We Switched to Consumption-Based Pricing. Here's Why.
No more tiers, no more limits. RacterMX now charges based on what you actually use — domains, aliases, emails, and DNS queries. Here's what changed and why it's better for you.
Tiers Never Made Sense for Email Forwarding
Most email services sell you a plan: pick a tier, get a fixed number of domains and aliases, pay the same whether you use them or not. If you outgrow the tier, upgrade. If you don't use half of what you're paying for, tough luck.
We launched RacterMX with a tiered model because that's what everyone does. But after running the service and watching how people actually use it, we realized tiers are a poor fit for email forwarding. Usage is spiky. Some months you add three domains for a new project. Other months, nothing changes. Paying a flat rate for a ceiling you rarely hit doesn't respect how the service is actually used.
So we replaced it with something simpler: you pay for what you consume.
How It Works Now
RacterMX tracks four usage dimensions:
| Resource | Unit Price |
|---|---|
| Domains | $1.00/domain/month |
| Aliases | $0.05/alias/month |
| Email Volume | $0.12 per 1,000 emails |
| DNS Queries | $3.00 per 1,000,000 queries |
At the end of each month, Stripe generates an invoice based on your actual consumption. No upfront commitments. No overage penalties. No tiers to choose between.
Every feature is available to every user from day one. There are no feature gates, no "upgrade to unlock" prompts, no artificial limits on domains or aliases. The REST API, SMTP relay, webhooks, MCP server, anonymous proxy replies, DNS hosting, DMARC analytics, spending alerts — all of it, for everyone.
Why This Is Better for You
You never overpay. With tiers, you're always rounding up to the next plan. With consumption pricing, a personal user with one domain and five aliases pays about $1.25/month. A small business with three domains and thirty aliases pays around $4.50/month plus email volume. You pay exactly what your setup costs, nothing more.
You never hit a wall. Need to add a twelfth domain at 2 AM for a client launch? Just add it. There's no plan limit to bump into, no upgrade flow to navigate, no waiting for a billing cycle to reset. Your account scales with you automatically.
You stay in control of costs. Your billing dashboard shows real-time usage and estimated charges for the current period. Set a spending alert threshold and we'll notify you if your estimated bill exceeds it. No surprises at the end of the month.
What About Existing Users?
If you had an account under the old tier system, nothing breaks. Your domains, aliases, and configuration are untouched. Visit the Billing page in your dashboard to activate your metered subscription. Your existing usage will be picked up automatically.
Promotional Codes Still Work
We still offer promotional codes for new users. A promo code gives you a period of fully discounted usage — typically three to six months at 100% off. After the promotional period ends, standard metered rates apply automatically. No action needed on your part.
If you have a promo code, enter it during registration.
The Math
Here are three real-world scenarios:
Personal use — 1 domain, 5 aliases, ~3,000 emails/month, ~10K DNS queries: $1.64/month.
Small business — 3 domains, 30 aliases, ~25,000 emails/month, ~333K DNS queries: $8.50/month.
Scale — 10 domains, 100 aliases, ~100,000 emails/month, ~4.67M DNS queries: $41.00/month.
Compare that to a typical tiered service where the "business" plan starts at $15–25/month regardless of actual usage.
Billing Transparency
Your billing dashboard shows a breakdown of usage across all four dimensions with unit prices and estimated costs. Invoices are generated by Stripe and available in the Customer Portal. You can add or update payment methods, view past invoices, and manage your subscription — all from the billing page.
If a payment fails, you get a 14-day grace period. We send reminders, Stripe retries automatically, and your service continues uninterrupted during the grace period.
One More Thing
All your service data — domains, aliases, email logs, DNS records, account settings — is stored in Iceland. Billing and payment processing is handled by Stripe. We wanted to be transparent about that distinction: your operational data stays in one of the most privacy-friendly jurisdictions on Earth, while payment processing uses the industry standard.
See the pricing page for the full breakdown, or create an account to get started.