MX Record Lookup

See which mail servers handle email for any domain. An MX record lookup lists a domain's mail exchange servers along with the priority that decides delivery order.

MX Record Lookup
Enter a domain name above to list its MX (mail exchange) records.

What the MX Record Lookup does

MX (Mail Exchange) records tell the internet where to deliver email for a domain. When someone sends a message to you@example.com, the sending server looks up example.com's MX records to find the correct destination mail servers.

Each MX record has a priority number. Lower numbers are preferred, so mail is attempted at the lowest-priority server first and falls back to higher numbers if that server is unavailable. This tool lists every MX record for a domain with its priority so you can confirm mail is routed where you expect.

How to read the results

  • Priority — the preference value; the lowest number is tried first. Equal values are load-balanced.
  • The hostname after the arrow is the mail server that accepts mail for the domain.
  • Multiple records provide redundancy — if the primary is down, mail queues to the next.

Worked example

Input: gmail.com

Priority 5     → gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com
Priority 10    → alt1.gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com
Priority 20    → alt2.gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com

Google publishes several MX hosts at increasing priorities so that if the priority-5 server is busy or unreachable, senders automatically retry the next one.

Common use cases

  • Confirm your domain's email is routed to the right provider (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, etc.).
  • Diagnose why inbound email is bouncing or not arriving.
  • Verify MX changes after migrating email hosting.
  • Check a domain's mail provider before setting up SPF, DKIM or DMARC.

MX Record Lookup — Frequently Asked Questions

What does the priority number in an MX record mean?▾

It sets the order in which sending servers try your mail servers. The lowest number has the highest priority and is attempted first; higher numbers act as backups. If two records share the same priority, senders distribute mail between them.

Why does a domain have multiple MX records?▾

Redundancy. If the preferred mail server is offline or overloaded, sending servers fall back to the next MX record instead of bouncing the message. Large providers publish several so email is never lost during an outage.

My domain has no MX record — can it still receive email?▾

If no MX record exists, some senders fall back to the domain's A record, but this is unreliable and increasingly rejected. To receive email dependably you should always publish at least one valid MX record.

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