What are the best alternatives to using Gmail? Generally, when we hear of email, we immediately think of Gmail. This is because Gmail is the largest and most popular email app.
Since it is run by Google, it is even more recognized as the most efficient and reliable email application to use. You can tell of its success because over 1.8 billion people make use of Gmail all around the world.
However, other alternatives to Gmail work as well and also deliver the same functions that it does. You might find this hard to believe, but these are alternatives that could do even better than Gmail.
But frankly, you could try out these other options if you are looking for a new email app to try out. What’s more, these other options have done well to improve their features over the years, and their services have also improved.
Additionally, these alternatives all come with desktop clients, mobile apps, document suites, and features to help you with your social media accounts. Most of these options are either free to use or have really low costs as well.
7 Best Gmail Alternatives
The Gmail alternatives that will be listed below all have experience in protecting emails and providing the best services. So, you make your own choice based on influencing factors like the features you want or the storage you need.
Here are seven of the best Gmail alternatives you can consider:
Zoho Mail
Zoho Mail is one of the best email applications that you can consider because it is very rich in features. This is one of the best email services that works well for both business and personal uses.
Firstly, Zoho Mail introduces you to its clean interface, which makes it easily understandable, even for beginners. Next, it includes various organizational tools like contacts, bookmarks, storage drives, tasks, and so much more.
Furthermore, you can easily use Zoho Mail to set up and customize a business email. This helps your online business presence even more, as it gives your business a more professional look. Some of the features of Zoho Mail include:
- Email recall.
- Mobile app.
- End-to-end and S/MIME encryption.
- Migration tool.
- An offline mode.
- Mail backup and retention.
- Quick actions and email snippets.
- Notifications and email follow-ups.
- Automated mail forwarding, folders, and tags.
- Access to 24/7 customer support.
- Integrations with other Zoho products like Workdrive, Notebook, and so on.
- Group accounts with user permissions.
- And so many more.
Also, Zoho Mail comes with a free 5 GB of storage per user as well as email hosting for a single domain. However, if you want to get more storage and tools, you will need to upgrade to a paid plan, starting at $1 per month.
StartMail
One of the best private Gmail alternatives you can consider is StartMail. Headquartered in the Netherlands, StartMail is an email application that focuses on the encrypted privacy of emails.
With this, they are reputed to have two methods of email encryption. The first involves you protecting your email via a password, and the other involves PGP encryption, which protects your email using PGP keys.
What’s more, a similar feature of StartMail to Gmail is that it allows you to easily customize your inboxes and even how your email will be displayed. Also, you can categorize your incoming emails using keywords, subjects, and so on. The features of StartMail include:
- Malicious link protection.
- Unlimited aliases, meaning you can create as many email addresses as.
- 20 GB of storage.
- Group email options.
- European data protection according to the GDPR.
- Two-factor authentication.
- Instant email deletion.
- End-to-end encryption.
- No ads and no tracking.
- Inbox customization.
- And many more.
However, the StartMail app doesn’t have a free plan that you can use. Still, you can try out the email application for free for 7 days to see whether this is something you would like to purchase. If you are happy with the rendered services, then you can subscribe to a pricing plan.
Tuta
Formerly known as Tutanota, the Tuta email platform is another nice Gmail alternative that is highly recommended. As an email provider, Tuta has its primary priority focused on the privacy of its users.
What’s more, Tuta offers a free account and an end-to-end open-source email platform, as well as account upgrades.
Furthermore, this is a great platform that offers you great features like a simple interface, making it easy for beginners to understand how to operate it.
It also comes with more unique features like integrated contacts, integrated calendars, and desktop clients for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Many of its other features include:
- Autoresponders.
- Support for custom domains.
- Options for alias email addresses.
- 1 GB of free storage.
- Email exports.
- No third-party captcha, no ads, and no data logging.
- Advanced text searching.
- Encrypted emails, contacts, calendars, and storage.
- Available as Android apps, iOS apps, and desktop apps on PCs.
In addition, Tuta offers a free plan to all interested users for their personal use only, and it comes with 1 GB of storage. It comes with a Tuta domain and other search capabilities as well.
On the other hand, if you are interested in getting more features on StartMail, you will need to subscribe to their pricing plan, starting at €3 per month. Lastly, you can subscribe to the business pricing plan as well to get even more advanced features.
Mailfence
A secure and private email provider that also serves as a suitable Gmail alternative is Mailfence. Mailfence also focuses a lot of its attention on email and user security, and its policies are more rigid than Gmail’s.
In terms of the country’s protection laws, the only ones to request access to your mail are the local jurisdiction, and this case is very rare.
What’s more, Mailfence promises a full guarantee to their users that there is no selling of data to any third parties. This is what sets them apart from other email providers.
Many cool and unique features come equipped with Mailfence. Firstly, you can protect your email account with a password and even go as far as setting an expiration date for the messages.
Next, you have easy access to other essential tools that help you manage your email and account with ease. Here are some of the best features that come with Mailfence:
- OpenPGP Key Manager.
- No ads or email trackers were inputted.
- Available email storage up to 500 MB and 500 MB for your documents.
- Contact imports.
- Mobile access.
- Email encryption.
- POPS, IMAPS, and SMTPS support.
- Digital signatures are necessary as they help reduce faking emails.
- Calendars, documents, and contacts.
- Groups for data sharing.
If you want to use the Mailfence email provider for free, you can do that easily using the webmail version of this provider. What’s more, this mail version comes with 1 GB of storage.
On the other hand, if you want to use the provider with more storage, then you can easily use the mobile app and upgrade to a higher-priced package.
Outlook
Another Gmail alternative that you can try out is the Outlook email provider. This is a reliable and affordable provider that comes with a very clean interface that makes it simple for beginners to imbibe how things are done.
Also, if you are a good user of Microsoft, then you must know about the Outlook app. This also comes in a free version, and it is well-integrated with other Microsoft services effortlessly. Moreover, here are some of the best features of Outlook:
- Spam and malware filters.
- Real-time chat with Skype.
- Access to email with web browsers.
- Android and iOS apps.
- 15 GB of mailbox storage.
- 5 GB of OneDrive Storage.
- Contact syncing options.
- Integrated email and calendar.
- 34 MB limit for email attachments as well as 2 GB of attachments with OneDrive.
- Contact management and task organizer features.
Furthermore, new users can easily use the Outlook software for free on their desktops and mobile apps. Also, if you are looking to get more advanced features, then you will need to upgrade to a higher plan. For €69.99 per year, you could get the premium Office apps, larger storage, ad-free experiences, and so many more.
Mail.com
Mail.com is what you consider a free and dominant email provider that gives you the choice of over 200 domains that best suit your personality.
Also, if you are a freelancer who wants to acquire an email provider that makes your online presence look more professional, Mail.com is probably your best bet for it.
For example: you can get and set up your email to look like this: yourname@account.com, and it will be completely free. You can use this email customization for both personal and business purposes. Many of its features include:
- Email widgets for mobile apps.
- iPhone, iPad, and Android apps.
- Tighter security with two-factor authentication (2FA).
- Chrome email notification extension.
- Free cloud storage of up to 2 GB for storage and 65 GB for email.
- Over 200 custom domain options.
- Online calendars with reminders.
- Mozilla Firefox integration with add-ons, password managers, and bookmarks.
- Address book with digital contacts and syncing.
- Office suite for presentations, spreadsheets, and documents.
- Mail collector too to manage all the email inboxes at once.
- Mobile web access.
- 30 MB attachment limit for FreeMail users as well as 100MB for Premium users.
- iPhone, iPad, and Android apps.
What’s more, you can use the Mail.com email provider for free, even with up to 10 aliases. Also, you get up to 65 GB of email storage and 2 GB of cloud storage for photos and documents. Furthermore, you can easily gain access to the premium option if you want more features.
ProtonMail
Last on our list of the best Gmail alternatives is ProtonMail, which comes with a rich plethora of amazing features. When you try out ProtonMail, you can be rest assured that your emails and data are all going to be properly encrypted.
What’s more, ProtonMail provides end-to-end encryption, which means that even the company cannot read your emails. Many of its top features include:
- End-to-end encryption
- Biometrically secured data centers
- Android and iOS apps
- Open source code
- Self-destructing messages
- SSL Certificates
- Anonymous email address options
- Encrypted storage drive and calendar
- General Data Protection Regulation compliance
- And many more.
Moreover, you can easily use the ProtonMail software for free, and you get up to 1 GB of storage. If you are looking to upgrade to a higher package and get more features, you can pay for the $3.99 pricing plan model per month to access more storage, features, and a custom domain.
These are the best Gmail alternatives that you can try out if you are looking for something new to try out.
