A functional email account is critical for communication and collaboration in the professional and personal setting. But with tons of email service providers promising to be the best, it can be hard for you to choose the right free service suitable for your personal or business use.
Is security your top concern? Or, do you prioritize a user-friendly interface or storage space? Whatever your needs are, there’s a provider to satisfy them all. That’s why we’ve compiled a selection of the top free email service options in this article.
Whether it’s for your small business or personal use, you’ll find your desired free email service provider on our list. Follow us closely.
Table of Contents
Key Features To Consider For an Email Service Provider
When considering free email services providers, you should consider certain key features:
Storage space: This is one important feature you shouldn’t neglect. While some email providers offer ample storage space, others offer less. If you pick the one with ample space, you’ll not have to bother about a filled inbox or deleting some mails. However, the reverse is the case for providers with less storage space.
Security: Does the email provider prioritize your privacy/security? Again, does it have 2FA (two-factor authentication), end-to-end encryption, and spam filters? Selecting a provider that prioritizes your security is critical for protecting your data online.
Email protocols (IMAP, POP3, SMTP): Sounds technical, yeah? They’re various ways your email provider sends and receives emails/messages. So, a provider with any of these will support your email usage in various ways — on your smartphone, or with email programs, which keeps everything in sync.
What Are The 10 Best Free Email Accounts?
Picking an email service provider that’s suitable for your needs can be confusing, especially when there are tons of providers out there. However, we have scoured the internet for the best unpaid email services providers for personal use, small business, and so on.
So, carefully read through our list and make your selections based on your needs or business needs.
1. Gmail
You cannot be on the internet without using any of Google’s products/services, including a Google account. Remember, most Android phones require a Gmail account for setup. At the same time, you may need to use Google Docs, Sheets, or other Google products.
Over the years, Gmail has proven to be the best email service that’s free for small business and personal use. Hence the reason most people prefer it. Furthermore, your gmail account has unlimited addresses, making it easy to figure out which provider sold your email ID to spammers.
While gmail is most preferred globally, Google arguably earns money by selling your information to advertisers. So, if you’re big on privacy, you might not want to use this email provider. Gmail addresses end in @gmail.com.
Pros:
- Spam protection.
- Very reliable.
- Free 15GB of storage space for emails and other files.
- Features private messaging.
- Easy to use
- Integrates with other Google services & products.
Cons:
- Ads that mine your data
2. Outlook
Outlook is a popular free email service provider from the tech giant, Microsoft. It is similar to gmail; you can use it if you don’t want to use Google Mail but want a similar service. Further, it has an easy-to-use intuitive website and supports mail customization.
This means you can set new messages to automatically be flagged, categorized, forwarded, or move to a particular folder if specific conditions are met. With an Outlook email, you can connect to Skype directly and use add-ons like DocuSign.
You can also use other Microsoft products like Calendar, OneNote, Word, Excel, etc, from your Outlook email. And all email accounts end in @outlook.com or @hotmail.com.
Pros:
- Works directly with other Microsoft products/services.
- Feature-rich alternative to gmail.
- Automatically organizes your mails.
- Easy-to-navigate interface.
- Several account aliases hide your real email address.
Cons:
- Microsoft doesn’t guarantee your privacy.
- Slow loading time.
- Displays a huge banner ad.
3. ProtonMail
If you’re looking for a popular unpaid provider that guarantees email security, then ProtonMail is your go-to guy! As the top free email service, it can serve for personal and small business use. Signing up gives you access to 1GB of storage space, up to 10 free aliases, and a limit of 150 emails daily.
Meanwhile, the greatest advantage ProtonMail has over the alternatives above is its end-to-end encryption feature. As a result, nobody (including ProtonMail and third-parties) can read your messages.
Note that this privacy feature only binds your communication with fellow ProtonMail users or people using other end-to-end encryption email providers. So, if you’re communicating with people using ad-supported emails, it won’t be very effective. All accounts end in @proton.me or @protonmail.com.
Pros:
- Excellent privacy feature; end-to-end encryption.
- Select the expiry date/time for an email.
Cons:
- Supports only three labels and folders.
- Only 1GB of storage space with a 150 daily messages limit.
- Has limited scheduling options for free users.
- No vacation replies.
4. Yahoo Mail
What’s your catch about email providers? Is it storage? If yes, then hurry now and sign up for Yahoo mail and you’ll get a whooping 1 TB (1 terabyte) of storage. However, you’re limited to attachments of 25MB maximum size per email.
Its Compose window is like Gmail. The only difference is that you can easily switch between regular file attachments and inline image attachments. With Yahoo mail, you can easily unsubscribe from newsletters you no longer want to receive.
However, you’ll often run into ads in your inbox. Therefore, your privacy isn’t guaranteed. All accounts end in @yahoo.com or @myyahoo.com.
Pros:
- Tons of free storage space.
- It’s easy to use Yahoo Calendar from the email area.
- You can make free disposable email addresses.
- It has a built-in GIF database.
Cons:
- Less rules/filters unlike many email providers.
- Too many ads.
5. AOL Mail
Don’t want Yahoo mail but something similar? Try AOL mail! They’re similar in many ways. AOL allows you to filter your messages to display only flagged or unflagged messages, or read or unread emails.
Similar to Yahoo mail, this email provider gives you access to a GIF gallery and stationery. You’ll also find the same collections for documents and photos here. Additionally, your AOL account is associated with a to-do list and calendar, which you can access from your inbox.
AOL comes with other features like chat room, but you’ll need a paid AOL Desktop Gold subscription to access it. All email addresses end in @aol.com.
Pros:
- Beautiful theme selection.
- To-do list and calendar with accessibility from the email page.
- Performs spelling check before sending each email.
Cons:
- Too many ads.
- All features are not free.
- You might mistakenly open the news area instead of your email.
6. Tuta
Whether it’s for your small business or personal use, email security should be at the core of your considerations when choosing the best free email service. And that is what Tuta (formerly Tutanota) promises to give you.
Tuta and ProtonMail share the same similarity in terms of encryption. But if you wish, you can disable end-to-end encryption. One major thing we love about Tuta is that you cannot successfully sign up for an account until you create a secure password.
Furthermore, another intriguing feature you should know about Tuta is that you can protect your messages with passwords or keep them unencrypted when communicating with non-users. Once you designate a password, the recipient receives a custom link to open the message; they must access the message with the password.
In addition, Tuta has several domains with which you can create an account. They are: tutanota.de, tutanota.com, tutamail.com, tuta.io, keemail.me.
Pros:
- Multiple domain options for new users.
- Automatically encrypts emails.
- Requires a strong password to create an account.
- Supports email signatures.
- You can send encrypted emails to non-users.
Cons:
- Has only 1GB of storage.
- Some features can only be accessed with a paid account.
7. iCloud Mail
One of the best free email service providers that made it to our list again is the iCloud Mail. You can get this unpaid email service once you sign up for an Apple ID. However, it is not limited to Apple products alone. So, you can get a free iCloud ID and use iCloud Mail from your computer.
Upon creating your account, you can access iCloud Mail from your computer alongside a suite of products—iCloud Drive content, calendar events, notes, contacts, reminders, photos, and anything else you synced to iCloud from your Apple device.
In addition, you receive 5 GB of storage space for emails and iCloud files. Compared to other services, you also get forwarding options, IMAP support, a double-click method to unsubscribe from unwanted emails, and large file attachment support (up to 5 GB via Mail Drop).
All accounts end with @icloud.com.
Pros:
- Easy to unsubscribe from unwanted emails.
- Can be used from a computer or mobile device.
- Free 5 GB storage space.
Cons:
- Not advanced compared to other providers.
8. Zoho Mail
Because Zoho is an online suite that includes many apps for business use, Zoho Mail tops our list as one of the best free email service providers. It includes a Streams feature which allows you to create groups where you can interact with your team members.
You can call it a private social media site. Again, what stood out for us is its SecurePass feature. You can set up an email to expire on a particular day by clicking the lock while creating a new mail. At the same time, recipients will be unable to print, copy, download, or forward the message when you turn on this feature.
Free accounts receive only 25 MB attachments and 5 GB of storage space, which is a bit fair. All accounts end with zohomail.com.
Pros:
- Minimal and neat design.
- Excellent for teams.
- Has unique features.
- Easy connectivity to other Zoho apps.
- Supports tabbed email windows.
Cons:
- No POP and IMAP in the free plan.
- Basically focused on business use.
- Over time, the interconnected Zoho apps can become overwhelming.
9. Yandex Mail
The Russian company, Yandex, provides Yandex Mail, one of the top free email services. In addition, it provides tools such as a search engine, calendar, and 5 GB of online storage. With a single login, you can access these services using your Yandex email.
At the same time, it has a friendly interface, simple layout, and is easy to read. Yandex also supports hotkeys, tasks, contact exporting & importing, and email filters. But one feature that stood out for us is the ability to use your website domain name (for free) after the @ part. For example, Elsie@elsiefoods.com.
Outside that, all emails end with @yandex.com.
Pros:
- You can sign up with an existing Gmail or social media account.
- Has a built-in translator.
- Free storage space for emails and other Yandex services.
- Sends you a reminder if a recipient doesn’t reply after a specific number of days.
- Countdown to cancel sent messages.
Cons:
- Might have difficulty signing in sometimes.
- Cannot change the 24-hour time format.
- 2FA requires a special Yandex app, not Google Authenticator.
10. Mail.com
Mail.com is a free email service that may appeal to you if you’re a small business owner, freelancer, or self-employed. This is because Mail.com offers its users about 200 custom domain names.
Other Mail.com offerings include 2FA, 2 GB of free storage, and free & paid email services with SSL encryption.
Pros:
- Up to 200 custom domain names.
- Includes a mobile app.
- Simple user interface.
- Syncs across devices.
Cons:
- Reportedly has no customer support.
- Poor email management functionality.
Conclusion
Every email service provider has its features that make it unique. However, choosing the best free email service for your small business or personal use depends on the features you want.
In this article, we have listed the top unpaid email providers with various features. Regardless of what you want to use it for, you’ll find a suitable one from our selection of providers.