Gmail Alternatives

Gmail is one of the best services offered by Google. It lets you send and receive emails via a user-friendly interface. It has become the synonym of email over time. It is the most widely used email domain worldwide due to its advantages like wide storage, easy and free access, and data security. Apart from its pros, it also has some cons which trouble the users, like specific advertising, user interface customization, pre-made tabs, notification issues, less attachment size, etc.

Different email software also provides better email services; some are free with ads, whereas some are without ads, but for that, they charge some amount of money from the users. It is worth trying out various email domains or software to fulfil certain needs. Following is the list of top Gmail alternatives:

1) AOL Mail

It is an internet email service launched by AOL in 1993. The complete form of AOL is America Online. This email service is free, and its domain name is @aol.com.

Pros

1. File attachment limitation is up to 25 MB
2. Protection from Spams
3. Protection from viruses
4. It can be linked to other email accounts like Gmail, Yahoo, etc.
5. Spell check facility
6. Mailbox limit is unlimited
7. It supports POP3, SMTP, and IMAP Protocols.
8. It supports around 54 languages.

Cons

1. Frequent ads while working
2. The user's account deactivates after 90 days of inactivity, posing problems in sending and receiving emails.
3. The user's account gets deleted after 180 days of inactivity.
4. Relatively small file attachment size is also one of its cons.

2) Fastmail

It is a paid email service provided by an Australian company launched in 1999. Fastmail has a differential pricing system in which the price of the services ranges from $15 per year to $300 per year based on different criteria. It offers domain names like 123mail.org, 150mail.com, 150ml.com, 2-mail.com, airpost.net, elitemail.org, fast-mail.org, and fastest.cc, etc.

Pros

1. Customizable domain names facility.
2. Ads-free operations.
3. Highly efficient Spam filtration.
4. Secure with Two-Factor Authentication (2FA).
5. Better attachment size limits up to 50MB.
6. Supports IMAP, JMAP, SMTP, POP3, SSL, TLS, and conversation threading.
7. High storage range between 2GB to 50GB.
8. It supports around 37 languages.

Cons

1. Lack of privacy due to no end-to-end encryption
2. High pricing
3. It does not support IPv6 and EAS.
4. PGP not supported
5. Complex registration process

3) iCloud

iCloud is an email service provided by Apple Inc. started in 2011. It is free with ads. There are also ad-free versions of iCloud with a price range between $0.99 per month to $9.99 per month. It is a cloud storage-based email service.

Pros

1. It supports wireless backup for iOS devices.
2. It provides 5GB of free mailbox space and is expandable up to 2TB.
3. Free attachment size available: 20MB
4. It supports cryptographic protocols like SSL and TLS.
5. It allows conversation threading.
6. It supports features like Hiding emails and customizable email domains.

Cons

1. It supports only four languages.
2. Mailbox storage is expandable only for paid users.
3. It does not have POP3 support.
4. It does not support IPv6.
5. Phone number is mandatory for IMAP and SMTP support.
6. Services are exclusively for iOS users.

4) Outlook

Outlook is a widely used email service provided by Microsoft. It was founded as Hotmail by Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith in 1996. In 1997, Microsoft purchased Hotmail and continued with the Hotmail.com domain name till 2011, and on 31^st July 2012, it was changed to Outlook.com.

Pros

1. It is primarily available for free.
2. It has mailbox storage of 15GB.
3. The maximum attachment file size is 32 MB and can be upgraded to unlimited storage using the Microsoft OneDrive feature.
4. It is available in around 106 languages.
5. It supports conversation threading and cryptographic protocols like SSL and Exchange ActiveSync.
6. It supports POP3, IMAP, and SMTP.
7. It allows aliases for customizing specific email addresses.

Cons

1. Complex user Interface.
2. Integration issues with other programs like Google calendar.
3. It performs poorly with a LINUX-based system. It is specifically built to work on Windows.
4. To use all the features of Outlook, one must purchase the Microsoft Office Software package, which makes it a bit costly.

5) Rediff mail

Rediff mail is an Indian email service established in 1996 by Rediff.com. It is one of the products of Rediff.com that also offers other benefits like news, entertainment, and web search engine services. It provides free access and has paid components too.

Pros

1. It is free with ads.
2. It offers unlimited mailbox storage without any extra cost.
3. The maximum file attachment permissible is 25MB.
4. Available in around 11 languages, including some Indian languages. It is an AJAX-based interface.
5. It supports cryptographic protocols like SSL and TLS.
6. It supports IMAP, POP3, and SMTP.
7. It offers an email migration feature that helps as email backup support.

Cons

1. It has some security issues due to a lot of promotional emails.
2. Average user Interface.
3. As it is available for free, privacy is compromised for ads.
4. Tor gateway is not available.
5. POP3 is not free; it is available for Rs 399, whereas many other email service providers give it by default.

6) com

Mail.com is an email service launched in 1995 by Mail & Media Inc. in the USA. It is free cum paid email service. The domain name is mail.com.

Pros

1. Available for free with ads.
2. Unlimited mailbox storage availability.
3. The maximum file attachment size is 30MB.
4. Tor browser access is available.
5. It supports POP3, IMAP, and SMTP.
6. It is integrated with Google Talk.
7. It has a virus screening feature.

Cons

1. Available in just three languages.
2. POP3, IMAP, and SMTP features are available only for paid users.
3. It supports only SSL cryptographic protocol; TLS is not available.
4. Automated forwarding is only for paid users.
5. Domain name customization is not available.

7) Yahoo! Mail

Yahoo! Mail is a product of Yahoo! that provides email services. It was launched in 1997 on 8th October. The email address suffix of Yahoo! is yahoo.com. Yahoo mail services have been transformed from RocketMail email service.

Pros

1. Available for free with ads.
2. Provides free mailbox storage size of 1TB.
3. The maximum file attachment size is 25MB; it can be extended through dropbox by 150 MB per file.
4. It is accessible in twenty-seven different languages of the world.
5. Allows basic SPF.
6. Secure with SSL/TLS cryptographic protocol.
7. Allows Tor browser.
8. It allows conversation threading.
9. POP3, IMAP, and SMTP are supported.
10. Integrated with Yahoo! Messenger.
11. Virus screening feature available through Norton Antivirus.

Cons

1. Mailbox storage is limited.
2. IPv6 is not supported.
3. Outbound and inbound STARTTLS are not available.
4. Tor gateway is not available.
5. Automatic forwarding is only available for premium plan holders.
6. POP3 is accessible only to paid users.
7. Domain name customization feature only for paid users.

8) Rackspace Email

Rackspace Email is owned by Apollo Global Management. It was initially launched in 2001 in the USA. It is an email service of Rackspace, a leading cloud computing firm. It is a paid email service.

Pros

1. It offers 25 GB of mailbox storage.
2. No ads as it is a paid service.
3. It provides a large file attachment size of up to 50 MB.
4. It is available in around 12 languages.
5. It supports POP3, IMAP, and SMTP protocols.
6. It provides cryptographic support for SSL and TLS.
7. Easy backup is available for deleted emails.
8. The attachment of the file via dropbox is available.
9. It is more secure with no information sharing for ads as it is paid.

Cons

1. It is not available for free.
2. It does not support conversation threading.
3. IPv6 support is not available.
4. Tor gateway is not available.
5. It is precisely for business purposes, not ideal for individual usage.

9) HEY

HEY is a paid email service launched in 2020. It was established by a web software development firm called Basecamp. The suffix of HEY mail is hey.com.

Pros

1. Hey offers a huge mailbox storage space of 100 GB.
2. The maximum file attachment size available in hey is 300 MB.
3. Secure with Two Factor Authentication (2FA) and the newly launched WebAuthn security system.
4. It provides TLS cryptographic support.

Cons

1. It is not available for free; only a 14-day free trial is provided.
2. It is only available in English.
3. POP3, IMAP and JMAP are not supported.
4. IPv6 support is not available.
5. It does not provide SSL cryptographic support.

10) Zoho Mail

Zoho Mail service was started in 2008 as a part of Zoho Office Suite in India by Zoho Corporation. Zoho Office Suite is a package of business web services like CRM, word processing, spreadsheets, web-based conferencing, etc. The [email protected] is the email address format of Zoho mail.

Pros

1. The personal version is free with no ads.
2. Mailbox storage space is a minimum of 5GB and extendable up to 15 GB in paid versions.
3. The maximum file attachment size is 20MB for free account users and 30 to 50 MB for paid users.
4. It supports conversion threading and the Tor browser.
5. It is integrated with XMPP, Google Talk, Yahoo! Messenger, etc.
6. Improved user interface with AJAX.
7. The virus screening feature is available for all users.
8. It supports POP3, IMAP, and SMTP protocols.
9. It is secure with SSL cryptographic support.
10. Available in 16 different languages.

Cons

1. Payments are very high, ranging from $24 to $99 yearly.
2. The POP3, IMAP, and SMTP are only for paid users.
3. It does not support IPv6, and EAS is partially supported.
4. Tor gateway is not available.

11) Proton Mail

Proton Mail is a Switzerland-based email service launched in 2014. The parent company of Proton Mail is Proton AG. The critical feature of Proton Mail is its end-to-end encryption. The suffix used in its email addresses is @protonmail.com and @proton.me.

Pros

1. It is freely available without ads, though certain features are accessible only by paid users at a nominal cost.
2. Maximum free mailbox storage available is 500MB, upgradeable up to 1GB for free. Paid users can extend their mailbox storage up to 500GB.
3. Attachment files can be sent up to 25MB.
4. Available in 10 different languages of the world.
5. Conversation threading is applicable.
6. It supports IMAP and SMTP.
7. It is secured with cryptographic support SSL, TLS and OpenPGP.
8. Basic SPF and automatic forwarding features are available.
9. Tor gateway and browser are available by default.
10. Account does not get deleted forever for paid users.
11. End-to-end encrypted.

Cons

1. POP3 and JMAP are not supported.
2. IMAP and SMTP are only available for paid users.
3. IPv6 is unsupported.
4. The email client access feature is provided only to paid users.
5. It is not integrated with any other instant messaging services.

12) Posteo

Posteo is a secure email service launched in Berlin, Germany. It is a paid email service, especially for businesses with security concerns. It was started in 2013. The different domain names used in posteo email addresses are posted.at, posteo.be, posteo.cl, etc.

Pros

1. Not very costly; one can get a subscription to posteo for just over $1 a month.
2. Available mailbox storage is 2GB and can be extended.
3. It offers a big file attachment size of up to 50 MB.
4. Conversation threading is supported.
5. POP3, SMTP and IMAP are fully supported.
6. Secured with cryptographic protocol supports like SSL and TLS.

Cons

1. It is a paid email service.
2. It does not support IPv6.
3. It is available only in three languages.

13) Mail.ru

Mail.ru is an email service that originated in Russia in 1999. VK, a Russian tech, manages this email service company. Earlier, it was launched to provide web services in the Russian language, but now it offers services in different languages too. The domain name followed in its email address is mail.ru.

Pros

1. It is freely available with ads and also has some paid components.
2. It has an unlimited mailbox storage limit.
3. The maximum file attachment available size is 50 MB.
4. Available in 11 languages other than Russian.
5. Easily supports POP3, IMAP and SMTP protocol.
6. It has cryptographic protocol support of SSL and TLS.
7. It allows automatic threading and virus screening through Kaspersky.
8. ru is integrated with Instant messaging platforms like ICQ and Custom.

Cons

1. IPv6 is not supported.
2. Tor gateway is not available.
3. Not end-to-end encrypted.

Conclusion

The list of alternatives to Gmail has been discussed above with their merits and demerits. Some are free, whereas some are paid, some have huge storage space, some are multi-lingual, etc. Therefore, the choice of the best email service other than Gmail entirely depends upon the user's preference. From the above list, users can match the preferences to shortlist the email service best suited for them.