Google says Gmail will stop supporting Send as for third-party email addresses in January 2027. Its notice excludes Google Workspace aliases and other Gmail addresses you own. If your domain address uses an outside email service, review how you compose and reply before choosing a replacement. Google's Send as notice, checked October 6, 2026.
An SMTP subscription does not restore the removed Gmail compose feature. The decision is where you want to read, compose and store mail after the change.
Separate Gmail storage from the sending interface
Google distinguishes third-party Send as from forwarding into Gmail and from accessing a Gmail mailbox in an external client. Its expanded notice also distinguishes adding a separate third-party account in the mobile app from using that account as a Send as identity on your primary Gmail account. Check the specific feature you use; the mobile app is not a blanket exemption for Send as. Google's account-support explanation.
Write down the four services in your current setup:
| Responsibility | What to identify |
|---|---|
| Receiving | The MX provider that first accepts mail for your domain |
| Storage | The inbox holding received messages and folders |
| Sending | The provider authorizing your domain's outbound messages |
| Composition | The web interface or app where you select From and press Send |
One provider can cover all four. A forwarding setup often separates them, so changing composition need not automatically mean moving every receiving record.
Option 1: evaluate an external mail client
An external client can potentially combine your existing mailbox with a domain identity using another SMTP service. You need the client's supported incoming account connection and an outgoing identity that selects the right From address and SMTP account.
Thunderbird documents additional identities and outgoing-server selection. Apple documents outgoing-server configuration in Mail. Client support varies. Before moving important mail, check receiving, sending, replies and sent-mail handling on each device you use. An account-wide SMTP change can affect your original identity too.
This option suits someone willing to compose in an external client. It does not retain the old third-party Send as workflow inside Gmail's web interface.
Option 2: choose a hosted mailbox and its supported interface
If you want one provider responsible for receiving, storage and sending, compare hosted mailbox services. Require explicit support for your domain, the clients you use, the aliases you need, message export and recovery. If IMAP is essential, verify it instead of assuming that “email hosting” includes it.
Google Workspace is one option to evaluate if a Google-hosted domain identity and interface are important to you. Google says its Workspace Send as capability is outside this third-party removal. Check the current account and alias requirements before deciding; a forwarding address is not automatically a Workspace account. Google's notice.
For any mailbox move, inventory all receiving addresses before changing MX. Plan how old messages and sent mail will be retained or migrated. Leave the old service available while DNS caches expire and the new routes are tested.
Where Postscale and DNScale fit
Postscale provides API/SMTP sending and forwarding, not a hosted IMAP mailbox or replacement webmail. The DNScale integration prepares email DNS for review and approval; it does not configure a mail client or move stored messages.
Personal setup requires Starter or higher and forwards to the verified Postscale account inbox outside the domain being configured. Sending requires account approval. DNS hosting and email have separate billing; review pricing and inbound limit behavior.
Make the decision with a small test
Before choosing a service, list the addresses and devices you rely on, where sent copies must appear, and whether composing in a browser is essential. Test a controlled address through a complete conversation. Include your ordinary Gmail identity in the test so a new configuration does not silently change its sender.
Compare the full cost of DNS, email sending/forwarding and the mailbox you keep. Choose a mailbox if you need mailbox hosting; choose forwarding plus SMTP only when the client and storage arrangement meets your needs.
Compare forwarding, SMTP and a hosted mailbox →
For the DNS portion of a matching Postscale workflow, see automatic setup with DNScale.