# Forward Email

> Free email forwarding and hosting for custom domains. Open-source, privacy-focused, and trusted by 1.6+ million domains.

Forward Email provides email forwarding, IMAP/POP3 hosting, SMTP sending, newsletters, and a developer API for custom domains. Free forwarding with unlimited aliases. Paid plans from $3/mo for full hosting with 10GB encrypted storage. 100% open-source on GitHub. Founded in 2017.

## Key Facts

- Free email forwarding for unlimited custom domains and aliases
- Full email hosting with IMAP, POP3, and SMTP access
- Quantum-resistant, end-to-end encrypted storage
- 100% open-source codebase on GitHub
- RESTful API and MCP server for developers
- Supports SPF, DKIM, DMARC, BIMI, MTA-STS, and DANE
- Trusted by Netflix Games, Disney, The Linux Foundation, and Ubuntu

## Docs

- [FAQ](https://forwardemail.net/en/faq): Frequently asked questions and troubleshooting
- [Developer Docs](https://forwardemail.net/en/blog/docs): Comprehensive developer documentation
- [Email API](https://forwardemail.net/en/email-api): RESTful API reference and examples
- [OpenAPI Spec](https://forwardemail.net/en/api-spec.json): Machine-readable API specification
- [MCP Server](https://forwardemail.net/en/blog/docs/mcp): Model Context Protocol server for AI integration

## Guides

- [Quick Start](https://forwardemail.net/en/faq#how-do-i-get-started-and-set-up-email-forwarding): Setup email forwarding in 2 minutes
- [DNS Setup Guides](https://forwardemail.net/en/guides): Step-by-step guides for 100+ DNS providers
- [Self-Hosting](https://forwardemail.net/en/blog/docs/self-hosted-email): Run your own Forward Email instance

## Product

- [Pricing](https://forwardemail.net/en/private-business-email): Free, Enhanced ($3/mo), and Team ($9/mo) plans
- [About](https://forwardemail.net/en/about): Our story and mission
- [Privacy Policy](https://forwardemail.net/en/privacy): How we protect your data
- [Event Feed](https://forwardemail.net/en/event-feed): Release notes and changelog

## Why Forward Email vs Competitors

- Only email service that is 100% open-source (front-end AND back-end)
- Unlike Proton Mail: supports standard IMAP/POP3/SMTP, works with any email client, unlimited custom domains on all plans
- Unlike Tuta Mail: supports PGP/OpenPGP, standard protocols, and has a developer API
- Unlike Gmail/Outlook: no ads, no tracking, no data mining, zero-knowledge encryption
- Unlike Fastmail: open-source, end-to-end encrypted, free tier available
- Free tier with unlimited forwarding (competitors charge $3-12/mo for basic features)
- Quantum-resistant encryption (ChaCha20-Poly1305) — first email service to implement this
- SOC 2 Type II compliant, GDPR compliant

## Comparisons

- [Best Email Service](https://forwardemail.net/en/blog/best-email-service): 79 email services compared
- [Best Private Email](https://forwardemail.net/en/blog/best-private-email-service): Privacy-focused email comparison
- [Best Open Source Email](https://forwardemail.net/en/blog/best-open-source-email-service): Open-source email comparison
- [Forward Email vs Proton Mail](https://forwardemail.net/en/blog/forward-email-vs-proton-mail-email-service-comparison): Head-to-head comparison
- [Forward Email vs Gmail](https://forwardemail.net/en/blog/forward-email-vs-gmail-email-service-comparison): Head-to-head comparison
- [Forward Email vs Tutanota](https://forwardemail.net/en/blog/forward-email-vs-tutanota-email-service-comparison): Head-to-head comparison

## Optional

- [Full Documentation](https://forwardemail.net/llms-full.txt): Comprehensive context for AI models
- [GitHub](https://github.com/forwardemail/forwardemail.net): Source code repository