Free Gmail & Cloudflare Email Routing

 

Free Gmail & Cloudflare Email Routing

Professional Custom Domain Email Without Google Workspace

This guide explains how to use:

  • Cloudflare Email Routing for receiving mail at your custom domain

  • A free Gmail account for storing and managing email

  • Gmail’s “Send mail as” feature with SMTP for sending mail from your domain

This setup allows you to use you@yourdomain.com without paying for Google Workspace.

1. System Architecture Overview

This configuration separates inbound and outbound mail handling.

Inbound Mail (Receiving)

Sender → Cloudflare MX → Cloudflare Email Routing → yourfree@gmail.com

Outbound Mail (Sending)

Gmail → Authenticated SMTP Server → Recipient Mail Server

Key principle:

  • Cloudflare handles incoming mail forwarding

  • Gmail stores your inbox

  • An SMTP server handles outgoing mail authentication and delivery

Cloudflare does not host mailboxes and does not send email.

2. Requirements

You need:

  • A registered domain (example: yourdomain.com)

  • Domain added to Cloudflare

  • A free Gmail account

  • Access to an SMTP server (from your hosting provider or other SMTP service)

No Google Workspace subscription is required.

3. Step 1 — Add Your Domain to Cloudflare

  1. Log in to Cloudflare.

  2. Click Add site.

  3. Enter your domain.

  4. Select the Free plan.

  5. Review imported DNS records.

  6. Update your domain registrar’s nameservers to Cloudflare’s nameservers.

  7. Wait for DNS propagation (usually minutes to a few hours).

Your website continues working if DNS records are correct.

4. Step 2 — Enable Email Routing

  1. Open your domain dashboard in Cloudflare.

  2. Navigate to Email → Email Routing.

  3. Click Enable Email Routing.

Cloudflare automatically creates MX records similar to:

yourdomain.com   MX 10   route1.mx.cloudflare.net
yourdomain.com   MX 20   route2.mx.cloudflare.net

These records direct all inbound mail to Cloudflare.

5. Step 3 — Add Destination Email

  1. Add your Gmail address as a destination address.

  2. Verify it via the confirmation email.

  3. Create custom email mappings such as:

info@yourdomain.com  → yourfree@gmail.com
sales@yourdomain.com → yourfree@gmail.com

Cloudflare now forwards emails sent to your domain into your Gmail inbox.

Cloudflare does not store emails — it forwards them immediately.

6. Step 4 — Configure Gmail “Send mail as”

By default, Gmail replies using your Gmail address.

To send as you@yourdomain.com:

  1. Open Gmail on desktop.

  2. Go to Settings → See all settings → Accounts and Import.

  3. Under Send mail as, click Add another email address.

  4. Enter:

    • Your name

    • Email: you@yourdomain.com

  5. Choose Send through SMTP server.

  6. Enter your SMTP server details.

  7. Verify ownership via the confirmation email (forwarded from Cloudflare).

Once verified, Gmail can send emails as your domain address.

7. SMTP Configuration (Required for Sending)

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is required to send mail from your domain.

You will need:

  • SMTP server address (e.g., smtp.yourhostingprovider.com)

  • Port 587 (recommended, TLS)

  • Username (usually full email address)

  • Password

  • TLS encryption enabled

Why SMTP is required:

  • It proves you are authorized to send from your domain.

  • Prevents spoofing.

  • Ensures proper authentication for spam filtering systems.

Cloudflare does not provide SMTP services.

8. DNS Records for Proper Email Authentication

Correct DNS setup is critical to avoid spam issues.

All records are added in Cloudflare DNS.

SPF Record

SPF authorizes which servers can send email for your domain.

Example (if using Google SMTP):

v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com -all

Only one SPF TXT record should exist per domain.

DKIM

DKIM signs outgoing messages cryptographically.

  • Enable DKIM in your SMTP provider’s settings.

  • Add the DKIM TXT record provided by your SMTP provider into Cloudflare DNS.

DKIM improves deliverability and prevents tampering.

DMARC

DMARC enforces SPF and DKIM alignment.

Start with monitoring mode:

v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com; adkim=s; aspf=s

After confirming proper setup:

p=quarantine

or

p=reject

This improves protection against domain spoofing.

9. Full Email Flow Explained

Receiving Email

sender@example.com
        ↓
DNS lookup (MX record)
        ↓
Cloudflare MX server
        ↓
Cloudflare Email Routing
        ↓
yourfree@gmail.com inbox

Sending Email

Compose email in Gmail
        ↓
Gmail connects to your SMTP server
        ↓
SMTP authenticates credentials
        ↓
Email delivered to recipient mail server
        ↓
Recipient inbox

Inbound and outbound are handled by different systems.

10. Sending Limits and Considerations

Free Gmail accounts typically allow:

  • Around 500 emails per day

This setup is ideal for:

  • Personal domains

  • Freelancers

  • Consultants

  • Small projects

  • Low-volume communication

It is not ideal for:

  • Mass email marketing

  • High-volume transactional email

  • Large organizations

  • Enterprise compliance environments

11. Advantages of This Setup

  • No Google Workspace subscription required

  • Free inbound forwarding

  • Gmail’s powerful spam filtering

  • Professional domain email identity

  • Simple DNS management in one place

  • No need to manage your own mail server

12. Limitations

  • No native mailbox hosted at your domain

  • Lower daily send limits compared to business plans

  • Manual SMTP configuration required

  • Multi-user management not available

  • Deliverability depends on proper SPF/DKIM/DMARC setup

13. Final Technical Summary

Free Gmail + Cloudflare Email Routing works because:

  • MX records point to Cloudflare.

  • Cloudflare forwards inbound email to Gmail.

  • Gmail stores the mailbox.

  • Gmail sends through authenticated SMTP.

  • SPF authorizes the sending server.

  • DKIM signs outgoing messages.

  • DMARC enforces policy alignment.

This configuration creates a standards-compliant, low-cost, professional email system using your custom domain — without purchasing Google Workspace.


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