You can forward emails from your Hostinger account straight to your Gmail inbox, and it takes about five minutes to set up. This lets you manage all your custom domain emails (like you@yourdomain.com) without ever logging into Hostinger's webmail. Here's exactly how to do it, what limits apply, and what catches people out.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Short answer | Yes, Hostinger supports email forwarding to Gmail on every hosting plan that includes email |
| Applies to | All Hostinger hosting plans with email (Single, Premium, Business, Cloud, VPS) |
| Best for | Anyone who wants to manage custom domain emails inside their existing Gmail inbox |
| Watch out for | Forwarding only works one-way; you cannot reply from Gmail with your custom domain address unless you also configure SMTP settings |
What Hostinger Email Forwarding to Gmail Actually Does
Email forwarding is a simple relay. When someone sends an email to your custom domain address (for example hello@yourdomain.com), Hostinger receives it, then automatically sends a copy to your Gmail address. You read and manage that email inside Gmail as if it arrived there directly.
This is different from hosting your email on Hostinger and checking it through webmail. With forwarding, you never visit Hostinger's email interface. The email passes through Hostinger's servers and lands in Gmail's inbox.
Your sender still used your domain email, but you never have to manage a separate mailbox.
Hostinger offers this through its cPanel-based email management. Every hosting plan that comes with email accounts includes the ability to set up forwarders. You do not need a separate email hosting plan or an add-on to use this feature.
Who This Works For
This answer applies to anyone on a Hostinger hosting plan that includes email. The Single shared hosting plan includes one email account. The Premium plan includes more.
Business and Cloud plans include unlimited email accounts. VPS plans include email capabilities as well.
If you are on a plan without email, you cannot use Hostinger's built-in forwarding. Some of the cheapest introductory plans may limit the number of email accounts. Check your specific plan's features on the current pricing page to confirm.
How to Set Up Hostinger Email Forwarding to Gmail
The process happens inside hPanel, Hostinger's custom control panel. Here are the steps.
Step 1: Log Into hPanel
Go to Hostinger's website and log into your account. From the dashboard, click on the hosting plan that holds the domain you want to use. This opens hPanel for that specific domain.
Step 2: Open the Email Section
In hPanel, look for the "Email" section on the left sidebar. Click it. You will see several options: Email Accounts, Forwarders, Autoresponders, and more.
Step 3: Create an Email Account for the Domain You Want to Forward
This is the part people miss. Hostinger cannot forward email from an address that does not exist. You need to create the email account on Hostinger first, even if you never plan to log into it.
Click "Email Accounts" and create the account you want to forward. For example, if you want to forward hello@yourdomain.com to your Gmail, create hello@yourdomain.com as an email account inside Hostinger. Set a password.
You do not need to use this account for anything else.
Step 4: Set Up the Forwarder
Go back to the Email section and click "Forwarders." Click "Add Forwarder."
In the "Address to Forward" field, enter the local part of the email address (the part before the @ sign). For hello@yourdomain.com, you enter "hello."
In the "Destination Email" field, enter your full Gmail address. Use the complete address, like yourname@gmail.com.
Click "Create." The forwarder is active immediately.
Step 5: Test the Forwarder
Send a test email from another account to your custom domain address. Check your Gmail inbox. The email should arrive within a minute or two.
If it doesn't arrive, check your Gmail spam folder. Some providers flag forwarded email as suspicious on the first delivery.
What Happens When You Reply
Here is the main limitation. When you receive a forwarded email in Gmail and hit "Reply," the reply will come from your Gmail address, not your custom domain address. The person who emailed you will see a reply from yourname@gmail.com instead of hello@yourdomain.com.
This might be fine for personal correspondence. For business use, it creates confusion. Your contacts will see two different sender addresses from the same person.
To reply from your custom domain address, you need to add that address as a "Send mail as" account inside Gmail. This requires SMTP settings from Hostinger. Gmail will then send the reply through Hostinger's outgoing mail server, and the recipient sees your domain address as the sender.
Adding Your Hostinger Email as a "Send Mail As" in Gmail
Open Gmail. Click the gear icon, then "See all settings." Go to the "Accounts and Import" tab. Under "Send mail as," click "Add another email address."
Enter your name and the full custom domain email address. Select "Treat as an alias." Click "Next Step."
You need the following SMTP details from Hostinger:
- SMTP Server: smtp.hostinger.com
- Port: 465 with SSL, or 587 with TLS
- Username: Your full email address (hello@yourdomain.com)
- Password: The password you set for that email account in Hostinger
Gmail will send a verification email to your custom domain address. Because you set up forwarding, that verification email arrives in your Gmail inbox. Click the verification link, and the setup is complete.
Now when you reply to a forwarded email, Gmail gives you the option to send from your custom domain address instead of your Gmail address.
Note: This SMTP method is separate from email forwarding. You are configuring Gmail to send through Hostinger's server, which is a different technical process than the forwarder setup.
Limits and Restrictions You Should Know
Hostinger does not publish a hard limit on the number of forwarders you can create per domain. Most users report being able to set up dozens without issues. The practical limit depends on your hosting plan's resources, especially on shared plans where server-wide limits apply.
Forwarding and Email Storage
When you set up forwarding, the email still gets stored on Hostinger's server in the original mailbox. This means it consumes disk space on your hosting plan. If you receive a lot of email, that mailbox can fill up.
A full mailbox rejects new incoming email. The forwarder stops working even though the email never reached your Gmail.
To avoid this, either delete the forwarded emails from the Hostinger mailbox periodically or set the mailbox to auto-delete after a certain number of days. You can do this through cPanel's email filters or by setting up a cron job to purge old messages. For most personal users, this is not an issue unless you receive hundreds of emails a day.
Delivery Delays
Forwarding adds a small delay. Normally the delay is under a minute. In rare cases, especially during server load peaks, emails can take 10-15 minutes to arrive.
If you need real-time delivery for time-sensitive communications, consider using Gmail's native POP3 fetching instead of forwarding.
Spam Filtering
Hostinger does its own spam filtering before forwarding. Emails flagged as spam may be quarantined or rejected before reaching the forwarder. If you are not receiving an expected email, check Hostinger's spam quarantine first, not just Gmail's spam folder.
Multiple Forwarders for the Same Address
You cannot set up multiple forwarders for the same email address within Hostinger. The system accepts only one forwarder per mailbox. If you need to send copies of the same email to multiple destinations, use a mailing list or a catch-all forwarder with filtering rules.
Common Mix-Ups and Things People Get Wrong
Mix-up: You can forward without creating an email account.
Reality: Hostinger requires the mailbox to exist before it can forward from it. If you delete the email account, the forwarder stops working even if the forwarder still appears in the settings.
Mix-up: Forwarding and POP3 fetching are the same.
Reality: Forwarding pushes email from Hostinger to Gmail. POP3 fetching pulls email from Hostinger into Gmail. With forwarding, Hostinger sends the email automatically.
With POP3, Gmail checks Hostinger's server at intervals and downloads anything new. POP3 is more reliable for large volumes because Gmail controls the retrieval schedule.
Mix-up: Replying from Gmail will automatically show your custom domain.
Reality: Without the SMTP configuration described above, replies go out as your Gmail address. You must set up "Send mail as" in Gmail, and even then you have to select the custom domain address from the dropdown before sending.
Mix-up: Forwarding counts as one of your email account limits.
Reality: Each forwarded address still requires a mailbox, and each mailbox counts against your plan's email account limit. If your plan allows one email account and you create hello@yourdomain.com for forwarding, you cannot create a separate info@yourdomain.com mailbox unless you upgrade.
Mix-up: You can forward from any Hostinger email address you want.
Reality: You can only forward from addresses that belong to domains hosted on your Hostinger account. You cannot forward from a domain registered elsewhere unless it points to Hostinger's nameservers.
What This Means for You
Email forwarding from Hostinger to Gmail is a practical solution for anyone who wants a single inbox for multiple email addresses. It removes the friction of checking webmail for your domain emails. You get the full power of Gmail's interface, search, labels, and filters without giving up your professional email address.
The setup is straightforward if you follow the mailbox-before-forwarder order. The SMTP configuration for replying takes a few extra minutes but solves the biggest complaint people have with forwarding.
If you are a business owner who sends dozens of emails a day from your domain address, consider whether you would be better served by Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, which let you use your domain directly with Google or Microsoft's mail servers. Hostinger's forwarded email is best for low to moderate volume, where the occasional delay and the SMTP configuration step are acceptable trade-offs.
For personal use, a personal blog, a side project, or a small nonprofit, this setup works well. You pay nothing extra beyond your hosting plan, and you get the convenience of Gmail without forcing your contacts to learn a new email address.
If you are already leaning toward Hostinger for your hosting needs, the email forwarding feature covers what most people need to get started with a professional email presence. The separate email hosting plans from Hostinger offer more storage and features, but for basic forwarding to Gmail, the included email accounts on any shared or cloud plan are enough.
Get started with Hostinger here and save up to 80% on your first billing term
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Hostinger email forwarding to Gmail work with attachments?
Yes. Attachments are forwarded exactly as received. Hostinger does not strip or resize attachments during forwarding.
If the original email had a 10 MB PDF attached, you receive the same 10 MB PDF in your Gmail inbox. Keep in mind that Gmail has a 25 MB attachment limit on incoming mail, so anything larger than that will not make it through Gmail's filter even if Hostinger forwards it.
Can I forward multiple email addresses from Hostinger to the same Gmail account?
Yes. Set up each address as a separate mailbox in Hostinger, then create a forwarder for each one pointing to the same Gmail address. For example, you can forward hello@yourdomain.com, info@yourdomain.com, and support@yourdomain.com all to yourname@gmail.com.
Each requires its own mailbox and its own forwarder.
Will forwarding stop working if my Hostinger hosting plan expires?
Yes. Email forwarding depends on active hosting. If your hosting plan expires or is canceled, the email accounts are suspended, the forwarders stop processing, and any email sent to your domain addresses bounces back to the sender.
Renew your hosting to restore forwarding. The emails that bounced during the lapse cannot be recovered.
Is there a limit on how many emails I can forward per day from Hostinger?
Hostinger does not publicly state a daily forwarding limit, but shared hosting plans enforce sending limits that can affect forwarding. The typical outgoing email limit on shared Hostinger plans is around 500 emails per hour per account. If your forwarding volume approaches that range, emails may queue up or bounce.
For high-volume forwarding, a VPS or Cloud plan offers higher limits.
Does Hostinger email forwarding preserve the original sender's address?
Yes. The email arrives in Gmail with the original sender's address in the "From" field. Gmail shows the email as if it came directly from that sender.
The only difference is the headers, which contain an extra "Received" line showing the email passed through Hostinger's server. Most Gmail users never see this detail unless they view the full email headers.
Can I use Hostinger email forwarding without creating a mailbox first?
No. This is the most common mistake. You must create the email account in Hostinger's hPanel before setting up the forwarder.
If you delete the mailbox later, the forwarder becomes inactive. The mailbox and the forwarder are tied together.
What happens to emails that arrive while my Gmail account is over quota?
Those emails stay on Hostinger's server in the mailbox you created. Gmail's quota does not affect Hostinger's storage. Once you free up space in Gmail and the forwarding resumes, the queued emails should forward.
Hostinger typically keeps undelivered emails in the mailbox for several days before bouncing them. Clear your Gmail storage quickly to avoid losing messages.
Does this work with a Gmail alias or only a full Gmail account?
It works with any valid Gmail address, including Gmail aliases, Google Workspace addresses, and custom domain emails hosted on Google Workspace. The destination address just needs to be a real, working inbox that can receive email. You can also forward to a Gmail label address like yourname+label@gmail.com if you use plus addressing.
Practical Tips for a Smooth Experience
Set up a filter in Hostinger's cPanel to automatically delete forwarded emails from the mailbox every few days. This prevents the mailbox from filling up and breaking the forwarder. You can do this through cPanel's "Email Filters" feature.
Create a filter in Gmail to label incoming forwarded emails. Use the "Delivered-To" header or the "Return-Path" to identify email that came through Hostinger. A label like "Domain Email" helps you distinguish forwarded messages from direct Gmail messages at a glance.
Monitor your disk usage in Hostinger's hPanel at least once a month. If the mailbox used for forwarding grows unexpectedly, check whether a broken forwarder or a misconfigured script is generating automated messages that fill the box.
If you experience delays longer than 15 minutes, try switching Gmail to fetch the email via POP3 instead. POP3 fetching lets Gmail control the schedule and often results in faster delivery for some users. The trade-off is that POP3 runs on a set interval rather than pushing to your inbox immediately.
Wrapping Up
Hostinger email forwarding to Gmail gives you the best of both worlds: a professional email address for your domain and the convenience of Google's email interface. The setup takes minutes, costs nothing extra if you already have a Hostinger hosting plan, and requires minimal ongoing maintenance.
The biggest things to remember are creating the mailbox before the forwarder, configuring SMTP if you want to reply as your custom domain, and keeping an eye on mailbox storage so forwarding does not break silently.
For a basic setup with one or two email addresses, this approach works reliably. For heavy email users or teams that need shared calendars and collaborative inboxes, a dedicated email solution like Google Workspace or Hostinger's own Business Email might be a better fit.
Check the latest Hostinger deals and plans to find the right option for your needs
This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase through the links on this page, we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
