Getting a professional email address with your domain name (e.g., name@yourdomaincom) is easier and cheaper than ever. Which service is best depends on your business’ needs, from the number of accounts you need to the size of the attachments you send. To find the five best business email providers for your small business, we weeded through dozens to determine which live up to—and even exceed—their marketing claims to be the best.
Here are the five best business email providers for small businesses:
- Google Workspace: Overall best business email provider for businesses of all sizes
- Zoho Mail: Best bare-bones business email that connects to your own domain for free
- Bluehost: Best for new businesses just starting out as plans come with everything needed to build and maintain an online presence for one low monthly price
- Office 365: Best for businesses that frequently send large attachments
- DreamHost: Best business email for unlimited email addresses with month-to-month billing options
Best Business Email Providers (Compared)
 |  |  |  |  | |
Starting Price | $6/month | Free | $2.95/month | $5/month | $2.95/month |
Number of Users | 1 | Up to 5 | Up to 5 | 1 | Unlimited |
Minimum Contract Length | Monthly | Monthly | 12 months | 12 months | Monthly |
Storage Limit | 30GB | 5GB | 50GB | 1TB | Unlimited |
Connect Your Own Domain | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Free Domain Name | N/A | N/A | ✔ | N/A | ✔ |
Ad-free | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Advanced Security Tools | ✔ | N/A | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Productivity Suite Included | ✔ | N/A | N/A | ✔ | N/A |
Can’t decide? Try Google Workspace. It’s the best email service provider for small businesses and since there are no contracts, trying it is risk-free. You can also take our quiz to learn which provider is best for you.
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Let’s dive into each of the five best email providers for small businesses:
Google Workspace: Overall Best Business Email Provider
Google Workspace
What We Like
- Industry-leading business email provider with a modern, user-friendly interface
- Very easy to set up and use
- Industry-leading security features and admin controls
- Best productivity and collaboration tools included
- Tons of apps and integrations available
What's Missing
- Attachment size send limit is low compared to Office 365
- Does not include bulk email cleanup tools
- Does not include a free domain like Bluehost
- No fixed priced plans for unlimited emails like DreamHost
- Does not offer free email like Zoho
Who It's Best For
- Businesses that need ultra-reliable business email and productivity tools in one
- Those who prioritize safeguarding their email and information from hackers and viruses, given its advanced security features
Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) is the supercharged version of Gmail for professional use. What makes Google Workspace stand out is that it not only includes top-notch professional email using your domain name, it also comes packed with modern productivity and collaboration tools from Google Docs (Google’s version of Microsoft Word) to advanced admin control and hundreds of the best third-party email apps and tools for just $6 per user, per month.
Interested in learning more about Gmail vs Google Workspace? Learn more about Gmail for Business. Alternatively, check out the head-to-head comparison on Gmail vs Outlook.
Google Workspace Tiered Pricing & Features
Business Starter | Business Standard | Business Plus | |
|---|---|---|---|
Pricing | $6/user, per month | $12/user, per month | $18/user, per month |
Storage | 30GB | 2TB | 5TB |
Attachment Limit (Sending) | 25MB | ||
Attachment Limit (Receiving) | 50MB | ||
Contract Length | Month-to-month | ||
Video Meeting Max. Participants | 100 | 150 | 250 |
Google Productivity and Collaboration Suite (Google Docs, Sheets, Calendar, and more) | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Admin Console | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
100+ Third-party Apps and Tools | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Our Expert Opinion
Google Workspace pricing starts at $6 per user, per month, making it very affordable, especially for such a feature-rich plan that also includes industry-leading collaboration and productivity tools in addition to email. Google Workspace also offers an enterprise-level plan that includes advanced customization with pricing tailored to a business’ specific needs.
Zoho Mail: Best Business Email Provider With Free Email Plans
Zoho Mail
What We Like
- 5 free business email addresses
- Built-in marketing and analytics tools
- Low-cost plans for those who need more than five email addresses
What's Missing
- Does not integrate with Gmail
- Small storage and attachment limit included with the free and low-cost plans
Who It's Best For
- Businesses on a tight budget that need five or fewer email addresses
For the cheapest option that enables you to connect your own domain name, look no further than Zoho Mail. Its free plan includes up to five free business email addresses at the lowest price in the market for premium email (just $1 per month). Due to low storage and attachment size limits on the lowest-tiered plans, it’s best for those who don’t depend heavily on email, but who want a business email address to maintain a professional image.
Check out what’s involved with setting up Zoho Mail for business.
Zoho Mail Tiered Pricing & Features
Free | Mail Lite | Mail Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|
Pricing | Free up to 5 users | $1/month (annual contract) | $4/month (annual contract) |
Storage Limit per User | 5GB | 5GB | 50GB |
Attachment Limit | 25MB | 250MB | 1GB |
Ad-free Email | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Connect Your Own Domain | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Free Domain Name | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Our Expert Opinion
Zoho Mail is widely regarded as one of the best ways to get a free business email address, making it a great choice for budget-conscious businesses that need five or fewer email addresses. Paid plans start at $1 per user, per month, but the low cost is at the expense of high storage space. If your business relies heavily on email, the best value is DreamHost, which offers unlimited storage and unlimited addresses for $2.95 per month.
Bluehost: Best Email Provider for New Businesses Building an Online Presence
Bluehost
What We Like
- Free business email hosting with low-cost web hosting plans starting at $2.95 per month
- Best value for unlimited professional email with prices as low as $4.99 per month
- Connect to third-party email platforms like Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail for free
- Free domain name included
What's Missing
- Cannot get email hosting without web hosting like you can with DreamHost
- Advertised prices reflect a long-term contract
- Month-to-month plans are not available as they are with DreamHost
- Does not offer a productivity suite like Google Workspace and Office 365
Who It's Best For
- New business ventures that want to get everything needed to build an online presence easily and affordably from one provider
Bluehost is a leading web hosting provider and its plans are packed with extras, including free email for business. Its entry-level plan starts at just $2.95 per month and includes up to five free email addresses, as well as tons of extras such as a free domain name, free SSL certificate, one-click WordPress installation, and a drag-and-drop site builder, making it a great value—particularly for new businesses that are in the process of building an online presence.
Get the step-by-step instructions on how to set up business email with Bluehost.
Bluehost Tiered Pricing & Features
Basic | Plus | Choice Plus | |
|---|---|---|---|
Intro Pricing (With 36-month Contract) | $2.95/month | $5.45/month | $5.45/month |
Price Upon Renewal | $8.99/month | $11.99/month | $16.99/month |
Email Accounts | 5 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Email Storage | 50GB | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Parked Domains | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Domain Privacy | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Our Expert Opinion
Bluehost is a web hosting provider that includes free business email hosting with its web hosting plans. Plans start at just $2.95 per month for both web hosting and business email in one package with up to five free professional email addresses. This makes it a good choice for new businesses that are building an online presence and need both web hosting and email at a great value.
Office 365: Best for Businesses That Send Large Attachments
Office 365
What We Like
- Competitively priced at just $5/month
- Packed with 1TB of cloud storage
- Includes the Microsoft Office Suite
What's Missing
- Annual commitment required
- Desktop versions of Office apps are not available in the entry-level plan
- Plans quickly jump in price
Who It's Best For
- Businesses that need a ton of storage and frequently send large attachments, such as law firms, architects, and design agencies
- Businesses that use the Microsoft Office productivity suite
Microsoft 365 is the best email provider for businesses that want to use the Microsoft Office 365 productivity suite. Though it’s very similar to Google Workspace, its entry-level plan is slightly cheaper at just $5 per user, per month. It includes the Office Suite that so many know and love, as well as a massive 1TB of cloud storage via OneDrive. It’s best for businesses that need a ton of storage and the Office Suite of productivity tools.
Microsoft 365 Tiered Pricing & Features
Business Basic | Business Standard | Business Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|
Pricing | $5/month | $12.50/month | $20/month |
OneDrive Cloud Storage | 1TB | ||
Contract Length | Annual | ||
Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, and so forth) | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Private, Ad-free Email | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Desktop Version of Office Apps | N/A | ✔ | ✔ |
Device Management | N/A | N/A | ✔ |
Advanced Security | N/A | N/A | ✔ |
Want more information about the Microsoft productivity apps? Get an in-depth look at Microsoft 365 for business.
Our Expert Opinion
Microsoft 365 offers competitive pricing for plans that include a ton of cloud storage—1TB, to be exact—for just $5 per month. However, its price quickly jumps up to $12.50 per month for those who want desktop access to Office apps (and who wouldn’t). For a cheaper all-inclusive version, choose Google Workspace.
DreamHost: Best Email Provider With Month-to-Month Plans
DreamHost
What We Like
- Low-cost plans starting at $1.67 per month
- Unlimited email addresses for $2.95 per month with a one-year contract
- Free professional email with competitively priced web hosting plans
- Ability to connect to third-party email providers like Gmail and Outlook
What's Missing
- Does not include extras like word processing tools you get with Google Workspace
- Month-to-month plans don't include a free domain
Who It's Best For
- Businesses that need low-cost, no-frills business email hosting
- Those who want to get business email and web hosting in one
- Large teams needing unlimited business emails at one fixed monthly price
DreamHost is a top-rated web hosting company known for its reliable service, but what you might not know is that it also offers ultra-low-cost business email. For as little as just $1.67 per month, you get commitment-free, month-to-month email hosting—no website hosting plan required. However, if you do need a WordPress hosting package, you get free email addresses for your company with its low-cost web hosting plans.
DreamHost Tiered Email Pricing & Features
Email-only Plan | Shared Web Hosting Plan | Unlimited Web Hosting | |
|---|---|---|---|
Pricing (w/Monthly Plan) | $1.99/month | $4.95/month | $8.95/month |
Pricing (w/12-month Contract) | $1.67/month | $2.95/month | $2.95/month |
Service Type | Email hosting | Email and web hosting | Email and web hosting |
Storage | 25GB | 50GB | Unlimited |
Number of Email Addresses | 1 | 1 | Unlimited |
Connect a Domain You Already Own | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
IMAP, POP, and Webmail | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Built-in Security | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Ad-free Email | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
DreamHost is one of the best business email providers for those who want an ultra-affordable business email solution. It offers low-cost, email-only plans for just $1.67 per month, giving small businesses and solopreneurs with low email volumes a high-quality option. However, it also offers unlimited email addresses and unlimited storage for a fixed monthly fee of $2.95 per month, making it a steal for large businesses in need of many email addresses.
How We Evaluated the Best Email Services
All businesses need email addresses that can be accessed quickly, securely, and reliably with enough storage to keep messages from bouncing. However, some companies only need a single email address, while other businesses require a scalable email solution. For that reason, we looked at a range of options that can serve anyone from the sole proprietor wanting a free address to a growing business with multiple employees.
The criteria we used to evaluate each of these providers include:
- Price
- Ease of use
- Available storage
- Security and accessibility
- Spam and virus protection
- System integrations
- Scalability
- Customer support
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Which is better: Google Workspace or Office 365?
For most, Google Workspace is the superior product. Not only are its productivity and collaboration tools more modern and user-friendly, but it’s also half the price for businesses needing desktop access to productivity apps as well as email. Google Workspace costs $6 per user, per month, whereas Office 365 costs $12.50 per user, per month for the equivalent set of features. Get the complete breakdown of Google Workspace vs Office 365.
How do you create a custom email address for business use?
It’s easy to create a custom email address, such as an email address that uses your own domain name (e.g., name@yourbusiness.com). First, get a domain (e.g., yourbusiness.com), which you can purchase from a domain name registrar such as GoDaddy or Hover for around $12 per year. Then, get email hosting and set up access to your email with your favorite email app. Get the step-by-step instructions on how to create a custom email address.
How do I choose a professional email address?
There are three main rules when choosing a professional email address. First, always use your own domain, so that your email address shows as, say, yourname@yourbusiness.com (as opposed to yourbusiness@gmail.com). Second, maintain a consistent username format across your company.
Third, create generic email addresses that forward to you or your team, such as support@yourbusiness.com, to display on your site to prevent spam and protect the privacy of your main email address. Get more insights into choosing a professional email address.
Bottom Line
Businesses depend on email communication, so you need to choose business email providers that are dependable, secure, and packed with the features you need—in addition to being affordable. While the best for your business will depend on its unique needs, the best overall email provider for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) is Google Workspace. It’s the best value with feature-packed plans starting at just $6 per month and no contracts, so it’s risk-free.
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