No matter how big or small, every business needs a reliable email service to communicate with customers, employees and suppliers. If you’re just starting out, a trustworthy yet affordable email service is the best option. This guide to the best email for small business owners will help you find the provider right for you.
Key Takeaways:
- Email is an essential part of communication in an organization, so selecting a reliable email provider is vital. The best email services for small businesses are affordable, secure, and come with key collaboration and productivity tools.
- Proton Mail is our top pick for paid email services, but the runners-up — Bluehost, DreamHost, Google Workspace and Microsoft365 — can also be highly useful for your business.
- Zoho Mail tops the list of free email providers, but Titan, Squarespace, IONOS and IceWarp are also excellent choices.
Some email providers offer paid services, while others provide free business email accounts with a purchased custom domain name. Even others offer free plans, albeit with limited capabilities. We’ll give you a list of five paid and five free business email plans to help you select the best email service for your small business.
What Makes the Best Email for Small Business
Your business email should be capable of more than just managing incoming and outgoing emails. It should have advanced security features, collaboration tools and a large amount of storage space. These features are all offered by the business email service providers listed below:
The Best Paid Business Email Providers:
The Best Free Business Email Providers:
- Zoho Mail — Feature-rich email provider for a small team
- Titan — Free email service with excellent tools
- Squarespace — All-in-one service for website and email management
- IONOS — Most affordable email provider
- IceWarp — Email provider that allows customization of plans
Calendars, high storage space, and video conferencing are a few of the productivity and collaboration tools that businesses require. These tools are typically provided by business email providers and integrated with your business email address.
According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, businesses lost about $1.8 billion because of business email compromises in 2020. Therefore, to protect your business’ sensitive information, your email account should have advanced security features to block hackers.
In order to avoid spam and filter malicious files, the best email service provider will provide security features like end-to-end encryption and spam filters. Moreover, customer service should be accessible to help you if you experience any problems with the email service to keep your business running smoothly.
The 5 Best Business Email Services
Your business email service will continue to be a key part of your company, especially as it expands. Therefore, it’s important to consider both your current and future business demands when choosing one.
Keep reading to find a lasting solution for your business management and communication concerns in the list of business email services provided below.
More details about Proton Mail:
- Pricing: Free plan available; part of Proton bundle for $7.99 per month (two-year plan)
- Provider website: proton.me/mail
Pros:
- Zero-knowledge encryption
- Self-destructing emails
- Apps for Android & iOS
Cons:
- Expensive
- Doesn’t encrypt email subject lines
Proton Mail is your safest bet if you are worried about your company’s security. Its data centers are located in Switzerland, a country with strict privacy laws. It offers end-to-end encryption, meaning only the sender and recipient of the email can decrypt the message. Plus, zero-knowledge encryption stops the service provider from accessing your data.
To keep your email communications organized, you can create an unlimited number of folders and assign labels to your email messages. Proton Mail also has an autoresponder feature, which allows users to set up an automatic response for every incoming email.
Proton Mail provides all these features for $11.99 per user per month. A calendar, VPN (virtual private network), contact groups management, 15 email addresses, 3 custom domains and up to 500GB of cloud storage are included in the plan with the email. You can find out more about it in our Proton Mail review. There’s also a free personal version you can use to try the service out.
2. Bluehost
More details about Bluehost:
- Pricing: $4.45 per month (one-year plan)
- Provider website: bluehost.com
Pros:
- SSL/TLS encryption
- High storage limits
- Free WordPress builder
- 24/7 Tech support
Cons:
- No productivity tools
- Plans are only billed annually
- High domain renewal costs
As a leading web hosting provider endorsed by WordPress, Bluehost will take care of both your company’s email and website. It’s really easy to use; all you have to do is open the cPanel and make as many professional email accounts as you want. You can also connect your Bluehost email accounts to other email providers like Outlook and Gmail.
Bluehost guarantees privacy thanks to its SSL email certificates, which protect the security and privacy of your email connection. Beyond security, Bluehost stands out from competitors due to its high storage limits. Three of the four tiers offer unlimited email storage and business email accounts.
Bluehost offers big discounts for the first year, with shared hosting plans between $2.95 and $9.95 per month. However, renewals after the first year are at regular rates, which can be costly.
Plans: | BASIC | PLUS | CHOICE PLUS | PRO |
---|
Sign-up Price (1 year plan) | $2.95 (monthly) | $3.95 (monthly) | $4.45 (monthly) | $9.95 (monthly) |
Sign-up Price (3 year plan) | $4.95 (monthly) | $7.95 (monthly) | $2.95 (monthly) | $18.95 (monthly) |
Renewal Price (1 year plan) | $9.99 (monthly) | $14.99 (monthly) | $18.99 (monthly) | $28.99 (monthly) |
3. DreamHost
More details about DreamHost:
- Pricing: $6.99 per month (one-year plan)
- Provider website: dreamhost.com
Pros:
- 97-day money-back guarantee
- Excellent chat support
Cons:
- No email on Shared Starter plan
- No phone support
DreamHost provides a user-friendly, custom-made control panel with a clean interface. It is a secure service that offers free SSL/TLS certificates and malware scanners for customers’ complete protection. Furthermore, it features a built-in firewall to keep hackers out of your email and website.
In terms of storage, DreamHost offers unlimited email addresses, bandwidth, and file storage on the higher plan. However, each email account has a 2GB storage limit. Along with its features, DreamHost excels in customer service, responding to your queries on live chat in a matter of minutes.
After the first three months, DreamHost charges an affordable $13.99 per month for the unlimited plan, which is reasonable given the large storage limits and advanced features.
Plans: | Shared Starter | Shared Unlimited |
---|
Monthly | $4.95 | $8.95 |
Renewal (monthly) | $7.99 | $13.99 |
Yearly | $2.95 | $2.95 |
Renewal (yearly) | $6.99 | $12.99 |
4. Google Workspace
More details about Google Workspace:
- Pricing: $12 per month (one-month plan)
- Provider website: workspace.google.com
Pros:
- Effortless collaboration
- Integrates with 3rd-party apps
- Complete productivity suite
Cons:
- Low attachment limits
- Does not offer domains
With its massive user base, Google Workspace is a complete email provider offering robust collaboration and productivity tools, and a user-friendly interface. In contrast to other email hosting providers, Google Workspace supports real-time team collaboration by letting you use any application in the Workspace suite simultaneously with your teammates.
Along with SSL certificates for encryption, Google allows two-factor authentication for each account. The workspace administrator has considerable authority over the team’s security because they can access the data reports and logs, and identify threats.
You can try out all of these features on a 14-day free trial with your existing domain and then upgrade to the entry-level plan for $6 per month with 30GB storage and a 25MB attachment limit. For more information, check out our Google Workspace review.
Plans: | Price |
---|
Business Starter | $6 |
Business Standard | $12 |
Business Plus | $18 |
Enterprise | Contact sales for pricing |
Prices are billed monthly.5. Microsoft 365
More details about Microsoft 365:
- Pricing: $12.50 per month (one-month plan)
- Provider website: microsoft.com
Pros:
- High storage & attachment limits
- High participant limits in video conferencing
Cons;
- Annual commitment
- Entry-level plan lacks most features
With Microsoft 365, you can enjoy a one-month free trial with an existing domain name before subscribing to a plan. Microsoft 365’s strong security measures help mitigate attacks and prevent data breaches. Built-in security features include encryption, anti-phishing, threat protection and data loss prevention.
Microsoft 365 takes the storage crown, offering 50GB of email storage and 1TB of cloud storage. You can enjoy a 1-month free trial with an existing domain name. The starter plan is $6.00 per month, but lacks advanced security. If you don’t need everything Microsoft 365 offers, you can always use Microsoft Exchange. Exchange is solely an email hosting provider and costs $4 per user per month.
Plans: | Price |
---|
Business Basic | $6.00 (monthly) $72 (yearly) |
Business Standard | $12.50 (monthly) $150 (yearly) |
Business Premium | $22.00 (monthly) 264 (yearly) |
Apps for business | $8.25 (monthly) $99 (yearly) |
Prices are charged annually.The 5 Best Free Business Email Providers
If you’re not willing to pay for your email provider, then there are still some options available to you, though you’ll be more limited in terms of features and number of users.
1. Zoho Mail
More details about Zoho Mail:
- Pricing: Free, $4 per month (one-year plan)
- Provider website: zoho.com
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Various collaboration tools
- Tabbed application
Cons:
- Small attachment limits
- Free version lacks syncing
Zoho Mail is a secure free email provider with security features like end-to-end encryption, two-factor authentication and suspicious activity reports. It provides a complete set of office tools, such as chat, video conferencing and a calendar. A unique feature, called TeamInbox, enables you to use a shared inbox across your team to further encourage collaboration.
You can use Zoho Mail on your current domain for free if you employ five people or fewer. The free plan offers 5GB of storage per user and 25MB attachment limit. For $1.25 per user per month on the Mail Lite plan, you can upgrade to 10GB of storage per user if you need more space.
Plans: | Price |
---|
Mail Lite | $1 (monthly) $12 (yearly) |
Mail Premium | $4 (monthly) $48 (yearly) |
Mail Workplace | $3 (monthly) $36 (yearly) |
Prices are charged per user, annually.2. Titan
More details about Titan:
- Pricing: $2.99 per month (one-month plan)
- Provider website: titan.email
Pros:
- Affordable prices
- Multiple accounts overview
- Apps for iOS & Android
Cons:
- No email marketing functions
- Limited themes available
Titan’s free plan includes 1GB of storage and 2 email accounts from any hosting provider. It has all the features small businesses demand, from a variety of email templates to advanced search. Titan also offers integrated contacts and shareable calendar collaboration tools for effective team management.
Titan offers 10GB to 30GB of email storage per account, which sounds like a good deal because it can meet the needs of a small business. The Professional plan of Titan costs $1.49 per month, while the Premium plan is twice the price at $2.99. The main difference between the plans is the amount of storage you get, though Premium comes with a few extra features.
Plans: | Price |
---|
Starter | $1 |
Professional | $1.49 |
Premium | $2.99 |
Prices are charged monthly.3. Squarespace
More details about Squarespace:
- Pricing: $23 per month (one-year plan)
- Provider website: squarespace.com
Pros:
- Numerous templates
- Android & iOS app
- Unlimited bandwidth
Squarespace uses Google Workspace to provide email services instead of using a private email system. The $6 monthly Google Workspace plan is included when you buy a custom domain name from Squarespace and sign up for one of its plans. It is a website builder that allows you to manage your professional email address with various marketing.
Squarespace provides SSL certificates, two-factor authentication and a login activity panel for complete website data protection. Best of all, it offers unlimited storage and bandwidth.
While Squarespace doesn’t offer a free plan, your business email account is free for the first year. Afterwards, it’ll cost $23 per month.
Plans: | Price (monthly) | Price (yearly) |
---|
Personal | $23 | $192 ($16 per month) |
Business | $33 | $276 ($23 per month) |
Basic Commerce | $36 | $324 ($27 per month) |
Advanced Commerce | $65 | $588 ($49 per month) |
4. IONOS
More details about IONOS:
- Pricing: $6 per month (one-month plan)
- Provider website: ionos.com
Pros:
- Very affordable
- High attachment limit
- Offers free domain
Cons:
- Hidden costs
- Complex UI & control panel
- Poor customer support
If you are on a tight budget, IONOS is impossible to beat. It offers Google Workspace for free for the first three months and then charges $6 per month after that. Although it may lack some functionalities, your data is in good hands — IONOS uses advanced security features like anti-virus protection and SSL-encrypted connections.
IONOS provides collaborative tools such as a calendar and contacts, among other things, to help teams collaborate. Users can integrate their IONOS email account with other email services like Outlook and Email. IONOS only gives 2GB of storage per email account on the most basic plan, which is relatively small compared to its competitors.
Given all the features it offers, IONOS charges an affordable price of $6 per month for the Business Starter Plan.
Plans: | Price |
---|
Mail Basic 1 | $1 $6 (Business Starter +1 user) $12 (Business Standard +1 user) |
Mail Basic 1+ | $4 $6 (Business Starter +3 user) $8.65 (Business Standard +3 user) |
Mail Business | $5 $5.50 (Business Starter +5 user) $11.50 (Business Standard +5 user) |
Prices are charged monthly.5. IceWarp
More details about IceWarp:
- Pricing: $4.40 per month (one-month plan)
- Provider website: www.icewarp.com
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Suite of collaboration tools
- GDPR & HIPAA compliant
Cons:
- Few participants in collaboration tools
- Poor technical support
Although it doesn’t offer a free plan, IceWarp does have a free 14-day trial. IceWarp offers email and video conferencing encryption, as well as anti-spam and anti-virus security. The cheapest package is $2.80, and includes 20GB of FileSync storage and 5GB of email storage.
IceWarp stands out because it enables customers to combine plans, which means you don’t have to select the same plan for every employee — instead, you can choose different plans for each user based on their needs.
Plans: | Price |
---|
Lite | $2.80 |
Standard | $4.40 |
Standard+ | $7.30 |
Pro | $8.00 |
Prices are charged monthly.Final Thoughts
As a small business, it’s important to have a dependable email service in order to collaborate with your team and keep customers in the loop. The best email services for small business owners are affordable, feature-rich, secure and offer excellent customer support.
Our top choice, Proton Mail, offers all that and more, with top-notch security and privacy features to boot (it’s the most secure email provider). Bluehost and Dreamhost aren’t far behind. If you aren’t looking to spend on a paid plan, Zoho Mail offers the best free service out there.
What qualities do you look for in a business email? Do you agree that a dependable email service can help your business grow? Let us know in the comments below, and, as always, thanks for reading.
FAQ
With more than a billion users, Google Workspace is the most popular email service provider for small businesses.
While Gmail is great for private use, it’s best to have a professional email address to operate your business and communicate with employees and customers.