GoDaddy MX Record: Add, Edit and Remove Them (Steps)

Q: What do I put in the Name or Host field?

Use @ for the root domain (mail addressed to you@yourdomain.com). Use a subdomain label only if you want mail for that subdomain, for example mail for you@news.yourdomain.com would use news.

By Umair Ali Sadaqat · Updated November 6, 2026 · Editorial policy

How to add, edit and delete a GoDaddy MX record: the fields to fill in, how priority works, Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 values, and cleanup of old records.

Short answer: To add a GoDaddy MX record, open your domain's DNS page, click Add New Record, choose type MX, set the name to @, paste the mail server address your email provider gave you, enter the priority they specify (lower numbers are tried first), and save. Then delete any old MX records from your previous email provider. GoDaddy says changes can take up to 48 hours to take effect.

MX (mail exchange) records tell the internet which servers accept email for your domain. If you want the background first, see what an MX record is and the overview of DNS records.

Before you start

Get the values from your email provider, not from GoDaddy. GoDaddy only fills these in automatically if your domain uses GoDaddy nameservers and you are connected to a GoDaddy email service. For anything else, the provider's setup page has the exact server names.
Confirm where your DNS lives. The records only take effect on the DNS host your domain actually points to. If your nameservers were moved to another service, edit records there instead.
Note your current MX records (copy or screenshot them) so you can roll back if something goes wrong.

How to add an MX record in GoDaddy

GoDaddy's help center describes a couple of slightly different paths depending on the interface version, so menu labels may differ a little from what is below (checked November 2026).

Sign in to your GoDaddy account and open the domain you want to change.
Open the DNS page for that domain (labeled DNS or Manage DNS).
Click Add New Record (or Add) and set Type to MX.
Name / Host: enter @ for the root domain. Use a subdomain label only if you are routing mail for that subdomain.
Value / Mail server: paste the server address from your provider exactly.
Priority: enter the number your provider specifies. Lower numbers are read before higher ones.
TTL: the default of 1 hour is fine.
Save, then repeat for every record your provider lists.
Send a test email to the address from an outside account.

What priority actually does

A domain can have several MX records, each with its own priority number. Sending servers try the lowest number first, and only fall back to the next one if delivery to the first fails (this is how Google's DNS basics page describes it). Two practical rules:

Use exactly the numbers your provider lists. Do not renumber them to look tidy.
Do not mix providers. Mixing records from two services means some mail lands in one mailbox system and some in the other.

MX values for common providers

Providers change their setup instructions, so use this table as a guide and always confirm on the provider's page.

Provider	What to enter	Priority	Notes
Google Workspace	`smtp.google.com`	1	Google's current help page lists a single record. Name is blank or @ (checked November 2026).
Microsoft 365	A tenant-specific address ending in `.mail.protection.outlook.com`	Usually 0 or 10	Copy the exact value from your Microsoft 365 admin center. It differs per domain (checked November 2026).
GoDaddy email	Added automatically	n/a	Applies when your domain uses GoDaddy nameservers and you connect a GoDaddy email service.
Anything else (Zoho, Proton, Fastmail, etc.)	Copy from the provider's setup page	As listed	Values and counts vary, so do not guess.

Google Workspace on GoDaddy

Google's help page says to create an MX record with the value smtp.google.com, priority 1, and the registrar's default TTL. It also notes that some registrars want a trailing period (smtp.google.com.) and some want priority and destination on one line (1 smtp.google.com). If GoDaddy shows separate Priority and Value fields, enter them separately.

Older tutorials list five Google servers (the ASPMX set). If you already have those and mail works, you do not have to panic, but for new setups follow Google's current page.

Microsoft 365 on GoDaddy

Microsoft's value is unique to your tenant. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, open the DNS records for your domain and copy the MX value shown there. Microsoft's guidance also says to delete previous MX records that route mail elsewhere.

How to edit an MX record

Open the domain's DNS page.
Find the MX row and use its edit control (GoDaddy has a dedicated help article for editing MX records).
Change the value, priority or TTL, and save.

Editing is better than adding a duplicate when you are just correcting a typo or switching to a new server address.

How to remove old MX records

Add the new records first and save them.
Compare the list: anything that points to the old provider should go.
Use the delete control on each old MX row and confirm.
Send test emails both ways (receive from an outside account, send to an outside account).

Keep a copy of the old values for a day or two. If mail stops arriving, you can restore them quickly.

Copyable checklist

[ ] Email provider's MX values copied from their own setup page
[ ] Existing MX records noted before changes
[ ] New MX records added with the exact priorities listed
[ ] Name set to @ (unless using a subdomain)
[ ] Old provider's MX records deleted
[ ] Test email received from an outside account
[ ] Test email sent to an outside account
[ ] Waited up to 48 hours before assuming something is broken

Troubleshooting

Mail still goes to the old provider. Old MX records are still present, or cached answers have not expired. Remove the old ones and wait out the TTL.
Bounces after saving. Check for a typo in the server name, a missing or extra trailing period, or a priority entered in the wrong field.
Records do not seem to apply. Your nameservers may point elsewhere, so GoDaddy's DNS page is not the live one.
Mail works but lands in spam. MX only handles receiving. Sending reputation relies on other records such as SPF, DKIM and DMARC, and optionally BIMI.

If you are also choosing where to host the website

MX records are separate from your website, so you can keep email on Google or Microsoft while the site lives anywhere. If you are weighing whether to stay on GoDaddy for the site, our GoDaddy alternatives page covers the options. We.Inc's free plan lets you publish up to three sites from ready-made templates; the AI builder that drafts a site from a prompt starts on the Starter plan at $20 a month. You can sign up here. Changing where the site is hosted does not require changing your MX records, as long as your DNS stays where it is.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I add an MX record in GoDaddy?

Open your domain's DNS page from your GoDaddy account (the DNS or Manage DNS option for the domain), then add a new record and choose type MX. GoDaddy's own help articles describe slightly different menu labels depending on the interface version, so follow whatever your dashboard shows for DNS management.

What priority should I use for an MX record?

Lower numbers are tried first. If you have one mail server, use the priority your provider tells you to use. Google's current Workspace setup uses a single record with priority 1, and Microsoft says the preference is usually 0 or 10. If you add backup servers, give them higher numbers than your primary.

Do I need to delete my old MX records?

Usually yes. GoDaddy warns that new MX records may interfere with existing ones, and a domain should use one email service at a time. Leftover records from a previous provider can send some of your mail to the wrong place. Delete the old ones once the new records are saved, unless your new provider's instructions say to keep specific records.

How long does an MX record change take on GoDaddy?

GoDaddy says DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to take effect. The record's TTL, which defaults to one hour on GoDaddy, controls how long resolvers may cache the old answer. Send a test email from an outside address to confirm.

Does GoDaddy set MX records automatically?

If your domain uses GoDaddy nameservers and you connect a GoDaddy email service, GoDaddy adds the MX records for you. If you use a different provider, such as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, you enter the records yourself using the values from that provider.

What do I put in the Name or Host field?

Use @ for the root domain (mail addressed to [email protected]). Use a subdomain label only if you want mail for that subdomain, for example mail for [email protected] would use news.

Alternatives mentioned in this article

GoDaddy alternatives

Related guides and tools

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