10 Best Free Email Providers Online
May. 31, 2021Things to Consider When Choosing an Email Provider
Choosing the best among the many free email providers could be tricky as they’re not perfect. Many have flaws and at the end of the day. So, you’d need to sacrifice one thing or the other; it could be storage, security, or ease of access. Here are some things to consider when choosing an email service.
Thanks to its popularity, Gmail is often used as a common example of an email service. It’s hand down, one of the best Google services you could use to set up an email address to send and receive emails. It’s used by both individuals and corporations (Google Workspace) and is an extremely reliable and fast email service.
You can sign up for Gmail by creating a Google account which will also be used across all Google services and workspace apps. Individual accounts get15GB of free spacewhich is shared across Google services like Drive and Photos. Besides, Gmail has tons of features and got a nice boost thanks to the addition ofGoogle Gemini. Overall, it’s one of the best email services you can use.ProsConsUser-friendly iterfaceSecurity concerns around how Google handles dataDecent initial storage space for individualsAttachment limitationsLoads of features baked inAds in user interfaceA cohesive and connected experience with other Google services
Yahoo Mail was one of the best free email providers in the early 2000s but Gmail began to dominate later. It’s quite similar to Gmail in terms of user-friendliness and features users can use to protect their emails and make the user experience a breeze. One of the standout features of Yahoo Mail is that it offers a massive1TB of free storagethat users can use to store their files and folders, which essentially doubles as a storage drive.
Like Gmail, Yahoo has itsown suite of serviceslike Calendar and Contacts that it syncs to; however, these services aren’t very popular. It’s also not as feature-rich as Gmail and is a very plain and simple email client that gets the job done.ProsConsUser-friendly interfaceNot the most secure service1TB storage for allAttachment limitationsGood customization featuresThird-party services and integration is extremely lackingAds in user interface
If you’re in search of an email client that puts privacy at the utmost importance, Proton Mail is for you. It’sopen-sourcelike most of the other Proton projects and uses end-to-end encryption so that only the sender and recipient can read them. Besides, it’s pretty user-friendly andserves no advertisements.
One of the major cons of Proton Mail is that you don’t get a lot of storage in the free account, 500 MB to be exact. This will run out soon; however, if you care a lot about your privacy, the premium plan is worth looking into and won’t make a hole in your pocket.
It costs $4 a month if you buy the annual plan and gives you 15GB of storage, more email addresses, and access to Proton Calendar. If you upgrade to the effective $10/month annual plan, you get 500GB of storage and access to all Proton services.ProsConsUser-friendly interfaceFree plan gives you 500 MBExtremely secure and open sourcePaid plans are a bit expensiveGives you more aliases and domainsAttachment size limitNo Ads
Yes, Apple offers an email service in iCloud and it’s quite useful. The user interface is decent and the service is secure and private. Similar to Gmail, iCloud Mail’s storage is shared across all Apple services. Users get5GB of spaceon the free plan shared across Photos, Drive, and iCloud Backup.
Onto the bad about iCloud Mail. The customization options are limited. iCloud is available on the web but the app isonly available on Apple devices. The base 5GB storage is just not enough shared space and forces users to get a premium plan. Overall, iCloud is a decent email service if you’re into the Apple ecosystem but the rest may want to consider other options.ProsConsUser-friendly interfaceLimited free space (5GB)Extremely secureWorks on Apple products onlyAd-free experienceAttachment size limitCross-device syncing
Zoho Mail is yet another privacy-focused offering that is primarily aimed at firms. For starters, the emails on Zoho Mail are encrypted and the service offers 5GB of free space for users which can then be expanded with its paid plans. Like Gmail, Zohointegrates with the Zoho suitewhich consists of Calendar, Docs, and CRM apps great for businesses.
While Zoho’s web apps are great, their mobile apps could definitely use some work as the overall vibe of the user interface looks and feels old. Besides, there arelimitations to attachment sizesand there might be a learning curve for uses. Overall, Zoho Mail is definitely one of the best options you can try.ProsConsUser-friendly interfaceLimited free space (5GB)SecureMobile apps feel outdatedAd-free experienceAttachment size limitGreat for businesses
Many businesses and large firms still use Outlook because of its simplicity. Outlook also benefits from being apart of the Microsoft ecosystemas users can easily connect, access, and use other Microsoft apps. Besides, Outlook is secure, robust, and gets regular updates.
While it might be more suited for businesses, individuals can also use it thanks to its free basic tier. Outlook also supports IMAP; hence you can connect your Gmail or iCloud accounts and use all accounts at the same time. Everyone gets15GB of free spaceon Outlook
I’m sure most of the 90s kids remember the AOL search engine. AOL and AOL Mail are products of Yahoo; hence the user interface looks like Yahoo Mail.
It offers1TB of storagefor emails and attachments just like Yahoo Mail. While all of that makes AOL a good email service, do keep in mind that the service faced data breaches before Yahoo started managing it. There’s alsono end-to-end encryptionin place. Overall, if you’re looking for a simple email service to get simple messages across, AOL mail will do.ProsCons1TB of free spaceHas suffered data breaches beforeDecent user interfaceNot very modernSpam and virus protectionFile upload limit
Mail.com is yet another simple free email service for individuals that gets most of the things right. For starters, you get a customizable email address for free and a generousstorage space of 65GBfor your attachments and emails. The attachment size limit is bigger (30MB) than other email services that offer 25MB, although it’s still not huge to upload big files.
While Mail.com is more than enough to carry out daily conversations, an area where it’s severely lacking is in spam filtering. Overall, it’s easily one of the simplest email providers you can use for free.ProsCons65GB of free spaceNot very good in terms of spam protectionMore upload limit (30MB)Privacy concernsDecent user interface
Tuta, formerly Tutanotam is yet another free email provider that has a lot going for it. One of the main selling points of Tuta is that it gives you aclean ad-free experienceand also offers end-to-end encryption. The free plan gets you 1GB of storage which is not a lot but you still get full encryption and no ads. Besides, you can trust Tuta because it’s open source.
As for the other features, it’s definitelylacking in third-party integrationand search. The attachment limits are also pretty limited with half-decent customization options. However, if you’re looking for a zero-fuss, secure, and clean email experience, Tuta could be for you.ProsConsEnd-to-end encryption even on free tierLimited free storageNo adsLearning curveGood user experienceNo third-party integrationOpen source
The 10th listing is the email service called 10 Minute Mail. As the name suggests, is an email service that providesquick disposable emailsto you which can be used to quickly sign up for services to which you don’t want to sign up using your personal email. Once you visit the website, it gives you an email address that stays active for 10 minutes. You can extend the time using the “Get 10 more minutes” button.
Some of the cons of the website are, well, the emails only stay for 10 minutes, and there’sno option to save them. Not that you’d need to, of course, since the objective of the website is to evade spam; but it would’ve been nice if there was an option. Overall, it’s a 10/10 (pun intended) email service.ProsConsEvade spam easilyCannot be used to sign up for paid services
So these are some of the best free email providers you can use. If we had to pick a few that are not Gmail, we’d go with Yahoo, Proton, Outlook, and Tuta. Yahoo Mail and AOL Mail offer up to 1TB of storage while Proton and Tuta are some of the best for your privacy, and as a result, have paid plans that honestly cannot leave a hole in your pocket.
What are your thoughts on the best email service? Do you know an email service that deserves to be on this list? Let us know in the comments below.
