The last decade has been entirely about the changing landscape of businesses. While there is increased competition among different businesses, it becomes equally challenging for customers to spot reliable services. One of the quickest ways for a business to climb the first few rungs of the ladder of trust is to create a business email account and maintain it properly.
Since most customers prefer emails over calls, communicating with them through your business account would give a legitimate, serious, professional image. With plenty of email providers available, businesses can either go for a free or a paid service. However, finding the best email service providers that fit your budget and provide seamless usability is challenging.
Not sure about spending bucks on paid email services?
Don’t worry! This article covers the top 10 free email providers for businesses that help kick-start fruitful business communications.
Types of Email Services
Majorly there are two types of email services available. It is, however, upon the businesses’ nature to choose the best services that fit them. Let’s have a quick glimpse of email services:
1. Client-based Email
This type requires a software application to be installed on the system to manage business communications effectively. Once configured, the clients interact with remote email servers to access the emails. Apple Mail, Outlook, and Mozilla Thunderbird are the commonly used client-based email providers.
2. Webmail
One of the most commonly used email services, webmail, allows email access directly from the internet browser. It does not involve installing additional software to keep a tab on business communications through email. Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, etc., are examples of popular webmail.
Top 10 Free Business Email Accounts
Without much ado, let’s get straight to the ten most popular and convenient email providers business should know.
1. Gmail
An obvious topper in our list, Gmail is a product of the popular Google LLC. It is one of the most widely used email accounts, with approximately 1.5 billion active users. Apart from free email service, the Gmail account provides a host of other applications, such as Docs, Sheets, Drive, etc., under the umbrella of Google Workspace.
Biz Suitability: Goes well with small businesses and freelancers
Salient Features:
- Give 15GB of storage
- Unlimited Emails
- Protection from Spam/ Suspicious Mail
- Smart Compose feature for faster text suggestions
- RSVP to events
- ‘Undo’ feature to ‘unsend’ emails
- Offline Accessibility
Neo is an email platform that offers entrepreneurs and small businesses a professional email address using a free domain with an extension of co.site for customers who don’t already have their own. It also lets users publish a free one-page website at the same URL as their email to help them build a brand and gain credibility. With a quick, no-hassle setup, Neo comes with powerful,easy-to-use tools that enable its users to grow and strengthen their brand.
Biz Suitability: Goes well with small businesses and professionals.
Salient Features:
- 50 GB Email Storage
- Two-factor authentication for secure login.
- 10 Email Aliases
- Rich Webmail
- Multi-device support
- Inbuilt calendar and contacts
- iOS and Android apps
- Antivirus check
- Advanced Anti-spam
- One-click import of existing emails and contacts
3. AOL Mail
Acquired by Verizon in 2015, AOL is another email services gem that will cost you zero bucks. It provides a basic email functionality of sending and receiving emails without being too fancy. Its user-friendly
platform will allow businesses to organize and personalize their mailbox.
Biz Suitability: Good fit for small businesses and freelancers
Salient Features:
- Unlimited Storage
- Commendable Customer Support
- Send Email Attachments upto 25Mb
- Import contacts in all formats
- Spam Filtering
- Keyboard shortcuts and grammar check
4. Zoho Mail
Designed specifically for business purposes, Zoho promises a friendly interface to manage all your daily tasks without hassles. Zoho Mail allows customizing domain names making it the most loved feature by businesses. It also provides a suite of services such as calendars, tasks, notes, and contacts.
Biz Suitability: Suits best for start-ups and small businesses
Salient Features:
- Free Storage up to 5Gb
- Privacy from third-party apps
- Encrypted emails for sensitive information
- Filters and advanced searches
- Five User Accounts
5. Outlook
It is touted as the biggest competitor of Google, boasting 400+ billion users worldwide. Previously known as Hotmail, Outlook is Microsoft’s reinvention of a fast and up-to-date client-based email service. The most distinctive feature of Outlook is the integration of multiple applications.
Biz Suitability: Works well for both small and big businesses
Salient Features:
- 15Gb Mailbox Storage
- 5 Gb OneDrive Storage
- Excellent Email Organisation
- Allows Add-ins
- Microsoft suite of products like Word, Excel
6. Yahoo! Mail
A product of Yahoo! Inc., it brings forth various features like a search engine, news, finance, entertainment, sports, and email services- all under the same tab. The mighty free storage of 1 TB helps it stands out from other email providers. Additionally, businesses can access their attachment histories of photos, videos, and documents with just a click.
Biz Suitability: Thumbs up for small business, self-employed, and freelancers
Salient Features:
- Filters to sort and arrange the mail
- Mailbox Search feature
- Personalized mailbox themes
- Contact Management
- Customizable message layout
7. Proton Mail
Known for its strict data protection for users, Proton Mail is an encrypted email provider from Switzerland. Although the paid plans offer more prominent features, most businesses can start with a free plan.
Biz Suitability: Good to go for small businesses
Salient Features for Free Accounts:
- 500 Mb storage
- Sends 150 messages per day
- More security through encryption
- Set expiry date for email
8. Mail.com
Another widely preferred webmail service, Mail.com, offers free email services with attractive features. Businesses can choose from more than 200 available domain names to make their venture unique.
Biz Suitability: Works well for freelancers, small and medium-sized suggestions
Salient Features:
- 2 GB file storage
- Send large attachments up to 30 MB
- Intuitive Interface
- Email filters
- Mail Collector feature to organize multiple accounts from one platform
9. Yandex Mail
Launched in 2001, it is a product of Russian technology company Yandex which provides internet-related services. Their free email account provides access to various useful web hosting services and other advanced features such as timers, customizable interfaces, etc.
Biz Suitability: Great fit for small businesses and freelancers
Salient Features:
- Upto 10 GB cloud storage
- Smart email filtering
- Simple password recovery
- Personalized inbox themes
- Secure log-in through fingerprints or PIN
10. Mozilla Thunderbird
Primarily known as Firefox, Thunderbird is a free email provider from the house of Mozilla. It is popularly known for its customizable email inbox with a quick setup for business communications. Additionally, it allows the opening of multiple email tabs similar to the ones in the Firefox browser.
Biz Suitability: Suitable for small, medium, and large businesses
Salient Features:
- User-friendly interface
- Large Extension Library
- Smart Email Organization
- Spam filtering
Tips for Choosing a Free Business Email Service
These are the tips that you should keep in mind while choosing a free email service:
- Check the storage, ease of use, and security so that you can keep your data safe in one place
- Do check if your chosen free email service is compatible with different applications and websites
- If it is available on different platforms such as android and iOS
- Do check for customized features such as messaging, filters, and the ability to import other data
- If it can provide you with the email address you are looking for and if not you can try different combinations to make similar ones
- Do check if the free email service you choose can detect and filter out spam emails and save a lot of time
- Should have good archive capabilities and helps you to save, archive, store and search messages easily
- Should have advanced features for your particular business needs
Wrapping Up
Business communications require quick setup, organization, and a clear interface. Since almost all email providers help navigate the basic requirements, some may stand out for their unique offerings. It’s up to the business to understand their nature of requirements and suitably choose the email providers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the best free email service for business?
Ans: There are many free email services for small businesses or startups such as Gmail, Outlook, Zoho Mail, etc. Particularly talking about Gmail (www.gmail.com), it is one of the best free email services for business as it is an easy-to-use, useful, intuitive, and efficient application. Provided by Google, Gmail has a secure and ad-free email experience making it one of the most used applications worldwide. To create a new Gmail account, check out this article: How to Create a New Gmail Account?
How can I find an available domain name?
Ans: However, it is quite tough to get a desired domain name as most of them are already taken so you can try a combination of various suffixes and prefixes or add keywords related to your business in order to get a desired domain name.
Can I use a desktop and mobile email application with a custom email address?
Ans: Yes, that can be done by doing a few email settings on your phone and desktop. There are many applications that can do the same on their own and if not changes can be done manually.
Can Google Workspace support admin features?
Ans. Yes, Google workspace supports admin features, some of which are:
- Reset password
- It allows you to add new users
- Add any user to a group
- It allows the admin to restore data
- Change the organization unit
- Update user details in bulk
- Delete user
What are the ways to write spam-free subject lines?
Ans: These are the ways in which you can write a spam-free subject line:
- The subject line should be short below 50 characters
- Avoid the usage of special characters, exclamation marks, and capital letters
- Do not write repetitive and overused words
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