Skip to content

First, choose who receives the mail

The two ways to run split delivery with Google Workspace
Google receives first (Google’s split delivery)GINbox receives first
MX recordsStay on GooglePoint to GINbox
In the Google Admin consoleA mail route (host) and a Routing ruleAn inbound gateway
Good forKeeping the people who stay independent of the other providerFiltering all mail in one place; finishing a move later with no DNS change

The steps below are for Google receiving first, which is how Google documents it in Send email to 2 email systems with split delivery. GINbox receiving first is at the end.

Before you start

  • Your domain’s MX records point to Google, and you are a Google Workspace administrator with the Gmail settings privilege.
  • Decide who stays on Google. Everyone else will exist only at the other provider. In GINbox, list the people who stay in the admin panel (Mailboxes, “Keep some mailboxes at Google or Microsoft”); GINbox shows each one’s Google routing address.
  • Create the other people’s mailboxes at the other provider first, and bring their old mail across (GINbox copies it from Google in one step: moving from Google Workspace).

Set up split delivery in the Google Admin console

  1. Add the other provider as a mail route. In the Admin console, go to Apps → Google Workspace → Gmail → Hosts, and add a route to the other provider’s mail server — for GINbox, mail.ginbox.net, port 25 — with secure transport (TLS) required.
  2. Open the Routing rule. Go to Apps → Google Workspace → Gmail → Routing, and click Configure (or Add another rule). Give it a name.
  3. Choose the messages: tick the inbound and internal-receiving options (split delivery applies to incoming mail only).
  4. Change the route: under the action, choose Modify message, tick Change route, and select the host you added in step 1.
  5. Apply it only to people Google does not have: click Show more options and, under the account types, tick only All inactive and unrecognized accounts. Leave active users and groups unticked, so the people who stay keep their mail in Gmail.
  6. Save, then remove the moved people from Google. Gmail must not recognise them, or it keeps their mail. Delete or archive their Google accounts once their mail is copied.
  7. Fix SPF and test. Publish one SPF record that names both providers, for GINbox: v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:_spf.ginbox.net ~all. Each provider signs with its own DKIM key, and both can be published side by side. Then send a test from outside to one person on each side, and one between the sides.

If GINbox receives first instead

  1. Point the domain’s MX records to GINbox.
  2. In the Google Admin console, go to Apps → Google Workspace → Gmail → Spam, phishing and malware → Inbound gateway, and add GINbox’s sending addresses (the GINbox admin panel lists them), so Google trusts mail that GINbox passes on.
  3. List the people who stay in the GINbox admin panel. GINbox delivers their mail to Google, and filters spam and viruses for everyone first.

Why split delivery at all, and what it saves: Keep a few on Google, the rest on GINbox.

Questions people ask

What is split delivery in Google Workspace?

Split delivery lets one domain use Gmail for some people and another email system for the rest. Gmail receives the domain’s mail, delivers it to its own users, and passes mail for addresses it does not recognise to the other system through a routing rule.

Do the people on the other provider need a Google Workspace licence?

No. Split delivery works because Gmail does not recognise them: they must not exist as Google users. Remove (or never create) their Google accounts, and keep paying Google only for the people who stay.

How long does the routing rule take to work?

Google says changes can take up to 24 hours, though they often apply sooner. Send a test from outside to one person on each side before you tell everyone.

Can a person have a mailbox in both Gmail and the other system?

Not with split delivery: Google’s article says each user must have an address in Gmail or in the other system, not both. Sending a copy to both is a different setup, dual delivery.

How does mail from the other provider reach the Gmail users?

Every Google Workspace user also has an address at the domain’s Google routing domain (yourcompany.com.test-google-a.com). The other provider delivers mail for the people who stay to that address; GINbox does this for each person you list.

More to read

Try it on your own domain

Set up a real mailbox at your own domain, with every record checked for you. No card needed.

Start free trialBuy now