Glossary
MX Record — Mail Exchanger Explained
An MX (Mail Exchanger) record is a DNS record that specifies which mail server is responsible for receiving email for a domain. When someone sends email to you@yourdomain.com, their mail server looks up the MX record for yourdomain.com to find where to deliver it. Without an MX record, your domain cannot receive any email.
MX Record Priority
MX records have a priority value (preference number). Lower number = higher priority. When you have multiple mail servers, the lowest priority number is tried first.
Common MX Record Values
- Google Workspace: aspmx.l.google.com (1)
- Microsoft 365: [tenant].mail.protection.outlook.com (0)
- Fastmail: in1-smtp.messagingengine.com (10)
- Zoho: mx.zoho.com (10)
How to Check Your MX Records
Run DNS Preflight on your domain — MX records appear in the DNS check results.
Verify MX in seconds
Open DNS Preflight →FAQ
What is an MX record?
An MX record tells other mail servers where to deliver email for your domain. Without one, your domain cannot receive email.
What does MX record priority mean?
The priority number determines which mail server is tried first. Lower numbers have higher priority.
Can I have multiple MX records?
Yes — multiple MX records provide redundancy. If the highest-priority server is unavailable, the next one is tried automatically.