Cloudflare guide · Updated October 2026
Free Custom Domain Email with Cloudflare
Cloudflare Email Routing gives you an address such as hello@yourdomain.com for free: it receives the mail and forwards it to an inbox you already have. Receiving is the free half. To reply as hello@yourdomain.com you add a sending path, and there are three: Gmail's "Send mail as" with an SMTP server, which Gmail stops for third-party addresses in January 2027, Cloudflare Email Sending from your own code, or a webmail in your Cloudflare account such as MarkRelay, which keeps receiving and replying on Cloudflare itself.
Gmail Send mail as ends in January 2027
Google's help pages say Gmail will stop supporting "Send as" for addresses it does not host from January 2027, with notices and restrictions on new setups from the second half of 2026. Forwarding Email Routing to Gmail and replying with Send mail as stops working then: you keep receiving, but you can no longer answer as your domain.
The route that keeps working is a mailbox that lives on Cloudflare itself. MarkRelay receives through Email Routing and replies through Email Sending from the same address, in your own Cloudflare account, for every domain and teammate you add.
How mail flows through your Cloudflare account
Cloudflare receives and sends. MarkRelay is the mailbox in between, running as your own Worker.
Receive
- Senderwrites to support@yourdomain.com
- Email RoutingCloudflare, free on any plan
- MarkRelay Workerfiles it in the mailbox
- Your D1 + R2messages and attachments
Reply
- Webmail or APIa teammate, an app or an agent
- MarkRelay Workerchecks mailbox access
- Email SendingCloudflare, in Workers Paid
- Recipientsees support@yourdomain.com
What you need
- A domain you own, at any registrar.
- Cloudflare DNS for that domain. The Free plan is enough; you switch nameservers and keep your registrar.
- An existing inbox to forward to (for option A), or a Cloudflare account on Workers Paid (for options B and C).
Step 1: Receive mail for free with Email Routing
- Add the domain to Cloudflare and change its nameservers to the ones Cloudflare shows.
- Open Email → Email Routing and enable it. Cloudflare adds the MX and SPF records for you.
- Add a destination address, such as your Gmail, and confirm the verification email.
- Create a custom address, such as hello@yourdomain.com, and point it at the destination. Or add a catch-all rule.
Mail to hello@yourdomain.com now lands in your Gmail. Email Routing is free and has no monthly message limit.
Step 2: Choose how to send
| What you get | A. Gmail Send mail asUntil January 2027 | B. Cloudflare Email SendingFrom your own Worker | C. MarkRelayWebmail in your Cloudflare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | $0 on a free SMTP plan, e.g. Brevo's 300 emails a day | $5, 3,000 emails included | $5 plus a license from $99/year |
| Where you read mail | Gmail, web and apps | Wherever your code stores it | MarkRelay webmail in the browser |
| Replies come from your domain | Until January 2027 | Yes | Yes |
| Still works after January 2027 | Receiving only | Yes | Yes |
| Where mail is stored | Your choice | Your Cloudflare D1 and R2 | |
| Several people and addresses | One Gmail per person | You build it | Per-mailbox access for each person |
| HTTP API and webhooks | No | Send only, from a Worker | Send, read, reply, forward, signed webhooks |
| Setup | Gmail settings + SMTP credentials | Write and deploy a Worker | Deploy to Cloudflare button |
Monthly cost
- A. Gmail Send mail as
- $0 on a free SMTP plan, e.g. Brevo's 300 emails a day
- B. Cloudflare Email Sending
- $5, 3,000 emails included
- C. MarkRelay
- $5 plus a license from $99/year
Where you read mail
- A. Gmail Send mail as
- Gmail, web and apps
- B. Cloudflare Email Sending
- Wherever your code stores it
- C. MarkRelay
- MarkRelay webmail in the browser
Replies come from your domain
- A. Gmail Send mail as
- Until January 2027
- B. Cloudflare Email Sending
- Yes
- C. MarkRelay
- Yes
Still works after January 2027
- A. Gmail Send mail as
- Receiving only
- B. Cloudflare Email Sending
- Yes
- C. MarkRelay
- Yes
Where mail is stored
- A. Gmail Send mail as
- B. Cloudflare Email Sending
- Your choice
- C. MarkRelay
- Your Cloudflare D1 and R2
Several people and addresses
- A. Gmail Send mail as
- One Gmail per person
- B. Cloudflare Email Sending
- You build it
- C. MarkRelay
- Per-mailbox access for each person
HTTP API and webhooks
- A. Gmail Send mail as
- No
- B. Cloudflare Email Sending
- Send only, from a Worker
- C. MarkRelay
- Send, read, reply, forward, signed webhooks
Setup
- A. Gmail Send mail as
- Gmail settings + SMTP credentials
- B. Cloudflare Email Sending
- Write and deploy a Worker
- C. MarkRelay
- Deploy to Cloudflare button
Free SMTP plans have daily limits and may add their own branding; check the provider's terms.
A. Gmail "Send mail as" with an SMTP server (until January 2027)
In Gmail, open Settings → Accounts → Send mail as → Add another email address, enter hello@yourdomain.com, and give Gmail an SMTP server that is allowed to send for your domain, such as a free transactional email plan. Add that provider's SPF and DKIM records in Cloudflare DNS so your mail is authenticated. Gmail then lets you pick your domain address in the From field. Treat this as temporary: Gmail stops Send as for third-party addresses in January 2027, and an address forwarded from Cloudflare is one.
B. Cloudflare Email Sending from your own Worker
Onboard the domain to Email Sending in the Cloudflare dashboard, which writes its DNS records, and send from a Worker with the send_email binding or over Cloudflare's REST API. This suits apps that send mail; you still need somewhere to read and answer replies. See Cloudflare Email Sending for the setup and code.
C. MarkRelay: a webmail in your own Cloudflare account
Deploy MarkRelay with the Deploy to Cloudflare button, add your domain, and point its Email Routing rules, or one catch-all rule, at the MarkRelay Worker instead of Gmail. Each address becomes a mailbox you read and answer in the browser, replies go out through Email Sending from the same address, and teammates see only the mailboxes you grant them. Apps and AI agents use the same mailboxes over the HTTP API and MCP server.
Because receiving and sending both stay on Cloudflare, nothing depends on Gmail's Send as, so this setup keeps working after January 2027. It also scales past one person: add domains and mailboxes in MarkRelay without new routing rules, and pay one license instead of a seat per user.
What it costs per year
| People | A. Gmail + free SMTP (to Jan 2027) | B. Your own Worker | C. MarkRelay | Google Workspace Starter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $0 | $60 + your time | $159 | $84 |
| 5 | $0 | $60 + your time | $159 | $420 |
| 15 | $0 | $60 + your time | $159 | $1,260 |
Assumes about 100 sent emails a month per person, inside the 3,000 that Workers Paid includes. MarkRelay: Annual license plus Workers Paid. Google Workspace Business Starter is $7 per user per month on an annual plan. See what MarkRelay costs to run for higher volumes.
Common questions
Can I get a custom domain email address for free?
Receiving is free: Cloudflare Email Routing forwards you@yourdomain.com to an inbox you already have, such as Gmail, at no cost. Sending as that address is the part that costs something. Gmail's "Send mail as" with a free SMTP plan is free only until January 2027, when Gmail stops Send as for third-party addresses. The lasting route is Cloudflare Email Sending on Workers Paid ($5/month), with MarkRelay as the inbox.
Do I have to move my domain to Cloudflare?
The domain has to use Cloudflare DNS, which the Free plan includes. You keep your registrar and only change the nameservers. Email Routing then manages the domain's MX records.
Why do replies from Gmail show my @gmail.com address?
Email Routing only forwards incoming mail, so Gmail replies from your Gmail address. Gmail's "Send mail as" with an SMTP server fixes that until January 2027; after that, reply from a mailbox that sends for your domain, such as MarkRelay on Cloudflare Email Sending.
Will Gmail "Send mail as" keep working with my Cloudflare address?
Until January 2027. Google's help pages say Gmail will no longer support Send as for third-party addresses from then on, with notices and possible restrictions on new setups in the second half of 2026. Workspace aliases are not affected, but an address forwarded from Cloudflare is a third-party address.
What does Cloudflare Email Sending cost?
It is included in Workers Paid ($5/month) with 3,000 emails a month, then $0.35 per 1,000. On Workers Free you can only send to verified addresses in your own account.
Can I use it in Outlook or Apple Mail?
With option A you read forwarded mail in Gmail's apps, but replying as your domain ends in January 2027. With MarkRelay you read and send in its webmail in the browser and through its HTTP API rather than in a desktop mail client.
Next: reply from an Email Routing address, compare email apps that run on Cloudflare, or see multi-domain email for teams.