You may have heard you need a small business email address, but what exactly is one? Unlike that old personal email address that may look something like your name followed by a handful of numbers at gmail or yahoo dot com, a business email address uses your own domain name. For example, yourname@yourbusiness.com. In addition to creating a more professional appearance and helping build credibility in the eyes of potential customers, it also often comes with a number of perks for businesses, such as enhanced security and productivity tools—all for around five or six dollars per month.
Why Is a Business Email Important?
As mundane as a business email that uses your own domain name might initially sound, it’s important for a variety of reasons, business email statistics show. For example, the average American worker spends almost six hours per week on emails alone. And with remote work growing, that’s likely to decrease anytime soon. And when over 75% of customers prefer hearing from brands via email, there’s no question emails offer a wealth of possibilities for building brand awareness, staying top of mind, and forging customer relationships.
- Professional appearance: Businesses that do not use a business email address fail to look professional and, as a result, often appear untrustworthy, if not illegitimate.
- Brand awareness: Business email helps promote your brand and build brand awareness.
- Website recognition: Another reason business email is important is that it can help drive more customers to your website. After all, when your email address is your business’ domain name, the exposure customers receive helps to increase their recall of your website.
- Increased control: Many of the top email service providers offer administrative controls, giving businesses the ability to better manage the email accounts that use their domain, such as staff accounts.
- Enhanced security: While all reputable email service providers offer some degree of built-in security, business email providers typically offer advanced security features to help you protect your business and those you communicate with.
- Connect to business tools: With business email, users can take advantage of the plethora of business email management tools, such as HubSpot to take your sales and marketing to the next level or Calendly for easily scheduling meetings.
In other words, with email remaining a top communication channel, investing in an email for business reinforces your credibility, strengthens your brand, and even helps you stay organized and productive.
Ways to Get a Business Email
While there are several ways you can get a small business email address, it largely boils down to two different types of email providers. First, a third-party email service provider (ESP), such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or ProtonMail. Second, through your domain name registrar or web hosting provider (e.g., DreamHost, Bluehost, IONOS, or Wix). The two mainly differ in terms of cost, usability, and features.
Here are the pros and cons of each option:
Pros | Cons | |
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Email Service Provider (ESP) |
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Domain Name Registrar and/or Web Hosting Provider |
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When choosing which is right for you, ask yourself the following questions:
- What is the size of your team, as it impacts total cost, and how beneficial advanced features may be for you? Consider how much your business depends on email (i.e., light or heavy).
- Do you tend to handle sensitive customer information over email? If so, you will need a highly secure service.
- Last but not least, consider which features and integrations you and your team would take advantage of, such as admin controls, sales tools, or productivity tools.
How to Set Up a Business Email Address
The process of setting up a new small business email address can be surprisingly easy. To start, decide which email host you want to use, such as Google Workspace, Bluehost, or Zoho Mail. Next, buy a domain name if you don’t have one yet. From there, purchase an email hosting plan, choose your email format (e.g., lastname@businessname.com), and follow the prompts to finish your email account setup.
Step 1: Select Your Email Host
The first step is deciding which email host you want to use. The two main types are email service providers, such as Google Workspace (Gmail for business use) or Microsoft 365, and web hosts, such as Bluehost, DreamHost, or IONOS. You can also purchase email hosting from your website host; however, they don’t usually have the same features and tools available from true email service providers such as Google Workspace.
Step 2: Buy a Domain Name (Or Connect Your Existing Domain)
After choosing your email host, buying a domain name is next. If you purchase your email and domain from your web hosting provider, it will come with the benefit of your domain name automatically being connected. However, if you already own a domain name or purchased your domain name from a different provider, you will need to manually connect your domain name to your email host by updating your Mail Exchanger (MX) records with your hosting provider.
Step 3: Choose Your Email Format
With the most technical aspect of setting up a business email behind you, the next step is to simply choose which email format you wish to use. For example, firstname@businessname.com or lastname@businessname.com. Consider how many email addresses your business needs—larger teams may need longer combinations to avoid duplicate emails, while a first-name-only format might be good enough for a small team.
Also consider generic inboxes, such as support@businessname.com for customer service assistance or contact@businessname.com for general inquiries. These are typically published on your website, giving customers and site visitors a way of reaching out to your business without acquiring direct access to individual team members’ inboxes.
Business Email Format | Examples |
|---|---|
First Name | kate@business.com |
First and Last Name | katerichardson@business.com kate.richardson@business.com |
First Initial and Last Name | krichardson@business.com k.richardson@business.com |
General Use | contact@business.com support@business.com sales@business.com media@business.com returns@business.com |
Step 4: Set Up Your Email Account
Once you’ve decided on your email format, follow the prompts to complete the new account set-up process. This step will vary depending on which email provider you use, but it usually involves inputting the first and last name of the email address, configuring your account, and finalizing your payment.
For a detailed step-by-step walkthrough, read our guide on how to create a custom email address, or check out one of our email provider-specific guides:
Top 5 Business Email Providers
In a sea of seemingly endless email providers, choosing the best one for your business can be a challenge. While there are many great options—all supporting various business needs and requirements—we’ve narrowed down our top five specifically for small businesses: Google Workspace, IONOS, Bluehost, Zoho Mail, and Microsoft 365.
Google Workspace
- Starting price: $6 per month (billed annually)
- Key features: Very user-friendly with industry-leading features like Google Docs, Sheets, and Meet
Google Workspace ranks as our overall best email service provider—for good reason. It’s competitively priced at $6 per user per month with annual billing, and it offers great value for price as its plans are packed with industry-leading features. For example, it has top-notch security and administrative controls, collaboration, and productivity tools, including its full suite of cloud-based Google products, such as Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet, shared calendars, and a long list of extensions.
Unlike Microsoft 365, which rivals Google Workspace for features and tools, Google Workspace’s interface does not get complicated or difficult to navigate. Not only are many users familiar with Google’s interface if they have used Gmail in the past, but Google makes the entire process of setting up and using a new business email easy. In return, it’s a good choice for beginners who are looking for an email provider that can undoubtedly grow with their business.
Pros
- It offers industry-leading features and tools
- It’s beginner-friendly, offering a top-notch user experience
- Real-time collaboration tools make it great for teams
- All plans include Google’s productivity suite (Docs, Sheets, and Slides)
Cons
- It’s not the most affordable provider
- Getting in touch with live support is notoriously difficult
- Storage is shared
IONOS
- Starting price: $1 per month
- Key features: Get a free domain with your email hosting plan
IONOS might be best known for its web hosting services, but it also offers industry-low pricing on its email hosting services. Plans start at just $1 per month and uniquely include a free domain name for your first year. Its entry-level plans come with 2GB of storage, and it offers a small number of features, such as built-in antivirus and spam filters and access to an artificial intelligence-based assistant.
While IONOS lacks many of the features of the big-name (and bigger budget) email providers such as Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, it stands out for its modern interface and ease of use. This makes it a good choice for new businesses on a tight budget, as it has a beginner-friendly design and low-cost email plans, as well as the inclusion of a free domain.
Pros
- Email hosting plans include a free domain for your first year
- It’s beginner-friendly
- AI email assistant is available
- It has built-in antivirus and spam filters
Cons
- Storage starts at just 2GB
- Price increases upon renewal on most plans
- It lacks productivity tools
Bluehost
- Starting price: $2.49 per month (billed annually)
- Key features: Free business email with web hosting plans
Best known for its low-cost, feature-rich web hosting plans, Bluehost also offers email hosting plans. Those seeking email hosting can purchase a plan starting at $2.49 per month with annual billing with 25GB of storage—that’s over 10 times the storage limit of IONOS for just over double the price, making it a good value for price. However, it doesn’t offer much by way of features, like Google Workspace, though it has shared calendars, contacts, and tasks, giving teams the bare bones of productivity tools.
Bluehost really stands out for its inclusion of free business email with the purchase of any of its web hosting plans, with the exception of its Basic plan. Plans that include unlimited free business email addresses start as low as $2.65 per month with promotional pricing and renew at $13.99 per month. Like the IONOS email hosting plan, these plans also include a free domain name for your first year.
Pros
- It offers free business email with web hosting plans
- Storage starts at 25GB
- It has shared calendars, contacts, and tasks
- It has unsubscribe service
Cons
- Cons
- It doesn’t offer monthly billing options
- Maximum number of email accounts is 300
Zoho Mail
- Starting price: Free; $1 per month (billed annually)
- Key features: Get five free business email addresses
You may have heard of Zoho CRM, but Zoho offers a full suite of business, marketing, and productivity tools, including its email hosting service, Zoho Mail. It offers one of the only professional-quality free-forever business email plans in the industry. You can get up to five free business email accounts with Zoho, making it a great value for businesses that need only a few email accounts.
Aside from its free plan, it also offers highly competitively-priced email hosting plans starting at $1 per user per month with annual billing. Plans come with 25GB of storage—the same amount as Bluehost but at less than half the price.
Additionally, Zoho Mail offers a free 15-day trial of its premium plans, enabling users to test drive it before committing to an annual plan. It has a user-friendly interface that eliminates any learning curve for those unfamiliar, and Zoho has advanced sales and marketing tools, which could help grow your business.
Pros
- It uniquely offers a free-forever plan for up to five email addresses
- It offers high storage plans at industry-low prices
- It has free 15-day trial on premium plans
- The interface is user-friendly
- It has built-in sales and marketing tools
Cons
- Paid plans do not support multiple users
- Team collaboration tools do not come standard
Microsoft 365
- Starting price: $6 per month (billed annually)
- Key features: Advanced productivity tools like webinar management, bookings, and planners
Microsoft is one of the oldest email hosting services in the industry, and it now stands out for its advanced productivity tools. Much like its main rival, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 offers an office suite with Word documents and spreadsheets, but it dives deeper into this category with unique features such as planners, appointments, and video editing.
Granted, it’s worth mentioning that while Microsoft 365 boasts a long list of productivity features, the average user doesn’t use a fraction of these. What’s worse, with so many features, the email service provider is a bit complex and involves a learning curve. In other words, while it has around the same features as Google Workspace, it is not as well-designed and intuitive.
Pros
- It offers industry-leading productivity tools
- It has a large storage space of 1TB
- Top security tools are built-in
- Monthly and annual plans are available
Cons
- It involves a learning curve
- It lacks in-email video call capabilities like Google Workspace
- It has constant updates
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Business email is an email address that uses a business’ domain name, such as yourname@businessname.com, rather than a generic email service provider’s domain, such as @gmail.com or @yahoo.com. A business email address is far more professional than a personal email address, and provides added security and admin control that personal email does not.
A good example of a business email address is tcook@apple.com for Tim Cook, Apple CEO, or zuckerberg@fb.com for Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta. An email for business differs from a personal one primarily because it uses a business’ domain name and not a generic one like @gmail.com or @yahoo.com.
To create a business email, decide on an email service provider (i.e., Google Workspace, IONOS, ProtonMail, Microsoft 365) and purchase a plan. Next, get a domain name if you don’t already own one and connect it to your email service provider. Some email providers also allow you to get domains directly from them. Then, configure your new account by entering your desired email address, name, and settings. Choose your email address format, then finalize your business email address.
Bottom Line
A business email with your own domain is a must-have for any business. Not only does it elevate your appearance and help build trust with your customers and partners, it also builds your brand recognition—essential for every business building an online presence. Think of your small business’ email address as a long-term investment for your brand. It solidifies your digital presence and sets your business up for future growth.
