The best ImprovMX alternative
ImprovMX is a clean, popular email forwarding service for domains you own. But it needs a custom domain to work at all, forwards in plaintext, and has no leak detection. EmailAlias adds privacy aliases, exposure intelligence, and a free tier that works without a domain.
Why users switch from ImprovMX to EmailAlias
No Domain Required
ImprovMX only works if you own a domain and can edit its MX records. EmailAlias gives you 10 permanent aliases on shared domains for free — start in seconds, no DNS, no domain purchase. Own a domain? Bring it on Premium and get the same custom-domain forwarding plus everything below.
Built-In Exposure Intelligence
ImprovMX forwards mail and stops there. EmailAlias scores every incoming sender for phishing risk — sketchy TLDs, typosquatting, leak patterns — and alerts you the moment a high-risk sender hits one of your aliases, so you know which signup sold you out.
Per-Signup Privacy Aliases
ImprovMX is built around role addresses (hello@, support@) and catch-all on your domain. EmailAlias is built for privacy: mint a fresh, random alias for every service so a leak is traceable to exactly one signup — then disable just that one.
Encrypted, Zero-Knowledge by Design
ImprovMX 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 ImprovMX
ImprovMX is a genuinely good, well-run forwarding service — its free tier for a single domain is generous, setup is simple, and it's a great fit if all you want is hello@ and support@ landing in your inbox. EmailAlias targets a different job: privacy aliasing with leak detection, plus a free tier for people who don't own a domain. If pure domain forwarding is all you need, ImprovMX is a solid choice.
Pricing side-by-side
Both run a free tier and a paid tier — but they serve different starting points. ImprovMX's free tier needs a domain you own; EmailAlias's free tier doesn't.
Free plan
Paid plan
Competitor pricing reflects publicly listed tiers and may change — verify on the provider's site before switching.
How to switch from ImprovMX in 5 steps
Because both services receive mail for your domain, 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 ImprovMX forwards to today. You can start free with 10 shared-domain aliases; adding your own domain needs Premium, which opens with a 7-day trial.
- 2
List the addresses ImprovMX forwards
In ImprovMX, note every alias you have set up on your domain — role addresses like hello@, support@, billing@, plus any per-service forwards and your catch-all rule. That list is exactly what you'll re-create.
- 3
Add and verify your domain on EmailAlias
Add your domain in EmailAlias (Premium), then publish the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records we show you. Re-create the same local-parts (hello@, support@, etc.) and enable catch-all if you relied on ImprovMX's — so every address keeps working and nobody has to learn a new one.
- 4
Repoint your MX records
Swap your domain's MX records from ImprovMX's to EmailAlias's. This is the single cut-over: once DNS propagates, inbound mail flows through EmailAlias instead. Send a test to one alias and confirm it lands in your real inbox.
- 5
Cut over and retire ImprovMX
Once mail is arriving through EmailAlias, you're done — there's no second forwarder to keep running because MX points to one place. Keep your ImprovMX account until you've confirmed a few days of clean delivery, then close it.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we get most often from people moving over from ImprovMX.
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 does Premium include?
Unlimited aliases, up to 5 custom domains, unlimited verified forwarding inboxes (so each alias can route to the right mailbox), send & reply from any alias, real-time leak detection with exposure analytics, and priority processing — all for $4/month or $35/year (save 27%).
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 ImprovMX?
No — and that's the biggest practical difference. ImprovMX only works if you already own a custom domain and can edit its MX records; there's no way to use it without one. EmailAlias gives you 10 aliases on our shared domains for free with zero DNS setup, so you can start protecting your inbox in seconds. If you do own a domain, you can still bring it on Premium and get the same custom-domain forwarding ImprovMX offers — plus privacy aliases and leak detection on top.
Can EmailAlias forward a whole domain (catch-all) like ImprovMX?
Yes. On Premium you can add your domain, verify SPF/DKIM/DMARC, and enable catch-all so any address at your domain forwards to your inbox — exactly the role-address and catch-all workflow ImprovMX is built around. The difference is EmailAlias also lets you mint dedicated per-signup aliases and scores incoming senders for risk, which a pure forwarder doesn't do.
Is EmailAlias free like ImprovMX?
Both have a free tier, but they cover different people. ImprovMX's free tier forwards up to 25 aliases on one domain you own (500 forwards/day) — great if you have a domain and just want hello@/support@ to land in your inbox. EmailAlias's free tier gives 10 permanent aliases on shared domains with no domain needed, plus a weekly high-risk exposure digest. If you want custom-domain forwarding from EmailAlias, that's the Premium tier ($4/mo or $35/yr, 7-day trial).
Can I migrate my ImprovMX domain to EmailAlias?
Yes — it's the cleanest kind of migration because both services work by receiving mail for your domain. Add the domain on EmailAlias, re-create your role addresses and catch-all, publish our DNS records, then repoint the domain's MX from ImprovMX to EmailAlias. Once DNS propagates, every existing address keeps working and no sender ever learns a new address.
More questions? See the full FAQ.
Forwarding, plus the privacy layer
Keep the custom-domain forwarding you like about ImprovMX — and add privacy aliases, leak detection, and a free tier that works without a domain. Try EmailAlias free.