ForwardMX is a UK-based email forwarding service that includes SMTP sending on every plan, from the $30/year Personal tier upward. It does not offer a free tier. Where ImprovMX wins on the free single-domain use case and Forward Email wins on unlimited free forwarding, ForwardMX targets a different buyer: the agency or domain portfolio operator who needs forwarding and outbound sending across many domains, with unlimited team member access and a web dashboard built for multi-domain management. ForwardMX Limited is a UK-registered company (number 16595089, Mildenhall, Suffolk) operating with a remote team. It handles forwarding for approximately 10,000 domain names, a fraction of ImprovMX’s 200,000+ user base; the smaller scale means less public track record on forwarding reputation, though the service has been operational for several years.
(For a category overview, see the email forwarding services roundup.)
Where ForwardMX fits in a WordPress stack
ForwardMX handles the same layer as ImprovMX or Forward Email: inbound email routing for custom domains. If [email protected] needs to reach a shared team inbox, or [email protected] should forward to the agency’s support queue, ForwardMX routes the mail without running a mailbox provider.
ForwardMX is not a WordPress transactional relay. WordPress sites generating order confirmations, password resets, and form submissions need a dedicated sending service (Postmark, SMTP2GO, Mailgun) with the volume capacity and bounce handling that transactional email demands. ForwardMX’s SMTP sending covers personal and business correspondence from custom domains, not programmatic email at scale.
Pricing
ForwardMX has no free tier. All plans include SMTP sending, catch-all forwarding, SRS/SPF/DKIM, spam filtering, and unlimited team members.
| Plan | Price | Domains | Aliases | SMTP users | Mailbox add-on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal | $30/year | 1 | 100 | Included | $2/mo per 5 GB |
| Starter | $72/year ($6/mo) | 30 | Unlimited | 10 | $2/mo per 5 GB |
| Pro | $216/year ($18/mo) | 125 | Unlimited | 25 | $2/mo per 5 GB |
| Business | $360/year ($30/mo) | 250 | Unlimited | 100 | $2/mo per 5 GB |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Unlimited | Custom | Custom |
The Personal plan at $30/year is the entry point for single-domain use. At $2.50/month it undercuts ImprovMX Premium ($9/month) if SMTP sending is needed. If outbound sending is not needed, ImprovMX’s free tier is the better starting point.
The Starter plan at $72/year ($6/month) is the agency entry point: 30 domains with unlimited aliases and unlimited team members. ImprovMX Premium at $9/month covers 30 domains with 100 aliases per domain but does not offer team accounts. ForwardMX is cheaper annually and includes multi-user access.
The $2/month mailbox add-on (5 GB per mailbox) turns ForwardMX into a lightweight mailbox provider. This competes with Forward Email Enhanced Protection at $3/month (10 GB, unlimited domains). Forward Email offers more storage and no domain limits on the mailbox tier. ForwardMX does not document whether the mailbox add-on provides IMAP or POP3 access; without that confirmation, the add-on cannot be recommended as a primary mailbox solution. For mailbox hosting, Forward Email ($3/month) or Fastmail (€5/month) are better-documented options.
DNS setup
Two MX records and an SPF include:
| Record type | Host | Value | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| MX | @ |
mx1.forwardmx.net |
10 |
| MX | @ |
mx2.forwardmx.net |
20 |
| TXT (SPF) | @ |
add include:_spf.forwardmx.net to existing SPF record |
— |
If no SPF record exists yet, create: v=spf1 include:_spf.forwardmx.net -all. If one already exists (common when also using a transactional relay), add the include: mechanism before the terminator. SPF allows up to 10 DNS lookups per RFC 7208 section 4.6.4; ForwardMX’s include consumes one.
Catch-all forwarding is available on all plans. Each incoming message can be forwarded to up to 20 recipients.
ForwardMX publishes setup guides for common DNS providers through its 
knowledgebase.
SMTP sending and mailboxes
SMTP sending is included on every ForwardMX plan, not gated behind a premium tier. The number of SMTP user accounts varies by plan (10 on Starter, 25 on Pro, 100 on Business). ForwardMX does not document outbound sending limits on its pricing page. Undocumented sending limits make it difficult to evaluate ForwardMX for outbound use beyond light correspondence; plan accordingly if volume matters.
ForwardMX supports SRS (Sender Rewriting Scheme) on forwarded messages for SPF alignment, and DKIM signing on outbound SMTP. Specific DKIM records are generated per-domain in the account dashboard.
API and team management
ForwardMX offers a REST API for domain and forwarder management. API documentation is available through the account dashboard (not publicly accessible without login). The API covers domain configuration and alias CRUD operations. No webhook support for incoming mail is documented.
Unlimited team members on every plan (including Personal) is unusual in the forwarding category. ImprovMX does not offer team accounts. This makes ForwardMX practical for agencies where multiple staff members need to manage client domain forwarding without sharing a single login.
What ForwardMX does not do
Free forwarding. Every use case requires a paid account. For single-domain forwarding without SMTP sending, ImprovMX’s free tier or Forward Email’s free tier are better starting points.
Privacy aliasing. ForwardMX provides standard forwarding aliases, not disposable identity-masking addresses in the style of SimpleLogin, AnonAddy, or Fastmail Masked Email.
Transactional email relay. The SMTP sending is for personal/business correspondence, not for routing wp_mail output at volume.
Log retention details. ForwardMX provides dashboard logs but does not document retention periods. ImprovMX documents 7-day free / 180-day paid log retention.
The verdict
ForwardMX is the right choice for agencies and domain portfolio operators who need forwarding and SMTP sending across many domains with team access. The Starter plan at $72/year for 30 domains with unlimited team members is the most agency-friendly offering in the forwarding category.
For single-domain personal use, the Personal plan at $30/year competes on SMTP inclusion but loses to ImprovMX’s free tier if sending is not needed. For mailbox hosting, the $2/month add-on exists but is under-documented compared to Forward Email ($3/month) or Fastmail (€5/month). ForwardMX’s strength is forwarding at scale with team management, not mailbox hosting or single-domain simplicity.