Forward

Forward is a custom-domain email routing service for people who want branded addresses delivered into an existing inbox. It is strongest for founders, agencies and automation teams that need routing controls and domain-based sending without another hosted mailbox. Its appeal is tempered by daily forwarding caps, annual billing on paid plans and exports that require support.

Overview

Forward sends aliases on a custom domain to Gmail, Outlook or another verified inbox, so users can keep handling mail where they already work. Rules can route by sender, subject or localpart, while catch-all forwarding also captures mail sent to typos or addresses that were never set up. That breadth is useful for covering a domain, but makes careful destination and rule management important.

Forward also supports sending as a domain from Gmail, apps and workflows, plus multiple recipients, delivery logs and outbound or reply mail. That makes it more capable than an inbound-only forwarder for teams that want branded addresses on both sides of an exchange.

Key features

Workflow and API access

The API manages domains, aliases and forwarding logs, but is available only on Creator, Pro and Business. A hosted MCP endpoint can inspect domains, manage aliases and connect routing to workflows; Forward also mentions CRM and Slack workflows. These options suit automation teams, while Starter users do not get API access.

Security and administration

Forward uses TLS in transit, encryption at rest for sensitive data, access controls and authentication, alongside DKIM, SPF and SRS controls. Message content is processed transiently rather than stored long-term; troubleshooting logs focus on delivery metadata and retention follows plan limits. Owners and admins can change workspace settings, while members can read shared data but cannot change domains, aliases, credentials, team membership or billing.

Users can remove domains, aliases, SMTP credentials, API keys and team members. Account export, however, must be requested from support rather than handled directly. Typical support replies are under 24 hours during weekday business hours, and confirmed security issues receive a response within 48 hours.

Pricing

Forward has a free plan and paid plans from $2/mo. The paid prices below are monthly rates with yearly billing, so the quoted monthly amount is not a month-to-month term.

Plan	Price and terms	Included
Free	free; always free	1 domain, 25 aliases, 500 forwards/day, 7 days of logs and 1 team seat
Starter	$2 a month; billed yearly, save $5/year	3 domains, 200 aliases, 2,000 forwards/day, 30 days of logs, basic SMTP and 1 seat
Creator	$5 a month; billed yearly, save $11/year	20 domains, unlimited aliases, 10,000 forwards/day, 90 days of logs, SMTP and 3 seats
Pro	$12 a month; billed yearly, save $25/year	100 domains, unlimited aliases, 50,000 forwards/day, 180 days of logs, SMTP and 3 seats
Business	$29 a month; billed yearly, save $58/year	300 domains, unlimited aliases, 200,000 forwards/day, 365 days of logs, SMTP and 10 seats

Free is a sensible trial of the basic model, but one domain, 25 aliases and 500 daily forwards leave little room for a busy or growing setup. Starter raises the caps and adds basic SMTP, yet stays at one seat and 200 aliases, and lacks API access. Creator is the first plan with API access and unlimited aliases, with three seats and 10,000 daily forwards; Pro raises domain, forwarding and log ceilings but keeps the same seat count. Business fits larger teams needing 10 seats, 300 domains and longer logs, at a substantially higher yearly commitment.

Platforms

Forward is available on the web and through an API. API access is plan-limited to Creator, Pro and Business.

Who it's for

Forward suits founders, agencies and operators who want branded domain addresses routed into verified inboxes rather than separately hosted mailboxes. Automation teams have stronger reasons to consider it because the API, hosted MCP endpoint and workflow connections can link mail routing to other processes. It is less suitable for anyone who needs self-serve account export, several seats on an entry plan, or uncapped daily forwarding.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Sender-, subject- and localpart-based rules plus catch-all routing cover both deliberate aliases and unexpected addresses.
• Pros: Domain sending, multiple recipients and reply mail extend it beyond inbound forwarding.
• Pros: Higher plans combine API access, longer log retention and more seats for teams scaling their routing setup.
• Cons: Daily forwarding quotas apply on every plan, including 500/day on Free.
• Cons: Paid rates are billed yearly, and Starter is limited to one seat with no API access.
• Cons: Account export requires a support request, which is a drawback for teams that need direct control over portability.

Alternatives

Email Forwarding Services is a useful starting point for comparing the category. Choose Forward Email instead if open-source software and broad platform coverage, including self-hosted, desktop and mobile options, matter more. ImprovMX is another free-plan web and API alternative, with its Free tier including 1 domain, 25 aliases and 500 forwarded emails/day. Choose MailerZ if its 14-day message store is more important than send-as, SMTP or API access on the free tier, where those are disabled. EForw offers a free plan with unlimited catch-all aliases on one domain. InboxMail is worth considering if its free plan's AI actions, campaign and agent inbox allowances fit your needs. Mailcast has a free plan and free trial, but its free tier limits users to one domain and 25 aliases and does not allow sending from the domain. Cloudflare Email Routing is a free alternative for unlimited inbound routing; its paid Workers plan includes 3,000 outbound emails per month. Mailwip is a paid alternative with a free trial and a $2 a month Individual plan for up to four domains and unlimited aliases, but no SMTP emails per day.

Verdict

Forward is a good fit for founders, agencies and automation-minded teams that want custom-domain aliases, catch-all coverage and domain sending delivered through existing inboxes. Its routing controls and workflow hooks are the main reasons to choose it; the clearest reasons to look elsewhere are the yearly billing, plan-based daily caps and support-mediated export.