// https://x.com/tokifyi/status/2025741929997361371
Get a custom email address for FREE using Cloudflare + Gmail Did you know you can just use Cloudflare email routing to get a custom email for free? Most people pay $6-12/month for Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 just to get a custom email. This setup costs you nothing except the domain itself. Here's what you need:
A domain name ($10-15/year from Namecheap, GoDaddy, etc. - students: free via GitHub Student Pack)
A Gmail account (free)
Cloudflare account (free)
Step 1: Get a Domain
- Buy one from Namecheap, Porkbun, or any registrar
- Cheapest options: .xyz, .site, .online (~$2-5/year)
- Premium options: .com, .io, .ai (~$10-15/year)
- Students: Get free domains from GitHub Student Pack: https://education.github.com/pack
- Pick something short and memorable for your brand Step 2: Add Your Domain to Cloudflare
- Sign up at cloudflare.com (free plan works perfectly)
- Click "Add a site" and enter your domain
- Cloudflare will scan your DNS records
- Copy the two nameservers Cloudflare gives you
- Go back to your domain registrar and update the nameservers
- Wait about 5-10 minutes for DNS to propagate globally Step 3: Enable Email Routing
- In Cloudflare dashboard, go to Email → Email Routing
- Click "Get Started" to enable the feature
- Enter your Gmail address as the destination email
- Check your Gmail for a confirmation link from Cloudflare
- Click it to verify you own that inbox
- You're now ready to create custom addresses Step 4: Create Custom Email Addresses
- Click "Create address" in the Email Routing section
- Type the address you want: hello@, contact@, support@, sales@, hi@
- Choose where it forwards to (your Gmail)
- Click Save
- Repeat for unlimited addresses - they're all free
- Each one can go to the same Gmail or different inboxes Step 5: Send FROM Your Custom Email (Optional)
- Open Gmail and go to Settings → See all settings
- Click the "Accounts and Import" tab
- Under "Send mail as", click "Add another email address"
- Enter your name and custom email (hello@yourdomain.com)
- When it asks for SMTP password: DON'T use your regular Gmail password
- Go to Google Account → Security → 2-Step Verification (enable it first)
- Scroll to "App passwords" → Generate one for "Mail"
- Use that app password in the SMTP setup
- Verify via confirmation email
- Now you can send from your custom address in Gmail Step 6: Set Up SPF to Avoid Spam (Recommended)
- Go back to Cloudflare → DNS → Records
- Add a TXT record:
- Name: @ (or your domain)
- Content: v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all
- This tells email servers Gmail is authorized to send from your domain
- Helps A LOT with deliverability Note on DKIM: Regular Gmail doesn't support DKIM signing for custom domains - only Google Workspace does. So some emails might still hit spam without it. For personal use, SPF alone is usually fine though. The Result: You receive emails at hello@yourdomain.com in your normal Gmail inbox. You can reply from that address. You look professional. You pay $0/month for email (just the annual domain cost). No storage limits because it's using your free Gmail storage. Important Limitations:
- Cloudflare only forwards emails - it doesn't store them or provide a mailbox
- When sending via Gmail's "Send mail as", emails might go to spam initially (needs SPF/DKIM setup)
- Gmail limits: 500 emails sent per day from custom addresses
- Not ideal for high-volume business email or teams (stick with Google Workspace for that) Perfect for: freelancers, side projects, personal brands, small businesses, portfolio sites Not ideal for: large teams, high-volume sales email, enterprises That's it. Professional custom email for ~$10/year instead of $72+/year with Google Workspace. Note: It's not sponsored by Cloudflare. I just happened to know this method and wanted to share it. If you know any other free/cheap alternatives or hacks like this, let me know. Feel free to follow me for more little tips like this.