How to Add an SPF Record in Porkbun

Porkbun has earned a loyal following as a domain registrar with competitive pricing, a playful brand, and a surprisingly capable DNS management interface. If you've registered your domain through Porkbun and use their DNS, adding an SPF record is a quick process. Porkbun's interface is clean and developer-friendly, but there's one small detail to know: the Host field works differently than some other registrars.

This guide covers everything you need to add, edit, and verify SPF records through Porkbun's DNS management.

Why SPF Matters for Porkbun Domains

Whether you're running a SaaS product, an e-commerce store, or a personal blog, if your domain sends email, it needs an SPF record. SPF tells receiving mail servers which services are authorized to send email from your domain, as defined in RFC 7208. Without it, your messages are more likely to end up in spam -- or get rejected entirely.

Many Porkbun customers use their domains with third-party email services like Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or transactional senders like SendGrid. An SPF record ensures these services can send email from your domain and have it trusted by receiving servers.

Step-by-Step: Adding an SPF Record in Porkbun

A Note on the Host Field

Porkbun's Host field behaves differently from many other registrars. Porkbun automatically appends your domain name to whatever you enter in the Host field. This means:

• Blank = root domain (example.com) -- this is what you want for SPF
• @ = may also work for root domain, but blank is the standard approach in Porkbun
• mail = mail.example.com (a subdomain -- not what you want for your main SPF record)

Leave the Host field blank for your root domain SPF record.

SPF Record Examples for Porkbun

Here are ready-to-use SPF records for common setups. Paste these into the Answer field.

Google Workspace Only

Use the _spf.google.com include for Google Workspace:

v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com -all

Microsoft 365 Only

Use the spf.protection.outlook.com include for Microsoft 365:

v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com -all

Google Workspace + SendGrid

v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:sendgrid.net -all

Microsoft 365 + Mailchimp

v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:servers.mcsv.net -all

Google Workspace + SendGrid + Mailchimp

v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:sendgrid.net include:servers.mcsv.net -all

Common Porkbun SPF Mistakes

Entering the Domain Name in the Host Field

Because Porkbun appends your domain automatically, entering example.com in the Host field would create the record at example.com.example.com -- which is incorrect. For root domain records, leave the Host field blank.

Creating a Second SPF Record

If you already have an SPF record and add another one instead of editing the first, you'll have two TXT records starting with v=spf1. This causes a permerror that breaks SPF for all your email. Always check for existing SPF records before adding a new one.

Not Quoting the SPF Value

Porkbun generally handles this correctly, but some users try to wrap their SPF value in quotes. Don't add quotes around the value in the Answer field -- Porkbun handles the formatting for you. Just paste the raw SPF record.

Forgetting to Remove Old Includes

When you switch email providers, update your SPF record to reflect the change. Leaving old includes (like a previous transactional email service) wastes DNS lookups and can cause confusion during troubleshooting.

Editing an Existing SPF Record in Porkbun

Verifying Your SPF Record

After adding or editing your SPF record in Porkbun, make sure it's live and correct.

• SPF Record Check -- Go to spfrecordcheck.com and enter your domain. It validates syntax, counts DNS lookups, and flags any issues.
• Send a test email -- Send a message from each email service in your SPF record and check the headers on the receiving side for spf=pass.
• Command line -- Run dig TXT yourdomain.com +short or nslookup -type=TXT yourdomain.com to see the raw TXT records published for your domain.

Complete Your Email Authentication

SPF is just the starting point. For full email authentication, you need all three protocols working together:

• DKIM adds a cryptographic signature to outgoing emails, proving they haven't been tampered with. Use DKIM Creator to generate your DKIM keys and add the records in Porkbun's DNS panel.
• DMARC ties SPF and DKIM together and tells receiving servers what to do when authentication fails. Use DMARC Creator to build your DMARC policy.

Both DKIM and DMARC records are added as TXT records in Porkbun, using the same process as SPF.