Free SPF lookup counter

An SPF record may trigger at most 10 DNS lookups, counting every include, a, mx, ptr, exists and redirect, nested includes too. One over and receivers return PermError, which Gmail and Outlook treat as an SPF fail. Enter your domain to count. Lookups run from your browser through Cloudflare's public DNS.

Over 10? How to get back under

  1. Remove includes for services you no longer send through (old newsletter tools, a CRM you cancelled).
  2. Move marketing mail to a subdomain (e.g. news.yourcompany.com) with its own SPF record, so the main record only lists your mailbox provider.
  3. Replace a, mx and ptr with fixed ip4:/ip6: ranges where the IPs don't change. ip4/ip6 cost zero lookups.
  4. Keep exactly one SPF record. Two v=spf1 TXT records is a PermError on its own.

Still landing in spam with SPF fixed? Check SPF, DKIM and DMARC together, free, in 5 seconds:

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