- Choosing a new email service could be tough given the number of options.
- Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and iCloud are some of the most popular free email services.
- If you want privacy, Proton and Tuta are the email providers to go for.
Communicating via Email remains one of the go-to methods of communication in both the personal and corporate world. In the current internet scenario, they’re more than just for communication but a means to subscribe to various services using email addresses, storing content, or staying up-to-date. If you’re looking to switch to a new provider or have another email service as a backup, here are the top free email providers you can use in 2024.
Things to Consider When Choosing an Email Provider
Choosing the best among the many free email providers could be tricky as they’re not perfect. Many have flaws and at the end of the day. So, you’d need to sacrifice one thing or the other; it could be storage, security, or ease of access. Here are some things to consider when choosing an email service.
- Storage and cost: If the free tier provides enough storage or if you will need a subscription.
- Ease of access: The service should be easy to access and user-friendly to get used to.
- Security: Encryption and Spam filtering could bring about peace of mind.
- Tools and Services: If the service can interface with a host of other tools and services.
1. Gmail – Best Free Email Provider
Thanks to its popularity, Gmail is often used as a common example of an email service. It’s hand down, one of the best Google services you could use to set up an email address to send and receive emails. It’s used by both individuals and corporations (Google Workspace) and is an extremely reliable and fast email service.
You can sign up for Gmail by creating a Google account which will also be used across all Google services and workspace apps. Individual accounts get 15GB of free space which is shared across Google services like Drive and Photos. Besides, Gmail has tons of features and got a nice boost thanks to the addition of Google Gemini. Overall, it’s one of the best email services you can use.
Pros Cons User-friendly iterface Security concerns around how Google handles data Decent initial storage space for individuals Attachment limitations Loads of features baked in Ads in user interface A cohesive and connected experience with other Google services
2. Yahoo Mail – Most Storage Space
Yahoo Mail was one of the best free email providers in the early 2000s but Gmail began to dominate later. It’s quite similar to Gmail in terms of user-friendliness and features users can use to protect their emails and make the user experience a breeze. One of the standout features of Yahoo Mail is that it offers a massive 1TB of free storage that users can use to store their files and folders, which essentially doubles as a storage drive.
Like Gmail, Yahoo has its own suite of services like Calendar and Contacts that it syncs to; however, these services aren’t very popular. It’s also not as feature-rich as Gmail and is a very plain and simple email client that gets the job done.
Pros Cons User-friendly interface Not the most secure service 1TB storage for all Attachment limitations Good customization features Third-party services and integration is extremely lacking Ads in user interface
3. Proton Mail – Best for Privacy
If you’re in search of an email client that puts privacy at the utmost importance, Proton Mail is for you. It’s open-source like most of the other Proton projects and uses end-to-end encryption so that only the sender and recipient can read them. Besides, it’s pretty user-friendly and serves no advertisements.
One of the major cons of Proton Mail is that you don’t get a lot of storage in the free account, 500 MB to be exact. This will run out soon; however, if you care a lot about your privacy, the premium plan is worth looking into and won’t make a hole in your pocket.
It costs $4 a month if you buy the annual plan and gives you 15GB of storage, more email addresses, and access to Proton Calendar. If you upgrade to the effective $10/month annual plan, you get 500GB of storage and access to all Proton services.
Pros Cons User-friendly interface Free plan gives you 500 MB Extremely secure and open source Paid plans are a bit expensive Gives you more aliases and domains Attachment size limit No Ads
4. iCloud Mail – Great for Apple Users
Yes, Apple offers an email service in iCloud and it’s quite useful. The user interface is decent and the service is secure and private. Similar to Gmail, iCloud Mail’s storage is shared across all Apple services. Users get 5GB of space on the free plan shared across Photos, Drive, and iCloud Backup.
Onto the bad about iCloud Mail. The customization options are limited. iCloud is available on the web but the app is only available on Apple devices. The base 5GB storage is just not enough shared space and forces users to get a premium plan. Overall, iCloud is a decent email service if you’re into the Apple ecosystem but the rest may want to consider other options.
Pros Cons User-friendly interface Limited free space (5GB) Extremely secure Works on Apple products only Ad-free experience Attachment size limit Cross-device syncing
5. Zoho Mail – For Businesses
Zoho Mail is yet another privacy-focused offering that is primarily aimed at firms. For starters, the emails on Zoho Mail are encrypted and the service offers 5GB of free space for users which can then be expanded with its paid plans. Like Gmail, Zoho integrates with the Zoho suite which consists of Calendar, Docs, and CRM apps great for businesses.
While Zoho’s web apps are great, their mobile apps could definitely use some work as the overall vibe of the user interface looks and feels old. Besides, there are limitations to attachment sizes and there might be a learning curve for uses. Overall, Zoho Mail is definitely one of the best options you can try.
Pros Cons User-friendly interface Limited free space (5GB) Secure Mobile apps feel outdated Ad-free experience Attachment size limit Great for businesses
6. Outlook – Best Gmail Alternative
Many businesses and large firms still use Outlook because of its simplicity. Outlook also benefits from being a part of the Microsoft ecosystem as users can easily connect, access, and use other Microsoft apps. Besides, Outlook is secure, robust, and gets regular updates.
While it might be more suited for businesses, individuals can also use it thanks to its free basic tier. Outlook also supports IMAP; hence you can connect your Gmail or iCloud accounts and use all accounts at the same time. Everyone gets 15GB of free space on Outlook
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Among the most secure services | Has a steep learning curve |
| Offers 15GB of free space | |
| Ad-free experience | |
| Great for businesses | |
7. AOL Mail – For High Storage Needs
I’m sure most of the 90s kids remember the AOL search engine. AOL and AOL Mail are products of Yahoo; hence the user interface looks like Yahoo Mail.
It offers 1TB of storage for emails and attachments just like Yahoo Mail. While all of that makes AOL a good email service, do keep in mind that the service faced data breaches before Yahoo started managing it. There’s also no end-to-end encryption in place. Overall, if you’re looking for a simple email service to get simple messages across, AOL mail will do.
Pros Cons 1TB of free space Has suffered data breaches before Decent user interface Not very modern Spam and virus protection File upload limit
8. Mail.com – Best Minimalistic Email
Mail.com is yet another simple free email service for individuals that gets most of the things right. For starters, you get a customizable email address for free and a generous storage space of 65GB for your attachments and emails. The attachment size limit is bigger (30MB) than other email services that offer 25MB, although it’s still not huge to upload big files.
While Mail.com is more than enough to carry out daily conversations, an area where it’s severely lacking is in spam filtering. Overall, it’s easily one of the simplest email providers you can use for free.
Pros Cons 65GB of free space Not very good in terms of spam protection More upload limit (30MB) Privacy concerns Decent user interface
9. Tuta – Best Free Privacy-Focused Email
Tuta, formerly Tutanotam is yet another free email provider that has a lot going for it. One of the main selling points of Tuta is that it gives you a clean ad-free experience and also offers end-to-end encryption. The free plan gets you 1GB of storage which is not a lot but you still get full encryption and no ads. Besides, you can trust Tuta because it’s open source.
As for the other features, it’s definitely lacking in third-party integration and search. The attachment limits are also pretty limited with half-decent customization options. However, if you’re looking for a zero-fuss, secure, and clean email experience, Tuta could be for you.
Pros Cons End-to-end encryption even on free tier Limited free storage No ads Learning curve Good user experience No third-party integration Open source
10. 10 Minute Mail – Best Temporary Email Service
The 10th listing is the email service called 10 Minute Mail. As the name suggests, is an email service that provides quick disposable emails to you which can be used to quickly sign up for services to which you don’t want to sign up using your personal email. Once you visit the website, it gives you an email address that stays active for 10 minutes. You can extend the time using the “Get 10 more minutes” button.
Some of the cons of the website are, well, the emails only stay for 10 minutes, and there’s no option to save them. Not that you’d need to, of course, since the objective of the website is to evade spam; but it would’ve been nice if there was an option. Overall, it’s a 10/10 (pun intended) email service.
Pros Cons Evade spam easily Cannot be used to sign up for paid services
Best Free Email Providers: Conclusion
So these are some of the best free email providers you can use. If we had to pick a few that are not Gmail, we’d go with Yahoo, Proton, Outlook, and Tuta. Yahoo Mail and AOL Mail offer up to 1TB of storage while Proton and Tuta are some of the best for your privacy, and as a result, have paid plans that honestly cannot leave a hole in your pocket.
What are your thoughts on the best email service? Do you know an email service that deserves to be on this list? Let us know in the comments below.
