---
title: MX Providers
description: What the mx_providers field identifies, what the type and grade values mean, and why the array is sometimes empty.
---

`mx_providers` identifies the third-party services a domain delegates its MX records to (e.g., Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Mimecast). Domains that manage their own MX infrastructure return an empty array, since they are not delegating MX to an external provider.

The field is returned by the [domain](/docs/api/domain-endpoint) and [email](/docs/api/email-endpoint) endpoints, and is available in Gates as `domain.mx_providers.*`.

## When `mx_providers` is empty

An empty array means the domain is **not** delegating email to a recognized third-party service. You can combine it with other response fields to understand why:

| Scenario | Fields |
|----------|--------|
| Public email service running its own infrastructure | `public_domain: true` |
| Self-hosted or unrecognized mail setup | `public_domain: false`, `mx: true` |
| No mail infrastructure at all | `mx: false` |

## Provider object

Each entry in `mx_providers` contains:

- `slug` (string): A unique, URL-safe identifier for the provider (e.g., `google`, `fastmail`, `mimecast`).
- `type` (string): The provider category. Possible values:
  - `mailbox`: Full mailbox provider (e.g., Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Fastmail)
  - `hosting`: Web hosting provider with bundled email (e.g., GoDaddy, OVH, Hostinger)
  - `email_api`: Transactional/programmatic email service (e.g., Mailgun, SendGrid, Postmark)
  - `security_gateway`: Email security or filtering gateway (e.g., Mimecast, Barracuda, Proofpoint)
  - `forwarding`: Email forwarding/relay service (e.g., Cloudflare Email Routing, ImprovMX, SimpleLogin)
- `grade` (string): Reflects how much commitment is typically required to use the provider. Higher grades suggest the domain owner has invested more effort in their email setup. Possible values:
  - `enterprise`: High-touch providers with sales processes and contracts (e.g., Mimecast, Proofpoint)
  - `professional`: Established paid providers (e.g., Google Workspace, Microsoft 365)
  - `standard`: Mid-range providers with moderate onboarding
  - `basic`: Low barrier to entry, minimal verification (e.g., free bundled hosting email)

A domain may have multiple providers when its MX records point to different services (e.g., a mailbox provider alongside a security gateway). Providers are ordered by the priority of the MX record they were detected from.