--- title: "SPF Macros vs SPF Flattening: Which Approach Is Right for You? | AutoSPF" description: "AutoSPF offers both macro-based SPF (unlimited lookups, IP obfuscation) for enterprise and chained-include flattening for SMBs. Compare the two approaches." image: "https://autospf.com/images/og-default.png" canonical: "https://autospf.com/spf-macros-vs-flattening/" --- Comparison Guide # 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. Two Proven Approaches ## What's the Difference? Two proven approaches to solving the SPF 10-lookup limit - each designed for different needs. ### SPF Flattening (Chained Includes) SMB Plan How 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 RECOMMENDED FOR ENTERPRISE ### SPF Macros Premium & Enterprise How 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 Side-by-Side ## Feature Comparison | Feature | FlatteningSMB - $37/mo | MacrosPremium - $97/mo | Macros + EnterpriseEnterprise - $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 | | | | 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 | | | | Security Advantage ## 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` Decision Guide ## Which Should I Choose? Use this quick guide to find the right approach for your organization. <10 ### Under 10 DNS lookups? You might not need either solution yet. Check your current record to be sure. [Check with our free SPF checker →](/tools/spf-checker/) 10-20 ### 10-20 lookups, single domain? SPF flattening is the perfect fit. Simple, proven, affordable. [Learn about the SMB plan ($37/mo) →](/smb/) 20+ ### 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) →](/enterprise/) ### MSP managing client domains? Macros are the only scalable approach. Our Partner plan is built for managed service providers. [Explore the Partner plan →](/partners/) 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. [Start Free Trial→](https://app.autospf.com/login)[Book a Demo](/book-a-demo/) Rated 5/5 on G2 · Trusted since 2018 ## 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. VU 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. GF 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. GG Glenn G. Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) [Read our reviews on G2 ](https://www.g2.com/products/autospf/reviews) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897474","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://autospf.com/images/autospf-logo.png"},"description":"Automatic SPF flattening and email authentication management. 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Instead of listing all authorized IPs statically, a macro-based SPF record tells the receiving server to query AutoSPF's DNS for the specific sending domain, returning only the relevant IPs. This reduces lookups to 1-2 regardless of how many sending services you have."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What is SPF flattening?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"SPF flattening resolves all nested include mechanisms in your SPF record into a flat list of IP addresses. This reduces DNS lookups from 10+ to 2-3 by eliminating the need for recursive DNS resolution. AutoSPF automates this process and rescans every 15 minutes to keep IPs current."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Which is better - SPF macros or SPF flattening?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"SPF macros are technically superior for large organizations: unlimited includes, IP obfuscation, and just 1-2 lookups. SPF flattening is simpler and proven for SMBs with 5-15 sending services. AutoSPF is one of the only providers offering both approaches - macros on Enterprise plans and flattening on SMB plans."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Do SPF macros hide my authorized IP addresses?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Yes. With traditional SPF flattening or includes, anyone can query your DNS and see every authorized IP and service. With macro-based SPF, IPs are served dynamically per-query through AutoSPF's infrastructure. Competitors cannot enumerate your sending infrastructure by querying your SPF record."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How many DNS lookups do SPF macros use?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Macro-based SPF through AutoSPF uses just 1-2 DNS lookups total, regardless of how many sending services you have. Traditional includes consume 1 lookup per service, hitting the RFC 7208 limit of 10 quickly. Macros eliminate this ceiling entirely."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Can I switch from SPF flattening to macros later?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Yes. AutoSPF supports both approaches. You can start with flattening on an SMB plan and upgrade to macro-based SPF on an Enterprise plan at any time. The migration is seamless - AutoSPF handles the DNS transition."}}]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://autospf.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"SPF Macros vs Flattening","item":"https://autospf.com/spf-macros-vs-flattening/"}]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Product","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com","aggregateRating":{"@type":"AggregateRating","ratingValue":5,"reviewCount":21,"bestRating":5,"worstRating":1},"review":[{"@type":"Review","reviewRating":{"@type":"Rating","ratingValue":5,"bestRating":5},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Verified User","jobTitle":"Financial Services"},"datePublished":"2025-07-31","reviewBody":"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.","name":"Helped us go beyond capacity","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"G2","url":"https://www.g2.com"}},{"@type":"Review","reviewRating":{"@type":"Rating","ratingValue":5,"bestRating":5},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Greg F."},"datePublished":"2023-07-26","reviewBody":"AutoSPF was easy to initially set up on our own and a great cost effective entry into spf flattening. 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