Migrate Email Hosting to Proton

This blog post provides some guidance for migrating email hosting on personal domains to Proton, such as to migrate from Microsoft or google. In 2025, I am trying to reduce my reliance on big tech, and encouraging others to do the same.

• https://wslguy.net/2025/03/14/planning-to-move-away-from-big-teach-in-2025/

Planning

Incorrect configuration could result in lost email. Understand the entire process before proceeding. You must be able to update DNS entries at the registrar for personal email domains.

I will use Proton mail for focused personal communications. While it would be possible to route my existing gmail to Proton, I intend to keep these separate. I will continue to use gmail for spam and things that I don’t really care about and services where it’s easier to use google authentication. Where necessary for work, I will use Outlook webmail. I will continue to need to use google, Microsoft, and even Apple for authentication. Otherwise, I will do my best to use Proton.

I manage email at multiple personal domains that recently moved from a legacy provider to Microsoft. Each domain has at least a catchall email address to receive all email for the domain that does not route to a different address. I basically need to redirect this email from Microsoft to Proton.

The Individual Proton Unlimited plan provides 3 email domains and 15 email addresses (the UI seems to show 30). Proton Business plans appear to offer the ability to specify a number of domains. I may have to move to a business plan.

Determine what email you want to host where, what domains and accounts, and how you will need to configure the system. This may be an opportunity to consolidate and migrate domain management to a new registrar.

Preparation

Open a browser tab to configure DNS entries at your domain registrar.

If you have not already, configure your Proton account.

• https://account.proton.me/apps

• https://proton.me/support/set-up-proton-mail-linux

Under All Settings, familiarize yourself with the Identity and addresses and Domain names.

For Each Domain

For each domain, we need to:

1. Set an MX TXT in the DNS for the domain to a value for Proton to verify.
2. Configure MX records at the DNS registrar.
3. Create a Proton email account on the domain.
4. Set the email account as a catchall address for the domain.

1. Set an MX TXT

In Proton mail:

1. Click Domain names

2. Click Add domain

3. Enter your domain name.

4. Click Next. Proton may prompt for your Proton password.

5. Follow the instructions that Proton provides to create the TXT record for the domain at your registrar. It may take some time for this DNS entry to propagate throughout the Internet.

6. In Proton mail, either click Next to verify the domain or return to Domain names later to complete this step.

2. Configure MX records at the DNS registrar

Do not continue until Proton has verified the domain. After Proton has verified the domain, create the DNS entries for the domain at your registrar.

In Proton mail:

1. Click Domain names.

2. Click the MX tab, then the SPF tab, then the DKIM tab, and then the DMARC tab. You may want to copy the values into a text file.

3. For the domain at your registrar, copy existing MX record values so that you can restore them if needed, and then delete them and any TEXT with v=spf1.

4. Create the required DNS records.

Here are the values I used:

MX @ mail.protonmail.ch 10
MX @ mailsec.protonmail.ch 20

TXT @ v=spf1 include:_spf.protonmail.ch ~all

CNAME protonmail._domainkey {REPLACE}
CNAME protonmail2._domainkey {REPLACE}
CNAME protonmail3._domainkey {REPLACE}

TXT _dmarc v=DMARC1; p=quarantine

3. Create a Proton email account on the domain

In Proton mail:

1. Click Identity and addresses.

2. Click Add address.

3. Enter an address, such as default, and select the domain.

4. Enter a Display name.

5. Click Save address. Proton mail may prompt you for your Proton password.

4. Set the email account as a catchall address for the domain

1. Click Domain names.

2. For the domain, click the action drop-down arrow.

3. Click Set catch-all.

4. Select the checkbox.

5. Click Close.