SPF Macros vs SPF Flattening
AutoSPF is one of the only providers offering both SPF macros and traditional flattening. Choose the right approach for your organization.
What's the Difference?
Two proven approaches to solving the SPF 10-lookup limit — each designed for different needs.
SPF Flattening (Chained Includes)
SMB PlanHow it works
Resolves all include mechanisms to IP addresses, compresses into optimized chained records that stay under the lookup limit.
DNS lookups used
Reduced to 2-3 lookups (from 10+)
Best for
SMBs with 5-15 sending services
Included in
SMB plan ($37/mo)
Pros
- Simple and proven
- Works with every DNS provider
- Affordable for small teams
Limitation
Still has a theoretical ceiling on the number of includes
SPF Macros
Premium & EnterpriseHow it works
Uses RFC 7208 macro syntax (%{d}, %{i}) to dynamically evaluate SPF per-query, serving authorized IPs from AutoSPF's DNS infrastructure.
DNS lookups used
Just 1-2 lookups, period. Unlimited includes.
Best for
Enterprise with 15+ services, multi-domain, MSPs
Included in
Premium ($97/mo) and Enterprise ($387/mo)
Pros
- Truly unlimited — no ceiling on includes
- IP obfuscation — competitors can't see your senders
- Future-proof architecture
Enterprise adds:
- 99.99% DNS availability SLA
- SOC-2 Type II, SSO/SAML, audit logs
- DPA, NDA, custom SaaS agreements
- Vendor security questionnaire response
- PO/invoice billing, corporate procurement
- Instant SPF revert (one-click rollback)
Bonus: Competitors can't see your authorized IP ranges
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Flattening SMB — $37/mo | Macros Premium — $97/mo | Macros + Enterprise Enterprise — $387/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPF approach | Chained includes | Macros | Macros |
| DNS lookups used | 2-3 | 1-2 | 1-2 |
| Maximum includes | High (but finite) | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| IP obfuscation | No | Yes | Yes |
| Real-time updates | Every 15 min | Every 15 min | Every 15 min |
| Domains included | 1 | 1 | Up to 5 |
| DMARC alignment | |||
| Enterprise Procurement & Compliance | |||
| 99.99% DNS SLA | |||
| SOC-2 Type II | |||
| SSO / SAML | |||
| Audit logs | |||
| DPA / NDA / Custom SaaS agreements | |||
| Vendor security questionnaire | |||
| PO / invoice billing | |||
| White-glove onboarding | |||
| Instant SPF revert | |||
| IP obfuscation from competitors | |||
Why IP Obfuscation Matters
Traditional SPF: Your Sending Infrastructure Is Public
With traditional SPF flattening or includes, anyone can query your SPF record and see every IP address and service you use to send email. Competitors, attackers, and anyone curious can enumerate your entire sending infrastructure in seconds.
SPF Macros: Dynamic, Per-Query Authorization
With AutoSPF's macro-based approach, your SPF record contains only a macro reference. The actual authorized IPs are served dynamically per-query through AutoSPF's DNS infrastructure. A competitor querying your DNS record sees nothing useful — your sending infrastructure is invisible.
Example: What a competitor sees
Flattened SPF record:
v=spf1 ip4:198.51.100.0/24 ip4:203.0.113.0/24 ip4:192.0.2.1 ip4:192.0.2.2 ... ~all Macro SPF record:
v=spf1 include:%{d}._spf.autospf.com ~all Which Should I Choose?
Use this quick guide to find the right approach for your organization.
Under 10 DNS lookups?
You might not need either solution yet. Check your current record to be sure.
Check with our free SPF checker →10-20 lookups, single domain?
SPF flattening is the perfect fit. Simple, proven, affordable.
Learn about the SMB plan ($37/mo) →20+ lookups, multi-domain, enterprise compliance?
SPF macros give you unlimited lookups, IP obfuscation, 99.99% SLA, and SOC-2 compliance.
Learn about the Enterprise plan ($387/mo) →MSP managing client domains?
Macros are the only scalable approach. Our Partner plan is built for managed service providers.
Explore the Partner plan →Trusted by
2,000+ businesses worldwide
Award-winning SPF management on G2 Crowd
Not sure which approach is right for you?
Talk to our team. We'll analyze your SPF record and recommend the best solution for your organization.
What Enterprise Teams Say About AutoSPF
"Helped us go beyond capacity"
AutoSPF did exactly as described, it helped us get past our 10 lookup limit. Afterwards, we hit another limit regarding overall capacity and when contacted, they quickly provided us with a new solution to eliminate capacity issues entirely going forward, so now we can add as many SPF records as needed. They also provided us with a personalized support video explaining their new method in its entirety using our instance as the example.
Verified User
Financial Services · Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)
"Great service and great support"
AutoSPF was easy to initially set up on our own and a great cost effective entry into spf flattening. Needed our first support assistance today and got great response including a video demonstrating the issue I was trying to solve, a quick fix, and more detailed followup.
Greg F.
Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)
"Simple Solution for a Large Problem"
Simple to use and easy to deploy! Moreover, administration and maintenance of our SPF record is super simple.
Glenn G.
Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)