2023 Top 5 Best Email Services
The best email providers not only make it simple and easy to send and receive emails, but also better manage your emails and integrate them with other applications.
Choosing the best email provider for you can be difficult as there are many factors to consider. How easy is it to organize your inbox? What does the spam filter look like? Can you access the account from other email applications? And what about using a service with custom domains and your own address ([email protected])?
Read this post as we highlight some of the best email service providers with tried and tested reviews of each email service. All of the email services we chose have good free services that may have advertisements and some limitations, but we also tested their business-friendly commercial offerings that provide the capabilities, features and enterprise-grade add-ons that demanding users need.
We compared the best email services on several fronts such as their features, storage space, signup process, interface, user experience, security and pricing.
ProtonMail - Best Privacy Email Service
The best email service for privacy and security
Features
Multi-User Support: Yes
Client Support: Yes
End-to-End Encryption: Yes
Benefits
Leading-edge privacy features
End-to-end encryption of messages
Free VPN, secure calendar, cloud storage
Cons
- The free plan has a small 500MB inbox and a 150-message per day sending limit.
Details
Proton Mail is a Swiss-based email service that offers excellent privacy protection from the start. Creating a free account is as easy as entering a username and password, with no personal details required (not even another email address). End-to-end encryption and optional password protection means that Proton Mail (or anyone else) can't read your messages.
As you might expect, the free plan does have some limitations. You'll get an email address and initially a small 500MB inbox (you can increase this to 1GB, but only if you hand over your email address or phone number.) It doesn't include Proton's IMAP or SMTP support, which means there's no way to access Proton Mail from your regular email application. There are significant limitations to Proton Mail's organizational tools (you're limited to three folders, three labels, and one filter), and the limit of 150 emails per day may be problematic for some.
Nonetheless, it's still a favorite service. We found Proton Mail to be intuitive, easy to navigate and packed with useful tools. The importer gets you started quickly and provides options for importing Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo and other inboxes. There's support for two-factor authentication via an application or physical key, and there's even a two-password mode (one for logging into your account, the other for decrypting email). Overall, if you're willing to use Proton Mail only for the most sensitive emails , and then switch back to Gmail (or anyone else) over anything less privacy-sensitive, this program should be a good fit for you.
Or don't you believe it? Proton isn't done yet. The company offers a variety of services, and even the free account gives you access to the excellent unlimited data Proton VPN, secure scheduling via a single Proton calendar, and secure cloud storage with Proton Drive (but be warned, this uses the same 500MB as your inbox.)
If you really need more, Proton Mail's $5 per month ($48 per year) Mail Plus account gives you 15GB of storage, up to 10 email addresses, 20 calendars, support for a custom domain ([email protected]), and no limit on the number of messages you can send per day.
The top of the line is the Proton Unlimited package ($11.99 per month, $9.99 per year) which includes 500GB of storage, 15 email addresses, three custom domains, and unlimited folders, labels, and filters. The full version of Proton VPN has the huge benefit that if you don't need a 500GB inbox, you can also use Proton Drive's cloud storage to back up and sync your most important files. If you need a VPN, this is a great deal. But if you're not sure, keep in mind that Microsoft and Google offer enterprise email, office apps, and 1-2TB of storage for around $6 per month.
Gmail - The best email service for teams!
Best Email Service for Teams
Features
Multi-User Support: Yes
Client Support: Yes
End-to-end encryption: No
Benefits
Lots of features
Great collaboration tool for teams
Modern interface and easy to use
Cons
- Paid plans are more expensive than email-only competitions
Details
Google's Gmail is a powerful free email service with over 1 billion users worldwide. With a generous 15GB of data traffic, leading anti-spam and phishing protection, strong integration with Google's other productivity services (chat, meetings, calendar, documents, cloud drive, etc.), and support for email clients including Outlook, Apple Mail, and Thunderbird.
Despite its power, we found Gmail easy to set up on both desktop and mobile devices. The interface is mostly clean and simple, and can be collapsed into one or two sidebars to make sure it doesn't get in your way. Some features may not appeal to everyone; Google's Smart Compose feature makes smart suggestions for what you're going to type next, which some people find distracting, but once you get used to it, we found the technology makes composing new emails faster.
There's plenty of power here. Dynamic Mail saves time by allowing you to perform actions such as filling out a survey or replying to a Google Docs comment within an email. Confidential mode supports expiration dates for messages and allows you to protect them with a password. There's even an offline mode that allows you to access Gmail and compose emails offline, which comes in handy when you don't have access to the Internet (though you'll need Chrome to use it).
Gmail's free package is relatively generous, although there are limitations: 15GB of storage, for example, and the option to send up to 500 emails per day. It may be great for personal use, but business or more serious users may prefer Google's Workspace offering.
One of the big advantages of Google Workspace is the support for using custom domain names ([email protected] instead of [email protected]). Storage ranges from 30GB to 5TB, depending on your package. The sending limit increases to 2,000 per day, and since email issues can cause serious problems even if they only last a few minutes, it's nice to see Workspace include phone and email support.
Google Workspace is Google's answer to Microsoft Office, so of course you also get apps for working with documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Shared calendars let you get better organized, and there are enterprise-grade video and audio conferencing. (500 attendees and meetings automatically recorded to a Google cloud drive? No problem at all.)
This more Office-like functionality makes the product more expensive than its email-only competition, which starts at $6 per user for the simplest plan. Still, that's cheaper than Microsoft's 365 Personal subscription ($6.99 per month), and if you're going to use Google Workspace's features, then it's probably a smart choice. The 14-day free trial allows up to 10 users to try each Workspace plan, making it easy to find out.
Microsoft Outlook - Best for Microsoft users!
Powerful email service for Microsoft users
Features
Multi-User Support: Yes
Client Support: Yes
End-to-End Encryption: Yes
Benefits
Familiar and user-friendly interface
Free 15GB inbox and 5GB cloud storage
Keeps your inbox free of spam and automatically highlights your most important emails
Includes powerful Office applications
Cons
No end-to-end encryption with the free plan
Can't match Gmail for configurability
Details
Outlook's powerful web app rivals Gmail, offering a massive free 15GB inbox, an extra 5GB of OneDrive cloud storage, and access to web and mobile versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
We found Outlook's web interface to be a bit more confusing than Gmail's, but it's also very familiar and almost identical to desktop Outlook and many other email clients. There are folder and organization tools on the left, the contents of the current folder in the middle, and a simple preview pane (advertised in the case of free accounts) on the right: if you've ever used another email client, you can quickly feel right at home.
Despite its apparent simplicity, a lot happens behind the scenes. The service automatically detects important e-mails and puts them in a "focused inbox" to eliminate any distractions. Events, including flights and dinner reservations, can be automatically added to your calendar. You can easily share the calendar with other Outlook.com or Microsoft 365 users, or save the event to a family calendar that everyone can access. There are also some interesting features, such as the ability to add polls directly to Outlook's featured emails.
Excellent attachment support includes the ability to share OneDrive files directly as copies or links. You can also attach files directly from Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box accounts, and the large 15GB mailbox can store tons of other people's files.
That's all well and good for us, but if you're not happy with the service's defaults, you can tweak them via Outlook.com's Settings dialog box. It doesn't have as many advanced options as Gmail, but you still have full control over the layout, message handling, spam handling, and so on, as well as some surprising bonus features. For example, if you're more accustomed to using desktop Outlook, Gmail, or Yahoo, you can set Outlook to use your old keyboard shortcuts with just a few clicks.
Outlook's free program can't match its competitors in every way. For example, Proton Mail's free package offers end-to-end encryption, and the paid version gives you access to encrypted e-mail via POP3 and IMAP; Outlook's e-mail encryption is more basic and available only to paying customers. Overall, though, this is a top-notch email service that's easy to use, has tons of features, and has some very valuable add-ons in its Office applications.
If you do need more, the $7 per month Microsoft 365 plan (which costs $5.83 per year) gives you an ad-free inbox, 50GB of email storage, and a huge 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage. Extra features include desktop versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for offline work, Microsoft Defender security for all devices, Teams video calling, and more. This is more expensive than email-only providers, but it's great value if you use cloud storage and office apps.
Yahoo Mail - best for storage
Reliable email service with plenty of storage space
Features
Multi-User Support: Yes
Client Support: Yes
End-to-end encryption: Yes
Benefits
1TB of free inbox storage
Useful extra information, such as disposable email addresses
Cons
- Not as many features or configuration options as competitors
Details
Yahoo Mail doesn't have the same profiles as before, but don't let that put you off: this is a polished and professional service that stands out from the top competition.
For example, storage ranges from 1TB to 5TB (yes, that's really at least 1TB.) Yahoo's web application automatically sorts and groups your e-mail, giving you instant access to attachments, mailing lists, and more. Customizable notifications send alerts for the emails you care about most, and if you like the way it all works, you can add Gmail, Outlook, and other email accounts and access them from the same web app.
The well-designed interface is similar to Outlook, with folders and one-click filters (Photos, Documents, Travel) on the left side, making it easy to navigate through all the emails in a conversation. Not exactly what you're looking for? Yahoo is nowhere near as configurable as Gmail or Outlook, but after delving into the settings, we found useful layout tweaks, options to show message previews, and even the ability to display messages in separate tabs for easy browsing and comparison.
Over time, more demanding users may find problems. For example, email organization doesn't quite match the flexibility of Gmail's labeling scheme, and unlike Proton Mail or Outlook, it doesn't have email encryption. Overall, though, Yahoo Mail's free plan is an attractive service that deserves a place on your email shortlist.
Yahoo also offers a paid Yahoo Mail Plus plan that removes ads, raises the storage limit to a whopping 5TB, supports disposable email addresses (you can use a temporary address instead of a real email), and adds 24/7 phone and chat support. At $5 per month it's not expensive, but if you don't use 5TB of storage, both Gmail and Outlook offer high-quality Office apps and other valuable bonuses for just a dollar or two more.
Zoho - Best Budget
An inexpensive email service that can offer you a lot of benefits.
Features
Multi-user support: Yes
Customer Support: Yes
End-to-end encryption: Yes
Benefits
Free package allows up to 5 users
Free support for customized domain names
Office and collaboration tools
Cons
No encryption, IMAP/POP free product
Not as configurable as Gmail, Outlook
Details
Zoho Mail is an amazingly functional email service with a free plan for businesses and a wide range of budget to enterprise level paid options.
The free service supports up to five users with the same account, which is a time saver for homes and small businesses. You can also use Zoho Mail with a single custom domain ([email protected]), which is a feature most providers reserve for their paid plans (if they offer one). Each user has their own 5GB inbox, which is better than most 25GB maximum storage.
We found the service to be easy to use, with an intuitive interface and a nice set of features to help organize your emails: folders, tags, filters, smart search, and more. If you need a free plan that supports multiple users and your domain, then this is a must-see. We also found some important limitations: in particular, it only offers web and mobile app access, and there's no message encryption, IMAP or POP support. But that's where the paid plans come in handy.
Zoho Mail Lite adds IMAP and POP support for easy access from other email clients. It encrypts and password-protects confidential information for added security; synchronizes email, contact and calendar details across all your devices; supports sending 250MB attachments (via links) and allows you to use multiple custom domains. It's a nice feature set, but it's available for just $12 per year (unfortunately, there's no need for monthly billing, but the price is so low, we're not too worried.)
The $48 per year Mail Premium plan extends the service with a 50GB inbox, digital signature and encryption tools, email archiving, and more. But more interesting is Zoho's Workplace, an online office suite that includes Zoho Mail, a word processor, spreadsheets, presentation apps, chat, conferencing, and various collaboration tools. There's real enterprise power here, but Workplace is also much cheaper than Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and the like, at just $3 per month, billed annually. Well worth a closer look for businesses or users on a demanding budget.
