A professional email address can make your business look more trustworthy and help you communicate with customers using your own domain name. Instead of sending messages from a generic personal email address, you can use an address such as [email protected] or [email protected].
Hostinger allows users to create custom-domain email addresses through its email hosting services. You can manage your mailboxes from the Hostinger dashboard, access messages through webmail, and connect your account to supported email applications.
In this guide, you will learn how to create a business email on Hostinger, activate an eligible email service, configure your domain, create mailboxes, and start sending and receiving messages.
A business email uses your own domain name instead of a general email provider's domain. For example, if your company owns yourbusiness.com, you can create email addresses such as:
Professional appearance: A custom-domain email address gives your business a consistent identity.
Brand recognition: Customers see your business name whenever they receive an email from you.
Better organization: Separate addresses can be used for support, sales, billing, and general inquiries.
Business control: You can manage mailboxes, passwords, aliases, and forwarding options through your email dashboard.
Convenient access: You can use webmail or connect your mailbox to supported email applications.
2. What Do You Need Before Creating a Business Email?
Before setting up your email account, make sure you have the following requirements ready.
A registered domain name
You need a domain name to create a custom business email address. You can register a new domain through Hostinger or use a domain that you already own from another registrar.
You also need an email service connected to your domain. Depending on your hosting package and account, Hostinger may offer an eligible email trial or included email service. Alternatively, you can purchase a separate Business Email plan.
Access to domain DNS settings
Your domain must have the correct email DNS records so that other mail servers know where to deliver messages. If your domain uses external nameservers, you may need to add the required records at your current DNS provider.
Important: Buying a domain and purchasing email hosting are not necessarily the same thing. A domain gives you the address, while an active email service provides the mailboxes used to send and receive messages.
3. Choose Your Hostinger Email Option
Hostinger provides different ways to activate email for a domain. The option available to you depends on your hosting plan, existing email subscription, and account eligibility.
Email option
Who should use it?
What to check
Eligible hosting-plan email offer
Users who already have a qualifying web or cloud hosting plan.
Trial availability, mailbox limits, and storage.
Business Email plan
Users who want a separately purchased email service.
Plan duration, mailbox slots, storage, and renewal terms.
Hostinger's available email features and limits can vary by plan. Review the details displayed in your account before activating a service or purchasing additional mailboxes.
Find and select Emails from the dashboard sidebar. This section displays the email services associated with your account.
3
Start the available email offer
If your hosting plan is eligible and the offer is available, select the option to start the free email service or claim free email.
The exact label can vary depending on your account and the email service available.
4
Select your domain
Choose the domain for which you want to activate email and confirm your selection.
5
Complete the activation
Follow the instructions shown in your dashboard. Once the email service is active, you can proceed to create your mailbox.
Option B: Set up a separately purchased Business Email plan
If you have purchased a Business Email plan, locate the order in the Emails section of your Hostinger dashboard.
Open Emails in your Hostinger dashboard.
Find the purchased email plan that needs activation.
Click Setup.
Select or connect the domain you want to use.
Follow the displayed setup instructions to activate the service.
Already using an email trial? If your domain has an active free email trial, check the upgrade option for that existing service instead of setting up a separate email order. Hostinger may restrict multiple email order types for the same domain.
5. How to Create a Business Email Address on Hostinger
After activating your email service, you can create your first custom-domain mailbox. This is the address you will use to send and receive business emails.
1
Open your email management page
Go to Emails in hPanel and locate the email plan connected to your domain. Select Mailboxes or the corresponding mailbox management option.
2
Select Add Mailboxes
Click Add mailboxes or the available create-mailbox option. If your paid plan has no available mailbox slots, Hostinger may show an option to purchase additional mailboxes.
3
Enter your business email name
Choose the part of the email address that appears before your domain name.
For example, if your domain is yourbusiness.com and you enter contact, your email address becomes:
Enter a secure password for the mailbox. Avoid using your business name, birthday, or other easily guessed information.
Use a unique password that you do not reuse for other accounts.
5
Create your mailbox
Review the email address and password, then click Create. Hostinger will add the new mailbox to your email management page.
Your business email address is now created. Depending on your domain configuration, you may need to finish DNS setup before it can send and receive messages successfully.
Hostinger mailbox naming requirements
Hostinger applies specific rules to mailbox names. According to its mailbox creation documentation, the name must meet these requirements:
It must contain between 1 and 50 characters.
It can contain lowercase letters, numbers, and periods.
It cannot contain certain special characters, including ampersands, underscores, apostrophes, hyphens, plus signs, or commas.
It cannot contain two or more consecutive periods.
6. How to Connect Your Domain to Hostinger Email
Creating a mailbox is only one part of the setup. Your domain must also be configured with the correct DNS records to send and receive email.
These records tell email services where your messages should be delivered and help receiving servers verify that your domain is authorized to send messages.
Check your domain connection status
Open the Emails section in your Hostinger dashboard.
Locate the email service associated with your domain.
Open the domain or email management settings.
Check the domain connection or DNS status.
If Hostinger reports missing records, use the displayed instructions to correct them.
Understand the important email DNS records
DNS record
Purpose
MX
Directs incoming email messages to the correct mail servers.
SPF
Identifies which servers are authorized to send email for your domain.
DKIM
Uses a digital signature to help receiving servers verify email authenticity.
DMARC
Defines how receiving servers should handle messages that fail email authentication checks.
Automatically connect DNS records
If your domain uses Hostinger nameservers, Hostinger may offer an automatic connection option for supported email configurations.
Open the email domain settings.
Check the DNS configuration status.
If available, select Connect automatically or the equivalent option.
Allow the changes to take effect and check the status again.
Manually configure email DNS records
If your domain uses nameservers from another provider, you may need to add the email records manually at that provider.
Open the Hostinger email domain connection settings.
Find the required DNS records and copy their exact values.
Log in to the provider managing your domain's active DNS zone.
Open its DNS management page.
Add or update the required MX, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records as instructed.
Save the changes and return to Hostinger to check the connection status.
Important DNS warning: Do not copy generic MX, SPF, DKIM, or DMARC values from another website. Use the exact records displayed in your Hostinger account. Also, avoid deleting existing DNS records without checking whether they are used by another email provider or service.
You can now read incoming messages, send emails, and manage your business communication from the browser.
Tip: Bookmark the webmail login page so you can access your business inbox quickly whenever you need it.
8. How to Connect Hostinger Email to Gmail or Outlook
If you prefer using an email application, you can connect your Hostinger mailbox to supported third-party email clients. This allows you to manage your business messages from an application you already use.
For manual setup, Hostinger provides the server details in the email management dashboard under the application or device connection settings.
Hostinger email server settings
Setting
Server
Port
Encryption
IMAP
imap.hostinger.com
993
SSL
POP3
pop.hostinger.com
995
SSL
SMTP
smtp.hostinger.com
465
SSL
For SMTP, Hostinger also documents port 587 with TLS or STARTTLS as an alternative configuration.
Connect your mailbox to Gmail
To use your Hostinger email address in the Gmail mobile application:
Open the Gmail app on your phone.
Tap your profile icon and select Add another account.
Choose Other as the account type.
Enter your complete Hostinger email address.
Choose IMAP when asked for the account type.
Enter your mailbox password and the incoming server details.
Enter the outgoing SMTP server details.
Complete the setup and check whether messages are syncing.
Connect your mailbox to Outlook
Outlook can also be configured using your Hostinger email account details. When adding an account manually:
Open Outlook and select the option to add an email account.
Enter your complete business email address.
Choose manual configuration if automatic detection does not work.
Select IMAP and enter the incoming server settings.
Enter the SMTP server settings for outgoing messages.
Provide your mailbox credentials and complete the setup.
After creating your mailbox, you can manage different settings directly from Hostinger's email dashboard.
Change your email password
If you want to update your mailbox password, open the mailbox management page, find the relevant account, and select the password change option from its settings menu. Choose a strong, unique password.
Create email aliases
An email alias provides another email address associated with an existing mailbox. For example, you may want customers to contact [email protected] while managing messages through an existing mailbox.
Set up email forwarding
Forwarding allows incoming messages sent to one address to be redirected to another email address. It can be useful when you want to manage messages from multiple business addresses in one inbox.
Create an automatic reply
Automatic replies can notify people that you have received their message. You can use this feature for holidays, temporary unavailability, or general response notifications.
Monitor mailbox storage
Keep an eye on mailbox storage from the email management page. If your mailbox is approaching its limit, review old messages and attachments or check whether your plan supports additional storage.
Useful email management features
Change mailbox passwords.
Create aliases and forwarders.
Set up automatic replies.
Configure catch-all settings where supported.
Monitor mailbox storage and status.
Delete or manage unused mailboxes.
10. Common Hostinger Business Email Problems and Solutions
Sometimes your newly created business email may not work immediately. The following checks can help you identify common setup problems.
1. Cannot receive incoming emails
Possible reason: Your MX records may be missing, incorrect, or not yet updated across DNS resolvers.
Solution: Check the domain connection status in Hostinger and compare your active DNS records with the exact values provided by Hostinger. Also confirm that your domain is using the DNS provider where you made the changes.
2. Cannot send emails
Possible reason: Your outgoing mail configuration may be incorrect, or your email authentication records may not be properly configured.
Solution: Verify the SMTP server, port, encryption, username, and password. Check the SPF and DKIM records shown in your email dashboard.
3. Email setup shows a DNS warning
Possible reason: Some required DNS records are missing or contain incorrect values.
Solution: Open the email domain settings and follow the displayed instructions to add or correct the required records. If your nameservers are external, make the changes at the active DNS provider.
4. Cannot log in to the mailbox
Possible reason: You may be using the wrong password or an incorrect email address.
Solution: Check that you are entering the complete email address and the correct mailbox password. If necessary, reset the password through Hostinger's mailbox management page.
5. Business email is not syncing with Gmail or Outlook
Possible reason: The incoming or outgoing server details may be incorrect.
Solution: Recheck the IMAP and SMTP settings, including the port and encryption type. Use the configuration details displayed in your Hostinger dashboard rather than relying on outdated settings.
11. Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can I create a business email on Hostinger without a website?
Yes. Hostinger's current email documentation states that you can claim an eligible free email offer for a domain you own even if there is no active website under that domain. The available email offer and its limits depend on your plan and account eligibility.
2. Do I need a domain to create a Hostinger business email?
Yes. A custom-domain business email requires a domain name. You can purchase one through Hostinger or connect a domain registered with another provider.
3. Can I create multiple business email addresses on Hostinger?
Yes, if your email plan supports additional mailboxes. The number of mailboxes and available storage depend on your subscription. Paid plans may allow you to purchase additional mailbox slots.
4. Can I use my Hostinger business email on my phone?
Yes. You can access your mailbox through a mobile browser or connect it to a supported email application, such as Gmail or Outlook, using the appropriate IMAP and SMTP settings.
5. Can I use a domain purchased from another registrar?
Yes. You can use a domain registered with another provider. You need to connect it to your Hostinger email service by configuring the required DNS records with the provider managing its active DNS zone.
6. What is the difference between an email alias and a mailbox?
A mailbox is an individual email account with its own login credentials and inbox. An alias is an additional email address associated with an existing mailbox and does not necessarily create a separate inbox.
7. How long does it take for Hostinger business email to start working?
It depends on whether your email service is activated and whether your DNS records are configured correctly. DNS updates may take time to become visible across different networks. Check the connection status in your Hostinger dashboard if the email service is not working.
8. Is Hostinger business email included with hosting?
Some eligible hosting plans offer an email trial or included email service, while other users may need to purchase a separate Business Email plan. Check your current plan details and the Emails section of hPanel to confirm what is available.
9. Can I migrate existing emails to Hostinger?
Hostinger provides an Email Import tool for supported migration workflows. You can use it to move existing email messages after setting up your new email service. Check the current migration instructions and compatibility requirements before starting.
Conclusion
Creating a business email on Hostinger is a straightforward process once you have a domain and an active email service. You can activate an eligible email offer or purchase a separate Business Email plan, create your mailbox through hPanel, and configure the required DNS records.
After completing the setup, you can access your inbox through Hostinger Webmail or connect it to supported applications such as Gmail and Outlook. Remember to use a strong password, monitor mailbox storage, and keep your email authentication records correctly configured.
Ready to Set Up Your Business Email?
Visit Hostinger's official website to explore its email hosting options and create a professional email address using your own domain.
Editorial note: Hostinger's dashboard labels, available email offers, mailbox limits, and configuration options may vary by subscription and account. Always follow the latest instructions and DNS values displayed in your Hostinger dashboard.
