alongrailTasks

Set up business email on your own domain with Zoho Mail (2026)

6 min read

What you’ll have at the end

A Zoho Mail account on the free plan for your own domain, with the domain verified, your first mailbox (such as you@example.com) created, and your domain's MX records pointing to Zoho. Email starts arriving in Zoho once your provider's DNS changes take effect. The guide ends at that wait.

Before you start

You’ll need

  • A domain name you already own (such as example.com)
  • A sign-in to the company you bought the domain from (your domain provider), with access to its DNS settings
  • A mobile number that can receive a verification code
  • The name you'd like before the @ in your first address (such as info or your first name)

What it costs. Zoho's pricing page lists a Forever free plan with email hosting for one domain, up to 5 users and 5 GB per user, available only in select data centres.

You need a domain name you already own, and a sign-in to the company you bought it from. Zoho calls the place you change its records your DNS Manager. Zoho's sign-up help says you need permission to access it.

Zoho's pricing page lists the Forever free plan with these limits: - Email hosting for one domain. - Up to 5 users, with 5 GB of mail storage each. Zoho says that from the 6th user, all users move to a paid plan. - IMAP, POP and ActiveSync aren't included. You read and send mail in Zoho's web app or the Zoho Mail app for iOS and Android, not in a desktop app such as Outlook. - Zoho says the free plan is available only in select data centres, and may not be available in certain regions.

If your domain already receives email somewhere else, please note that step 13 moves its delivery to Zoho.

Steps

  1. 1. Open Zoho Mail's pricing page

    Go to zoho.com/mail/zohomail-pricing.html. Please scroll down past the paid plans to the Forever free plan section.

  2. 2. Click Sign Up Now

    Under Forever free plan, click Sign Up Now. Please make sure you start from this section, not from a paid plan's button.

  3. 3. Enter your account details

    Enter your name, your email address or mobile number, and a password.

  4. 4. Accept the terms and sign up

    Tick I agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, then click the sign-up button.

  5. 5. Enter the verification code

    Zoho sends a verification code to your mobile number. Please enter it.

  6. 6. Add your domain

    Under Add an existing domain, click Add now. Enter your domain name (such as example.com) and the name of your organisation, and click Add now again.

  7. 7. Choose the TXT method

    In the Verify Domain Ownership section, choose Add a TXT record in the DNS from the drop-down list. Zoho shows a line of text for your domain. Please copy it.

    If your domain is with GoDaddy, Cloudflare or IONOS by 1&1, Zoho's help says it may offer one-click verification instead. If you see it, you can use it and go on to step 11.

  8. 8. Open your domain's DNS records

    In a new tab, sign in to your domain provider and open the DNS records (DNS Manager) for your domain. Every provider's screens are different.

  9. 9. Add the TXT record

    Add a new TXT record: - For the Name or Host, type @ or leave it blank, as your provider's screen asks. - For the Value, paste the text you copied from Zoho. - For the TTL, choose the lowest value your provider allows.

    Please save the record.

  10. 10. Click Verify TXT record

    Go back to the Zoho tab and click Verify TXT record. Zoho's domain verification help says to give a new TXT record an hour or two to propagate. If verification doesn't pass straight away, please wait and click Verify TXT record again.

  11. 11. Create your first mailbox

    After your domain is verified, Zoho asks for a name to create the first user. Type the part before the @ (such as info or your name) and click Create. Zoho says this first user becomes the super administrator of your organisation.

  12. 12. Click Proceed to DNS mapping

    Zoho then takes you to its Users page, where you can add more people later. When you're ready to set up email delivery, click Proceed to DNS mapping on Zoho's domain setup page. Zoho shows the MX records for your domain. Please keep this tab open.

  13. 13. Remove your domain's old MX records

    In your domain provider's tab, find any existing MX records and delete them. Zoho's help says emails may not reach Zoho if other MX records with equal or higher priority stay in place.

  14. 14. Add Zoho's three MX records

    Add three MX records, one at a time: - For the Name or Host, type @ or leave it blank. - For the Value, Points to or Address, copy each mail server exactly as Zoho's page shows it. - Set the Priority to 10 for the first, 20 for the second and 50 for the third. - For the TTL, choose the lowest value your provider allows.

    Zoho's help shows mx.zoho.com, mx2.zoho.com and mx3.zoho.com as the general values, but says the ending varies with the data centre that holds your account. Please use the ones on your own Zoho screen. Then save.

  15. 15. Click Verify All Records

    Go back to Zoho's domain setup page and click Verify All Records. Zoho's email delivery help says it might take up to 12 to 24 hours for DNS changes to take effect, depending on the TTL. This guide ends here, at the wait.

If something looks different

  • If you don't see a Forever free plan section, or a screen asks for payment, you may be on a paid plan's sign-up, or the free plan may not be offered where your account is held. Please don't enter card details unless you've decided on a paid plan.
  • If the TXT method doesn't suit your provider, Zoho also offers a CNAME record or an HTML file. For CNAME, choose Add a CNAME record in the DNS and click Verify CNAME record after adding it.
  • To add more mailboxes later, open the Zoho Mail Admin Console, select Users in the left pane and click Add. The free plan allows up to 5 users. Zoho says importing users from a CSV file is only for paid plans.
  • Zoho recommends adding SPF and DKIM records next, to validate the emails sent from your domain. That is a separate task from this guide.

Related guides

Sources

Alongrail isn't affiliated with Zoho.