This is not self-hosting related but If all you need is *@domain.tld (wildcard and any number of emails) without the ability to send out emails easily, try Cloudflare Email routing , this will forward all emails received on *@domain.tld (amy@domain, [email protected] ) to another of your existing email (can be gmail or proton mail or any other email address). if you need 1 to 5 inbox with easy setup and limited storage, try Zoho mail Forever Free plan* : Easy setup, Five free inbox with 5GB/User on custom domain. Can send and receive email compared to Cloudflare Email routing. Outlook - E5 developer account: Microsoft offers E5 developer account to Developers for 3/4 months, you can get 1 easily and as long as there are some developer activity, it will renew itself. (Not recommended) Skiff mail: Easy setup, 1 inbox with send and receive on custom domain (10GB storage on free), they also have refer bonus edit: clarifying cloudflare email routing and E5 Developer account recommendation edit2: skiff announced that it will discontinue its email service as of 16/02/2024 edit3: Zoho Forever free plan and cloudflare email routing clarification edit4: Zoho has started restricting their free forever email services. For now, it is "Available only in select data centers" Answer from Bekar_vai on reddit.com
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/selfhosted › best way to get [email protected] for free or cheap?
r/selfhosted on Reddit: Best way to get [email protected] for free or cheap?
October 12, 2023 -

So I have researched about self hosting your own email server such as Mailcow but it seems pretty divided on whether or not you should do it due emails potentially not getting delivered due to spam filters and such. So I'm kinda not interested in self hosting so I'm wondering what is the next best option to get my own email ideally for free but maybe settle for really cheap?

Edit: I have my own domain already.

Edit2: Thank you all! I have my domain with Cloudflare so I have tried their email routing but would like to be able to send from it too. I'll check out some other suggestions.

Edit3: Wow this got a lot of replies. Again thanks all for the recommendations. I haven't had a chance to actually check any out yet (busy weekend) but I will get to it.

Edit4: So I've had a little time to look at some of the options and it looks like maybe Zoho, onepoundemail or PurelyMail. They are both fairly cheap and around the same price. Anyone know how they compare?

Edit5: I ended up paying for Zoho for $12/year. So far it's doing everything I wanted and more. Very happy with it! Thank you all!!!

Top answer
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This is not self-hosting related but If all you need is *@domain.tld (wildcard and any number of emails) without the ability to send out emails easily, try Cloudflare Email routing , this will forward all emails received on *@domain.tld (amy@domain, [email protected] ) to another of your existing email (can be gmail or proton mail or any other email address). if you need 1 to 5 inbox with easy setup and limited storage, try Zoho mail Forever Free plan* : Easy setup, Five free inbox with 5GB/User on custom domain. Can send and receive email compared to Cloudflare Email routing. Outlook - E5 developer account: Microsoft offers E5 developer account to Developers for 3/4 months, you can get 1 easily and as long as there are some developer activity, it will renew itself. (Not recommended) Skiff mail: Easy setup, 1 inbox with send and receive on custom domain (10GB storage on free), they also have refer bonus edit: clarifying cloudflare email routing and E5 Developer account recommendation edit2: skiff announced that it will discontinue its email service as of 16/02/2024 edit3: Zoho Forever free plan and cloudflare email routing clarification edit4: Zoho has started restricting their free forever email services. For now, it is "Available only in select data centers"
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For email, I use MXRoute . They're especially affordable if you snag them on sale , which they have now and then . One possible option would be to use Cloudflare's free email forwarding to a regular (free) gmail account, and set that gmail account to send all outgoing mail via MxRoute (using Gmail's "send-as" feature), or though any other mail sending servie with a free tier, with your personal domain; I also setup a mail rule in Gmail to flag/tag all email that was sent directly to the gmail address, so I would notice it.
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Zoho
zoho.com › home › custom domain email
Create Custom Domain Email Address in Zoho Mail - Free for 5 Users
If you are a small business or team with five users or less and limited needs, then you can opt for the free custom email address plan, which includes 5GB for each user and email hosting for a single domain.
Discussions

Custom domain free
Hallo, I own a domain and it is hosted by Microsoft on one of the free accounts they provided a number of years ago. It works fine as is however I am wondering about upgrading to 365 personal. I don't want to lose access to my existing email though. Would I be able to continue to use my custom ... More on learn.microsoft.com
🌐 learn.microsoft.com
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January 21, 2023
Custom email domain for free on Gmail - Networking & Firewalls - Lawrence Systems Forums
Hi I’m a hobbist trying to create a custom domain email on gmail for free. It uses a domain routing rule to point the emails to a gmail email address and on the gmail side it uses an app password to to access the gmail SMTP sever for this custom email address. More on forums.lawrencesystems.com
🌐 forums.lawrencesystems.com
1
April 8, 2025
Best way to get [email protected] for free or cheap?
This is not self-hosting related but If all you need is *@domain.tld (wildcard and any number of emails) without the ability to send out emails easily, try Cloudflare Email routing , this will forward all emails received on *@domain.tld (amy@domain, [email protected] ) to another of your existing email (can be gmail or proton mail or any other email address). if you need 1 to 5 inbox with easy setup and limited storage, try Zoho mail Forever Free plan* : Easy setup, Five free inbox with 5GB/User on custom domain. Can send and receive email compared to Cloudflare Email routing. Outlook - E5 developer account: Microsoft offers E5 developer account to Developers for 3/4 months, you can get 1 easily and as long as there are some developer activity, it will renew itself. (Not recommended) Skiff mail: Easy setup, 1 inbox with send and receive on custom domain (10GB storage on free), they also have refer bonus edit: clarifying cloudflare email routing and E5 Developer account recommendation edit2: skiff announced that it will discontinue its email service as of 16/02/2024 edit3: Zoho Forever free plan and cloudflare email routing clarification edit4: Zoho has started restricting their free forever email services. For now, it is "Available only in select data centers" More on reddit.com
🌐 r/selfhosted
347
295
October 12, 2023
Recommendations for free custom domain email hosting
Zoho, free for up to 5 accounts. More on reddit.com
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29
9
August 15, 2022
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Why do I need a custom email domain?
A custom email domain name is an email address that uses your own website domain name, such as [email protected]. This is different from a generic email address that uses a free email service provider, such as [email protected] or [email protected].

1. Having a custom email domain can help you:
2. Build trust and credibility with your customers and clients
3. Enhance your professional image and reputation
4. Promote your brand and website
5. Protect your privacy and security
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Hi. I'm Brian and I'll try to help.

If you purchase a Personal or Family subscription, the custom domain should still apply. However, as of November 20, 2023, Microsoft will no longer support custom domains with Microsoft 365 Personal or Family. It will be supported with the Microsoft 365 business subscriptions. Custom domains should still work if you have one but you won't be able to create a new one. My personal inclination is to not use a feature for which there no longer is support because if it were ever to break, it would never be fixed and there would be no recourse. It's not that much more expensive to get a business subscription if a custom domain is important to you when using Microsoft 365 and you don't need to be an actual business to subscribe.

I use a custom domain with the free version of Outlook.com. Microsoft (or GoDaddy) is not the registrar. I have my custom domain point to a mailbox that I then forward to my @outlook.com address and I have the custom address configured as an alias for that Outlook.com mailbox. I also have it set as the default From address. If I use the web interface, the From address is my custom address and people receiving my messages see that address whether it's a new message or a reply to an existing message. It doesn't work as straight-forward with a mail client (you would see "on behalf of" in the From address). However, there's a work-around for that as well if you create a send-only account in the client that sends messages you want to show as From the custom address through the real custom domain mailbox rather than relaying through Outlook.com. It can take just a bit more thought about the From address when sending, but I'm so used to it now I rarely make a mistake. I most often use a Chromebook for my normal computer work and since that uses the web interface, the From is always good.

As long as the code you purchase is a genuine Microsoft 365 code and not, say, a code for Microsoft Office Professional Plus, which is often a pirated license, it shouldn't make a difference.

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Hi David

I'm Anna and I'd be happy to help you with your question. In this Forum, we are Microsoft consumers just like yourself.

Yes, you can continue to use your custom domain with a personal 365 account. You would need to configure the custom domain in the Office 365 admin center and update the MX records for your domain to point to the Office 365 mail servers.

If you decide not to renew your subscription, your account will be downgraded to the free version, which means you will lose access to certain features and services that are only available with a paid subscription. However, you will still be able to access your email using the free version of Outlook.com.

You can use a code purchased elsewhere to upgrade to Office 365 Personal, as long as it is a valid code for that product and it hasn't been used before. You will need to redeem the code in the Microsoft Store or on the Microsoft website, and then follow the instructions to upgrade your account.

I hope this helps ;-), let me know if this is contrary to what you need, I would still be helpful to answer more of your questions.

Best Regards,

Anna

Give back to the community. Help the next person with this problem by indicating whether this answer solved your problem. Click Yes or No at the bottom.

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ImprovMX
improvmx.com
Effortless Email Forwarding for Custom Domains
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MailerLite
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hostinger.com › email hosting
Business Email | Get a Professional Email Address in Minutes
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hostinger.com › free-domain
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October 7, 2025 - Neo’s Starter plan is a budget-friendly way for small business owners and professionals to set up their professional email address and online presence. At just $1.99/month/mailbox, it provides core features such as custom domain support, basic business email, 10GB storage per mailbox, and a free single-page website to help promote a brand online.
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Custom email domain for free on Gmail - Networking & Firewalls - Lawrence Systems Forums
April 8, 2025 - Hi I’m a hobbist trying to create a custom domain email on gmail for free. It uses a domain routing rule to point the emails to a gmail email address and on the gmail side it uses an app password to to access the gmail …
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January 10, 2025 - If you’re looking for a free email service that feels more personal and professional than Gmail or Yahoo, Mail.com is worth considering. While it doesn’t let you create your own custom domain, it offers a large catalog of ready-made domain names you can choose from – over 100 options, in fact.