6 Best Email Hosting Providers for Small Businesses in 2023

The best email hosting options for small businesses provide ample email storage, strong security, and an easy-to-use dashboard at affordable prices. Some even offer extras like bundled web and email packages and free domains. We reviewed more than a dozen options based on price, features, storage limits, reliability, and user ratings, and narrowed it down to the six best to help you choose the right one for your small business.

• Best email hosting for small businesses overall: Google Workspace
• Best bundled email and web hosting: Bluehost
• Most advanced features and automations: Microsoft 365
• Best privacy and security features: IONOS
• Top choice for startups needing free email hosting: Zoho Mail
• Most affordable for unlimited email addresses: DreamHost

Best Email Hosting for Small Businesses at a Glance

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*Billed annually; some providers also offer monthly billing at a higher cost

Take our quiz to find out which email hosting service works best for you.

Google Workspace & Gmail: Best Overall

Google Workspace (formerly known as G Suite) includes the professional version of Gmail that allows businesses to use a custom email address. With Google Workspace, you get not only reliable and user-friendly Gmail for business email, but also an entire suite of organizational tools such as Calendars, Sheets, Slides, Docs, Meet, and Drive, to name a few—all for $6 per user, per month.

Learn how to use Gmail for business email in just a few steps. The value included is high, but if your business already has productivity software, adding the whole suite of Google Workspace apps could be overkill.

Some alternatives to consider are IONOS, which offers dedicated email web hosting for $1 a month ($12 per year) and includes a free domain, or Bluehost, especially if you need web hosting. All Bluehost plans include WordPress web hosting, a no-code WordPress website builder, a free domain, and SSL to help you build your brand’s online presence.

Features

Google Workspace has some of the most helpful email web hosting, collaboration, and productivity tools—in fact, they’re some of the most used worldwide. Besides having a custom business email address, you also get video conferencing, shared calendars, cloud storage, and content tools like online documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Google Workspace also offers security features such as two-step verification and protection programs.

Here’s what you can expect with Google Workspace:

• Email hosting with a custom email address for your business (domain purchase required)
• Video conferencing with the option to record meetings
• High-limit individual and shared cloud storage
• Chat messaging for team collaboration
• Shared calendars with the ability to book appointments and meetings
• Online shared documents, spreadsheets, and presentations
• App integrations for business telephone and app development
• Security tools like two-factor authentication and group-based protection controls

Gmail Business Email Pricing

Customer Service

Google Workspace customer service is available 24/7 via live chat, phone, and email. This is one of the most comprehensive customer service providers, as most do not offer support by phone (except for Microsoft 365). This enables users to resolve issues quickly, unlike providers only offering customer service through an online support form.

Our Expert Opinion

Google Workspace is not the cheapest email web hosting solution, but it’s worth using its added productivity and organizational tools. It has higher-than-average storage on its Starter plan, and while no plans include unlimited storage, its storage limits are enough for most businesses. Its storage limits, ease of use, extra features, and security make it great for your small business email web hosting needs.

Bluehost: Best Bundled Email & Web Hosting

Bluehost is an industry-leading email and web hosting service provider noted for its exceptional value. It has standalone email plans (via Microsoft 365), but we highly recommend purchasing a web hosting plan, especially if you haven’t built your small business website yet, as all hosting plans include multiple email addresses. Higher-tier plans even include unlimited emails and storage.

Not only are Bluehost’s plans affordable, starting at $2.95 a month, but they also include multiple free email addresses, a free domain for the first year, a free SSL certificate, reliable web hosting, and access to additional features. For example, you can get Google Workspace integration and domain privacy for a minimal extra cost.

It is the best solution for those needing unlimited storage in their business emails and reliable business website hosting from an industry leader. Its hosting is recommended by WordPress, and site builder plans include an intuitive drag-and-drop WordPress website builder.

Features

Bluehost’s primary service is web hosting, but they include free business email hosting in web hosting plans. This makes it a great choice for small businesses looking to build a website and have a custom email address under the same provider.

Here’s what you get with Bluehost:

• A free domain for one year
• Email hosting with a custom email address
• Intuitive dashboard for creating email addresses
• Free SSL certificate for data encryption security
• Security tools like malware scanning and regular website backups (depending on the plan)
• 24/7 customer support
• WordPress website hosting and WordPress installation and updates
• A no-code website builder for WordPress
• Google My Business verification

Bluehost Business Email Pricing

*On an annual billing cycle

Customer Service

Bluehost’s customer service is available 24/7 via phone and live chat. This means access to assistance whenever you’re working instead of waiting for a response. It also has three different technical support lines, depending on which type of help you are looking for. This ensures you will talk to the experts best-suited to solving your problem or answering your question.

Our Expert Opinion

Bluehost is a fantastic option for businesses looking to build an online brand presence from scratch. Hosting plans include unlimited email addresses and storage in all but the entry tier, making it the perfect solution for businesses that need lots of addresses and unlimited storage.

Microsoft 365 & Outlook: Most Advanced Features

Microsoft 365 is the upgraded version of Office 365. It includes the full suite of Microsoft products, including Outlook for business email as well as Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Teams, and more. It also comes with productivity and collaboration add-ons like video conferencing tools, online storage, and shared calendars, making it one of the most advanced business email domain hosting providers.

Features

Microsoft 365 offers reliable email web hosting with a custom email for your business via Outlook. It also has web-based productivity and collaboration features modeled after the original Microsoft Office Suite, including Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote. For collaboration, Microsoft 365 also offers video conferencing tools, extensive cloud storage, shared calendars, and security tools.

Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll get with Microsoft 365:

• Email hosting with a custom email for your business via Outlook
• Ability to save emails as templates to streamline
• Easily share calendars with other users and allow other users to manage your calendar
• Advanced email management rules, including multi-step processes
• Integrates with just about any business app in the ecosphere
• High individual and shared cloud storage limits
• High sending and receiving file size attachment limits
• Productivity management tools like planners and to-do lists, plus productivity analytics
• Security tools including access management, antivirus software, and data protection
• Teams for video and audio conferencing
• Full suite of Microsoft Apps, including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more

For a complete picture of the advantages of choosing Microsoft 365 (and Outlook) for business email, read up on the Outlook features that make it an excellent option for small businesses.

Outlook Business Email Pricing

*An annual subscription that is billed monthly

Customer Service

Microsoft 365 offers 24/7 support via online ticketing and phone calls across all plans. This includes technical support for any issues from installation to configuration and others. Besides one-on-one support, Microsoft 365 also offers a comprehensive library of helpful resources, including articles, videos, and forums that are accessible anytime.

Our Expert Opinion

Microsoft 365 (and Outlook) is reliable for email web hosting, and we like its extensive cloud storage and security features. Advanced software features also make it an excellent choice for bigger businesses that need more advanced tools or want automations to speed up workflows. See how Gmail vs Outlook compare to get more information about both providers and determine if one is better for your small business.

IONOS: Best Privacy & Security Features

IONOS is a web hosting company that also provides standalone email domain hosting services. It boasts secure servers with spam filters, antivirus protection, and a free domain and SSL certificate. You’ll need to upgrade to their top-tier plan for a low price of $5 a month to get advanced virus protection. This makes it the best email hosting provider for businesses needing affordable ways to deal with private or sensitive documents.

Features

Like Bluehost, IONOS is a top web domain name registrar and web host. It offers standalone low-cost business email web hosting plans with a free domain, saving you even more money. Its email hosting plans are also scalable, making it a great choice for steadily growing businesses.

Here are the features IONOS offers:

• Email hosting with a custom business email address
• Free top-level domain extensions (.com, .us, .online, or .net)
• Shared calendars and contacts with the ability to schedule meetings on higher plans
• Email synchronization across devices
• Ability to expand any plan with more storage
• Multi-user business email hosting plans as low as $2.50 per user (up to 10 users)
• Antivirus and anti-spam software, data privacy center, and free SSL encryption

In addition to standalone plans, you can also get free business email through IONOS with a subscription to any of its web hosting or website builder plans. Alternatively, you can purchase a domain through IONOS for $1 for the first year (two-year commitment required) and get a free email account along with the domain.

IONOS Pricing

*Billed annually
**As low as $2.50 per user with 10 users

Customer Service

IONOS provides 24/7 customer support for all of its email hosting plans, and users rate their services as highly knowledgeable and quick. They offer live chat, phone support in many countries, and a Help Center with tons of helpful information about their products and general questions you may have.

Our Expert Opinion

IONOS takes security seriously, and its privacy and security features are some of the strongest we’ve seen, especially in such an affordable service. It offers free antivirus protection, spam filters, a domain, and an SSL/TLS certificate on all plans, which is rarely seen in email web hosting plans costing as low as $1 per month. If your business deals with sensitive data, IONOS is the best and most affordable option.

Zoho Mail: Best Free Email Hosting

Zoho is an online business software suite celebrated for its customer relationship management (CRM). For business email, Zoho Mail paid plans start for free or for as little as $1 per month, and there are higher business-appropriate Workplace plans with similar software and features as Google Workspace and Microsoft 365.

There is a free-forever plan for startups and entrepreneurs that need a no-cost business email option. This makes Zoho Mail the best email hosting service for businesses looking for free email hosting.

However, since its base plan tiers don’t offer the security features businesses need, we recommend opting for one of Zoho Mail’s Workplace plans or upgrading as soon as possible. If you need a free option to start with, read our tutorial on how to use Zoho Mail free for business email.

Features

Zoho offers standalone email domain hosting, starting for free on a domain you own. In higher tiers, you can use multiple domains for business email, and the Professional Workplace plan comes with a free domain. Plans scale to add business apps, especially in Workplace plans, which are the only plans that provide adequate security and storage for business email.

Here’s what you’ll get with Zoho Mail:

• Email hosting on your domain, plus multiple domains on higher plans
• Email migration services
• New SecurePass to send emails with a passcode
• Ability to recall an email after sending it
• Security measures like two-factor authentication and data encryption
• Video calling (all but the Free plan) calling for 10 to 100 participants
• Productivity apps such as shared calendars, tasks, notes, and bookmarks
• Cloud storage
• A unique collaboration tool for easier communication across teams
• Admin management features

If you plan to use Zoho Mail, you’ll need to purchase a domain first. IONOS tops our list of the best domain registrars, as you can buy a domain for $1 the first year, but any of the providers on the list would be a good option.

Zoho Mail Pricing

*On an annual billing cycle

Customer Service

Zoho Mail’s customer service is available around-the-clock by email, tickets, and phone, with the latter only available to paying customers. There is also a comprehensive help center on the website for those interested in troubleshooting on their own.

Our Expert Opinion

Zoho Mail’s Free plan and affordable premium pricing make it a great deal for businesses that need tools similar to what Google offers but without the hefty price tag. In fact, Zoho Mail is often cited as a top Google Workspace competitor. We highly recommend testing out Zoho Mail using its Free plan to see whether upgrading to a paid plan would suit your small business.

DreamHost: Best Way to Get Unlimited Email Addresses

DreamHost offers web hosting with email as well as a WordPress website builder. DreamHost’s plans are easily scalable, with starter plans solely for email hosting, and higher plans that bundle email and website hosting. While not as feature-rich as the others on this list (it doesn’t offer any marketing and collaboration features, for example), DreamHost offers unlimited email domain hosting on its higher plans.

Features

DreamHost offers email hosting services as a standalone option and, similar to Bluehost, as a value-add bundled into WordPress website hosting plans. Bundled plans include a free domain, SSL, WordPress install, and site builder. However, unlike IONOS, its standalone business email plans don’t have a free domain for business email. Regardless of which type of plan you choose, each user gets 25GB of storage.

Here’s what you can expect with Bluehost:

• Email hosting as a standalone or in bundled web hosting plans
• Spam, virus, and phishing filters
• SSL certificate
• Cloud storage
• Unlimited email addresses on higher plans
• Extensive knowledge base
• 100% uptime guarantee

DreamHost Pricing

*Billed annually, or pay month-to-month at a higher rate

Customer Service

DreamHost offers customer service 24/7 through online ticketing or via each user’s control panel, and they have dedicated staff for assistance on tech support, sales, billing, or other issues. They also have an extensive knowledge base with resources on everything from WordPress setup to domain registrations, plus an online academy where you can get guided tutorials on optimizing your online presence.

Our Expert Opinion

While DreamHost offers email web hosting services with a custom business email, its main strength is in web hosting, particularly for WordPress websites. Its extensive knowledge base and easily scalable pricing plans are a plus, especially its unlimited email hosting feature on its higher plans. This makes DreamHost a good choice for businesses that need many unique business email addresses.

How We Evaluated the Best Email Hosting Services

Researching the best email hosting providers can be time-consuming and challenging, especially when finding affordable solutions without sacrificing features. To save you time, we compared dozens of providers and narrowed them down to the best options. We based our list on affordability, amount of storage, reliability, number of email accounts included, extra features, and user reviews.

Click on the tabs for more details about how we evaluated each provider.

Based on our criteria, the best email hosting for small businesses is Google Workspace. With high storage limits on all plans, good email security, and a slew of productivity and organizational tools integrated, Google Workspace is the best. It’s also the most beginner-friendly way to set up professional email accounts for your business.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Do I need email hosting?

Using a custom business email address with your website’s domain name (e.g., yourname@yourbusiness.com) is more professional and credible than a generic one like @gmail.com or @yahoo.com. If you’re serious about growing your business, having a custom email address that matches your website is essential. It’s also affordable, with solid options as low as $1 per month that come with a free domain through IONOS.

Does Google offer free email hosting?

While there’s no free Google Workspace plan, email web hosting is free with Google Workspace if you purchase one of its productivity suite plans and own a domain. If your budget doesn’t include money for productivity and collaboration software and you have a business domain name, try Zoho Mail’s Free plan. Alternatively, check out the top ways you can get a free business email address.

How much should I pay for email hosting?

Email hosting shouldn’t be expensive, especially for small businesses that don’t need tons of accounts. Your costs will vary depending on how many accounts are needed and what kind of storage and security you want. Many email web hosting providers have starter plans at around $5 per user, per month, though cheap email hosting companies like IONOS and Zoho Mail cost as little as $1 per month.

Bottom Line

The best business email hosting providers combine affordable prices, ample storage, multiple addresses, and great add-on features to meet the needs of small businesses. Based on our criteria, the best overall is Google Workspace. It’s not only reliable and feature-rich, with email and productivity tools included, but it is also one of the most easy-to-use email platforms. Try it free for 14 days today.