Step 1: Open the Explore Menu:

On the HostCry website, click on Explore in the top navigation bar. A dropdown menu will appear showing two sections:

Free Tools (Whois lookup, DNS checker, SEO checker, Website speed test)

Security & Network (SSL checker, Malware scanner, IP checker, Server IP finder, Hosting checker, Server location checker, SPF record checker, PTR record checker, IP blacklist checker)

Step 2: Select "SPF Record Checker":

Under the Security & Network column, click on SPF record checker. This will take you to the dedicated tool page.   

Step 3: Enter the Domain Name:

On the SPF checker page, you'll see an input box with the placeholder text example.com. Type the domain you want to check — for example, google.com .

Step 4: Click "Check SPF Record":

Press the pink Check SPF record button next to the input box. The tool will then:

Parse mechanisms like include, ip4, ip6, a, mx, and redirect

Count DNS lookups against the RFC 7208 limit (max 10 lookups)

Detect issues with +all, ~all, -all, and ?all qualifiers.

Step 5: Review the SPF Report:

The result page shows a complete breakdown:

• SPF Record :the raw record string (e.g., v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all)
• Policy tag :shown top-right (e.g., ~all · SoftFail)
• DNS Lookups : current count vs. the 10-lookup limit (e.g., 1/10)
• Direct Lookups and Nested via Includes :counted separately
• Include breakdown :each included domain (like _spf.google.com) is listed with a Pass/Fail status