What are MX records?
MX (Mail Exchange) records tell the internet where to deliver email for a domain. When you send an email to user@example.com, your mail server looks up the MX records for example.com in DNS to find out which server accepts inbound email for that domain.
Each MX record has a priority (lower = preferred). If a domain lists multiple MX records, senders try the lowest-priority host first. If that fails, they fall back to higher priorities.
How to read the results
- Priority — lower numbers are tried first. Typical values are 10, 20, 30.
- Host — the mail server that accepts email for this domain (e.g.,
alt1.aspmx.l.google.comfor Google Workspace). - No MX found — the domain can't receive email. Either it's not set up, or email is handled by the A record as fallback (uncommon today).
Common MX providers you'll recognize
*.google.com/aspmx.l.google.com— Google Workspace (formerly G Suite)*.outlook.com/*.protection.outlook.com— Microsoft 365*.mx.ovh.net— OVH*.one.com,*.ionos.com,*.1and1.com— European hosters*.fastmail.com,*.protonmail.ch,*.migadu.com— privacy-focused providers
Privacy
This tool queries Cloudflare's DNS-over-HTTPS service (cloudflare-dns.com) directly from your browser. The domain you enter goes to Cloudflare. We do not log or store anything — your query never touches our servers.
Frequently asked questions
What are MX records?
MX (Mail Exchange) records tell other mail servers where to deliver email for a domain. Each record points to a host and has a priority number — lower numbers are tried first.
Why does the check show no MX records?
Three common reasons: the domain has no MX records (it can't receive email), the domain doesn't exist, or there's a DNS propagation delay after a recent change (usually resolves within 4–24 hours).
What's the difference between MX and A records?
MX records specify mail servers; A records map a hostname to an IPv4 address. A domain can deliver mail via MX while its website on the same domain uses A records — they're completely independent.
