Announced back in June 2021 during WWDC, Custom Email Domains with iCloud Mail is a feature that hasn’t received the attention it deserves.

The gist of the feature as described by Apple’s concise help article: When you subscribe to iCloud+, you can use a custom domain name that you already own to personalize your iCloud email address, or you can purchase a new domain.

Now, along with yashbanka123@gmail.com, I also have hello@yashbanka.comwithout paying anything extra since I am already subscribed to iCloud+ for the extra storage.

You can use up to 5 domains that you own and create 3 personalized email addresses for each. What’s more, you can share these domains through family sharing! Pretty cool way to create a family brand (alas, the best domains for my short last name are all taken).

But that’s not all—once you set up your domain, there is a toggle to “allow all incoming messages,” which would route all emails addressed to your domain that doesn’t match an existing email address. Simply put, you could share any “@yourdomain.com” email address with people, and the mail would land in your inbox.

Setup

1. Make sure you are subscribed to an iCloud+ plan

2. If you’re using a browser, go to iCloud.com/settings/customdomain else, the Settings app on your iOS device

3. You can either use an existing domain (registered through GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.) or buy one during the setup process

4. Just 2–3 more steps which require you to enter the domain details and are self-explanatory

5. You’re all set!

Comparison

Google Workspace charges $6 per user/month for professional email, so if you’re fine with the limitations (single mailbox, slow search, inconsistent spam filtering), iCloud+ is a steal with plans starting at $0.99/month for 50GB storage, which can give you up to 15 custom email addresses (5 domains, 3 addresses each) for your family.

iCloud+ comes with many other features, such as Private Relay and Hide My Email. Curiously, Custom Email Domains is still left out of the iCloud page in 2023 and only finds mention on help pages.

For more detailed instructions, check out this guide on Internet Stack.