I have a dedicated guide on how to setup a professional email using a standard web hosting account. It’s a good simple solution if you just need a professional email for a contact form and so forth and don’t plan on sending or receiving too many emails.
But what if you plan on using a professional email for a wide variety of things like contacting business and professionals for partnerships, interacting with clients, your audience (if you have one) and/or perhaps for email marketing? You’ll need your own dedicated email hosting solution then.
It’s not something most small business owners and content creators think about, but at some point you are going to need dedicated email hosting as a way to separate your business from the personal.
Why pay for email hosting instead of using a free service?
Paying for email hosting allows you to have a dedicated inbox with it’s own custom domain, storage, collaboration tools and data privacy. Also, long term as your business grows you will start to rely on email for more for professional use like I do.
On a weekly basis I interact with brands for affiliate deals, other content creators and bloggers as well as answering emails from the public. You’ll want a level of professionalism that a branded email like hello@yourwebsite.com provides on top of security and storage.
Bandwidth and storage
Emails take up a lot of space on your hosting account over the long term. I know my personal Gmail account right now is nearly maxed out at 14.5 GB. When you pay for hosting you do get storage, but it’s an inefficient use of money and the storage you’re paying for as it should be more dedicated to hosting and storing files, images and videos for your website – not a bunch of emails.
With a dedicated host you can easily scale up your email requirements easily without service interruption and you’re not wasting storage space on emails.
Can switch web hosts more easily
While you won’t be switching web hosts that often, maybe once every few years at best, it becomes a massive headache if you have gigabytes worth of emails to move over from one web host to another.
A web host email is fine if you just need a professional email for something simple. But if you’re going to be getting a lot of emails or doing email marketing then you’ll want an email host.
Email specific security and features
From end-to-end encryption, security, and additional features like collaboration tools, a lot of dedicated email host provides a wide array of features your web host simply won’t.
Compared to using a free option like a Gmail account or an email hosting with your web host, you’ll get features such as upgraded spam filters, malware defense and two-factor authentication. This allows you to safeguard sensitive data and your personal information.
Better email deliverability
If you’re thinking you’re going to use a professional email that’s hosted at your web host for your email marketing software, you’re making a big mistake. Deliverability is important and your email account will have the same shared IP address as your websites and any website you share a server with.
Having a dedicated email host I’ve noticed results in better deliverability for emails, that means they hit the inbox and not the spam folder or the “promotions” tab in Gmail.
The 10 best email hosting options
With that out of the way, here are my top choices for email hosting. You have a wide range of options, and my team and I are going to cover everything from the best budget option to the most feature rich email hosting for small businesses.
Let’s get started!
Google Workspace – Best for collaboration and teams
Leading off the list is Google Workspace, it’s basically a paid version of Gmail where it’s ad free, you get a suite of tools and they don’t collect data on you:
Google Workspace customers own their customer data, not Google.
Security whitepaper
You can also set a custom domain name for your emails as well. So if you’re a power user of Google services from documents, slides, drive as well as Google meetings then you’ll love Workspace. You can also integrate Workspace with a physical key and 2FA for an even greater level of security.
I find that Google Workspace is one of the best options for email hosting if you’re going to be using all the features provided with your account. If all you’re looking for however is email, then it’s too expensive as the price point is per inbox user which can add up quick if you want to have multiple custom email addresses.
Pros:
- It’s the paid version of Gmail, a service you’re probably already quite familiar with.
- Your data is your own, no more ads too within your email client.
- Can use a physical key to add an even greater level of security.
- Perfect for small teams as you get a suite of tools.
- Great support and easy account recovery.
Cons:
- Price is per user/inbox. To pay 6-12$ per month for one inbox is costly, particularly if you start building out a team who all need their own email address.
Google Worskspace
My top choice for professionals and small business who need quality email, security as well as a suite of helpful collaboration tools.
Proton Mail – The best secure, email first option
I was a long time user of Workspace and have since moved over myself and my team over to Proton Mail. The reason for the move was that I did not use all the features my Workspace account provided. In addition, what I cared about was the amount of email inboxes I got as well as end to end encryption.
Proton Mail is Switzerland based and follows strict privacy laws. Your data can be literally encrypted from end to end. That means Proton Mail (even a free account) is perfect to use for all your sensitive data like banking and brokerage accounts.
What you get with Proton Mail is encrypted email, a drive storage feature, calendar and a VPN. With their paid plans that cost roughly the same as Workspace you can have multiple email accounts for multiple custom domains, not just one inbox for one domain like Workspace.
For example, they offer a “Proton Unlimited” account for individuals that provide a massive 500 GB of storage, 15 email addresses (hello@website.com, name@website.com etc) and 3 custom domains. So if you have multiple websites where you want to use a custom domain now you can.
The “Mail Essentials” plan for business is cheaper than Unlimited and costs the same as Workspace. You get 15 email addresses, 3 custom email domains but only 15 GB of storage. The only issue I’ve seen potentially with Proton Mail is that if you lose your password and you didn’t setup a recover method you will straight up lose access to your account.
Pros:
- If all you need is email hosting, Proton Mail is one of the best option.
- Multiple custom domains and email accounts for one low price.
- End to end encryption that keeps your data private.
- You get also get a calendar, cloud drive storage and a VPN.
Cons:
- Proton Mail does not have access to your password. If you forget your password you can recover your account but you won’t be able to “read all your existing emails, contacts, and other files due to the encryption we use to protect your data” – source. So you need to trust yourself not to forget your password. If you didn’t setup an account recovery option you’ll lose access to your email permanently.
Proton Mail
Multiple email inboxes, aliases, storage, a VPN and end to end encryption for a great price.
Namecheap – The best budget option
Anyone who watches my tutorial videos or reads my in-depth guides here on DavidUtke.com knows I love Namecheap for everything domain names. However, they do offer various web hosting options and a pretty compelling email hosting offer as well.
For just a few dollars a month you can have multiple mailboxes with your own custom domain, anti-spam protection, gigabytes worth of storage and basic security features like 2FA. The interface is nothing to write home about when logged into your account but you can connect Namecheap email hosting to your favorite email client (through SMTP, IMAP and POP3) for a better user experience.
Pros:
- Good, basic email hosting at a very affordable price.
- If you have your domains at Namecheap, integration is even easier.
- A strong focus on spam control and security.
- Free trial for 2 months before having to pay.
Cons:
- The 2FA feature works with desktop but not mobile, so if someone if trying to hack into your email on mobile there is less security. This is not a big concern though but it is something I noticed.
- No additional features beyond email and storage.
Namecheap
Namecheap provides affordable, straightforward email hosting. Very easy to integrate if you already have your domains at Namecheap.
Zoho – The white label suite of tools choice
Zoho is a company that provides a wide range of business services from email, CRM, a customer service desk and more. Their email offer is very good because it’s incredibly affordable at just $1 a month for their “Mail Lite” plan where you get 5GB of storage, a basic calendar and premium email features like spam protection, security, aliases and large attachment support.
You could also consider upgrading to their “workplace” plan if you need a suite of tools similar to Google Workspace apps or their “Mail Premium” offer where you can white label their software as your companies own.
Overall Zoho has a very compelling offer for both individuals, small teams and small business. All at a great price point.
Pros:
- Three different plans ideal for different user bases: the individual who needs a basic professional email, the small business who want’s to white label and teams that need collaboration tools.
- Great price points, particularly when compared to Google Workspace.
Cons:
- Customer support is lacking, particularly if you have an issue accessing your account.
Fastmail – The secure, Proton Mail alternative
Fastmail is based in Australia and provides secure email almost on par with Proton Mail. They don’t follow as strict of encryption as Proton Mail, so if you’re the type to lose your password, you may want to use Fastmail over Proton.
Fastmail offers probably the most generous policy on email address around in that you can have multiple domains, each with their own inbox and can also leverage up to 600 aliases. The only real limit is your account resources.
With additional features like “schedule to send” as well as a snooze, expert support and a great mobile app, you’ll be quite happy with this secure email offering if what you’re looking for is primarily secure email only with a good web app.
Pros:
- Secure email provider, but not so secure that if you lose your password they can’t help you.
- No limit on how many domains you can add to your account.
- 600 aliases for added privacy.
- A solid mobile app to check your email.
Cons:
- No additional features like a VPN or productivity apps. If all you’re looking for is email however, Fastmail is great.
Skiff – The secure productivity suite
Skiff brands themselves as a “privacy first workspace” for small businesses. They provide encrypted email, calendar, pages and a cloud storage drive. It’s a decent suite of collaboration for small business as you can easily share documents between members.
The email feature is end to end encrypted like Proton Mail and all documents are encrypted as well. You can choose who has access to what and can manage your teams workspace from one interface. Even the calendar and drive are encrypted as well.
This brings up the same issue as Proton Mail, if you forget your password it will be difficult to recover your account. Skiff does provide all new users with a recovery key that can be used to access your account (you write it down somewhere or can save it as a PDF).
They also use Shamir’s secret sharing for cryptography. So if you do forget your password an need to use your recovery key or backup email address you can recover your account data. In short, use a password manager.
Pros:
- End to end encryption for email.
- A good set of productivity tools for small teams.
- A great choice for small teams.
- 100 GB of storage
- Free plan you can use and try out.
Cons:
- A bit more expensive than Workspace but for one price you can have two domains.
Hover – Best cheap and simple option
Hover is another domain name registrar that I like that offers basic email hosting for just $20 a year. At this price point you get unlimited inboxes for one custom domain and 10 GB of storage. That means you can have hello@yourwebsite.com, contact@yourwebsite.com and so forth.
The only issue I’ve seen with using Hover is they charge $5 per alias. An alias is a way forwarding email from different addresses to one inbox. So with other email hosts you can have one inbox to manage everything but use multiple aliases.
Pros:
- An outstanding price point.
- 10 GB of storage.
- Unlimited inboxes for one domain.
Cons:
- They charge a lot for setting up an alias. You’re better of just creating multiple inboxes.
Start Mail – Privacy focused email
Start Mail is another great, lesser known, privacy focused email hosting service. With their “custom domain” plan you can set one inbox per custom domain and unlimited aliases which depending on your work flow might be significant.
In addition you also get 10 GB of storage per account, advanced spam filters, inbox layout options and premium customer support. Where Start Mail may be lacking is that they don’t provide an app for your mobile device, instead requiring you to log into Start Mail via a mobile web browser.
There is also no free plan, even a personal email found at @startmail.com requires users to pay for access. However they do offer a 7 day free trial.
Pros:
- Very affordable price point per inbox.
- Unlimited aliases
- 10 GB of storage is an acceptable starting amount.
Cons:
- No mobile app.
Godaddy – Microsoft 365 business choice
I’m typically not a fan of GoDaddy because I find that they almost always over charge for their services compared to their competitors, but their email hosting plans are pretty competitive.
With their “essentials” and “plus” plans you can get a domain based email, 400 aliases and 10 GB of storage on the essential plan and 50 GB of storage on the plus plan. They also offer a “business professional” plan that includes everything in the plus plan, but also access to Microsoft 365 apps.
Just be aware that like in typical GoDaddy fashion, the price point you see is only an introduction price and the actual renewal rate is much higher. But if you’re looking for an email host that provides a lot of storage with their plans then GoDaddy is tough to beat.
Pros:
- Can get up to 50 GB of storage for each inbox.
- 400 aliases per inbox.
- Access to Microsoft 365 on their top tier plan.
Cons:
- Their renewal rates are a bit high compared to other options.
Hostinger – The super cheap email hosting option
Hostinger offers the cheapest email hosting plan I’ve come across. At a .99 cents a month you get one inbox, 10 email aliases and 10 GB of storage. They are powered by Titan Email (a business to business email hosting provider) which provides you with an app for you to download to both your IOS or Android device.
They also offer an “enterprise” plan at $2.99 a month where the storage is increased to 30 GB per inbox. Overall, if you’re looking for cheap email hosting with a low price point per inbox in addition to a mobile app then you’ll like Hostinger.
Pros:
- Low price point per inbox.
- 10 GB of storage is adequate for strictly business email.
- Mobile app.
- 10 aliases per inbox.
Cons:
- No collaboration tools for teams. This is an email only hosting option.
Ice Warp – A suite of business tools
Ice Warp is a lesser known productivity suite with a good email option built in. They charge a lower fee per user than Google Workspace and provide you and your team with an email client, chat function, conference call, document management, notes and a calendar.
Ice Warp is great alternative to Google Workspace and provides similar features at a more cost effective price point. However, it’s really only designed for teams as all plans require that you pay for a minimum of 10 users.
If you have a small business with a small team or a corporation, Ice Warp has plan for you. For 10 users, they provide 200 GB of email storage and 1TB of file size transfer.
Pros:
- Cost effective if you require 10 or more users.
- Lot’s of storage and a good file transfer limit.
- A suite of tools designed for team management.
Cons:
- For teams only as all plans require you purchase 10 user accounts at a minimum.
Amazon Workmail – Web services email
If you use Amazon Web Services for your small business, consider using their Workmail service to host your email. WorkMail is only $4 per user each month; this includes 50GB of mailbox storage with no additional options other than the number of users.
You can get started with Workmail usin a 30-day free trial for up to 25 users. With just $4.00 per user per month, you’ll receive 50 GB of mailbox storage to store all your important emails and documents.
Overall I would suggest WorkMail if you’re going be using Amazon Web Services in general for your small business. If you’re not using Web Services, then the email feature of Workmail is quite lacking in features and there are better options on this list.
Pros:
- A good choice if you’re in the Amazon ecosystem already.
- Secure email through usage of Amazon’s industrial grade cloud computing.
Cons:
- End to end encryption is not possible yet.
- No collaboration tools, not even with Amazon WorkDocs which you need to pay extra for.
- Overall just a bit bare bones for the price point when compared to the competition.
FAQ
What is an email alias and why should I use one?
An email alias is an alternative email address that forwards emails to your primary email inbox account. It can be used to create a new email address for specific purposes or to protect your primary email address from spam.
Many email hosting providers allow customers to create multiple email aliases for free (except for Hover on my list). This feature is a necessity for businesses, organizations, or individuals who need to manage various email addresses for different purposes but don’t want to create or pay for multiple inboxes.
For example, say you signup to one of the email hosts I listed out and create the email inbox@example.com. You can then go ahead and create an alias for your YouTube channel about page like YouTube@example.com, or Marketing@example.com and a different alias for your website. All emails sent to the alias addresses will hit the inbox of inbox@example.com.
That way you can pay for just one inbox and manage all communication. It’s also useful because you can create an alias for signing up to one off services and then turning the alias off if you start getting spam.
Is it more important to have multiple inboxes or aliases?
Being able to create multiple aliases is very important for organizational and security purposes. You don’t want to be giving out your email when possible so giving out an alias is just better and more useful as you can hide your inbox.
So depending on your needs, you’ll probably want a few inboxes. Like an general inbox for messages and marketing purposes (contact forms for example), an inbox for email marketing and an inbox to sign up to services.
Best email hosting options
You have a lot of choices when it comes to email hosting. I know it can be a bit confusing and overwhelming as how to move forward so I hope this guide was useful.
For most I suggest Workspace as you get access to Gmail with a domain based email account and can setup multiple aliases to hide your inbox and stay organized. Proton Mail offers the most generous plans with the ability to create multiple inboxes for multiple domains with a ton of storage and aliases.
Last if you’re on a budget you’ll be hard pressed to find a better offer than Namecheap, Hostinger or Hover. All provide email hosting and various other helpful features for cheap.
