# Domains and mailboxes

> How EmailPal domains and mailboxes work together: register from $1, bring your own for free, bulk-provision senders, and get SMTP/IMAP in the same step as DNS. This is the hub for buying, authenticating and sending from infrastructure you control.

Source: https://emailpal.io/help/domains-and-mailboxes

## What you are buying

EmailPal is infrastructure: **domains** that can send mail, and **mailboxes** on those domains. Campaigns, sequences and CRMs live in other tools. We authenticate the domain, host the mailbox, warm it if you want, and give you credentials.

That split matters. Instantly and Smartlead run the sequencer. EmailPal runs the sending identity. You can use both: export SMTP/IMAP from here, paste them there.

A mailbox without a domain is not a product we sell. A domain without mailboxes is just a name. Setup always ends with both, plus MX/SPF/DKIM/DMARC that the public internet can see.

## Domain options

| Type | Price | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Register new | $1–$10 once | .xyz $1 · .info $2 · .biz $5 · .com $10. Standard 14+ day warming ramp. |
| Aged, unwarmed | from $19 once | Parked 60+ days. Use the ~7 day accelerated ramp. |
| Bring your own | Free, uses a domain slot | Point DNS at us (or paste records). Same authentication, same re-verification. |
| Pre-warmed inbox | $3/mo lease | Domain is ours; you lease the already-warmed mailboxes. Separate product, 90-day term. |

Plan slots cap how many domains you can have attached:

| Plan | Monthly | Mailboxes included | Domain slots |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Starter | $69 | 50 | 50 |
| Growth | $189 | 200 | 200 |
| Scale | $499 | 600 | 600 |

Extra mailboxes add matching slots rather than a second domain fee, at **$1/mo** each, with a hard ceiling at 3× the included count. Details: [Pricing, plans and mailbox overages](/help/pricing-plans-and-mailbox-overages).

Pre-warmed leases **do not** eat a plan domain slot or a plan mailbox. They are a separate line at $3/mo.

Pick names that look like a company. Strings with "mail", "outreach" or "blast" in them are how filters decide you are a bulk sender before you write a word. [Buy cold email domains](/help/buy-cold-email-domains) and [Register a domain](/help/register-a-domain).

## What we write on every domain

On domains EmailPal registered, and on BYO domains once you delegate nameservers (or paste what we show):

- SPF with a hard fail (`-all`): `v=spf1 include:_spf.emailpal.io -all`
- DKIM, twice: `rsa._domainkey` (RSA-2048) and `ed._domainkey` (Ed25519)
- DMARC `p=reject` at `_dmarc`
- MX so replies can land in the [unified inbox](/help/unified-inbox)

Records are written, then **re-verified against public resolvers** (8.8.8.8 / 1.1.1.1), not only against our own view of DNS. A green check means the internet sees them.

The setup article search engines already rank for: [How to set up DNS records (MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC)](/help/how-to-set-up-dns-records-mx-spf-dkim-dmarc). Primer: [SPF, DKIM, DMARC and MX](/help/spf-dkim-dmarc-and-mx).

Pre-warmed inventory already has these records. Do not edit them.

## Mailboxes

Pick a naming pattern (first, first.last, firstlast, flast) and a count per domain. Provisioning returns SMTP and IMAP credentials in the same job. Extra mailboxes beyond the plan are **$1/mo** each.

How many per domain is a reputation choice, not a hard product cap on domains you own. **2–5 mailboxes per domain** is the range that still looks like a small company. Spreading senders across more domains is usually healthier than stacking many mailboxes on one. [How many mailboxes per domain?](/help/how-many-mailboxes-per-domain).

Pre-warmed inventory is sold as a fixed bundle per listed domain. You cannot add handles afterward.

Default cold-email cap: **40/day** on a plan mailbox once it is campaign-ready, **15/day** on a pre-warmed lease from day one. [Sending limits per mailbox](/help/sending-limits-per-mailbox).

## How to set up

1. Sign in. Complete billing if you have not. Onboarding will not mint unpaid infrastructure. [How onboarding works](/help/how-onboarding-works).
2. **Domains** → register, claim aged inventory, or [bring your own](/help/bring-your-own-domain).
3. Wait until DNS shows verified on public resolvers.
4. **Mailboxes** → [create senders](/help/create-mailboxes), or **Pre-warmed** → [claim ready ones](/help/how-to-claim-pre-warmed-inboxes).
5. Turn on [warming](/help/email-warming-by-emailpal) unless you claimed pre-warmed (already on, included).
6. [Verify the list](/help/how-to-verify-an-email-list-before-sending) before the first campaign mail.
7. Export SMTP/IMAP into Instantly, Smartlead, Plusvibe, a script, or send through our API.

API: `POST /api/public/v1/domains` and `POST /api/public/v1/mailboxes`. Same operations exist as MCP tools. [MCP server and REST API](/help/mcp-server-and-rest-api).

## Sending vs warming vs leasing

| Path | You own the domain? | Time to first cold send | Cap |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Register + create mailboxes + warm | Yes | Typically 14+ days | 40/day once campaign-ready |
| Aged unwarmed + accelerated warm | Yes | Typically ~7 days | 40/day once campaign-ready |
| Pre-warmed lease | No (ours; you lease) | Minutes after claim | 15/day immediately |
| Connect Gmail / Outlook | Theirs | Their quotas; we only warm | Google/Microsoft rules |

[Pre-warmed vs fresh mailboxes](/help/pre-warmed-vs-fresh-mailboxes) and [SMTP vs Google vs Outlook](/help/smtp-vs-google-vs-outlook-for-cold-email).

## FAQs

### Do I own registered domains?

Yes. Registrar domains remain yours if you leave; we remove our records. Pre-warmed inventory is a **lease**, not a transfer of the domain. See the [terms](/legal/terms).

### Can I use EmailPal mailboxes with Instantly, Smartlead or another sender?

Yes. Export SMTP/IMAP and connect them as sending accounts. EmailPal does not run your sequences. [Export mailbox credentials](/help/export-mailbox-credentials).

### Is there a mailbox onboarding wait after DNS verifies?

Provisioning is a job measured in minutes. Warming, if you need it, is measured in days. Pre-warmed skips the days.

### Should I send from my company .com?

Usually no. Keep the company site on its own domain and send cold email from a [secondary sending domain](/help/secondary-sending-domains-for-cold-email). A burned primary is expensive.

### Can I add Google Workspace on the same domain EmailPal sends from?

You can, and you will probably break SPF (10-lookup limit) or confuse DMARC. Prefer one sending stack per domain.

### What if DNS stays red?

[DNS verification failed](/help/dns-verification-failed). BYO domains fail most often because nameservers were not pointed yet, or a second SPF TXT was left behind.

## Need More Help?

[Register a domain](/help/register-a-domain), [Bring your own domain](/help/bring-your-own-domain), or [Create mailboxes](/help/create-mailboxes). The getting-started path is [Getting started with EmailPal](/help/getting-started-with-emailpal).