How to create zoho mail account

Zoho Corporation began in 1996 as AdventNet, Inc. Its initial products focused on network management tools. Over time, it expanded into a full suite of cloud / SaaS business tools — CRM, collaboration, productivity, finance, etc. In 2009, the company rebranded from AdventNet to “Zoho Corporation” to reflect its emphasis on the Zoho suite of products. Zoho is privately held, often described as bootstrapped (i.e. without external venture capital) and profitable.The founders are Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas. Its headquarters are in Chennai, India, with significant presence in the U.S. (Austin, Texas) and globally. As of recent years, Zoho claims over 100 million users of its various products globally. It employs thousands of people (estimates vary; many sources mention 12,000+ or 15,000+).

Zoho emphasizes product quality, privacy, and self-reliance. They often highlight that they don’t monetize user data via ads (unlike many large tech firms)Because they are private, they have more flexibility in decisions (e.g. slow/steady growth, focusing on customer value over short-term profits). Zoho also invests in distributed development — having R&D and operations in rural India as well as urban centers. (They’ve spoken about engaging with rural talent hubs.) (Mentioned in media / interviews) They build a large “ecosystem” of integrated apps — CRM, Books (accounting), Projects, Desk (support), Creator, Analytics, HR, etc. The idea is “one suite covering many business needs. Zoho often emphasizes data ownership, privacy, and compliance, and positions itself as a more “ethical / privacy-friendly” alternative to big tech.

Zoho Mail

Zoho Mail is Zoho’s email & collaboration service. It is intended for both individuals and organizations, especially businesses wanting custom domain email. Zoho Mail is an email hosting / service (SaaS) that allows both free/individual accounts (in some geographies/plans) and business / organizational email with custom domains. It is designed to integrate with Zoho’s broader productivity suite (calendar, tasks, contacts, notes) and with other Zoho applications (CRM, etc.). The “business / custom domain” use case is one of its major appeals: organizations that want their own domain (you@yourcompany.com) but don’t want to manage their own mail server or infrastructure. It supports migration from other systems (IMAP, POP, Exchange, etc.), so organizations can move their existing email into Zoho.

Create a personal Zoho Mail account — step-by-step

1. Open Zoho Mail sign up: https://mail.zoho.com/signup (or https://www.zoho.com/mail/signup.html).
2. Choose Personal Email (or “Sign up for free”)
3. After that enter: first and last name then desired username, strong password, country, contact email (recovery) and mobile number for OTP verification.
4. After that, click on Submit Button.
5. Enter the OTP sent to your phone to verify. After verification, your account is created — sign in at mail.zoho.com.
6. Immediately: set up two-factor authentication (OneAuth or OTP authenticator) via accounts.zoho.com → Multi-Factor Authentication.
7. Optional: install the Zoho Mail mobile app (iOS/Android) and/or set up IMAP/POP/SMTP in your desktop client (server details below).

Create a business or custom-domain Zoho Mail organization

This is the flow if you want you@yourdomain.com.

A. Create a Zoho account & access Admin Console

1. Sign up for Zoho (as above) or sign in if you already have an account. Then open the Zoho Mail Admin Console (mailadmin.zoho.com) and create your organization if prompted.

B. Add your domain

1. In Admin Console → Domains → Add → enter your domain (example: example.com).

C. Verify domain ownership (choose one)

Zoho offers multiple verification methods; pick whichever your DNS host supports:

• CNAME token (common): add the CNAME record Zoho gives (a generated token like zbXXXXXXXX → zmverify.zoho.com or region equivalent).
• TXT (zoho-verification): add a TXT string Zoho provides (e.g. zb...=zmverify.*) to your DNS.
• Upload HTML file to your website (alternative).
• One-click for supported registrars (e.g., GoDaddy). Always copy the exact token/value shown in Admin Console — the token is unique per domain.

D. Configure email delivery (MX records) — must do to receive mail

After verification, add MX records at your domain DNS manager. Zoho’s generic MX records (US data center example) are:

Priority 10   mx.zoho.com
Priority 20   mx2.zoho.com
Priority 50   mx3.zoho.com

• Make sure these are the only MX records for your domain (remove old/other MX records). If other MX entries remain, mail delivery will be inconsistent. Use the values shown in your Admin Console if Zoho indicates a region-specific variant (mx.zoho.eu / mx.zoho.in etc.).

E. Add SPF & DKIM (strongly recommended for deliverability)

• SPF (TXT): Zoho will show the recommended TXT value in Admin Console. Typical examples (varies by data center) look like: v=spf1 include:zoho.com -all or v=spf1 include:zohomail.com -all. Use the exact string Zoho gives to avoid errors.
• DKIM: In Admin Console → Email Authentication / DKIM: generate a selector and add the TXT (or CNAME depending on method) record Zoho provides (e.g., zoho._domainkey.example.com → v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=…). After adding, click Verify/Enable.

F. Verify propagation & finish

• After DNS changes propagate (can be minutes to 48 hours), use Zoho’s MX Lookup / Toolkit or external tools (e.g., MXToolbox) to confirm MX/SPF/DKIM are visible. Then in Admin Console click Verify or Verify All Records.

G. Add users / mailboxes

• Once the domain is verified and MX is set, create users in Admin Console → Users, assign mailboxes (you@yourdomain.com), and set passwords. Optionally add aliases/groups.

Exact DNS examples

Important: some values depend on the Zoho data center your organization is assigned to — always use the exact strings shown in your Admin Console. The examples below are the common/default values.

MX (example generic):

• Host / Name: @ or leave blank
• Type: MX
• Priority: 10 → mx.zoho.com
• Priority: 20 → mx2.zoho.com
• Priority: 50 → mx3.zoho.com (Underscores/dots depending on registrar: mx.zoho.com. with trailing dot is optional.)

SPF (TXT) (example):

• Host / Name: @
• Type: TXT
• Value: v=spf1 include:zoho.com -all (or the exact value from Admin Console).

DKIM (example):

• Host / Name: zoho._domainkey (or selector._domainkey)
• Type: TXT
• Value: v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=LONG_BASE64_PUBLIC_KEY (Zoho provides the value to paste).

Domain verification (CNAME) (example):

• Host: zbXXXXXXXX
• Type: CNAME
• Value: zmverify.zoho.com (token values are unique — copy from Admin Console).

Mail client settings (IMAP/POP/SMTP)

Use these when configuring Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird, mobile apps:

IMAP (recommended)

• Incoming server (personal): imap.zoho.com Port: 993 (SSL required)
• Incoming server (organization/custom domain): imappro.zoho.com Port: 993 (SSL)
• Outgoing SMTP (personal/org): smtp.zoho.com or for pro/custom domain use smtppro.zoho.com
• SMTP port: 465 (SSL) or 587 (TLS) — authentication required. POP (if you prefer POP)
• Incoming: pop.zoho.com Port 995 (SSL) (Username = full email address; password = Zoho password or app-specific password if 2FA enforced).

Common troubleshooting & tips

• No mail after MX change? — check for leftover old MX records. Only Zoho MX entries should remain. Also allow DNS propagation (typically minutes to a few hours; sometimes up to 48 hours).
• SPF/DKIM failures — confirm TXT/DKIM entries exactly match Admin Console; DNS TTL and registrar quirks sometimes strip quotation marks or wrap long TXT strings.
• Region/data-center differences — Zoho may assign your org to a specific DC (US / EU / IN / etc.). That can change recommended include strings (SPF) or MX hostnames for certain setups — use the values shown in Admin Console.
• Use Zoho’s Toolkit / MX lookup to verify records quickly.