How to create a free business email address in Egypt (.com or .com.eg)

Egypt has a huge base of freelancers, agencies and exporters selling to the Gulf, Europe and the US, and most of them still send proposals from a Gmail or Yahoo address. Here is how to get name@yourbusiness.com (or .com.eg) working with free mailboxes, and how to handle the payment side when your card does not work abroad.

Quick answer

Register a .com (or .com.eg) domain, create a free OquMail workspace, add the domain, add four DNS records, create mailboxes. The email hosting is free and needs no card. For the domain, Egyptian hosting companies and resellers accept local payment methods such as Fawry, Vodafone Cash and bank cards, which avoids the foreign-currency limits on many Egyptian cards.

Domain choice in Egypt

Egypt's ccTLD is .eg, with businesses under .com.eg. The Egyptian namespace is managed domestically and registration usually asks for company documents, so it is mostly used by larger firms and public bodies. Small businesses overwhelmingly use .com, and Egyptian customers see nothing odd in that. There is also an Arabic-script country domain, which is rare for email because most mail clients and web forms do not handle it well.

• .com: the default for Egyptian SMEs, agencies and freelancers; instant at any registrar
• .com.eg: clearly Egyptian, useful for tenders and corporate clients; expect documentation and a slower process
• .net and .org: acceptable alternatives if the .com is taken
• Avoid Arabic-script domains for email addresses; keep them for the website at most

Why Egyptian clients and foreign buyers trust a domain address

Cairo marketing agencies, Alexandria exporters, Hurghada and Luxor tour operators, and thousands of Upwork and Mostaql freelancers all compete for clients who screen suppliers carefully. A proposal from ahmed@youragency.com is read; the same proposal from a Gmail is often filtered as one of dozens of cold pitches. Locally, banks, Egyptian corporates and government procurement expect a company address on correspondence, and a domain address on your invoices is the norm for any registered company.

Step by step

1. Register the domain with an Egyptian hosting company or reseller that accepts local payment, or with an international registrar if your card is enabled for foreign purchases.
2. Create a free OquMail workspace at oqumail.com. No card is requested.
3. Click Add domain, enter it, and copy the four records shown.
4. Add the MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records in the registrar’s DNS panel (cPanel Zone Editor at most Egyptian hosts).
5. Click Verify. OquMail queries DNS live and shows which record is still missing.
6. Create mailboxes: info@, sales@, and one per person, up to 15 with 5 GB each.
7. Send a test from webmail, then add the account to Outlook or the phone mail app with the settings below.

The four DNS records OquMail needs

Egyptian hosts often pre-create MX records for their own webmail. Delete those before adding the OquMail MX, otherwise some mail keeps arriving at the old server.

• MX — host @, value mail.oqumail.com, priority 10
• SPF (TXT at @) — v=spf1 MX (Mail Exchanger — where incoming email is delivered) a:mail.oqumail.com ~all
• DKIM (TXT at your selector ._domainkey) — v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=… (the exact key is shown in your OquMail dashboard)
• DMARC (TXT at _dmarc) — v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com

OquMail connection settings

• Incoming (IMAP): mail.oqumail.com, port 993, SSL/TLS
• Outgoing (SMTP): mail.oqumail.com, port 587, STARTTLS
• Username: your full email address (you@yourdomain.com)
• Password: the same password you use for OquMail webmail

Paying for it

Many Egyptian debit cards have small or zero limits for foreign-currency purchases, which is what breaks Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 signups. OquMail's free plan has no card step at all: 15 mailboxes, 3 domains, 5 GB per mailbox, webmail, IMAP/SMTP, delivery logs and the send API cost nothing. The domain is the only recurring payment, and local registrars let you pay in pounds.

Pitfalls specific to Egypt

• Host-bundled email with no DKIM and a shared IP: proposals to Gulf and European clients land in spam. Check OquMail’s delivery log after your first sends.
• Mobile networks and many ISPs block port 25. Use port 587 with STARTTLS in every mail app.
• Choosing SSL on port 587 in Outlook. Pick STARTTLS; SSL on 587 fails silently.
• Keeping the Gmail as reply-to on your Upwork profile or Facebook page after the domain is live. Update every profile so clients reply to the domain address.
• Skipping DMARC. Phishing that spoofs Egyptian company domains is common; p=none is the minimum.

Common questions

Is .com.eg necessary for a small business?

No. A .com is standard for Egyptian SMEs. Register .com.eg only if you bid for public tenders or want the local signal, and add it as a second domain.

Can I use it with Outlook and my phone?

Yes. Add an IMAP account with the settings above in Outlook, Apple Mail or the Gmail app.

Is the free plan limited in time?

No. It is limited to 15 mailboxes, 3 domains and 5 GB per mailbox, not by a trial period.