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Email today is the primary form of communication that most businesses have with their customers. Finding the best email solution for your business is never an easy task, but sometimes it can be even harder when you are trying to be lean. Now when some entrepreneurs first start looking for an email solution, they either default to using their personal email or use the first free version they find. Now the downside with these methods, is that sometimes you may not look as professional as you may want or you might not have enough storage or spam controls needed for a business account.
A good solution that isn't hidden behind an expensive paywall or has a very limited free version is hard to come by, but lucky for you, I have put together a list that is bound to help the leanest startups.
Zoho Mail is an ad-free email service that lets you use your own domain for free. It has great spam and privacy controls, however, you are limited to 5 users and IMAP/POP/ Active Sync are not included in the free tier. If you want more then you will have to sign up for the lite or premium service. Pricing starts a $1 a month and besides email, you will also have access to other Zoho productivity apps like their CRM and Web meeting tools.
Pros: nice user interface, decent free tier, affordable enterprise pricing options, access to tons of productivity apps, and the ability to use your own domain.
Cons: limited to 5 users under the free tier.
GMX Mail is a free email service that gives its users 65 GB of storage and allows 50MB of attachment. Encryption, antivirus, spam protection, and online office tools compatible with MS office are all included. Additionally, you can create up to 10 different email alias under one account. The downside is that you can't use your own domain and you have to use their "@gmx.com" domain for your email.
Pros: up to 10 different email alias, 65GB of storage, and 50MB attachment size.
Cons: Can't use your own domain.
What makes Mail.com a great option for a business email, is that it has a huge array of different domains to chose from. Options such as dr.com, engineer.com, or programmer.net make Mail.com a great choice if you can find a domain relevant to your business industry. Another bonus is that you also get to 10 different aliases under one account and you have a storage capacity of 2GB for your files. Spam blocker and virus protection are included, but if you don't want ads or would like to have IMAP/POP/ support you will need to upgrade to the premium version.
Pros: a huge array of domains to chose from and 10 different aliases under one account.
Cons: Free tier storage is limited compared to competitors, can't use your own domain.
Gmail is an email service that needs no introduction. Most people today probably use Gmail for their personal email and trying to find 5 people who don't use it hard. Google has been consistently changing what to expect from email service provides for years since Gmail first became available since it launched in 2004. Smart replies, great UI, easy mobile access, and seamless integration into Google's ecosystem make Gmail the default choice for a lot of business owners, even if it is just the basic version. Under the basic version of Gmail, users get all the bells and whistles I mentioned earlier, but the only downside is that you are not able to use your own domain. If you sign up for an enterprise account (starting around $6 a month) from Google, then you get a plethora of new features and options such as templates, scheduled sends, and access to enterprise-level software solutions.
Pros: Great UI, great features, industry-leading privacy, and spam controls.
Cons: Can't use your own domain unless you sign up for an enterprise account.
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