# Getting started with EmailPal

> The shortest path from signup to sending: pick a plan, add a domain, create or claim mailboxes, warm them, verify a list, then export SMTP into the sequencer you already use.

Source: https://emailpal.io/help/getting-started-with-emailpal

## The order that works

EmailPal is the infrastructure under cold email: domains, mailboxes, DNS, warming, verification. Sequences live in Instantly, Smartlead, Plusvibe, or a script. Getting started is wiring those two halves in the right order so you do not send from an unknown mailbox to an unverified list.

1. Create an account and add a card (or AppSumo licence) under **Billing**. Provisioning spends real registrar and mail-server work; onboarding will not mint unpaid infrastructure. [How billing works](/help/how-billing-works) and [How onboarding works](/help/how-onboarding-works).
2. Add a **domain** — register from $1, bring your own, or claim aged inventory. Wait until DNS is green on public resolvers. [Domains and mailboxes](/help/domains-and-mailboxes).
3. Create **mailboxes**, or skip the wait and [claim pre-warmed inboxes](/help/how-to-claim-pre-warmed-inboxes).
4. Turn on **warming** unless the mailbox is already a pre-warmed lease (included). $0.60/mo on everything else. [Email warming by EmailPal](/help/email-warming-by-emailpal).
5. **Verify** the list you intend to mail. [How to verify an email list before sending](/help/how-to-verify-an-email-list-before-sending).
6. Export SMTP/IMAP into your sender, or send single messages through EmailPal's inbox API. [SMTP and IMAP credentials](/help/smtp-imap-credentials).

Onboarding in the product follows the same sequence. You can leave and come back; unfinished steps stay on `/onboarding` until they are done.

## Two paths to first send

| | Fresh domain you own | Pre-warmed lease |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What you do | Register or BYO, create mailboxes, warm | Claim a listed domain |
| Price after plan | Domain $1–$10 once, mailboxes in plan or $1 overage, warming $0.60 | $3/inbox/mo, 90-day term, warming included |
| Time to cold email | Typically 14+ days (about 7 on aged) | Minutes after claim |
| Daily cap | 40/day once campaign-ready | 15/day from day one |
| You pick the name? | Yes | No |

Most people who need to send this week take the pre-warmed path. Most people who need a brandable domain take the fresh path. Both still need a clean list.

Plans: Starter $69 / 50 mailboxes, Growth $189 / 200, Scale $499 / 600. [Pricing, plans and mailbox overages](/help/pricing-plans-and-mailbox-overages).

## What not to do first

- Do not import 50,000 unverified leads onto a mailbox that finished provisioning five minutes ago. DNS can be green while reputation is still empty.
- Do not send from your company `.com`. Use a [secondary sending domain](/help/secondary-sending-domains-for-cold-email).
- Do not raise the per-mailbox cap because a sequencer defaulted to 50 or 100. EmailPal's caps are 40 (plan) and 15 (pre-warmed).
- Do not skip SPF/DKIM/DMARC because "the domain just registered." [How to set up DNS records](/help/how-to-set-up-dns-records-mx-spf-dkim-dmarc).
- Do not connect EmailPal SMTP and also add Google on the same domain. One sending stack per name.

The checklist version of this advice is the [cold email deliverability guide](/help/cold-email-deliverability-guide).

## After the first mailbox exists

- **API and MCP** are available immediately. [Create an API key](/help/create-an-api-key), [Connect the MCP server](/help/connect-the-mcp-server).
- **Replies** land in the [unified inbox](/help/unified-inbox). Warming traffic is filtered out by default.
- **Campaign-ready** is a measured inbox rate, not a calendar date. [When is a mailbox ready to send?](/help/when-is-a-mailbox-ready-to-send).
- **Support** is a ticket, not a Slack guess. [Open a support ticket](/help/open-a-support-ticket).

## FAQs

### Do I need a campaign tool?

Only if you want sequences, lead databases and A/B tests. EmailPal will host the mailbox and can send single messages via the inbox API. Most customers connect SMTP to a sequencer they already use.

### How long until I can send cold email?

Pre-warmed: the same day, 15/day. Fresh domain: typically 14+ days of warming. Aged unwarmed domain: typically ~7 days.

### Can I skip domain registration and only lease pre-warmed inboxes?

Yes, once billing is active. Pre-warmed inboxes do not use a plan domain slot.

### Will Instantly / Smartlead take these accounts?

Yes, as SMTP. They are not Google or Outlook seats. [SMTP vs Google vs Outlook for cold email](/help/smtp-vs-google-vs-outlook-for-cold-email).

### I am stuck on DNS.

[DNS verification failed](/help/dns-verification-failed). BYO domains fail most often because nameservers were not pointed yet.

## Need More Help?

[Domains and mailboxes](/help/domains-and-mailboxes), [Pre-warmed Mailboxes by EmailPal](/help/pre-warmed-inboxes-by-emailpal), or [open a ticket](/support/new).