You can read and send emails from your Bluehost email address directly in Gmail. Gmail connects to Bluehost using POP3 for incoming mail and SMTP for outgoing mail. This guide walks through both parts of the setup and includes the exact server settings you need.
Before You Start
Have the following ready before opening Gmail settings. If you have not yet created a Bluehost email account, see our guide on Bluehost's free email first.
- Your Bluehost email address , the address you created in Bluehost cPanel (e.g. [email protected])
- Your email password , set when you created the email account (if you need to change it, see our guide on changing your Bluehost email account password)
- Incoming server:
mail.yourdomain.com(replace with your actual domain name) - Outgoing (SMTP) server:
mail.yourdomain.com
If you are not sure of your exact server hostname, log into Bluehost and go to Email > Email Accounts, click Connect Devices on your email account, and copy the incoming and outgoing server values shown there. For the full email setup context (Roundcube webmail, IMAP vs POP, when to upgrade to Google Workspace), see the Bluehost configuration and features guide.
Note: Gmail’s “Check mail from other accounts” feature uses POP3 for incoming mail. If you want IMAP sync (email stays on the server and stays in sync across devices), you would need to use a full email client like Outlook or Apple Mail instead.
Part 1: Receive Bluehost Email in Gmail
Step 1 - Open Gmail Settings
Log into your Gmail account. Click the gear icon in the top right corner of the screen, then click See all settings.
Step 2 - Accounts and Import
Click the Accounts and Import tab at the top of the settings page. Under Check mail from other accounts, click Add a mail account.
Step 3 - Enter Your Email Address
Type your full Bluehost email address and click Next. Select Import emails from my other account (POP3) and click Next again.
Step 4 - Enter POP3 Settings
Fill in the following details:
- Username: your full email address (e.g. [email protected])
- Password: your email account password
- POP Server:
mail.yourdomain.com - Port: 995
- Check Always use a secure connection (SSL) when retrieving mail
Click Add Account. Gmail will test the connection. If it succeeds, move to Part 2.
Part 2: Send from Gmail Using Your Bluehost Address
Step 1 - Choose to Send As
After adding the incoming account, Gmail will ask if you want to be able to send mail as that address. Select Yes and click Next Step.
Step 2 - Enter SMTP Settings
Fill in the following outgoing mail settings:
- SMTP Server:
mail.yourdomain.com - Port: 465
- Username: your full email address
- Password: your email account password
- Select Secured connection using SSL
Click Add Account.
Step 3 - Verify Ownership
Google will send a verification email to your Bluehost address containing a confirmation link and a code. Check that email in Bluehost webmail (log into your Bluehost account, go to Email > Webmail), then either click the confirmation link or copy the code back into Gmail. Once confirmed, your Bluehost address is available as a “From” option when composing emails in Gmail.
Bluehost Email Settings Reference
- Incoming (POP3) server: mail.yourdomain.com
- POP3 port (SSL): 995
- Outgoing (SMTP) server: mail.yourdomain.com
- SMTP port (SSL): 465
- Username: full email address
- Authentication: Password (SSL)
Replace mail.yourdomain.com with your actual domain name. In some Bluehost accounts, the server hostname shown in cPanel may differ slightly , always use the value from Email > Email Accounts > Connect Devices if in doubt.
Troubleshooting: Bluehost Email Not Connecting to Gmail
Most connection failures fall into these five patterns:
- Wrong password. The password Gmail needs is the one you set for the Bluehost email account in cPanel, not your Bluehost account login password. These are two different credentials. If you forgot the email account password, go to Bluehost > Email > Email Accounts, click Manage on the account, and set a new password.
- Incorrect server hostname. The server is
mail.yourdomain.comwhere yourdomain.com is your actual domain. Do not usemail.bluehost.comor a generic Bluehost hostname. Copy the hostname from Email Accounts > Connect Devices in cPanel for the exact value. - Port or SSL mismatch. POP3 requires port 995 with SSL. SMTP requires port 465 with SSL. Using port 110 or port 587 will fail unless you change the SSL setting to match.
- Gmail verification email not received. After adding the SMTP server, Gmail sends a confirmation code to your Bluehost address. Check the email account in Bluehost webmail (yourdomain.com/webmail or via the Bluehost dashboard under Email > Webmail). Spam folders in webmail often catch this message.
- SMTP authentication errors after setup. Check that the username field contains the full email address ([email protected]), not just the local part (you). Some Gmail versions pre-fill the wrong value.
Adding Multiple Bluehost Email Addresses to Gmail
You can add more than one Bluehost email address to a single Gmail account by repeating the setup process for each address. Each address appears separately under Accounts and Import > Check mail from other accounts and Send mail as.
- Gmail checks each POP3 account independently every 30 to 60 minutes. The timing is controlled by Google and cannot be forced to run immediately.
- When composing an email in Gmail, use the From dropdown to pick which address to send from. Set a default under Accounts and Import > Send mail as > Make default.
- POP3 downloads messages and can optionally remove them from the Bluehost server. If you want messages to remain in Bluehost webmail as well, check Leave a copy of retrieved message on the server during the POP3 setup step.
Final Word: How to Add Bluehost Email to Gmail
Connecting your Bluehost email to Gmail takes around five minutes. Use mail.yourdomain.com for both the incoming POP3 server (port 995, SSL) and outgoing SMTP server (port 465, SSL), and make sure to complete the verification step so you can send from your address. If you are not yet sure whether your Bluehost plan includes email, our guide on whether Bluehost offers free email covers what is available per plan.
