The best free email service will get you an address and place to send and receive messages, but also so much more. The right service can offer you personal email names to suit a business, or perhaps an account just for registering services where you don't want junk email. But wait, there's more!
The big name email providers like Google, Microsoft, Apple and beyond also offer lots of wider functionality. From calendars that link to your email to auto update when you accept an invite to video conferencing tools that link into that calendar automatically too. Then there is cloud storage, like the 15GB free you get with Google, or OneDrive that comes with Microsoft. Deep integration across smartphones, tablets and computers helps to make it a seamless experience no matter where you are.
These days every service will come with intelligent spam filtering as standard and useful warnings about potentially harmful emails. All that can leave you feeling safe and secure while using these best free email services.
Make sure you have the best web browser (opens in new tab) and a decent smartphone (opens in new tab), tablet (opens in new tab) or computer (opens in new tab) to run the service on and you'll be able to enjoy all that is on offer, usually for free. But there are some services that charge for extra features too, like more storage or feature rich conferencing tools. By reading this guide you can decide if paying extra is something you need to do or if a free service will give you all you need.
The best free email services
1. Gmail: Best Free Email Service overall
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Gmail
Still the best overall email service out there
Reasons to buy
+ No ads in inbox Import social media contacts Ties in with Google services like YouTube, Drive, and Docs Hangouts support for text and video chat
Reasons to avoid
- Privacy concerns
The joy of Gmail is in the way it’s embedded into the rest of Google’s vast ecosystem of services. If you’re using a YouTube account, Google Docs, or Google Drive, you can hop straight in and start sending and receiving mail. Of course, if you don’t use those services, then that might not mean anything to you.
With the ability to import social media contacts and built-in translation features, it’s an ideal way to keep in touch with friends and long-distance contacts alike, as well as excellent instant-messaging options via Google Hangouts (with a video chat option, too).
There’s also no inbox adverts, great virus scanning, and a 25MB attachment limit. The only real issue is how Google uses your data – when you get rid of spam emails, search your inbox, or even just open your emails, your data is sent anonymously to Google which they use for targeted ads. Something to consider, for sure.
- Read our full Gmail review (opens in new tab)
2. Outlook: Best for Windows and Office users
Outlook
Microsoft is nipping at Gmail's heels
Reasons to buy
+ Excellent calendar integration Plenty of third-party apps Great mobile app Skype and Teams support for chat
Reasons to avoid
- Inbox ads
Microsoft’s web-based version of Outlook is excellent, offering an easy to navigate inbox, great folder support, and integration with the likes of Trello, Dropbox and more.
The calendar is one of the best around, and OneDrive is a great cloud storage solution. There’s also integration with Skype and Microsoft Teams for messaging and video chat, and if you’ve used a Hotmail, Xbox, or MSN Messenger account in the past, you’ll find setup almost instant.
You can also have Outlook read an email out loud for you via the ‘Immersive Reading Mode’, which also makes it easier to, well, read.
There is one major blemish to Outlook, though. Inbox advertisements tend to clash with the rest of its sleek aesthetic, sticking out like a sore thumb. There’s a premium version on offer that removes these, but they’re distracting enough for users to consider looking elsewhere.
Outlook also offers one of the best mobile apps you can find, and it works with other email providers.
- Read our full Outlook review (opens in new tab)
3. Proton: Best for anonymity
ProtonMail
Burn after reading - ProtonMail anonymous email provider
Reasons to buy
+ Encryption for inbox and outgoing emails Simple setup process
Reasons to avoid
- Many options hidden behind paywall Very limited inbox size Resetting will lose all emails
Proton’s email service is a little different to many providers. It’s barebones for the most part, with a very small (500MB) inbox limit – that’s only around 1200 messages. That said, they’re all encrypted. In fact, your sent emails are encrypted too, and will only be decrypted once they reach the recipient.
That encryption is a double-edged sword – while it means your ProtonMail account is protected by a secure password recovery process (preventing others from accessing your account), if you reset your password your entire account will be cleared. That means your inbox, outgoing mail, and even anything you were saving for later will be gone.
As a result of this, it’s ideal as a backup account to one of the larger, more fully-featured (but arguably less secure) email providers on this list for when you need to send secure mail.
- Read our full ProtonMail review (opens in new tab)
4. Yahoo Mail: Great for spam filter options
Yahoo Mail
Still alive and kicking, Yahoo Mail is a strong contender.
Reasons to buy
+ Great spam filter options Huge 1TB of storage Good folder system
Reasons to avoid
- Inbox ads
Unreliable calendar
In case you thought that bullet point about storage was a typo, we can confirm that Yahoo Mail does in fact offer a whopping 1 TB of storage – that could be more than your home computer. The company reckons that’s enough for 6,000 years of emails.
There’s also a great folder system that allows you to find a pot for every email to go in, and one of the best spam filters we tested.
Unfortunately, as with Outlook there are adverts that take up a chunk of your inbox screen, while a few even crop up as ‘emails’ themselves. Those that like to book appointments will also struggle, since the calendar seems full of error codes and glitches.
That’s a shame, because for the most part, it’s a great looking email client with eye-catching themes and integration with Google Drive and Dropbox that allows for 2GB file sending. The spam filter is excellent too, and in our tests it caught and correctly identified all emails from sources of known misinformation as spam.
- Read our full Yahoo Mail review (opens in new tab)
5. iCloud: Best for Apple users
iCloud
The obvious choice for Apple ecosystem fans
Reasons to buy
+ Apple committed to privacy Combined inbox for multiple accounts Alias options (@me, @icloud)
Reasons to avoid
- Long-winded setup process Web version can be slow
If you use an iPhone, iPad, or Mac computer, you’ll likely have some experience with some version of Apple’s Mail app. As far as the underlying email system goes, Apple’s is fairly robust.
The company is serious about privacy, while the app itself can handle plenty of other email accounts (if you can deal with a slightly obtuse setup process). If you are using one of Apple’s own accounts, you can opt for an @icloud or @me address, and send up to 5GB attachments using Mail Drop.
Outside of the app, using iCloud Mail on the web can be finicky, and we’d argue that even the stock iOS and MacOS apps look dated compared to their contemporaries.
Finally, if you use Apple’s suite of Microsoft Office-alikes, like Pages, Keynote, or Numbers, you’ll find all are integrated into the same account – ideal for collaborating on pieces of work, but of no real benefit if you’re already using Office365 (in which case, Outlook is the one for you).
- Read our full iCloud review (opens in new tab)
Mail.com
A great email service for lots of personalized address options.
Reasons to buy
+ Unlimited storage 50MB attachments Good free app
Reasons to avoid
- No POP or IMAP support on free version
Go for Mail.com if you want to have a really unique email address that suits your task. From dr.com and chef.net to artlover.org and usa.com, there are lots of email address endings to suit plenty of needs making this a good choice for a start-up business, for example. But much like the other big name email providers this also offers an ecosystem of tools from word processing and spreadsheets to presentation software.
You also get 2GB of free cloud storage but with unlimited email storage and a whopping 50MB email attachment size support. You also get out-of-office email automation, rich-text formatting, flexible filters for custom folder forwarding and security checks. The free version offers a lot and the paid option gives you more storage and the ability to pull in other email addresses through this service.
What to Look For When Choosing a Free Email Service
Since you're already looking for a free email service the usual deciding factor of cost is out the window, so what's left to consider? A big factor is compatibility. Since most email services are part of a larger ecosystem of app offerings, if you're already using one or several of these then it will likely be easier to go with that email service too. Team Microsoft for Word and Excel? Then Outlook could be for you. Already using Google Calendar, Meet and Docs? It's Gmail you could benefit from.
After integration the next most important feature for many people is likely the availability of a decent email address you actually want, so check this out for something that suits. Then there is storage capacity, where unlimited email capacity is the ideal so you don't have to worry about deleting or clearing through emails, ever. Attachment sizes can be useful if they're larger but, equally, a decent amount of cloud storage, where you can just send links to those files, is also a helpful addition.
Spam filters are also important and while all services will offer these, some tend to work better than others so that's worth keeping in mind. Being backed by a decent app is also a useful feature as searching through emails, attaching files and integrating well with your smartphone are all important factors to keep in mind.
Luke Edwards
Luke is a veteran tech journalist with decades of experience covering everything from TVs, power tools, science and health tech to VPNs, space, gaming and cars. You may recognize him from appearances on plenty of news channels or have read his words which have been published in most tech titles over the years. In his spare time (of which he has little as a father of two) Luke likes yoga, surfing, meditation, DIY and consuming all the books, comics and movies he can find.
FAQs
What is the most secure free email provider 2022? ›
ProtonMail
ProtonMail is the most well-known secure email provider. It's open source, based in Switzerland, and provides end-to-end asymmetric encryption. You can use ProtonMail for free if you're sending fewer than 150 messages per day and don't need a lot of storage.
- Step 1: Connect your Gmail account. ...
- Step 2: Create your email list. ...
- Step 3: Create a sequence. ...
- Step 4: Compose your email. ...
- Step 5: Upload the list in CSV format. ...
- Step 6: Send or schedule the email.
Here are the best Gmail alternative email services: ProtonMail. Outlook. Yahoo! Mail.
Which free email is safest? ›- ProtonMail.
- Titan.
- Gmail.
- Zoho Mail.
- Bluehost.
- Outlook.
- Startmail.
To recap, Zoho Mail and Outlook are excellent options with similar productivity tools and various integrations. However, if you're serious about the features related to secure email service and users' privacy, Mailfence, Tutanota, and ProtonMail might be better choices.
What is the least hacked email provider? ›- ProtonMail. ProtonMail was founded in 2014 at the CERN research facility by Andy Yen, Jason Stockman, and Wei Sun. ...
- Hushmail. ...
- Tutanota. ...
- CounterMail. ...
- Mailfence. ...
- Librem Mail.
Generally speaking, ProtonMail is more secure, while Gmail is more flexible. As we'll see in our quick comparison, Gmail's flexibility makes it a great choice for using other Google services (such as Docs). Similarly, ProtonMail's security is invaluable when sending sensitive data.
What is the safest email service? ›- ProtonMail - Secure email provider with the best price and privacy ratio.
- Startmail – Best email for desktop-only users.
- Tutanota - Best secure email for any device.
- Zoho Mail - Part of the best B2B security product suite.
- Thexyz - Excellent suite of features.
Paid Google Workspace accounts allow users to send up to 2,000 emails each day. But they give you the opportunity to broaden your reach even further by letting you send your emails to an audience of up to 10,000 recipients using the CC/BCC feature.
How many emails can I send at once with Gmail? ›...
Gmail sending limits.
| Limit type | Limit |
|---|---|
| Recipients per message Addresses in the To, Cc, and Bcc fields of a single email* | 2,000 total per message (maximum of 500 external recipients ) |
How many email can be sent from Gmail in a day? ›
"You have reached a limit for sending mail"
You may see this message if you send an email to a total of more than 500 recipients in a single email and or more than 500 emails sent in a day.
Gmail: You can sign up for Gmail for free, and gain access to most of the productivity apps for free, but if you want more robust services, you'll need to pay for a G Suite account.
What is the most commonly used email platform today? ›According to Statista, Gmail is the most popular email client in today's world, with more than 1.5 billion active users globally. If you're going to focus on designing your emails for one email provider, Gmail is a good place to start.
Is ProtonMail free? ›ProtonMail allows you to send encrypted emails using PGP without fussing around with a manual setup. Plus, the email service is free and open source, which we always like to see.
Is Hotmail safer than Gmail? ›Gmail is less secure since it analyzes users' emails to send ads. Hotmail can be considered more secure, as users' emails are not scanned to send ads. Encryption Protocol: SSL and TLS are both supported as encryption protocols in Gmail.
What is the most secure way to send a message? ›Signal is the secure messenger I see most frequently recommended by cybersecurity and digital privacy experts. It offers end-to-end encrypted messaging, audio calls, video calls, and file-sending. It's available for iOS, Android, Mac, and Windows.
Can ProtonMail be traced? ›What can be traced. As part of their service, ProtonMail does temporarily log some metadata such as IP addresses. This could potentially be used to identify you, or at least where you live. Subject lines of emails, as well as the recipient and sender addresses, are not encrypted during transmission.
Which Mail account is best? ›- Gmail. Gmail is the most used and popular email service provider with over 1.2 billion users all around the world. ...
- Outlook. Outlook was initially founded as Hotmail by Microsoft. ...
- AOL Mail. ...
- 4. Yahoo Mail. ...
- iCloud Mail. ...
- ProtonMail. ...
- Zoho Mail. ...
- Yandex Mail.
- Tutanota.
- Posteo.
- StartMail.
- Runbox.
- Mailfence.
- CounterMail.
- Proton Mail.
- Mailbox.org.
The most professional way to setup an email address is to use your first name and last name without numbers. For example, john.smith@domain.com. You can also use just your first initial or last initial such as johns@domain.com or jsmith@domain.com.
Is ProtonMail really safe? ›
Yes. End-to-end encryption is king when it comes to data protection. All data stored on ProtonMail is encrypted, so neither hackers nor ProtonMail employees can read the contents of your messages. Meanwhile, Gmail has logs of your every login and can access every single email in your mailbox.
Is Yahoo Mail safer than Gmail? ›Which is safer, Gmail or Yahoo? Because Gmail has a shorter session expiry time than Yahoo Mail, it is more secure. In addition, it has security features that force the user to use a safer and stronger password and two-step authentication, which increases the security of any account.
Is Outlook safer than Gmail? ›Gmail is much more secure out of the box
Both Gmail and Outlook both offer more or less the same security features: multi-factor authentication, encryption in transit, spam, phishing, and malware detection.
ProtonMail is an easy webmail service that protects your message archive with zero-access encryption and offers end-to-end encryption for message transmission. This evolving product also incudes a secure calendar and (beta) file storage system.
What companies use ProtonMail? ›| Company | Website | Country |
|---|---|---|
| FORTALICE SOLUTIONS, LLC | fortalicesolutions.com | United States |
| P97 Networks, Inc. | p97.com | United States |
| The Tech Museum of Innovation | thetech.org | United States |
| iDATA Corporation | idata.net | Australia |
| Name | Price |
|---|---|
| ProtonMail Plus | $5per month |
| ProtonMail Visionary | $30per month |
| ProtonMail Free | Free |
If you are wondering whether your Gmail account is secure from hackers, then the answer is yes, but only to a certain extent. Gmail is encrypted with TLS, Transport Layer Security, while transferring your data and it protects your emails at rest with industry-standard 128-bit encryption.
How do I choose a new email address? ›- Don't Frustrate Yourself. ...
- Go for Evergreen. ...
- Using the Dot. ...
- Consider Name Safety. ...
- Brainstorm. ...
- Easy to Remember and Pronounce. ...
- Avoid Using Numbers and Hyphens. ...
- Do Not Use Email Service That Expires.
Your information is protected by world-class security, monitoring things like suspicious logins and unauthorized activity. You can always control your privacy settings in your Google Account. For general information about privacy on Gmail, keep reading this article.
Is GMass free? ›A: All features work with a free account. The only restriction with free accounts is that you can't send to more than 50 email addresses in a 24-hour period.
How can I send a mass email for free? ›
- ActiveCampaign.
- Elastic Email.
- Amazon SES.
- SendinBlue.
- MailerLite.
- Mailjet.
- CovertKit.
- Moosend.
You can now send virtually unlimited emails in Gmail. It works by connecting a third party SMTP service like SendGrid, Mailgun, or Mailjet to your GMass account. The advantages of this setup are: The ability to send virtually unlimited emails in Gmail and avoid Gmail's sending limits.
How many email accounts can I have with one phone number? ›Gmail accounts per phone number
You can have up to four Gmail accounts verified with the same phone number. Even though some of us might need to exceed this limit, this is not possible due to security measures that help to keep the internet a safer environment.
More than 50 emails overwhelms employees, survey says. July 20, 2010— -- How many work emails can you stomach before you cry "Uncle!"? According to a recent survey by Harris Interactive, the magic number for many an employee is 50 a day. Once they head north of that number, most say they can't keep up.
Does Yahoo have an email limit? ›Yahoo mail gives its users a whopping 1TB of free storage. It's unlikely that you'd need more, but Yahoo doesn't provide any extra storage options even if you did. 25MB is the maximum outgoing email size, although you can attach up to 100MB using the Large Files feature.
How many emails can I send at once in Gmail before spam? ›If your account exceeds 500 emails in a single 24-hour period, then future outgoing messages will be blocked from Gmail or Google Workspace free trial accounts. As a paid Workspace subscriber, you can gain an increased limit of 2000 emails per day.
Is Gmail API free? ›Gmail API is available for free, but it has certain daily usage limits for API calls. Daily usage: 1 billion API calls per day. Per User Rate Limit: 250 API calls per user per second.
What is Gmail storage limit? ›Each Google Account includes 15 GB of storage, which is shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. To add to your storage quota, you can purchase a Google One membership, where available. Occasionally, you may receive more storage from a special promotion or related purchase.
Why is Gmail no longer free? ›From May 1, 2022, Google will be pulling its plug for the Legacy Free Edition. This means G Suite is no longer free and a subscription from all users is required. When Google launched the legacy free edition on December 6, 2012, a lot of users moved towards the free account but the business services were reduced.
Is Gmail going to start charging? ›Google is going to start charging small businesses for use of its Google Workspace suite of tools, including Gmail. The fee is expected to be about $6 a month.
Is Google closing Gmail accounts? ›
The tech giant will delete the accounts of users that are inactive in one or more of these services for two years after June 1, 2021. Additionally, Google will also delete content across Gmail, Photos, and Drive that are over the storage limit.
Can you have 2 Gmail accounts? ›Can I Have Multiple Gmail Accounts? The short answer is, "Yes, you can have multiple Gmail accounts." Many professionals have both a personal Gmail account and a work Gmail account tethered to their CRM.
Do people still use Hotmail? ›Microsoft closed that service years ago, and all Hotmail users are using its current service at Outlook.com. Technically, Outlook.com is newer than Gmail, though both services are updated all too frequently. You are, of course, still using a Hotmail address.
Which is the best free email? ›- Gmail: Best Free Email Service overall. (Image credit: Google) ...
- Outlook: Best for Windows and Office users. (Image credit: Microsoft) ...
- Proton: Best for anonymity. (Image credit: Proton Technologies) ...
- 4. Yahoo Mail: Great for spam filter options. ...
- iCloud: Best for Apple users. ...
- Mail.com: The best for personalized addresses.
Tutanota is a free, secure email provider based in Germany. Its name comes from the Latin words “Tuta” and “Nota,” which translate to “secure note.” Tutanota claims to be the world's most secure and private mailbox.
What are the disadvantages of ProtonMail? ›- ProtonMail does not encrypt email subject lines.
- Sometimes requires personal information for verification of new accounts.
- Confusing and expensive pricing.
- Incredibly long beta test cycles.
- May log IP addresses for government agencies.
How to Make an E-mail Address - YouTube
Can I get a free email address? ›The best free email accounts, like Gmail and Microsoft Outlook, offer users reliable and easy-to-use features. You can also go with more niche free email account services, like ProtonMail.
Is Gmail 2022 free? ›Gmail: You can sign up for Gmail for free, and gain access to most of the productivity apps for free, but if you want more robust services, you'll need to pay for a G Suite account.
What is the most secure free email provider 2021? ›- Gmail.
- Outlook.
- ProtonMail.
- AOL.
- Zoho Mail.
- iCloud Mail.
- Yahoo! Mail.
- GMX.
Can I have 2 Gmail accounts? ›
The short answer is, "Yes, you can have multiple Gmail accounts." Many professionals have both a personal Gmail account and a work Gmail account tethered to their CRM. If you're a salesperson, you might organize certain account sizes or lead stages into different Gmail inboxes or accounts.
How many accounts can I have on Gmail? ›There is no limit on the number of accounts you can have on Google. You can quickly and easily create new accounts, and also link those to your existing accounts so that you can easily switch between different accounts.
How do I create a valid email address? ›A valid email address consists of an email prefix and an email domain, both in acceptable formats. The prefix appears to the left of the @ symbol. The domain appears to the right of the @ symbol. For example, in the address example@mail.com, "example" is the email prefix, and "mail.com" is the email domain.
Is ProtonMail free? ›You might well imagine that storing your emails in a heavily guarded bunker under 1,000 meters of granite rock would cost you quite a bit of money. But ProtonMail actually offers a free plan that gives you all these security benefits. The free plan does limit the number of emails you can receive per day.
Which mail account is best? ›- Gmail. Gmail is the most used and popular email service provider with over 1.2 billion users all around the world. ...
- Outlook. Outlook was initially founded as Hotmail by Microsoft. ...
- AOL Mail. ...
- 4. Yahoo Mail. ...
- iCloud Mail. ...
- ProtonMail. ...
- Zoho Mail. ...
- Yandex Mail.
According to Statista, Gmail is the most popular email client in today's world, with more than 1.5 billion active users globally. If you're going to focus on designing your emails for one email provider, Gmail is a good place to start.
Why is Gmail no longer free? ›From May 1, 2022, Google will be pulling its plug for the Legacy Free Edition. This means G Suite is no longer free and a subscription from all users is required. When Google launched the legacy free edition on December 6, 2012, a lot of users moved towards the free account but the business services were reduced.
Does Google charge for email? ›Gmail Is Free, But Google Storage Can Cost Money | Fortune.
Is Google closing Gmail accounts? ›The tech giant will delete the accounts of users that are inactive in one or more of these services for two years after June 1, 2021. Additionally, Google will also delete content across Gmail, Photos, and Drive that are over the storage limit.