Without an email, you cannot register anywhere on the internet, and your communication might be limited.
Email account providers help provide users with an email address that can be used for registrations, communication, and verification.
While professional and business email account providers might charge a fee, many free email account providers don’t.
A free email account is more than enough for personal needs, and down below, you can find 20 of the best free email account providers, so you don’t have to spend a dollar.
Best Free Email Account Providers
Free email account providers provide a full email service while keeping your privacy safe, and these are some of the 15 best free email account providers you can register with.
Gmail
Gmail is one of the most popular free email account providers since Google owns it. Most people use it because it’s well-advertised through the most popular search engine, Google, and because it’s one of the easiest to use.
At the time of writing, around 1.5 billion people use Gmail worldwide. What’s excellent about Gmail is that it can be accessed via any browser and via the Gmail app for smartphones.
You can also use Gmail via different email clients so you can access your emails directly from your computer without even relying on your browser.
As a free Gmail user, you get 15 GB of storage, and what’s also great is that you get various integrations with Gmail, such as Calendar, Tasks, Contacts, Hangouts, and more.
It’s very simple to stay organized in Gmail as you can organize your emails in labels and categories, which is also useful if you plan on storing emails.
Yahoo Mail
Yahoo Mail is one of the oldest email services launched back in 1997, and it’s one of the rare email service providers that offers four different, yet free, email plans.
Even though it’s not as popular as Gmail, Yahoo Mail has around 225 million users worldwide at the time of writing.
Yahoo Mail is keeping things simple, yet it is very flexible to meet its users’ needs. For example, Yahoo Mail allows you to choose between three free pricing plans, and it even offers one free business plan.
With Yahoo Mail, you can send and receive emails, keep a contacts list, and even stay organized with the integrated calendar.
When it comes to storage, you can benefit from 1 TB of storage which is perfect for keeping important emails in a secure and 100% encrypted email service.
Outlook
When you install a new Windows operating system onto a computer, you will experience more features and benefits if you create an Outlook account.
Outlook is an email provider created by Microsoft to help people connect, organize, and get things done.
This free email provider integrates a calendar, contacts, tasks, and even a search bar so you can get everything done from one interface.
What’s significant about Outlook is that it’s backed up by Microsoft’s enterprise security which means that your emails are private and will remain secure no matter how long you store them in the Outlook email client.
The biggest benefit of creating an Outlook email account is that you also get free access to Office apps that you can use within your browser.
When you create a free Outlook email, you get 15 GB of storage which is more than enough for personal or even work use.
AOL Email
AOL is not as well-known as the previous three free email providers, but it is a web-based email provider where you can create a free email address.
With the email address, you also get your own AOL username that you can use for other free AOL tools. On top of that, AOL is still backed by the AOL security services that will keep your emails private and guard you against spam, pop-ups, and unknown viruses.
Within the AOL email, you can keep your contacts or use AOL Video and AOL Search engine.
However, keep in mind that AOL still assigns a billing date even if you choose a free email account, so don’t let this confuse you or stop using the free AOL email service.
iCloud Mail
If you are a new Apple user and just set up your device, you have to create your Apple ID, assigning you your iCloud email.
iCloud Mail is Apple’s email service that Apple users mostly use, but it’s also accessible by non-Apple users who decided to create an Apple ID.
But if you’re an Apple user, you would benefit from the iCloud Mail since, by default, every Apple device comes with an integrated Mail app.
However, keep in mind that iCloud Mail only provides users with 5 GB of free storage, slightly below the average storage offered by other free email account providers.
ProtonMail
ProtonMail is a free email account provider that focuses on privacy by featuring end-to-end encryption and not requiring any personal information to open an account.
Not only is ProtonMail easy to use, but it also integrates your calendars and drives so you can stay productive from the email interface.
Enhanced security is well followed by a modern and sleek design that has minimalistic features. Therefore, there’s no learning curve, and all it takes is a couple of minutes to get used to the ProtonMail.
If you would like to save your emails and keep them in your account, you won’t have to worry about privacy as the saved data is distributed across multiple physical data centers so that no one can hijack your data.
However, keep in mind that the free email account only gives you 500 MB of storage and limits you to 150 messages/emails per day.
Zoho Mail
Zoho Mail is a free email account provider that allows you to host your personal or business email on a secure and ad-free platform.
With a reliable 99% up-time, Zoho Mail is a great alternative to the “big giants” who provide email accounts.
All emails are encrypted two times, from end-to-end on top of the S/MIME message encryption, so your emails will never be leaked, scooped, or stolen.
With Zoho Mail, you’ll also get a calendar, notes, tasks, contacts, and bookmarks integrated into the Zoho Mail interface.
Combined with a simple approach that allows you to create labels and categories, Zoho Mail isn’t any different than other available email providers.
However, if you would like to take your email with you, you can benefit from the Zoho Mail app for smartphones that operates quickly and smoothly.
Zoho Mail provides 5GB for every free email account, which is more than enough, even if you decide to keep most of your emails for personal use. Keep in mind that you can get a free Zoho Mail email account for business purposes too.
Mail is one of the least known yet most interesting free email account providers. This free email account provider is interesting because it offers you to choose from 200 different domains.
Most free email account providers have only one domain name available, so you can only choose the name.
However, with Mail, you can choose both the name and the domain. Even better yet, Mail categorized these domains according to the profession, country, hobbies, industry, and more.
What’s also important is that you won’t need to input a lot of information, and yet you can get 65 GB of free storage.
Yandex
Yandex is a less known email account provider that can still be a great competitor to some of the most known free email account providers.
What’s different about Yandex is that it is a “smart” email account provider. Yandex comes with a feature that automatically sorts your emails and flags emails from real people.
This way, you can spend less time on your emails, even if you deal with hundreds of emails a day. On top of that, all emails that come or that you send are secure and protected against scams, spam, and fraud.
Even though you only get 10 GB of free storage on a Yandex email, you can choose between personalized interfaces that will fit your preference and mood.
GMX
GMX is a very similar free email account provider to Mail, yet with a couple of differences. The main benefit of GMX is that it offers advertising through an email feature, and it has powerful email filters that help you stay organized, avoid spam, and focus on personal emails.
Even though this is less of a known email account provider, it still has advanced features such as a drag and drop functionality which you can also combine with email scheduling.
Another great thing about GMX is that it allows you to add attachments up to 50 MB and an address book to keep all your contacts and emails ready in one place.
And if you decide to go with a lesser-known free email account, you’ll benefit from 65 GB of storage space, which is more than enough to keep all your important emails.
Tutanota
Tutanota is a free email account provider that focuses on providing an encrypted email service based on the open-source and yet is highly efficient.
Even better yet, Tutanota is very versatile since it’s compatible with all operating systems and smartphones.
By default, Tutanota also integrates a calendar, contacts, emails, and even a search engine bar so you can do and find almost everything you need within the Tutanota interface.
When it comes down to the interface, Tutanota is very easy to use since it reassembles the most standard email interfaces we’re all used to.
On top of the security, Tutanota is very good at blocking ads, spam emails, and encrypting everything worth the privacy.
Whether you need a personal, business, or an anonymous email, Tutanota is there to help you fight for your privacy and internet freedom.
Mail2World
Mail2World promises the best email experience to the users that’s as unique as its user is. This free but efficient email account provider focuses on providing an all-in-one mail service that includes contacts, a calendar, and even a drive with separate storage.
All these tools integrated into the email service are free, and you get 25 GB of storage for your email.
Regarding email registration, you can choose one of the 2000 available domains to fit your needs.
With a clean navigational experience, minimalistic interface, smart search, fast response, unified folders, and all necessary email features, Mail2World is a modern email provider.
On top of that, Mail2World is available for computers, smartphones, and even smartwatches, so you can take your emails with you wherever you go.
Webmail.co.za
Webmail is a free email account provider and a calendar, address book, tasks, SMS, fax, and files provider.
They have a very decent choice of domain names for the free email, and you also get 10 GB of storage space to keep all your important emails in one place.
However, what’s surprising enough is that you also get additional 10 GB of storage for files, documents, or images that you can store on Webmail.
On top of that, you get access to a free SMS service, and you even get a fax-to-email number with your free email address. This allows you to send and receive faxes directly using your email without owning a fax machine.
This provides plenty of benefits, especially considering Webmail is an entirely free service.
Juno.com
If you are looking for the easiest-to-register email address provider, Juno is one of them. Juno provides a one-step sign-up without any obligations.
The free email account comes with spam and virus protection so you can safely download attachments you receive within emails. On top of that, you can easily access your free Juno email account via the phone, which is also done under a secure connection.
However, keep in mind that even though this email account provider is free, it still requires more information than other free email account providers.
Mailfence
If you are worried about privacy and security while sharing your email address across the internet, Mailfence is the right email account provider.
Mailfence is focused on providing secure and private email that doesn’t track your emails, attachments, or contact list, and yet it offers privacy protection at all times.
On top of that, all your data is secure, and it is under legal protection by a Belgian privacy protection law. This means that your information can only be shared further under a warrant ordered by the judge.
Mailfence provides end-to-end encryption for all received and sent emails, digital signatures to make your work easier, and a keystore feature to efficiently manage OpenPGP keys in one place.
You will get messages, calendars, documents, and contacts (including groups) along with the email.
Even though free email gets you 500 MB of emails and 500 MB of documents, you can always upgrade if you require more storage.
Best Paid Email Account Providers
Paid email accounts tend to provide better security and privacy for their users and you won’t even have to break the bank to get a paid email account.
On top of that, most paid email account providers let you create a custom domain name based on a domain name of your choice.
Let’s take a look at some paid options to consider.
Posteo
Sometimes a free email account won’t provide you with as many features as you require, and it might not be a great fit for your needs.
However, a paid email account doesn’t have to cost you a fortune, and that’s why Posteo is a great option since it costs only $1 a month.
Included in the price, you will get 2 GB of email account (upgradeable), synchronizable calendar and address book, encryption, two-factor authentication, ad-free website, email platform, and more.
Most importantly, you can sign up to Posteo without providing too many personal details, and you can even make the payment anonymously to keep your privacy.
As soon as you complete the payment, you can use the email straight away. And if you’re conscious of the environment, you’ll be pleased to know that Posteo uses 100% green electricity to run its data servers.
One
If you would like to have a custom email address representing your brand, company, or unique name, One is a great email provider to trust.
One allows you to create an email address based on your domain name. However, if you don’t have a domain name, you can purchase one from where you only create the email.
Included in the email plan, you will get the needed email hosting, a free website builder, free Google Ads credit, a free SSL certificate, and even 24/7 support. What’s great about One is that they provide you with tools you might need to create your blog, a website, or a business landing page.
There are five different pricing plans you can choose from:
- Beginner – $2.49/month
- Explorer – $3.99/month
- Enthusiast – $5.49/month
- Expert – $7.49/month
- Guru – $9.99/month
However, keep in mind that if you only need an email for a domain name that you own, you will only have to pay $0.99/month (renews at $1.99) for only email service.
The difference between plans is the storage space, the number of available mailboxes, and additional features.
Thexyz
If you already have an email account and need a more private and secure email yet you don’t want to abandon your first one, Thexyz is a great email account provider.
They’re one of the rare email account providers that give you the option to move your existing email to Thexyz.
Thexyz provides secure and private email for both personal and business use without ads, the ability to use custom domains, and has integrated virus & spam protection.
What’s also great about Thexyz is that it provides mobile synchronization, and it has been one of the most secure and reliable email hosts for 12 years.
Even though it’s not free, Thexyz has great pricing plans you can choose from:
- Premium Webmail – $2.95/month
- MobileSync + Cloud Drive – $4.95/month
- Unlimited Email Archiving – $9.95/month
StartMail
StartMail is yet another efficient email account provider that claims if you don’t pay for your email, then you’re a product.
Therefore, they provide customers with a trusted and reliable encrypted email account with unlimited aliases and the ability to send private emails to anyone.
StartMail complies with the EU GDPR privacy laws, which means that they won’t read your emails and they’ll never share your data with anyone.
After a 7-day free trial to truly test the StartMail’s privacy power, you get to choose from two-yearly plans:
- Personal account – $35.99/year
- Business account – $59.95/year
MailBox
MailBox is another decent email account provider that focuses on delivering quality for an affordable price without compromising privacy and security.
This email account provider has servers based in Berlin, Germany, and it fully complies with EU GDPR privacy laws. On top of that, all of their servers are powered by 100% renewable, eco-friendly energy.
You can opt-in for only an email account where you get an ad-free email box with your domain name, fully protected from spam, viruses, and with high-end privacy.
However, MailBox also provides an online office (suite of tools) and a cloud storage space if you ever need it, for an additional fee.
You can fully test the MailBox for free with a 30-day trial, after which you can choose one of three pricing plans:
- Light – $1/month
- Standard – $3/month
- Premium – $9/month
Conclusion
Gmail is the most known, fastest, and most efficient email account provider. In addition, it is free for all users, it offers decent storage space, and you even get the online set of tools for free.
Whether you need an email account for personal use, business use, or even for your family, Gmail can deliver up to your expectations.
Now, if you are a bit worried about the privacy and security of your emails and personal data, investing in a paid email account provider is always a good decision.
Scott L. Macarthur is a marketing consultant and an online author. He is mostly engaged in providing his expertise to startups and SMBs. He is also an author on TheNextWeb.