM and DMARC and tests delivery to Gmail and Outlook. Or we build you a new website and app for free with email records set up correctly from day one; you see it finished and pay $150 one-time only if you are happy.

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