The Top 7 Email Hosting Services that Aren’t Google

By JJ Rosen June 29, 2020
email hosting options

It’s almost impossible to use the internet without using something that’s based on Google. The world’s most popular internet browser? Google Chrome. The world’s most used search engine? Google. The world’s most used navigation system? Google Maps. The world’s most popular email hosting service? Gmail. The world’s most beloved social network? Not Google Circle.

For many businesses and users, using Google is just a normal part of the everyday routine. But what if you are unhappy with the service or are worried about Google’s checkered history with privacy and user data? What are the best options?

There’s nothing inherently wrong with Google and we’ve got plenty of experience helping people and businesses take full advantage of G Workspace but we also know that people like options.

Fortunately, there are plenty of different options out there when it comes to finding a new email hosting service. We’re going to dive into some of the top options that don’t come from the tech giants at Google.

Why Use Email Hosting?

We always like to lead off with a few questions before diving into some of the top choices, so let’s focus on why you should be using email hosting in the first place.

Email hosting runs on a server and the requirements for opting in to such a service only require you to have your own domain name. Pretty easy.

Having your own service will allow you to manage your emails and accounts by using your own domain name. If you’ve ever seen an email address like user@domainname.com, then that person is using some sort of email hosting.

The size of your business is going to dictate what kind of service you have. Larger businesses and eCommerce companies sometimes have their own email servers in order to ensure emails are sent out on time. But, you don’t have to be a large business to take advantage of all the benefits email hosting has to offer.

If you’re planning on running an email marketing campaign, then it’s probably a wise idea to set up email hosting.

Email hosting often comes hand-in-hand with cloud hosting that makes it an ideal option for remote companies and storing vital information and documents.

Three Types of Email Hosting

There are three different types of email hosting that come with their own list of pros and cons.

Shared Web Hosting

The barebones of email hosting, this type of service is ideal for businesses that don’t have to send out bulk emails on a daily basis. Shared web hosting often comes with its own share of limitations, so if you’re a small business that isn’t overwhelmed with emails, this is the ideal choice for you. This is the cheapest option.

Self-Hosted

As mentioned above, these servers tend to be for larger corporations. They are custom made for your business, require a professional team to monitor them, but are incredibly reliable and can handle bulk emails with ease. Out of the services listed here, it is the most expensive.

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Third-Party

The most popular type of email hosting, third-party options are what we’re going to discuss today. They are out-of-the-box ready, require little setup and training, and chances are you or your team members have used them before. The costs will depend on the size of your business, so expect to pay more than shared web hosting.

Now that we’ve covered the different types, let’s jump into some of the best email hosting options.

What Should You Be Looking For?

There are a few items on your checklist that you should look over before deciding on the right service for you.

  • Security: Although everyone knows to be careful about which emails they open, you want to make sure your email hosting service has proper security to protect your account. Things like anti-spam and anti-virus are musts in today’s day and age. email hosting security
  • Storage size: You’d be surprised how quickly storage can run out. If you’re someone sending lots of emails and receiving plenty of attachments, you want to make sure the size of the email storage offered is enough for you. Going through on a monthly basis and deleting emails to free up space is a PAIN.
  • Support: While email is usually pretty straightforward, that doesn’t mean you won’t run into some problems down the line. Make sure your service offers 24/7 support for you and your users.
  • Custom domains: Even though it should be obvious, it needs to be on the list. Making sure your service supports custom domains is a must. How else are you going to look professional to clients?

Different Options of Email Hosting Options

Let’s just into some of the different options we have.

Yandex Mail

yandexmail

One of the cheapest options out there, Yandex is a Russian search engine that also doubles as an email hosting service. It’s recognized for its easy installation, flexibility, and speed.

Yandex comes with a number of other options for using this service, such as a calendar, messenger, cloud storage, issue monitoring, collaborative tools, and more. It is a bit limited on space per user (just 10 GB), but it does come with anti-virus and anti-spam protection as well as two-factor authentication.

Zoho Mail

zohomail

Zoho was made with the office in mind and that’s pretty easy to tell from the beginning. While Zoho does offer a free plan, it is incredibly limited and probably won’t be able to handle your business needs. Depending on the plan you go with, you can get anywhere from 30-100 GB, support, and more.

The service also comes with some productivity tools that can help keep you focused and on track.

Microsoft 365

microsoft 365

Chances are you’re already familiar with what Microsoft has to offer when it comes to email hosting as Outlook has been around for ages. Not only will you get access to other Microsoft tools like Word, Excel, and more, but the email package it offers is more than capable.

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Microsoft deserves credit for taking notes from some other popular email hosting services and making it less clunky and more user-friendly. It does come at a bit of a higher price than other services on the list but it’s well worth it for all the other tools that you get.

Amazon WorkMail

amazon workmail

When it comes to cloud hosting, few places do it better than Amazon. If you’re already familiar with AWS (Amazon Web Services), then you’ll find WorkMail is easy to work with. It’s got tons of customization options that make it a top option for many businesses.

However, if you’re a small business with just a handful of employees, you’re better off looking elsewhere. It does have a bit of a learning curve and was built with larger businesses in mind. It comes with all the bells and whistles you’d expect, like virus protection, emergency support, and more.

Rackspace

rackspace

At first glance, Rackspace seems to be quite limited. But, it was made for businesses that are only looking for email hosting. It provides the most basic tools, such as email use, shared calendar, contacts, and instant messaging.

It offers various plans that come cheaper than other options but once again, it does not offer the multitude of features you might find with other services.

IceWarp

icewarp

By far the best name on the list, what else does it do to deserve recognition?

IceWarp is here because of its ability to manage various accounts across multiple names. If you’re in a business where you’re having to provide clients with their email accounts on a regular basis, then IceWarp is a great choice. It also comes with its own tools for customization and editing various documents. It comes with up to 200GB of storage per user and offers 24/7 support.

Greatmail

greatmail

Greatmail makes the list because of its simplicity and basic plan.

It’s almost about as barebones as you can get but comes with built-in protection, shared calendars and contacts, and finally 25GB in mailbox storage. If you’re a small to medium-sized business, you’re going to want to give Greatmail a look.

Choosing the Right One

At the end of the day, the right email hosting service will depend on your needs and the needs of your business. We offer email hosting assistance as part of our network services and are proud to be product and service agnostic.

Reach out to us today for a quote about your upcoming project. We look forward to helping you!

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