The best ForwardMX alternative
ForwardMX is a clean, paid email forwarder priced by how many domains you manage. But it has no free tier, needs a domain you own, and offers no privacy aliases or leak detection. EmailAlias adds a free tier with no domain required, per-signup aliases, and exposure intelligence.
Why users switch from ForwardMX to EmailAlias
Start Free, No Domain Needed
ForwardMX has no free tier and only works on a domain you own. EmailAlias gives you 10 permanent aliases on shared domains for free — no domain, no DNS, no card. Own a domain? Bring it on Premium for the same forwarding plus everything below.
Privacy Aliases, Not Just Forwarding
ForwardMX moves mail from your domain to your inbox and stops there. EmailAlias is built for privacy: a fresh, random alias for every service so any leak is traceable to one signup — then disable just that one.
Built-In Exposure Intelligence
ForwardMX has no sender analysis. EmailAlias scores every incoming sender for phishing risk and alerts you when a high-risk sender hits one of your aliases — so a breach shows up in your dashboard, not just your spam folder.
Encrypted and Zero-Knowledge
ForwardMX forwards in plaintext. EmailAlias encrypts alias metadata with AES-256 at rest and runs a zero-knowledge pipeline — we never read or store the content of your forwarded mail.
Feature comparison
A fair note about ForwardMX
ForwardMX does one thing and does it cleanly: reliable forwarding across many domains, with plans scaling from a single domain up to 250 and SMTP send included throughout. If you manage a lot of domains and want nothing but solid forwarding to your inbox, it's a focused, capable tool. EmailAlias targets a different need — privacy aliasing with leak detection, plus a free tier for people without a domain.
Pricing side-by-side
ForwardMX is paid-only and domain-only; EmailAlias adds a free tier that works without a domain, then a Premium tier with custom domains plus privacy features.
Free / entry plan
Paid plan
Competitor pricing reflects publicly listed tiers and may change — verify on the provider's site before switching.
How to switch from ForwardMX in 5 steps
Both services receive mail for your domain, so the cut-over is a single MX change — most people finish in under 15 minutes.
- 1
Create your EmailAlias account
Sign up at emailalias.io with the same destination inbox ForwardMX delivers to. Start free with 10 shared-domain aliases; bringing your own domain needs Premium, which opens with a 7-day trial.
- 2
List the addresses ForwardMX handles
Note every forward you have configured at ForwardMX — role addresses like hello@, support@, billing@, any per-service forwards, and your catch-all rule. That list is what you'll re-create.
- 3
Add and verify your domain on EmailAlias
Add your domain in EmailAlias (Premium) and publish the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records we show you. Re-create the same local-parts and enable catch-all if you used ForwardMX's, so every address keeps working unchanged.
- 4
Repoint your MX records
Swap your domain's MX records from ForwardMX's to EmailAlias's. That single DNS change is the cut-over: inbound mail then flows through EmailAlias. Send a test to one alias and confirm it lands.
- 5
Cut over and retire ForwardMX
Because MX points to one place, there's no parallel forwarder to keep running once mail arrives through EmailAlias. Confirm a few days of clean delivery, then cancel ForwardMX.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we get most often from people moving over from ForwardMX.
Can I use my own domain for email aliases?
Yes. Premium users can add up to 5 custom domains with full SPF, DKIM, and DMARC verification. Create professional aliases like contact@yourdomain.com while maintaining complete privacy.
Can I move my aliases between providers?
Aliases on a shared provider domain (e.g. @emailalias.io) aren't portable — they live on our domain and stay with us. Aliases on a custom domain (yourdomain.com) are fully portable: you keep the domain, point its MX records at a new provider, re-create the same local-parts on their side, and the addresses keep working — provided the new provider supports custom local-parts (most do; some only issue random codes). Custom domains are a Premium feature on EmailAlias, but for anyone who plans to use aliases long-term, it's vendor-independence insurance worth having.
What happens if a service I signed up for gets breached?
Because each service has its own unique alias, you'll know exactly which service leaked your data — when spam or phishing hits that alias, the source is obvious. Our exposure intelligence engine also flags suspicious senders in real time. Disable the affected alias and your real email stays safe.
Do I need to own a domain to use EmailAlias, like with ForwardMX?
No. ForwardMX is a pure domain-forwarding service — it only works if you own a domain and can edit its MX records, and it has no free tier. EmailAlias gives you 10 aliases on shared domains for free with zero DNS setup, so you can start in seconds. If you do own a domain, bring it on Premium and get the same custom-domain forwarding plus privacy aliases and leak detection.
Can EmailAlias forward a whole domain (catch-all) like ForwardMX?
Yes. On Premium you add your domain, verify SPF/DKIM/DMARC, and enable catch-all so any address at your domain forwards to your inbox — the same role-address and catch-all workflow ForwardMX provides. EmailAlias also lets you mint dedicated per-signup aliases and scores incoming senders for risk, which a forwarding-only service doesn't.
Does EmailAlias support as many domains as ForwardMX?
Not as many. EmailAlias Premium supports up to 5 custom domains, while ForwardMX's plans scale from 1 domain (Personal, $30/yr) up to 250 (Business). If you manage dozens or hundreds of domains and only need forwarding, ForwardMX's domain-count tiers fit better; if you want privacy aliases and leak detection on a handful of domains — plus a free tier for when you don't own one — EmailAlias is the stronger choice.
Can I migrate my ForwardMX domain to EmailAlias?
Yes — it's a clean migration because both services receive mail for your domain. Add the domain on EmailAlias, re-create your forwards and catch-all, publish our DNS records, then repoint the domain's MX from ForwardMX to EmailAlias. Once DNS propagates, every existing address keeps working and no sender learns a new address.
More questions? See the full FAQ.
Forwarding, plus the privacy layer
Keep the custom-domain forwarding you rely on — and add privacy aliases, leak detection, and a free tier that works without a domain. Try EmailAlias free.