What is an MX record?

An MX (Mail Exchange) record is a DNS record that specifies the mail server responsible for accepting email for a domain. It contains a priority value and a hostname pointing to the mail server.

What does MX record priority mean?

MX priority is a number (lower = higher priority) that tells sending mail servers which server to try first. If the primary server (lowest number) is unavailable, the next server in priority order is tried.

How do I check MX records for a domain?

You can look up MX records using PixDNS MX Lookup tool at pixdns.info/mx-lookup, or with command-line tools like "nslookup -type=MX example.com" or "dig MX example.com".

MX Records

MX (Mail Exchange) records specify the mail servers responsible for accepting email messages on behalf of a domain.

The lowest number is tried first; the higher one takes over only when the first server does not answer.

How MX Records Work

When someone sends an email to [email protected], the sending mail server looks up the MX records for yourdomain.com to find where to deliver the message.

MX Record Format

yourdomain.com.    MX    10    mail1.yourdomain.com.
yourdomain.com.    MX    20    mail2.yourdomain.com.

Priority (10, 20) - Lower numbers = higher priority. The mail server with priority 10 is tried first.
Mail server (mail1.yourdomain.com) - Must resolve to an A record, not CNAME.

Best Practices

Always have at least two MX records for redundancy
Use different mail providers or servers
Set appropriate priority levels (10 and 20 is common)
Ensure your mail servers have valid A records (not CNAME)

Testing MX Records

Use our MX Lookup tool to verify your MX records are configured correctly.

Try it on your domain

See the theory in practice — run a MX Lookup for your own domain.