Alibaba Mail Free Edition supports basic user and administrative features. It is ideal for startups on a limited budget to quickly establish a stable and reliable email service for daily business communication.
Prerequisites
Before applying, ensure you meet the following requirements:
Domain name ownership: You must own a domain name and have permission to manage its DNS records.
You must complete real-name registration for your Alibaba Cloud account.
Account limits: A single
Alibaba Cloud accountcan apply for only oneAlibaba Mail Free Editioninstance. A user who has completedreal-name registrationcan apply for Alibaba Mail Free Edition up to two times.
Quotas and limitations
Alibaba Mail Free Edition is designed for basic use cases. The following table lists the quotas and feature limitations.
Category | Feature | Description |
Capacity | Users | 50 accounts |
Mailbox capacity | 5 GB | |
Large attachment transfer station | 10 GB | |
Corporate web drive capacity | 2 GB | |
Personal web drive | 2 GB | |
Domestic infrastructure | Option for domestic infrastructure | N/A |
Domestic base environment | N/A | |
Support | Online support | 5×8 hours |
Hotline | N/A | |
Email service | Internal email sending limit | Unlimited |
External email sending limit | 2,000 emails/day/organization | |
Recipient limit | 2,000 recipients/day/organization | |
Overseas email delivery channel | Direct connection from servers in China | |
Administrator features | Basic account management | Supported |
Independent address books and permissions for subsidiaries | Not supported | |
Public contacts | Not supported | |
Mailing group | Only static mailing groups are supported. | |
Account alias | Not supported | |
Batch settings | Not supported | |
Account recycle bin | Not supported | |
Security center | Not supported | |
Two-factor authentication for proprietary clients | Supported | |
Access restrictions for proprietary clients | Supported | |
Third-party client logon management | Supported | |
Secure logon IP | Supported | |
Forced periodic password changes | Supported | |
Weak password blacklist | Not supported | |
Blacklist/whitelist | Supported | |
Email monitoring, forwarding, approval, and filtering | Not supported | |
Anti-spam settings | Not supported | |
IP logon restriction/IP blacklist | Not supported | |
External account reminder | Not supported | |
Risky link alert | Not supported | |
Behavior query | Supported | |
Data statistics | Not supported | |
Security statistics | Not supported | |
Hierarchical administrator | Supported | |
Edit company information | Supported | |
Domain name management | Single domain name Domain aliases are not supported. | |
UI customization | Not supported | |
Email migration | Supported | |
Sending settings | Supported | |
Email recall | Not supported | |
Delegated mailbox | Not supported | |
Mailbox recycle bin | Not supported | |
Meeting room management | Supported | |
Email archiving | Not supported | |
Email quarantine | Not supported | |
API platform | Not supported | |
AD synchronization/authentication | Not supported | |
DingTalk integration | Supported | |
Identity source management | Not supported | |
User features | Supported | |
Folders | Supported (800) | |
Contacts | Supported (12,000 contacts; 200 groups) | |
Calendar | Supported | |
Web Drive | Supported | |
Groups | Supported | |
Set default sender email address | Supported | |
Set sender name | Supported | |
Set profile picture | Supported | |
Authenticator | Supported | |
Security password for third-party clients | Supported | |
Log query | Supported | |
Logon device management | Supported | |
POP and IMAP settings | Supported | |
Read receipt | Supported | |
Set reply-to address | Supported | |
Custom display settings | Supported | |
Inbox rule | Supported | |
Vacation reply settings | Supported | |
Blacklist/whitelist | Supported | |
Automatic forwarding | Not supported | |
Receive emails from other mailboxes | Supported | |
Signature | Supported | |
New email notification settings | Supported | |
Multi-language settings | Supported | |
Time zone settings | Supported | |
Skin settings | Supported | |
MCP service | Not supported | |
AI-powered writing/replying | Not supported | |
AI-powered polishing | Not supported | |
AI-powered translation | Not supported |
Billing
Alibaba Mail Free Edition is currently free of charge. Any changes to this policy will be announced on the official Alibaba Cloud website in advance. If the Alibaba Cloud account used to apply for the service has completed real-name registration, the service automatically renews for one year upon expiration. This policy is intended to be long-term.
Mailbox setup
Step 1: Apply for Alibaba Mail Free Edition
Go to the Alibaba Mail Free Edition purchase page.
Specify the email domain name and subscription period.
Email Domain: Select Existing Domain and enter your domain name, such as
example.com.Existing Domain: If you already own a domain name that is not bound to another email service, you can enter it here. Both root domains and subdomains are supported.
I do not have a domain name. Register one.: A custom domain name is required to use email addresses like
user@example.com. We recommend that you register a domain name in advance.
Subscription Period: Select 1 year.
Read and agree to the service agreement, then complete the free
purchase.
Step 2: Add DNS records
Point your domain name to the Alibaba Mail server to ensure you can send and receive emails. DNS record changes typically take about 10 minutes to propagate.
You must complete the domain name resolution and ensure it takes effect within 7 days of a successful application. If you fail to do so, the system will automatically revoke this email service, and you will need to reapply.
Go to the Alibaba Mail console and find your Alibaba Mail Free Edition instance on the All Mailboxes tab.
Find the instance with the product name Alibaba Mail Free Edition and click Manage to open the mailbox management page.
Click Set Resolution.
If your domain name was purchased from Alibaba Cloud, you can click One-Click Addition of Mailbox Resolution.
If you purchased your domain name from another registrar, configure the DNS records with your authoritative DNS provider. For an example that uses Alibaba Cloud DNS, see Add email DNS records.
Step 3: Create email accounts
Log on to the Alibaba Mail management console to create email accounts for your team members, such as user@example.com.
Go to Alibaba Mail and log on with your
postmaster account(in the format of postmaster@<your-domain-name>) and password. If you have not set a password for the postmaster account, see Reset the password for a postmaster account.From the domain administrator console, you can create email accounts. For more information, see Manage organizations and users.
Upgrade
If Alibaba Mail Free Edition no longer meets your needs, you can upgrade to the Standard or Group edition at any time. Upgrading provides larger capacity, more accounts, and advanced features such as email archiving and email monitoring. The upgrade process seamlessly migrates your data.
You can upgrade Alibaba Mail Free Edition directly to the Alibaba Mail Standard Edition - Unlimited Capacity. To get the Premium Edition, you must first upgrade to the Standard Edition.
To upgrade, log on to the Alibaba Cloud console and click Upgrade next to your Alibaba Mail Free Edition instance.
Enter the Number of Accounts and Subscription Period, select the service agreement, and then click Pay to complete the mailbox upgrade.
Cancel Alibaba Mail Free Edition
If you no longer need Alibaba Mail Free Edition, you can cancel the service in the console. Important: Canceling the service permanently deletes all data, which cannot be recovered.
Go to the Alibaba Mail console, find the instance you want to cancel, and click Cancel.
On the Cancel Mailbox page, click Cancel, and then click OK in the confirmation dialog box.
FAQ
Does Alibaba Mail Free Edition expire?
Alibaba Mail Free Edition expires after the initial subscription period that you selected. However, the following rules apply:
If your Alibaba Cloud account has completed real-name registration, the auto-renewal feature is enabled for your Alibaba Mail Free Edition instance. The service automatically renews for one year upon expiration.
If your Alibaba Cloud account has not completed real-name registration, your Alibaba Mail Free Edition service is terminated 30 days after expiration. All data is then permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.
How do I start using Alibaba Mail Free Edition?
After purchasing Alibaba Mail Free Edition, follow the Getting Started guide to set the postmaster account password, provision accounts, and add DNS records.
Does Alibaba Mail Free Edition offer online support?
Yes. The Alibaba Mail console includes an online support portal for Alibaba Mail Free Edition that connects you with certified service providers. Your existing support channels also remain available.