SendGrid and the SPF lookup limit
2 of 10 lookups
include:sendgrid.net
Two lookups, stable for years. Worth knowing because other vendors nest it inside their own records.
include:sendgrid.net is a large flat list of ranges plus one nested include, so it costs two lookups. That is unremarkable on its own, and it is one of the few records on this list that has not moved.
The reason it earns a page is that other platforms build on it. Freshdesk's include contains SendGrid's entire record, and so do several smaller helpdesk and notification products.
SPF counts terms rather than destinations, so a record carrying both include:sendgrid.net and a vendor that nests it pays for SendGrid twice. Nothing flags this: both includes are valid, both resolve, and the only symptom is a lookup count higher than the number of services you thought you had.
What to do
- Expand your record and look for SendGrid appearing more than once. If a vendor already carries it, you may not need the direct include as well; check which of your senders actually uses which account.
- Two lookups is a fair price and there is no cheaper variant to switch to. If your record is over the limit, this is not the place to economise.
Check your own record
These numbers are what the include costs on its own. What matters is the total across your whole record, because the ten term limit applies to the evaluation, not to any one vendor.
Expand
sendgrid.net
to see the 1 lookup nested inside
it. The tree reports 1 rather than 2 because it
counts the terms in that record; the include: that reaches it is
the one your own record adds.
Check your own domain to see what the whole record costs and get a replacement that fits.
Measured, not quoted. 2
lookups for
include:sendgrid.net, evaluated against live DNS on
2026-09-09 with the same engine behind the
SPF checker. Vendor records move without announcement,
so this is re-checked weekly rather than written down once.
Related
- Freshdesk — 7 lookups
- Mailgun — 5 lookups
- Every vendor we measure