When it comes to choosing an email service, Gmail is the default choice for the vast majority of online users. And for good reason. Gmail gives you a ton of features, and with Google Workspace, you can integrate more deeply into Google’s productivity suite, including Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Meet. However, if you’re looking to reduce your reliance on the Google ecosystem or look for a privacy-focused email service, then you should try the following best Gmail alternatives.
10 Best Gmail Alternatives: Best Email Collection
What are the best Gmail alternatives? One of the main reasons why users abandon Gmail is privacy concerns. Many users feel insecure about Google accessing their private data. Also, it’s not end-to-end encrypted by default. Another major concern for some users is the lack of features, which Google has promised to port from Google’s now-dead inbox. So, if you want a more feature-rich and privacy-focused email service provider, check out the best alternatives to Gmail from the table below:
ProtonMail – The best privacy-focused alternative to Gmail
Best Email Collection Recommendations:P rotonMail is based in Switzerland and is a privacy-friendly alternative to Gmail. It offers end-to-end encryption and doesn’t require any personal information when creating an email account. For security reasons, ProtonMail uses open-source cryptographic libraries, and the company says it uses secure implementations of AES (better known as military-grade encryption), RSA, and OpenPGP.
While you’ll have to opt for the paid version to access all the features, ProtonMail’s free tier offers 500MB of storage and is limited to 150 messages per day. For additional features, including custom filters, using your own domain, and priority customer support, you can opt for the Plus plan for $4 per month.
Key features: end-to-end encryption, expired messages, open source
Available Platforms: Web、Android、iOS
Enterprise Custom Email: $6.25/user per month
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Outlook
Best Email Download: If you use Microsoft’s services, you’ve probably heard of Outlook. If you haven’t already, Outlook is Microsoft’s email product. Like Gmail, Outlook integrates with Microsoft’s productivity apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. However, it’s worth mentioning that Outlook’s free tier has ads.
Getting rid of ads on Outlook will cost you $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year. You can also access 50GB of mailbox storage (15GB for the free version), a custom domain name, and 1TB of OneDrive storage with a subscription. Outlook is a popular Gmail alternative for businesses.
Key features: Integration with the Microsoft Office suite, custom domain, scan and remove malicious attachments, free 5GB OneDrive storage
Available Platforms: Web、Windows、Mac、Android、iOS
Enterprise Custom Email: Starts at $5/user per month
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Zoho Mail
If you’re looking for a Gmail alternative, Zoho Mail is another option you can consider. What makes Zoho Mail an attractive option is that it offers an ad-free experience even for free users. You also get 5GB of storage on the free plan and access to Zoho’s various workplace apps.
Additionally, Zoho even offers a free plan for small businesses with up to five users. If you’re just starting out and looking to host emails for a single domain, then this is tempting. You can also choose Zoho’s Mail Lite, Mail Premium, or Workplace plans for more users and additional features.
Key features: Ad-free experience, dedicated mobile app, access to Zoho workplace app, Zoho CRM integration, free business tier
Available Platforms: Web、Android、iOS
Enterprise custom email: Free for up to 5 users
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Tutanota
What are the best Gmail alternatives? Tutanota is another popular privacy-focused email service that offers an encrypted email service with E2E encryption. The German company stores your encrypted emails in secure data centers in the country and is GDPR compliant. Like Zoho Mail, Tutanota offers an ad-free experience for free.
With Tutanota’s free plan, you get 1GB of storage, a calendar, and limited search options. Paid plans offer up to 10GB of storage, and you can get additional storage with a separate storage subscription.
Key features: Ad-free experience, end-to-end encryption, open-source
Available Platforms: Android、iOS、Linux、Windows、macOS、Web
Enterprise Custom Email: Starts at €24/user per year
ExcursionsTutanota
Yahoo Mail
Best Email Collection: Yahoo may not be as popular as it used to be, but Yahoo Mail is still a great alternative to Gmail. An appealing aspect of Yahoo Mail is that it offers up to 1TB of storage for free users. However, the problem is that the maximum file size of attachments is capped at 25MB.
On top of that, you can customize the look and feel of Yahoo Mail with themes. Plus, Yahoo Mail lets you manage all your email addresses, use filters, group conversations, view emails by subject, and more all in one place. In addition, you can easily create attractive emails with templates using Yahoo Stationery. Still, keep in mind that you’ll see ads on the free version.
Key features: 1TB of free storage, customization features, themes, Google Drive/Dropbox integration
Available Platforms: Android、iOS、Web
Enterprise Custom Email: Starts at $1.59 per user per month
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iCloud – Best Gmail alternative for Apple users
Best email collection recommendation: Cloud Mail uses your Apple ID for email service. It’s a great addition to other services that you can already access through iCloud. You’ll get 5GB of storage and a 20MB file size limit for incoming and outgoing messages. Up to 5GB when using Mail Drop. Needless to say, iCloud Mail is the best Gmail alternative for users of the Apple ecosystem.
Before switching to iCloud Mail, you should also keep in mind that iCloud supports IMAP and SMTP protocols, but not POP3. Another problem with iCloud Mail is that the spam filtering system is a bit tricky and can sometimes filter out useful emails.
Key features: No ads, clean UI, best for Apple devices
Available platforms: macOS, Windows, iOS, Web
StartMail
Best Email Download: StartMail is a private email service provided by the creators of StartPage, a popular Google search alternative and private search engine. StartMail is headquartered in the Netherlands and complies with European GDPR privacy laws. The company uses PGP email encryption for emails and supports SMTP/IMAP protocols.
It’s worth pointing out that StartMail doesn’t have a free version. The paid plan costs $44.95 per year. You get 10GB of storage and the flexibility to use your own domain as well as unlimited aliases on StartMail. You can even pay for StartMail with Bitcoin. Unfortunately, StartMail doesn’t currently have a mobile app.
Key features: No ads, PGP encryption, GDPR compliant, modern UI
Available Platforms: Web
Enterprise Custom Email: $59.95 per year
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Posteo – Gmail alternative without phone number registration
Another alternative email service to Gmail from Germany is Posteo. It allows you to sign up without having to enter any personal information, such as your phone number or address. The company also promises that its users will not be tracked and that there are no ads at all. Notably, Posteo is committed to sustainability and operates with 100% green energy.
Best Email Collection Recommendation: It’s safe to say that Posteo is a paid email service. While you can use it for free, the free version has several limitations, including 20MB of storage, email support from a choice of providers, lack of forwarding, address book, and calendar encryption. However, these will all be canceled when you get an affordable subscription fee of €1 per month.
Key features: Ad-free, open-source, OpenPGP encryption
Available Platforms: Web
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Mailfence
What are the best Gmail alternatives? If you want a private email service with a free plan, you might want to consider using Mailfence. But, ironically, you’ll need a valid email address to sign up for Mailfence. While Mailfence uses it for verification, it’s undoubtedly weird for an email service to ask for an email address to sign up.
In the free version of Mailfence, you get 500MB of storage space for emails and documents. Paid plans start at €2.5 per month and go up to €25 per month. Sticking to its goal, Mailfence donates 15% of its Pro and Ultra program revenue to the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the European Digital Rights Foundation.
Key features: No ads, OpenPGP encryption, 2FA support
Available Platforms: Web
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Mailbox
Best Email Collection: Last but not least, Mailbox is a paid email service that is based outside of Germany. Since it’s a paid service, you can rest assured that you won’t see any ads in your inbox. The service uses PGP for encryption and even uses anonymous message headers to remove details about the user, such as the IP address and the software client used.
Mailbox starts at €1/month and goes up to €9. You’ll get a two-week trial, after which you’ll have to pay to continue using the service. If you can afford to spend money on email services, you should consider using Mailbox as an alternative to Gmail.
Key features: Ad-free, crypto, paid service
Available Platforms: Web、Android、iOS
Enterprise custom email: from €1 per user per month
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Try these email services instead of Gmail
So, these are the best Gmail alternatives with more storage space, privacy features, and sign-up options without having to enter a phone number or address. Do you use any other email services that aren’t mentioned in the list here? Let us know if that’s the case and why you chose it in the comments section below. Also, if you’re looking for the best email apps for Android and iOS, check out our linked article.
