What is DMARC monitoring?
DMARC monitoring is the practice of collecting and reviewing DMARC reports mail providers send about messages claiming to come from your domain, without changing how that mail is delivered. It shows you every sending source and whether each one authenticates.
How much does DMARC monitoring cost?
PowerDMARC offers DMARC monitoring for free, covering up to 10,000 DMARC-compliant emails per month with 10 days of history. Paid plans start at just $8 per month and scale with email volume, longer data retention, more domains, and hosted SPF, DKIM, MTA-STS, and TLS-RPT.
Is DMARC monitoring really free, with no catch?
Yes, within the limits of the free plan, PowerDMARC’s DMARC monitoring services are completely free. There's no credit card required to sign up and no time limit on how long you can stay on the free plan.
What's the difference between DMARC monitoring and DMARC enforcement?
Monitoring (p=none) collects reports without affecting delivery. Enforcement (p=quarantine or p=reject) actively blocks or quarantines mail that fails authentication. Monitoring is meant to come first, so you can confirm your legitimate senders before you start blocking anything.
How do I monitor DMARC reports for my domain?
Publish a DMARC record with a reporting address, then use a monitoring service to parse the incoming reports into a readable dashboard. Doing this by hand means reading raw XML files from every provider separately.
How long until I get my first monitoring report?
Most domains see their first aggregate report within 24 to 48 hours of publishing a DMARC record with a valid rua= address, since providers typically report on a daily cycle.
Can I monitor more than one domain on the free plan?
The free plan supports one active domain, with unlimited inactive domains you can add later. Monitoring additional active domains at the same time requires a paid plan.
Do I need technical DNS experience to set up monitoring?
Basic DNS access is required to publish the DMARC record manually, but PowerDMARC's setup guidance and one-click DNS publishing are built for people without a deep DNS background.
Why didn't I get a failure (RUF) report for a failed email?
Failure report support varies by provider. Gmail does not send RUF reports at all, citing privacy concerns in its own documentation, and support elsewhere is inconsistent. Aggregate (RUA) reports remain the more complete source for day-to-day monitoring.
When should I upgrade from free monitoring to a paid plan?
Once you're consistently over 10,000 monitored emails a month, need more than one active domain, want longer report history than 10 days, or are ready to add hosted SPF, DKIM, MTA-STS, or TLS-RPT, a paid plan removes those limits.