To Secure Your Email

Trusted by 87,000+ Businesses

Without SPF, Your Emails Are at Risk of Spoofing

Let's say you are sending a credential email to the customer, only for it to land in spam or, worse—be impersonated by scammers. Email providers can’t verify your messages without an SPF record. Not just that, a missing SPF record allows cybercriminals to impersonate your domain, or customers may never receive your emails due to ISP blocking. 
The Fix? Instantly create an SPF record tailored to your domain with Smartlead’s SPF Record Generator.

SPF Record Generator

Ensure you send emails only through your authorized servers and reduce spoofing risks while improving deliverability.

Generate SPF Record Now

DKIM Record generator

Check if DKIM records are set up correctly for your domain. Ensure your email authentication policies protect your domain.

Get DKIM Record

How to Generate Your SPF Record in 4 Simple Steps

Step 1

Enter Your Domain Name

Start by entering your domain name in the provided field.

Step 2

Select Key Settings

Answer three simple questions:

Does your domain send mail? (Select Yes or No)
Does your MX records send mail? (Select Yes or No)
Do you approve all hosts with the domain name using PTR (Reverse DNS)? (Select Yes or No)

Step 3

Choose the Fail Mode

Decide what action to take if SPF fails authentication:

Fail (Reject emails that fail SPF)
Soft Fail (Mark emails as suspicious)
Neutral (No action taken)

Step 4

Click “Generate”

Once you've filled out all the necessary information, click Generate to create your SPF record. Simply copy the generated record and add it to your domain's DNS settings.

What is an SPF record?

An SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record is a DNS record that helps email providers determine whether an email sent from your domain is legitimate. Without SPF, your emails might get blocked, marked as spam, or even spoofed by hackers.

Why SPF is Essential for Your Email Security?

An SPF record works as a security layer that protects your brand, communications, and operations. Without SPF, anyone can send emails using your domain, leading to spoofing attacks, email rejections, and loss of trust.

Here are the common scenarios where having an SPF record is absolutely essential:

1. You Send Cold Emails or Marketing Campaigns

If you’re running outreach or marketing campaigns, email providers check SPF before delivering emails. Without it, your messages may end up in spam, hurting response rates and engagement. SPF increases your sender's credibility, improving campaign performance.

2. Your Domain Has Been Spoofed Before

Have you noticed fake emails sent from your domain? Cybercriminals use email spoofing to impersonate businesses, leading to fraud and loss of trust. SPF blocks unauthorized senders, ensuring that only verified servers can send emails from your domain.

3. Your Business Relies on Transactional Emails

Order confirmations, password resets, billing invoices—if these emails aren’t delivered properly, customers can’t complete transactions or access services. SPF helps email providers verify your messages, ensuring seamless communication.

4. Your Organization Uses Multiple Email Providers

Many businesses use Google Workspace, Outlook, SMTP services, and CRMs for email communication. SPF ensures that all authorized email sources are verified and trusted, reducing email rejections.

What Our Customers Say

I can upload hundreds of email accounts, send thousands of cold emails per day, and still have an organized master inbox. This is unseen with any other tool on the market today. I looked...

Mykyta

CEO, Yell Cut

4.5

I've personally built a sales engagement platform similar to Smartlead, and I am genuinely blown away by the scalability, functionality and more. We're a B2B Lead Gen Agency, and we primarily use cold email to generate leads for our clients. We're on track to double our best month in terms of client results.

Nick A.

Founder, Leadbird.io

4.5

Smartlead is an innovative cold email platform that helps me reach out to potential clients. There are easy-to-use templates, powerful automation tools, and intuitive analytics for email warming and campaign analytics. It provides me with everything I need to maximize my cold email campaigns.

Reggie B.

Sales Director - Financial Institution Solutions Saggezza, Inc.

4.5

Smartlead is an absolute game-changer! With its exceptional features and support from the Smartlead team, I've experienced remarkable success. The customizable platform and cost-effective pricing have revolutionized our cold emailing game. I would rate it 10 out of 10 for satisfaction. A must-have tool for any B2B agency!

Romain Osman

Co-Founder, Five Element

4.5

Innovative, reliable, and Suitable For Technical and Non-Technical Users. SmartLead's ability to help me land in the primary inbox and automate the laborious parts of my workflow is brilliant. The customer support is incredibly good, I've had some great feedback on my cold email campaigns.

Ryane Tully

Co-founder, Pitchlane

4.5

Hands down the best cold email software. Smartlead is amazing, this is the best tool if you want to cold email at scale and land in the inbox. The team is super responsive with great support. While there is a learning curve to cold email, they really built a great foundation to make it as simple as possible. I am sending over 2k emails a day!!! absolute game changer for my business.

Eden Einav

Account Executive, B.I.G. Charity Law Group Professional Corporation

4.5

Intuitive. Game-Changing. POWERFUL. Analytics, spintax, A/B testing, quick personalization. This is a game changer if you send cold email campaign. Grateful to this team for building a product that has changed our day to day. 🚀

David Borman

Senior Account Executive, Key Outreach

4.5

The best outbound email marketing software. Customer support - they are so responsive and helpful Features - you can add multiple email domains to the same account.

Bojan Najdov

Founder, Lambda Group

4.5

Smartlead has been extremely helpful with seamlessly onboarding clients, warming up their accounts, and prepping campaigns to send at high volumes while maintaining high deliverability. There are multiple features that allow me to track performance over time and understand when it is time for me to make adjustments, and Vaibhav is constantly making improvements/upgrades to the platform which gives me all the more faith in the future of this great tool.

Dino Knezovic

Founder, Office Optim

4.5

Smartlead is absolutely amazing! The software is easy to understand I am not a techie but directly understand everything and if you really have a question the team always helps instantly. Additionally I love all the features. Like I said for me as a lead generation agency the software gives me everything I need and much more.

Johannes Fessler

CEO, Rock Solid Lead Generation

4.5

Terrific platform for agencies. The platform is intuitive and makes it easy to manage multiple client accounts. I love the email warmup feature, the sub-accounts, and the branded client portal. Deliverability and analytics are solid. Great customer support.

Kris Sharma

Founder, Webinar Dude

4.5

Total game changer for cold outreach. Packed with features: Spintax, Rotating Inboxes, AI Email Categorization, Subsequences, Tagging, and Whitelabeling. Their team is SUPER responsive and implements changes quickly, and it is the most reliable cold email tool I've ever used.

Matthew Lucero

Founder, Anevo Marketing

4.5

Best Cold Email Marketing Tool for individuals as well as agencies. Smartlead has simplified email marketing to another infinity. With their domain rotation, email warmups and unified inbox, this is an absolute gamechanger in the industry right now. With such an affordable pricepoint, they really offer you the best bang for the buck and superseeds any email automation tool in the market like salesloft/outreach or reply. Vaibhav is more than just an amazing guy, who is super helpful and approachable. This tool would guarenteed be the next best thing in the market and the best part is they never stop innovating. Complete no brainer to opt for this against any other tool that you are using for email outreach at the current moment. Trust me you wouldn't be disappointed. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Abhishek Basu

Account Executive, Leadzilla

4.5

Best cold email tool in the game. Most user friendly cold email tool I've used to date. Super easy to set up, love the bulk upload feature to add multiple domains at once and support is impeccable. They respond so fast it's unreal. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Serdar Tufan

Owner, FunnelVision

4.5

I just ended my 2 year search for the right cold emailing platform with Smartlead. A stand alone tool for cold emailing unlike anything else in the market. And it looks like they're only getting started. Now I can finally train my VAs on just one platform instead of bouncing between several like they used to for different things.

Cliff Coelho

Owner, Storydriven.video

4.5

Best cold outbound email software out there. Everything, is fast, reliable, scalable, you can also white-label, amazing analytics and never breaks like other similar competitors. Never once I went in spam in the last 4 months of using it.

Arnold Koci

CEO, Acquisizioneclienti.it

4.5

Romain Osman

Co-Founder, Five Element

4.5

Our campaigns weren't just about reaching out, but reaching out right, and Smartlead helped us achieve this. It has added immense value to our business by prioritizing email deliverability and customer needs. I would rate it a 9 out of 10

Lucas Maliczak

Outbound Lead & Partner, Peakora

4.5

Smartlead is simply amazing. They constantly improve their product and bring new features that make the cold email software even more complete. If you're a big automation enthusiast like me, there are no other cold email tools on the market that allow you to 100% automate your business as Smartlead does.

René-Karl Lambert

Founder, WindGrowth

4.5

David Borman

Senior Account Executive, Key Outreach

4.5

The best outbound email marketing software. Customer support - they are so responsive and helpful Features - you can add multiple email domains to the same account.

Bojan Najdov

Founder, Lambda Group

4.5

Dino Knezovic

Founder, Office Optim

4.5

Johannes Fessler

CEO, Rock Solid Lead Generation

4.5

Kris Sharma

Founder, Webinar Dude

4.5

Matthew Lucero

Founder, Anevo Marketing

4.5

Abhishek Basu

Account Executive, Leadzilla

4.5

Serdar Tufan

Owner, FunnelVision

4.5

Cliff Coelho

Owner, Storydriven.video

4.5

Arnold Koci

CEO, Acquisizioneclienti.it

4.5

Romain Osman

Co-Founder, Five Element

4.5

Lucas Maliczak

Outbound Lead & Partner, Peakora

4.5

René-Karl Lambert

Founder, WindGrowth

4.5

Matthew Lucero

Founder, Anevo Marketing

4.5

Abhishek Basu

Account Executive, Leadzilla

4.5

Serdar Tufan

Owner, FunnelVision

4.5

Cliff Coelho

Owner, Storydriven.video

4.5

Arnold Koci

CEO, Acquisizioneclienti.it

4.5

Romain Osman

Co-Founder, Five Element

4.5

Lucas Maliczak

Outbound Lead & Partner, Peakora

4.5

René-Karl Lambert

Founder, WindGrowth

4.5

Frequently Asked Questions

Still Have Questions ?

How do I find my SPF record?

To find your current SPF record, check your domain’s DNS settings. You can use a DNS lookup tool or an SPF validation tool like Smartlead’s SPF Record lookup tool.

If you have access to your domain’s DNS settings, you can also check SPF manually by looking for a TXT record associated with your domain. It should contain the word "v=spf1" followed by the authorized mail servers.

What is the best practice for SPF records?

Best practices for creating and managing your SPF record include:

Use a single SPF record: To avoid conflicts, your domain should have only one SPF record. Multiple SPF records for the same domain can result in authentication failures.
Limit the number of DNS lookups: SPF records should be simple to avoid exceeding the limit of 10 DNS lookups. This way, the mail servers process SPF records more efficiently.
Use the "all" mechanism carefully: The "-all" mechanism (fail) at the end of the record ensures that only authorized mail servers are allowed to send emails from your domain. Avoid using "~all" (softfail) unless necessary.
Include all mail servers: Ensure that all the email providers and mail servers used by your domain are listed in the SPF record to prevent rejection.

Can there be 2 SPF records?

No, there should be one SPF record per domain. Multiple SPF records can cause conflicts and lead to email authentication failures. If you need to authorize multiple mail servers or services, combine them into a single SPF record. Use include statements in your SPF record to reference other domains' SPF records.

How do I optimize the SPF record?

To optimize your SPF record, focus on the following:

Simplify the record: Only include necessary mail servers. Remove redundant or unused entries to avoid hitting the DNS lookup limit.
Reduce DNS lookups: Each "include" statement in an SPF record results in a DNS lookup. To stay within the 10 DNS lookup limit, limit the number of included domains or mail servers.
Use "ip4" and "ip6" mechanisms: Instead of relying on multiple include statements, use the "ip4" and "ip6" mechanisms for IP addresses if possible. This reduces the need for additional DNS queries.
Monitor and update regularly: Ensure that your SPF record is always up to date as you add or remove email services.

What is the limit of SPF record?

The SPF record limit includes:

10 DNS lookups: SPF records can only perform up to 10 DNS lookups when evaluating the record. This includes include, a, mx, ptr, and exists mechanisms.
255-character limit: An individual TXT string in an SPF record must be under 255 characters, but longer records can span multiple strings up to 512 bytes.
Multiple entries in SPF: While you can have multiple entries (like ip4, include, mx), they should be minimized to avoid excessive DNS lookups.

How to check if an SPF record is correct?

To check if your SPF record is correct, you can:

Use an SPF validation tool: Tools like Smartlead's SPF checker can verify if your SPF record is valid, and it will indicate any issues.
Perform a DNS lookup: You can use a DNS lookup tool (e.g., dig or nslookup) to check the TXT record associated with your domain. The result should include a valid SPF record.
Check for errors in your SPF record: A correctly configured SPF record will pass SPF checks, while errors (like exceeding the DNS lookup limit or including incorrect IPs) will cause it to fail. Use Smartlead free SPF record generator to create your SPF record and update the same on your DNS settings.

Why is my SPF record not valid?

There are several reasons why your SPF record may not be valid:

Too many DNS lookups: If your SPF record has more than 10 DNS lookups (due to multiple include or mx statements), it will fail validation.
Multiple SPF records: Having more than one SPF record for the same domain will cause errors. Ensure there is only one SPF TXT record for your domain.
Syntax errors: If your SPF record has syntax issues (e.g., missing mechanisms or incorrect formatting), it may fail. Use an SPF record generator to get syntax error-free SPF records.
Incorrect or missing entries for mail servers: If your SPF record doesn’t include the correct mail servers or IP addresses, emails from those servers may be marked as spam or rejected.

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Without SPF, Your Emails Are at Risk of Spoofing

Let's say you are sending a credential email to the customer, only for it to land in spam or, worse—be impersonated by scammers. Email providers can’t verify your messages without an SPF record. Not just that, a missing SPF record allows cybercriminals to impersonate your domain, or customers may never receive your emails due to ISP blocking.
The Fix? Instantly create an SPF record tailored to your domain with Smartlead’s SPF Record Generator.

DMARC Record Generator

Ensure you send emails only through your authorized servers and reduce spoofing risks while improving deliverability.

Generate DMARC Record Now

DKIM Record generator

Check if DKIM records are set up correctly for your domain. Ensure your email authentication policies protect your domain.

Get DKIM Record

How to Generate Your SPF Record in 4 Simple Steps

Step 1

Enter Your Domain Name

Start by entering your domain name in the provided field.

Step 2

Select Key Settings

Answer three simple questions:

Does your domain send mail? (Select Yes or No)
Does your MX records send mail? (Select Yes or No)
Do you approve all hosts with the domain name using PTR (Reverse DNS)? (Select Yes or No)

Step 3

Choose the Fail Mode

Decide what action to take if SPF fails authentication:

Fail (Reject emails that fail SPF)
Soft Fail (Mark emails as suspicious)
Neutral (No action taken)

Step 4

Click “Generate”

Once you've filled out all the necessary information, click Generate to create your SPF record. Simply copy the generated record and add it to your domain's DNS settings.

What is an SPF record?

Why SPF is Essential for Your Email Security?

Here are the common scenarios where having an SPF record is absolutely essential:

1. You Send Cold Emails or Marketing Campaigns

2. Your Domain Has Been Spoofed Before

3. Your Business Relies on Transactional Emails

4. Your Organization Uses Multiple Email Providers

Many businesses use Google Workspace, Outlook, SMTP services, and CRMs for email communication. SPF ensures that all authorized email sources are verified and trusted, reducing email rejections.

Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

How do I find my SPF record?

To find your current SPF record, check your domain’s DNS settings. You can use a DNS lookup tool or an SPF validation tool like Smartlead’s SPF Record lookup tool.

What is the best practice for SPF records?

Best practices for creating and managing your SPF record include:

Use a single SPF record: To avoid conflicts, your domain should have only one SPF record. Multiple SPF records for the same domain can result in authentication failures.
Limit the number of DNS lookups: SPF records should be simple to avoid exceeding the limit of 10 DNS lookups. This way, the mail servers process SPF records more efficiently.
Use the "all" mechanism carefully: The "-all" mechanism (fail) at the end of the record ensures that only authorized mail servers are allowed to send emails from your domain. Avoid using "~all" (softfail) unless necessary.
Include all mail servers: Ensure that all the email providers and mail servers used by your domain are listed in the SPF record to prevent rejection.

Can there be 2 SPF records?

How do I optimize the SPF record?

To optimize your SPF record, focus on the following:

Simplify the record: Only include necessary mail servers. Remove redundant or unused entries to avoid hitting the DNS lookup limit.
Reduce DNS lookups: Each "include" statement in an SPF record results in a DNS lookup. To stay within the 10 DNS lookup limit, limit the number of included domains or mail servers.
Use "ip4" and "ip6" mechanisms: Instead of relying on multiple include statements, use the "ip4" and "ip6" mechanisms for IP addresses if possible. This reduces the need for additional DNS queries.
Monitor and update regularly: Ensure that your SPF record is always up to date as you add or remove email services.

What is the limit of SPF record?

The SPF record limit includes:

10 DNS lookups: SPF records can only perform up to 10 DNS lookups when evaluating the record. This includes include, a, mx, ptr, and exists mechanisms.
255-character limit: An individual TXT string in an SPF record must be under 255 characters, but longer records can span multiple strings up to 512 bytes.
Multiple entries in SPF: While you can have multiple entries (like ip4, include, mx), they should be minimized to avoid excessive DNS lookups.

How to check if an SPF record is correct?

To check if your SPF record is correct, you can:

Use an SPF validation tool: Tools like Smartlead's SPF checker can verify if your SPF record is valid, and it will indicate any issues.
Perform a DNS lookup: You can use a DNS lookup tool (e.g., dig or nslookup) to check the TXT record associated with your domain. The result should include a valid SPF record.
Check for errors in your SPF record: A correctly configured SPF record will pass SPF checks, while errors (like exceeding the DNS lookup limit or including incorrect IPs) will cause it to fail. Use Smartlead free SPF record generator to create your SPF record and update the same on your DNS settings.

Why is my SPF record not valid?

There are several reasons why your SPF record may not be valid:

Too many DNS lookups: If your SPF record has more than 10 DNS lookups (due to multiple include or mx statements), it will fail validation.
Multiple SPF records: Having more than one SPF record for the same domain will cause errors. Ensure there is only one SPF TXT record for your domain.
Syntax errors: If your SPF record has syntax issues (e.g., missing mechanisms or incorrect formatting), it may fail. Use an SPF record generator to get syntax error-free SPF records.
Incorrect or missing entries for mail servers: If your SPF record doesn’t include the correct mail servers or IP addresses, emails from those servers may be marked as spam or rejected.

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To Secure Your Email

Trusted by 87,000+ Businesses

Without SPF, Your Emails Are at Risk of Spoofing

SPF Record Generator

DKIM Record generator

How to Generate Your SPF Record in 4 Simple Steps

Enter Your Domain Name

Select Key Settings

Choose the Fail Mode

Click “Generate”

What is an SPF record?

Why SPF is Essential for Your Email Security?

1. You Send Cold Emails or Marketing Campaigns

2. Your Domain Has Been Spoofed Before

3. Your Business Relies on Transactional Emails

4. Your Organization Uses Multiple Email Providers

What Our Customers Say

Frequently Asked Questions

Still Have Questions ?

How do I find my SPF record?

What is the best practice for SPF records?

Can there be 2 SPF records?

How do I optimize the SPF record?

What is the limit of SPF record?

How to check if an SPF record is correct?

Why is my SPF record not valid?

Let’s Build Your Custom Outreach Engine

Free SPF Record Generator to Secure Your Email

Upload CSV Files

Uploaded CSV Files

Map Column

Uploaded-file-details

99% Accurate Verification

Without SPF, Your Emails Are at Risk of Spoofing

DMARC Record Generator

DKIM Record generator

How to Generate Your SPF Record in 4 Simple Steps

Enter Your Domain Name

Select Key Settings

Choose the Fail Mode

Click “Generate”

What is an SPF record?

Why SPF is Essential for Your Email Security?

1. You Send Cold Emails or Marketing Campaigns

2. Your Domain Has Been Spoofed Before

3. Your Business Relies on Transactional Emails

4. Your Organization Uses Multiple Email Providers

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I find my SPF record?

What is the best practice for SPF records?

Can there be 2 SPF records?

How do I optimize the SPF record?

What is the limit of SPF record?

How to check if an SPF record is correct?

Why is my SPF record not valid?

Powerful Automated Email Marketing that Drives Sales.