Choosing an email provider is a big decision because it is an essential tool for reaching so many of our personal and business goals. In this article, we will explain how the right email account will help you as your inbox grows. We’ll explore a list of essential criteria you can use to review an email provider plan: storage, security, customization and tools, user support, mobile access, and price.
We’ll also give you our comparison of the top email providers’ selection of basic plans versus their business plans. Follow along to compare Gmail and Google Workspace, Zoho Mail, Yahoo Mail, and ProtonMail.
How Is an Email Provider Different from an Email Client?
An email provider is a service that lets your register an email address and also helps you send and receive messages.
- Examples of email providers: Yahoo, Outlook, Gmail
When you use an email provider, you may create your own email address, like johndoe@yahoo.com or johndoe@gmail.com. Some of them also allow you to create professional email addresses using your company domain, like johndoe@bestcompany.com.
An email client is software you can use to access your email.
- Examples of email clients: Mailbird, Thunderbird, Apple Mail
When you use an email client, you may open your email addresses created with different email providers.
Many email providers also have their own email clients, like Outlook and Gmail — you can create your email address and use their own product to open it and manage conversations.
But also, there are “pure” email clients like Mailbird whose goal is to help you effectively manage your email from different providers. The unified inbox makes it possible for you to combine all of your emails from different accounts in one place.
Criteria to Choose an Email Provider
Now that we understand the difference, let’s break down what you should look for in an email provider to register your personal or business email address. Here are the main criteria to consider.
Security
Having a secure email provider is incredibly important to avoid unauthorized access to your data and third-party applications. It is recommended to use two-factor authentication at the very least.
Most providers can offer additional features like:
- End-to-end encryption
- Anti-spam technology to weed out malicious emails before they reach your inbox
- Open-source code to enable you to look at the history of the software and previous bugs.
Storage
The greater your enterprise, the greater space you’re going to need. Even for personal use, 1 GB is not so much. Conversely, 15 GB (what Gmail offers) is a significant amount for personal use, especially if your emails are mostly text, which takes up minimal space.
Data
Activity
1 GB
Send 5000 emails
15 GB
Send 75,000 emails
1 TB
Send nearly 41 million emails
Consider how you keep and send large files because there may be attachment limits. It can’t be as easy as deleting old emails to gain back space because you may need to recall archived documentation for an issue.
Another thing, check to see if there are limits on how many emails you can send daily. Are you scaling up your email campaigns? Part two of our post on how to choose the best email software for your business covers everything an email marketer must consider.
Customization and Tools
In order to have a professional appearance and operate smoothly across multiple channels, consider:
- A custom domain address
- Quick configuration and integration between calendars and task managers you’ll use frequently to accomplish your to-do list
- A layout that helps rather than hinders you
Choose an email provider that works seamlessly with your routine.
User Support
Even if you’re not moving lots of data over, when the going gets tough, a reliable tech support service offers more value than you may realize.
- Fast-tracked tickets to get to the bottom of issues quickly
- Prioritized onboarding experience
- Learn how to incorporate new features via exclusive webinars or info sessions
Mobile Access
If you are constantly on the go, your email should be too. At the very least you should be able to write and check emails, update calendars, and browse your attachments through the provider’s app.
Referring back to customization and tools, your email should make it easy for you to forward tasks to third-party apps like Dropbox or Trello from your phone.
Price
Free versions, like Gmail and Yahoo, may be adequate for personal use or for a small business, but paying for more services is a simple solution to improving or optimizing your workflow.
Both affordability and the breakdown of payments are important factors. Many providers have options to pay monthly versus annually. Some accept Bitcoin. Some base the price on your storage needs. Overall budget aside, know what these additional selling points add up to.
Top Email Providers Compared for Small Businesses
We’ve taken some of the work out of your decision-making process and compared four of the best free plans against their business counterparts.
Between our list of criteria to guide us, the intel from signing up for accounts ourselves, and poring over recent reviews, we have summarized the top email providers. This should help you determine whether it’s a good idea to upgrade or switch providers.
Gmail
Gmail has 1.8 billion users for good reason. People love that Gmail is compatible with so many applications, and not just the huge set of apps owned by Google. Gmail makes standard interactions accessible. We like them for their price (free) and generous storage capabilities, but they don’t offer a custom domain address.
Features
- 15 GB of storage
- Two-factor authentication
- Spam protection from Google’s advanced technologies
- Basic integration with Google Apps
- Smart Compose with Gmail’s predictive text feature
- Google Knowledge Base for user support
- Compatible with Android and iOS
- IMAP and POP3 supported
Pricing
- Free
Google Workspace
Google Workspace (formerly known as GSuite) stepped onto the scene as a single unified experience for working online. They integrate all of the collaboration and communication tools you can find across Google Apps into one plan, and the more you pay (there are three tiers), the more perks you get.
Custom domain email addresses and Google Meet catch our eye, but the added customer support is a huge bonus too.
Features
- 15 GB plus additional storage in Google Drive
- Two-factor authentication, Google Endpoint Management (for Standard and Plus)
- Custom domain email address
- Video conferencing for up to 150+ participants with Google Meet
- Cloud Search for first-party data (for Standard and Plus)
- 24/7 email and phone support
Pricing
- $6 USD / Month for Business Starter
- $12 USD / Month for Business Standard
- $18 USD / Month for Business Plus
Zoho Mail Lite
Zoho Mail sets itself apart as a provider because they are specifically designed to work with teams. This is why they offer custom domain emails at a low cost. Our personal experience with Zoho Mail taught us that it was great for customizing the layout, but their mobile app seemed fairly basic, and the storage limit could be bigger.
Features
- 5 GB of storage
- Two-factor authentication, encryption, intrusion detection
- Supports up to five users on one plan
- Custom domain email address
- Hassle-free migration tool to move your data
- Email support, Zoho Knowledge Base
- Compatible with Android and iOS
- IMAP and POP3 supported
Pricing
- $1 USD / Month for Zoho Mail Lite
Zoho Mail Premium
You’ll get the standard Zoho features along with quite a bit of added storage and offline access. We are fans of the white labeling feature, which enables you to give safe access to reports you have created.
Features
- 50 GB
- S-MIME encryption service
- Offline access
- Email recall
- Email backup and restoration
- White labelling
- 24/7 live chat and toll-free phone support
- Compatible with Android and iOS
- IMAP and POP3 supported
Pricing
- $4 USD / Month for Zoho Mail Premium
Yahoo Mail
Yahoo has been around for quite some time. They’ve managed to keep themselves high on the list with their unbeatable storage space and attractive folder organization. People who get a lot of incoming photos to their inboxes are big fans of Yahoo Mail because it automatically populates photos in a gallery.
Unfortunately, most reviews have qualms with the number of ads you’ll get in your inbox.
Features
- 1 TB of storage
- Two-factor authentication
- Superior anti-spam technology
- Compatible with Android and iOS
- IMAP and POP3 supported
Pricing
- Free
Yahoo Mail Pro
Yahoo Mail Pro doesn’t have a lot to differentiate it from the free plan. Its major selling point is that it is ad-free. If your storage needs go beyond 50 GB, this would be the best option for you.
Features
- 1 TB
- Two-factor authentication
- Ad-free
- Priority customer support and easy cancellation
- Compatible with Android and iOS
- IMAP and POP3 supported
Pricing
- $3.49 USD / Month for Yahoo Mail Pro
ProtonMail
Based in Switzerland, ProtonMail is notorious for their dedication to privacy. Your messages are end-to-end encrypted. We love that the company is designed and maintained by open-source code so you can see what is being done to fix bugs and continue to improve. The free version doesn’t offer a lot of storage or customer support, but the peace of mind that your messages are not in the wrong hands is a huge bonus.
Features
- 500 MB
- Zero access to user data and end-to-end encryption
- Password-protect messages to recipients
- Two-factor authentication
- Open-source
- Compatible with Android and iOS
Pricing
- Free
ProtonMail Professional
The professional plan from ProtonMail is a great option to help you keep things secure and support their strict policy to stay away from ads. They offer an impressive five secure custom email addresses for one plan and certainly enough storage for a small organization. The customer support improves with this paid plan as well.
Features
- 5 GB of storage per user
- 5 custom email addresses
- Unlimited sending limit
- Password-protect messages to recipients
- Catch-all service for custom domains
- Short email domain for sending and receiving messages
- Multi-user support
- Compatible with Android and iOS
- IMAP and POP3 supported
Pricing
- $8 USD / Month for ProtonMail Professional
We have summarized our research on the top email providers in this table for you.
Google Workspace seems to be the top email provider for people and companies looking for value by virtue of its access to other tools, like video conferencing. The downside would be that there is no dedicated single app for mobile or desktop. The desktop issue is remedied by using an email client that allows Google Apps to be integrated and save you from bouncing around.
Zoho Premium is a great option if you share analytics with a lot of external clients, thanks to their white labeling. It comes at a reasonable price as well.
Yahoo seems to be a clear winner if you require an unprecedented amount of storage capacity, but they don’t offer nearly as many tools or security features as our other contenders.
For users determined to maintain a tight ship security-wise, it’s clear ProtonMail Professional is the way to go. Their open-source platform is a huge selling point. It’s worth noting that ProtonMail is not great for massive email blasts — their anti-spam ethos will hurt your efforts here.
Conclusion
There’s no such thing as the best email provider for everyone because each one of the top tools on the market has its benefits for different needs. We hope we’ve helped you choose your own best fit.
If you are looking for a great email client to manage all your business and personal correspondence in the same place, together with task managers and messengers conveniently organized, try Mailbird for free. It will save you a lot of time and bring comfort to your everyday communication.
Get Mailbird, the best email client for business that supports all email providers and helps manage multiple email accounts
