INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Getting hold of an email account is easy
Creating an account with Google and other big names will get you more
Buy a decent web hosting package and you'll probably get enough email addresses to power a large business, all for no extra charge.Getting
the right email account is more difficult, as there's a lot to consider
What are the spam filters like How easy is it to keep your inbox organized Can you access the account from other email clients And what
about using the service with a custom domain and address of your own (yourname@yourdomain.com)Keep reading and we'll highlight some of the
best email providers around
All have decent free services, perhaps with ads and some limits, but we'll also talk about their business-friendly commercial products which
deliver the power, functionality and enterprise-level extras that demanding users need.1
someFirst released back in 2004, Google's Gmail has become the market leader in free email services with more than a billion users across
the globe.Gmail's stripped-back web interface is a highlight
Most of the screen is devoted to your inbox, with a minimum of toolbar and other clutter
Messages are neatly organized via conversations for easier viewing, and you can read and reply to emails with ease, even as a first-time
user.There's plenty of power here
Messages can be automatically filtered into tabbed categories like Primary, Social and Promotions, helping you to focus on the content you
Leading-edge spam blocking keeps your inbox free of junk, you can manage other accounts from the same interface (Outlook, Yahoo, any other
IMAP or POP email), and there's 15GB storage for your inbox, Drive and photos.Other features are more questionable
using a custom labelling system
This works, and has some advantages, but isn't popular with all users
Still, Gmail is an excellent service overall, and a good first choice for your email provider.Google makes a paid business-oriented version
of Gmail available in the shape of its G Suite product.This more professional product drops the ads and allows using a custom email address
on your domain (yourname@yourcompany.tld)
Business-oriented migration tools can import mail from Outlook, Exchange, Lotus and more
Storage space doubles to 30GB on the Basic plan, and you get unlimited group email addresses, 99.9% guaranteed uptime and 24/7 support.G
Suite is Google's answer to Microsoft Office, so of course you also get apps for working with documents, spreadsheets and presentations
keep your system running smoothly.This more Office-like power makes for a more expensive product than the email-only competition, with
You're getting a lot for your money, though, and if you'll use G Suite's features then it could be a smart choice
A 14-day free trial provides an easy way to help you find out.2
abilitiesRaft of app-based integrationsOutlook's web interface follows the same familiar style as its desktop incarnation, and most other
email clients: folders and organizational tools on the left, the contents of the current folder in the center, and a simple preview pane on
the right (with adverts in the case of the free account).A toolbar gives you speedy access to common features, and right-clicking folders or
messages shows you just about everything else
If you've ever used another email client, you'll figure out the key details in moments.Despite the apparent simplicity, there's a lot going
The service automatically detects important emails and places them in a Focused Inbox, keeping any distractions out of sight
Events including flights and dinner reservations can automatically be added to your calendar
It's easy to share that calendar with other Outlook.com or Office 365 users, or you can save your events to a Family calendar that everyone
can access.Excellent attachment support includes the ability to directly share OneDrive files as copies or links
You can also attach files directly from your Google Drive, Dropbox and Box accounts, and a chunky 15GB mailbox allows storing plenty of
files from other people.This all worked just fine for us, but if you're unhappy with the service defaults, there's a chance they can be
tweaked via Outlook.com's Settings dialog
This doesn't have quite as many options as Gmail, but they're well organized and give you plenty of control over layout, attachment rules,
You get built-in Skype support via the beta, and apps give you easier access to Evernote, PayPal, GIPHY, Yelp, Uber and more.Upgrading to
Office 365 gets you an ad-free inbox, 50GB mail storage and a vast 1TB of OneDrive storage
Extras include offline working, professional message formatting tools and phone or chat-based support
Oh, and the latest versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint
Yahoo MailA powerful offering with some surprisingly neat extrasUseful extras like disposable email addresses1TB of inbox storageNot as many
low-level options as rivalsYahoo Mail doesn't make the headlines so much, these days, but its latest version is a polished and professional
service which stands up well against the top competition.The well-designed interface resembles Gmail, at least initially, with a large view
of your inbox, one-click filters for common messages and content (Photos, Documents, Travel), and easy browsing of all the emails in a
But you can also organize mails into custom folders, and the layout can be tweaked to display a message preview in a couple of clicks.A
powerful underlying engine can integrate with Facebook, supports sending SMS and text messages, is accessible via web, POP and (in some
situations) IMAP, and can forward email to another address
Valuable extras include disposable email addresses to protect your privacy, and a mammoth 1TB of mailbox storage means you can keep just
about everything you receive, for a very long time.Demanding users might find issues, over time
Mail organization can't quite match the flexibility of Gmail's labelling scheme, for instance, and there aren't nearly as many low-level
tweaks, settings and options as you'll often see elsewhere
But overall, Yahoo Mail is an appealing service which needs to be on your email shortlist.As with other providers, Yahoo offers a Business
Mail plan with more features
The highlight is an option to use the service with a custom domain (yourname@yourdomain.com), although there are other advantages, too
The service can import contacts from Facebook, Gmail, Outlook and more
You can view all your mailboxes on the same screen, and there are all the usual business-friendly productivity tools (multiple calendars,
not just the initial registration: Yahoo will also renew it for as long as your subscription is active.4
ProtonMailEmail with an emphasis on security and privacyTight privacy featuresEnd-to-end encryption for messagesOnly 500MB of storage for
freeSigning up with an email provider will often involve some privacy compromises
Yahoo Mail asks for your name and mobile number, for instance
Gmail and other services might scan your messages to carry out useful actions (such as adding events to calendars), and just about everyone
serves you with ads.ProtonMail is a Swiss-based email service which focuses on privacy above all else
You can sign up anonymously, there's no logging of IP addresses, and all your emails are end-to-end encrypted, which means there's no way
ProtonMail (or anyone else) can read their contents.There are some significant limits
The free product has a tiny 500MB storage space, only supports sending 150 messages a day, and is distinctly short in terms of
organizational tools (no folders, labels or smart filters)
As the end-to-end encryption is specific to ProtonMail, it also ensures that you can't use the service with other email clients.Still, it
seems a little unfair to complain about a service which is no-strings-attached free, and doesn't even show ads
performs its core tasks very well.If you do need more, ProtonMail's $5 (you can choose to pay in USD, Euro and CHF) a month (or 48$ yearly)
Plus account gives you 5GB storage, a 1,000 message-per-day allowance, custom domains (you@yourdomain.com) and support for folders, labels
and filters.A further Business plan brings more storage, email addresses and a second custom domain, as well as adding a catch-all email
address and multi-user support
It's priced from $8 per month per user (75$ yearly), which is reasonable if you need ProtonMail's security, although it's also notably more
expensive than the business accounts of the big-name competition.5
ZohoAn email provider that gives you a lot for, well, nothingFree plan allows up to 25 usersFreebie has features normally only in paid
plansAlso boasts office and collaboration toolsZoho Workplace is a business-oriented email service which throws in an online office suite,
document management, and a host of collaboration tools and other extras.Zoho's free plan supports up to 25 users (there's an extra 25
available if you can refer others to the service
Update: they are currently remodeling the referral program so this isn't available at the moment), each with 5GB of mailbox storage, and can
be used with one domain of your own
These are features you'll normally only find in commercial products, and when you factor in the spreadsheet, word processor, presentation
and other tools, it looks like a real bargain.The email service is easy-to-use, and provides a decent set of features to help organize your
emails: folders, tags, filters, smart searches, and more.The free plan is still a little basic
It gives you web access only, for instance, and there's no support for email forwarding.Fortunately, the Zoho Standard plan fixes that
aliases, 30GB storage, a 30MB attachment limit (up from 25MB with the free plan) and some major improvements elsewhere (the ability to send
cloud files to non-Zoho users, for instance)
You also have Pro and Enterprise plans available, which add more features.A number of these features are available elsewhere for free, of
course, but businesses or anyone who will use the custom domain support or Office tools will find a lot to like here
Well worth a closer look.ztUz9Bs6y8xjf7vFRnmrY7.jpg#
