DNSExit

What DNSExit's SMTP relay is

DNSExit is a DNS, domain, hosting and email provider that says it has served customers since 1998; the footer describes it as a subsidiary of NetDorm, Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio, and an ICANN accredited registrar. Its Outgoing Mail Relay is an SMTP relay service: you point a mail client, mail server, application or office device at relay.dnsexit.com, authenticate, and DNSExit carries the mail onward. The relay page pitches it for sending outbound email reliably "when your app, mail server, ISP, or hosting provider limits SMTP," and promises to help you bypass port 25 blocks, improve inbox delivery and send from authenticated domains, starting free.

The relay page's own counters read 25+ years of service and 300+ relay servers, and the company home page says DNSExit manages 1.1M+ domains and runs 500 servers across 10 data centers in 4 countries. The relay sits in a wider catalog built for small businesses, IT teams, MSPs and self-hosters.

What the relay does

Setup is a matter of setting the outgoing SMTP server to relay.dnsexit.com with your relay credentials, and the page says it works with Outlook, Thunderbird, Exchange, Postfix, Sendmail and any SMTP-capable device. Sending is authenticated, with STARTTLS encryption so that credentials and message traffic are protected in transit. For domain authentication, DNSExit supports SPF and DKIM: you authorize DNSExit in your SPF record and enable DKIM signing for the domains that send through your relay account.

Every email sent through the relay is logged. The log can be searched by sender, recipient, date, sending IP or domain, and a Show Delivery Status button confirms delivery of a given message. A support tool on the site is dedicated to fixing mail relay delivery failures.

The service highlights fill in the operating details:

• SMTP ports 25, 26, 80, 587, 940, 2525 and 8001
• unlimited sender email addresses
• unlimited sub-users, each with its own login and sending limit, which the page recommends for MSPs, agencies and resellers managing clients
• a maximum of 60 MB per message and up to 500 recipients per message
• one account for unlimited devices or locations
• whitelisted IP sending without authentication, and the option to block specific IPs or addresses
• an overage option so a plan is not interrupted when volume runs over, and upgrades that take effect immediately
• a backup relay at relaybackup.dnsexit.com and 7 layers of failover routing
• 1,000+ IPs across 300+ servers, with what the page calls a 100% uptime guarantee

Where it fits

The page names six situations. As a smart host for Microsoft Exchange, MDaemon, Postfix, Sendmail and other in-house mail servers. For web applications sending transactional email from websites, SaaS apps, CRMs, billing systems and automated notifications. For office devices such as fax machines, copiers, printers, scanners and VoIP phone systems that send email alerts. As the outgoing server in Outlook, Thunderbird, Windows Mail or any desktop email client. To send when an ISP blocks outgoing port 25, using one of the alternative ports. And to improve inbox delivery when local IP reputation, reverse DNS or authentication problems are hurting mail sent directly.

The relay has one firm boundary: "Mail Relay is not for bulk marketing email. It is intended for transactional, business, and application mail only." An anti-spam policy sits behind that line.

Pricing

Prices are based on daily email volume, plans are billed annually, and relay counters reset nightly at midnight US Eastern. The free plan covers 25 relays a day with no credit card required, and paid plans are shown as monthly prices:

• 150 relays/day: $1.50 a month
• 300: $2.49
• 450: $3.69
• 600: $4.79
• 900: $7.95
• 1200: $10.95
• 1500: $14.99
• 2000: $19.99
• 3000: $28.99
• 4000: $38.99
• 5000: $48.99
• 6000: $58.99
• 8000: $77.99
• 10000: $94.00
• 12000: $110.00

One relay is one recipient: a single message to 50 recipients counts as 50 relays, and so do 50 separate messages to one recipient each. Higher volumes are quoted on request. IP-based relay, which needs no authentication, costs an extra $1.25 a month per IP, and every paid plan carries a 30-day money-back guarantee. Account creation is instant, and the page says you upgrade only when your volume grows beyond the free limit; the home page was also advertising 30% off Mail Relay.

Setup guides and support

Step-by-step guides cover email clients (Mozilla Thunderbird, which DNSExit recommends, plus Outlook Express, Windows Live Mail, Windows 10 Mail and Eudora) and mail servers (MS Exchange Server 2003 as a smart host, Exchange 2007 and 2013, MDaemon, Postfix and Sendmail). A Mail Relay FAQ answers questions on ports, authentication, deliverability and troubleshooting, and the knowledge base includes a guide explaining what SMTP relay is and a comparison of email forwarding with full business email hosting.

The home page promises live support from "Real humans, 24/7," and the footer lists a phone number, (513) 399 0242, a support center and a Mail Relay DPA alongside the privacy policy and terms of service.

The rest of DNSExit's email services

The relay is one of several email tools on the same account. Business Email hosts domain mailboxes with webmail, POP, IMAP and SMTP relay and unlimited email addresses. Backup MX queues inbound mail while your own server is down and delivers it once the server is back, Mail Redirect receives mail through an alternate port when an ISP blocks inbound port 25, and Mail Forwarding sends domain email to existing inboxes. Around them sit free dynamic DNS, DNS failover, domain registration, free SSL certificates and web, WordPress and VPS hosting. For a company that runs its own mail server, that means the outbound relay and the inbound safety nets can come from one provider.

Who it suits

DNSExit's relay suits IT teams and MSPs that already run Exchange, MDaemon, Postfix or Sendmail and want a smart host without building relay infrastructure, and small businesses and self-hosters whose ISP blocks port 25. Developers can send transactional mail from web apps, CRMs and billing systems over plain SMTP, and offices can route scanner, printer and phone-system alerts through it. MSPs get unlimited sub-users with their own limits. The free plan covers light use and testing, and the paid tiers start low and scale by daily volume.

It is not a campaign tool: the relay is built for transactional, business and application mail, and the anti-spam terms rule out bulk marketing, so newsletters and promotions belong on a separate platform.