📬 MX Record Lookup
Look up a domain's mail servers (MX records) with their priorities, resolved IPs, and TTL — plus a plain-English summary of who handles its email.
What Is an MX Record?
An MX (Mail Exchange) record is a DNS record that tells the internet which servers accept
email for your domain. When someone sends mail to you@example.com, the sending
server looks up example.com's MX records and delivers to the listed mail hosts.
A domain can have several MX records, and each carries a priority.
How to Read Your MX Results
- Priority — a number where lower is preferred. Senders try the lowest-numbered server first. A higher-numbered host acts as a backup MX if the primary is unreachable. What do the priority numbers mean? →
- Mail server — the hostname that accepts mail (e.g.
aspmx.l.google.com). This tool resolves each one to its IP addresses so you can confirm it's live. - TTL — how long resolvers cache the record. Lower TTLs make changes propagate faster.
- Provider — the email host we detect from the mail server's hostname (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and so on).
Auditing email deliverability? Pair this with the SPF checker, DMARC checker, and a full DNS health check.
Who hosts this domain's email? (email host lookup)
The mail server hostnames in a domain's MX records give away its email host. This tool reads them and prints the provider in the Provider column, so an MX lookup doubles as an email host lookup — no login, no account. These are the tell-tale patterns:
| MX hostname looks like | Email host |
|---|---|
aspmx.l.google.com, alt1.aspmx.l.google.com | Google Workspace |
*.mail.protection.outlook.com | Microsoft 365 / Exchange Online |
mx.zoho.com, mx2.zoho.com | Zoho Mail |
mail.protonmail.ch, mailsec.protonmail.ch | Proton Mail |
in1-smtp.messagingengine.com | Fastmail |
mx01.mail.icloud.com | iCloud Mail (custom domain) |
mx1.privateemail.com | Namecheap Private Email |
mx1.emailsrvr.com | Rackspace Email |
smtp.secureserver.net, mailstore1.secureserver.net | GoDaddy email |
mx.yandex.net | Yandex 360 |
*.pphosted.com, *.mimecast.com, *.barracudanetworks.com | Proofpoint / Mimecast / Barracuda filtering in front of the real mailbox host |
mail.example.com (the domain itself) | Self-hosted, or a cPanel / web-hosting mailbox |
When a filtering service is in the MX, the real mailbox provider sits behind it — the domain's SPF record usually reveals which one. Check it with the SPF checker.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an MX record?
An MX (Mail Exchange) record is a DNS record that names the servers responsible for accepting email for a domain. Without a valid MX record, mail to your domain can't be delivered.
What does MX record priority mean?
Priority (also called preference) is a number on each MX record. Sending servers try the lowest number first; higher numbers are used only if the preferred server is unavailable. It's not a percentage or a ranking of quality — just delivery order.
What is a backup MX record?
A backup MX is a second mail server with a higher priority number. If your primary mail server is down, senders fall back to it so mail isn't immediately bounced. Many modern providers handle redundancy for you, so a single MX is often fine.
Why does my domain have no MX record?
Either the domain isn't set up to receive email, or it relies on an implicit MX (senders fall back to the A record) — which most domains should avoid by publishing explicit MX records. A single . exchange ("null MX") means the domain intentionally accepts no mail.
Is this MX lookup free?
Yes. Enter any domain to see its mail servers, priorities, resolved IPs, and TTL — free, with no account required.
How do I find out who hosts a domain's email?
Run an MX lookup for the domain. The mail server hostnames identify the provider — aspmx.l.google.com is Google Workspace, *.mail.protection.outlook.com is Microsoft 365, and so on — and this tool names the email host for you in the Provider column.
Can I check email hosting without logging in?
Yes. MX records are public DNS data, so anyone can look up which servers accept mail for a domain. You don't need access to the domain's registrar, DNS provider or mailbox to run this check.
What is a mail exchanger lookup?
"Mail exchanger" is what the MX in "MX record" stands for, so a mail exchanger lookup is just another name for an MX lookup: querying DNS for the servers that receive email for a domain, in priority order.