> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.brudcast.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Hosted mailboxes

> Host email inboxes on your own domain, see how a mail domain differs from a sending domain, and what each plan and status means.

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Mailboxes give your team real inboxes on your own domain, such as `jane@example.com`. Each mailbox
has its own password and works in any IMAP and SMTP mail client, including Apple Mail, Outlook,
Thunderbird and the Gmail app.

<Screenshot id="ss-mailbox-overview-hero-domains" alt="The Mailboxes page with Mail Domains, DNS Verified and Mailboxes counts above the Your Mail Domains table" />

## Mail domains and sending domains

Brudcast uses two kinds of domain, and they do different jobs.

|                      | Sending domain                                    | Mail domain                                              |
| -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| What it's for        | Campaigns and API or SMTP relay mail              | Person-to-person email in and out of hosted inboxes      |
| Where you set it up  | **Channels > Email**                              | **Mailboxes**                                            |
| What it needs in DNS | SPF delegation, two DKIM records, DMARC, tracking | MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and optional autodiscovery records |
| Paid through         | The Email product                                 | The Mailbox product                                      |

The same domain name can be both. When it is, the two share one SPF record and one DMARC record,
because a domain may publish only one of each. The **Sends campaigns** column on the Mailboxes page
shows **Yes** for a mail domain that's also one of your sending domains. See
[Sharing records with a sending domain](/mailbox/add-a-mail-domain#sharing-records-with-a-sending-domain).

```mermaid theme={"system"}
flowchart LR
  O[Organization] --> MD[Mail domain<br/>example.com]
  O --> SD[Sending domain<br/>example.com]
  MD --> MB[Mailboxes<br/>jane@example.com]
  MB --> AL[Aliases<br/>sales@example.com]
  MD -. shares SPF and DMARC .- SD
  MC[Mail client] -->|IMAP 993 / SMTP 465| MB
```

## How mail reaches a mailbox

1. You add a domain under **Mailboxes** and publish the DNS records Brudcast generates for it.
2. The MX record tells other mail servers to deliver mail for your domain to Brudcast.
3. You create mailboxes on the domain, and each person signs in from their mail client with the
   full address and the mailbox password.
4. Mail sent from a mailbox is signed with your domain's DKIM key and authorized by its SPF record.

A domain's DNS being verified and inbound mail being delivered are separate things. The routing
panel on the domain's **Mailboxes** tab says which state you're in:

| Routing panel                                   | Meaning                                                                        |
| ----------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Inbound mail is routing**                     | Your MX record resolves to Brudcast and mail is being delivered                |
| **DNS verified, inbound delivery not live yet** | Your records are correct. Mailboxes can already sign in and send               |
| **Inbound mail is not routing yet**             | One or more required records are missing. Mailboxes can still sign in and send |
| **Checking your DNS records**                   | A verification is running                                                      |
| **Inbound routing not set up**                  | You haven't verified the records yet                                           |

## Statuses

**Mail domain** (the **DNS status** column):

| Label             | Value                 | Meaning                                                         |
| ----------------- | --------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Setup pending** | `pending`             | Added, not yet verified                                         |
| **Verifying**     | `verifying`           | A DNS check is running                                          |
| **DNS verified**  | `active`              | The MX record and the DKIM record match                         |
| **Not routing**   | `verification_failed` | The last check found the MX or DKIM record missing or different |

**Mailbox:**

| Label            | Value                 | Meaning                                             |
| ---------------- | --------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| **Provisioning** | `provisioning`        | Being created, or applying a new password           |
| **Active**       | `active`              | Ready to use                                        |
| **Failed**       | `provisioning_failed` | The mailbox couldn't be created                     |
| **Suspended**    | `suspended`           | Can't send, receive or sign in. Stored mail is kept |

## Plans and limits

A new organization starts on the free Mailbox plan. Your plan sets how many mail domains, mailboxes
and aliases you can have. See [Plans and subscriptions](/billing/plans-and-subscriptions).

|                                 | Free                 | Starter               | Growth         | Enterprise     |
| ------------------------------- | -------------------- | --------------------- | -------------- | -------------- |
| Mail domains                    | 1                    | 1                     | 3              | Unlimited      |
| Mailboxes                       | 1                    | 3                     | 10             | Unlimited      |
| Aliases                         | 3 across the account | 10 across the account | 10 per mailbox | 10 per mailbox |
| Storage per mailbox in the plan | 1 GB                 | 5 GB                  | 10 GB          | Custom         |

These limits apply to every plan:

| Rule                                           | Limit                                                                                                    |
| ---------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Mailboxes per organization, across all domains | 25                                                                                                       |
| Aliases per mailbox                            | 10                                                                                                       |
| Storage quota you can set on a mailbox         | 1 GB to 100 GB                                                                                           |
| Length of the part before the `@`              | 64 characters                                                                                            |
| Addresses you can't use                        | `postmaster`, `abuse`, `hostmaster`, `webmaster`, `mailer-daemon`, `autoconfig`, `autodiscover`, `dmarc` |

A deleted address stays reserved, so it can't be created again. That stops mail still on its way
to the old owner from reaching someone new.

## Setting up

1. [Add a mail domain](/mailbox/add-a-mail-domain) and publish its DNS records.
2. [Create the mailboxes](/mailbox/manage-mailboxes) people will use, and any aliases they need.
3. [Connect a mail client](/mailbox/connect-a-mail-client) with the address and its password.

Resetting a password, suspending a mailbox and deleting one are all on
[Create and manage mailboxes](/mailbox/manage-mailboxes).

## Related

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Add a mail domain" icon="globe" href="/mailbox/add-a-mail-domain">
    Register your domain and publish its records.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Create and manage mailboxes" icon="inbox" href="/mailbox/manage-mailboxes">
    Add addresses and aliases, reset passwords, suspend or delete.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Connect a mail client" icon="mail" href="/mailbox/connect-a-mail-client">
    Server settings and steps for popular apps.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Sending domains" icon="send" href="/channels/email/overview">
    The other kind of domain, for campaigns and API mail.
  </Card>
</Columns>