ImprovMX can't send for free, caps Premium at 30 domains, and needs manual DNS for every one. Here are five alternatives for sending as you@yourdomain.com, compared honestly.
ImprovMX is forwarding-first: its free plan receives email but cannot send, and SMTP sending is gated behind the Premium plan at roughly $108/yr, which also caps you at 30 domains and still requires manual DNS configuration for every domain you add. The strongest alternative for most people is SendMailAs, which lets you send and receive from your custom domain on the free tier, costs $29/yr flat for unlimited domains with no per-domain cap, configures DNS automatically through Cloudflare, and works entirely inside your existing Gmail with DKIM signed by your own domain. Other honest options: Forward Email (~$36/yr, fully open source, manual DNS), Cloudflare Email Routing (free but forwarding-only with no sending), addy.io (privacy-focused aliasing), and Zoho Mail (a free-tier standalone mailbox rather than a Gmail integration). Pick SendMailAs for Gmail-native send and receive, Forward Email for open source, and Cloudflare for free receive-only forwarding.
Honest pros and cons. No affiliate links. No sponsored picks.
Send and receive custom domain email inside Gmail. Auto DNS.
Best for: Gmail users who want free sending and zero-friction setup
Pros
Cons
Open-source email forwarding and hosting.
Best for: Developers who value an open-source, auditable codebase
Pros
Cons
Free, reliable forwarding from your Cloudflare domain.
Best for: Receive-only setups where you never need to send
Pros
Cons
Privacy-focused email aliasing and masking.
Best for: Privacy users who want disposable, maskable aliases
Pros
Cons
Standalone webmail with a free tier and cheap mailboxes.
Best for: People who want a separate mailbox, not a Gmail add-on
Pros
Cons
ImprovMX and all five alternatives. Scroll sideways on mobile.
| Alternative | Price (annual) | Sends email? | DNS automation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ImprovMX | Free / $108/yr | Paid only (Premium) | Manual, per domain |
| SendMailAsPick | Free / $29/yr | Yes (free tier) | Automatic (Cloudflare) |
| Forward Email | Free / ~$36/yr | Paid only | Manual |
| Cloudflare Email Routing | Free | No (forwarding only) | Auto (on Cloudflare) |
| addy.io | Free / ~$12-36/yr | Limited | Manual |
| Zoho Mail | Free / ~$12/yr+ | Yes (standalone) | Manual |
Prices are annual and approximate. ImprovMX Premium ~$108/yr (30-domain cap). Prices as of May 2026.
ImprovMX is a solid product for one audience in particular. If you rely on any of the following daily, Premium may still be the right tool:
But if you just want to send and receive as you@yourdomain.com inside Gmail without paying $108/yr? You're overpaying.
ImprovMX is forwarding-first: the free plan receives email but cannot send. To send from your custom domain via SMTP you need the Premium plan at $9/month ($108/yr), which also caps you at 30 domains and still requires manual DNS for every domain. People who want to send for free, cover unlimited domains, or skip manual DNS look elsewhere.
For most people it's SendMailAs. It lets you send and receive from your custom domain inside Gmail, includes sending on the free tier (no $108/yr Premium gate), is $29/yr flat for unlimited domains, and pre-generates the exact DNS records for you to copy-paste at your existing DNS host with automatic verification instead of the per-domain manual research ImprovMX requires.
SendMailAs is the closest: its free plan covers 1 domain with 2 addresses and includes both send and receive. ImprovMX free is receive-only. Cloudflare Email Routing is free but forwarding-only - it cannot send at all. Forward Email's free tier is also forwarding-only; sending requires a paid plan.
Forward Email is open-source and around $36/yr for sending plus a hosted mailbox. It's a strong pick if you value an auditable codebase, but DNS is still manual and outbound mail is typically DKIM-signed with their domain rather than yours unless you configure it carefully.
Only partially. Cloudflare Email Routing is free and reliable for forwarding incoming mail to Gmail, but it does not support sending from your custom domain at all. If you only need to receive, it works. If you need to reply or send as you@yourdomain.com, you'd pair it with another service - or use SendMailAs, which handles both.
addy.io is alias and privacy focused (great for masking addresses, less so as a full send/receive setup). Zoho Mail offers a free tier and cheap paid mailboxes but is a standalone webmail/IMAP product, not a Gmail-native 'Send mail as' integration. Both are valid depending on whether you want privacy aliases or a separate mailbox.
On the Premium plan, yes - Premium covers up to 30 domains. Free is limited to 1 domain. SendMailAs Pro is $29/yr with no per-domain fee and no 30-domain cap, which is why it's the common pick for people running many domains.
Not if SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are set correctly. Properly configured, deliverability is comparable across these services. The practical difference is setup: ImprovMX needs you to research and craft DNS per domain, while SendMailAs pre-generates the exact records (with DKIM aligned to your own domain so there's no 'via' banner) for you to copy-paste at your existing DNS host and then verifies them automatically.
First domain free. Auto DNS. No $108/yr Premium gate.
Get started free