You want a custom domain email address without paying $7/month for Google Workspace. Email forwarding is the answer — but which service should you use?
We tested and compared the top email forwarding services on what matters most: deliverability, features, ease of setup, pricing, and support. Here's our honest ranking.
What to Look For in an Email Forwarding Service
Before we compare, here are the criteria that actually matter:
- Deliverability — Do forwarded emails actually reach the inbox, not spam?
- Send-As support — Can you reply from your custom domain?
- SPF/DKIM/DMARC — Does the service support email authentication?
- Catch-all — Can you receive emails sent to any address at your domain?
- Ease of setup — How long from signup to working email?
- Pricing — What do you actually get for free?
- Support — When something breaks, is anyone there?
#1: Forward — Best Overall
Forward is a dedicated email forwarding platform built for professionals who want custom domain email without the weight of full-suite hosting. It balances strong forwarding features with a relatively simple setup for freelancers, startups, and small teams.
Key Features
- Free tier, with unlimited aliases on higher plans
- Works well with Gmail and Outlook send-as workflows
- Guided SPF/DKIM/DMARC setup
- Catch-all routing
- Team management and multi-user access
- Works with any DNS provider
- Deliverability optimization with SRS
- Direct email support
Pricing
Free tier available. Paid plans start at $2/month for premium features.
Pros & Cons
✓ Pros: Deliverability-focused, team features,
free tier, works with any DNS, and higher plans unlock more scale.
✗ Cons: Advanced features require paid plan.
#2: ImprovMX — Solid Runner-Up
ImprovMX is another dedicated email forwarding service that's been around for years. It's reliable and has a generous free tier.
Key Features
- Email forwarding with aliases
- Send-As via SMTP (paid plans)
- Catch-all support
- Email logs for debugging
- API access
Pricing
Free tier (limited). Premium starts at $9.99/month.
Pros & Cons
✓ Pros: Established service, email logs,
reliable DNS integration.
✗ Cons: Send-As requires paid plan, higher price
point, free tier is limited.
#3: Cloudflare Email Routing — Best Free Basic Option
Cloudflare's email routing is free and built into their DNS service. If you're already using Cloudflare for your domain, it's a convenient option — but it has significant limitations.
Key Features
- Basic email forwarding
- Catch-all routing
- Integrated into Cloudflare DNS dashboard
- Cloudflare API support
Pricing
Free (requires Cloudflare DNS).
Pros & Cons
✓ Pros: Completely free, simple setup if already
on Cloudflare, reliable infrastructure.
✗ Cons: No Send-As support, no outbound DKIM,
requires Cloudflare nameservers, no dedicated support, forwarded
emails more likely to hit spam.
#4: SimpleLogin — Best for Privacy Aliases
SimpleLogin (now part of Proton) focuses on privacy. It creates anonymous email aliases that forward to your real inbox — great for hiding your real email, but not designed for professional business email.
Key Features
- Anonymous email aliases
- Reply from aliases
- Custom domain support (paid)
- PGP encryption
- Browser extension for alias creation
Pricing
Free tier (15 aliases). Premium at $4/month.
Pros & Cons
✓ Pros: Excellent privacy features, PGP
encryption, Proton ecosystem.
✗ Cons: Not designed for business email, custom
domain requires paid plan, alias-focused rather than
forwarding-focused.
#5: Pobox — Legacy Option
Pobox has been around since 1995. It offers email forwarding with a strong focus on permanence — the idea that your email address should last forever, regardless of provider changes.
Key Features
- Email forwarding with filtering
- Custom domain support
- Webmail interface
- Spam filtering
Pricing
Starts at $20/year for basic forwarding.
Pros & Cons
✓ Pros: Decades of reliability, established
reputation, simple.
✗ Cons: Dated interface, no modern features like
DKIM/DMARC configuration, no free tier, limited integrations.
Comparison Summary
| Feature | Forward | ImprovMX | Cloudflare | SimpleLogin | Pobox |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | ✓ (limited) | ✓ (limited) | ✓ | ✓ (limited) | ✗ |
| Send-As | Via send-as workflow | Paid only | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| SPF/DKIM/DMARC | Guided setup | ✓ | Partial | ✓ | Partial |
| Catch-All | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Team Features | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Any DNS Provider | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Support | ✓ Direct | ✗ Forum | |||
| Best For | Business email | Power users | Personal/dev | Privacy | Permanence |
Our Recommendation
For most businesses: Forward offers a strong balance of features, ease of use, and pricing. You get catch-all routing, team features, deliverability-focused forwarding, and a free tier to start.
For developers with personal projects: Cloudflare Email Routing is hard to beat on price (free). Just know that you won't be able to send emails from your domain.
For privacy-focused users: SimpleLogin is excellent for creating anonymous aliases, but it's not ideal for professional business email.
The best email forwarding service is the one that matches your use case. For professional custom domain email, Forward is built specifically for that purpose.