The Best Email Service Providers

Compared to most legacy technologies from or before the 70s, email remains an essential part of billions of  people’s lives today. Moreover, despite the age, email is yet to undergo a significant overhaul since its  introduction. However, unlike the underlying technology, most email providers have changed in terms of  handling messages and now offer new features that distinguish them from the competition. Accordingly,  such differences make choosing a service somehow confusing. Thankfully, this article can help. Below, we’ll discuss the nine best email service providers for 2022; please read on. 

1. Gmail

Currently, Gmail is the world’s most popular email service provider. Aside from its generous 15GB free  plan, the preinstalled Gmail app to billions of Android devices also contributes to this success. Regardless, it  should work well for general use, especially as it offers all necessary features, including spam protection and mail scheduler. Yet, Gmail can also serve power users thanks to its granular search, filters, inbox  customization, confidential mode, and smart reply suggestions. Also, it integrates deeply with other Google services, so searching for contacts, attaching notes, or forwarding calendar invites should be seamless for  many users. However, there are specific limits for the number of incoming/outgoing emails per day, so  marketers or other professionals might need to upgrade or subscribe to Google Workspace. 

Pros: 

• Offers a free plan 
• Highly customizable 
• Integrates with other Google services

Cons: 

• Performs targeted advertising 
• Incorrect spam detection 

2. Yahoo Mail 

Like Gmail, Yahoo Mail is one of the earliest email service providers. Also, it’s still widely popular today,  with reported users of over 200 million globally in 2020. However, since then, it has changed drastically  regarding interface, functions, and reliability. Currently, the modern Yahoo Mail provides users with a ton of  customization options, particularly themes, inbox layout, email style (emojis, GIFs, and banners), and even  the ability to access competing email services right from the web client. Above all, it addressed attachments  and subscriptions very well, with a unified view of all sent/received files and a convenient  subscription/newsletter manager. 

Pros: 

• Superior 1TB of email storage 
• Convenient search 
• Highly customizable theme and inbox layout 

Cons: 

• Displays ads on the free tier 
• Concerns about security

3. Outlook 

Many people might have known Outlook as Hotmail before 2012, back when Microsoft still hasn’t realized  its email business’s full potential. Nevertheless, the service has experienced many changes since then, most  notably the recent improved “Fluent Design” and integration with other 365 Office apps similar to what  Google offers. At its core, Outlook has everything one expects for an email provider: free plan (though with  ads), spam protection (Junk emails), attachment support, sending email to multiple recipients, message scheduler, and text formatting. Lastly, it  has some unique functions like personal templates, 3rd party add-ons support, and groups for sharing  conversations, attachments, and events within a team/organization. 

Pros: 

• Offers a free plan 
• Integrates with other Microsoft services 

Cons: 

• Displays ads for basic plan users 
• Lack of customizations 
• It can be slow at times, mainly when switching to other Microsoft services from the sidebar 

4. Zoho

While Zoho might be an unfamiliar name to many, it is a reputable corporation from India offering web based business solutions similar to Google and Microsoft. Currently, one of its products, Zoho Mail, proves  to be one of the best email services for both casual users and enterprises. In detail, it offers a free personal  plan that works great for everyday sending/receiving emails with adequate storage for keeping important  conversations. On the other hand, the four premium enterprise plans include custom domains, admin tools, more storage, and access to Zoho’s excellent productivity suite. Besides that, it has a free business email tier with limited space allocation and members, so small teams can still benefit or at least try the service thoroughly before paying. 

Pros: 

• Integrates with Zoho’s calendar, contacts, and cloud storage services 
• Offers free plans both for casual users and businesses 
• Excellent security and privacy 

Cons: 

• Few reported issues with incorrect email content displaying 
• Search and filters can sometimes be inaccurate 

5. ProtonMail 

Due to the rise of privacy concerns over government surveillance and cybercriminals, security-focused tools like ProtonMail became popular among the masses. As a Switzerland-based company, ProtonMail ensures its users with superior privacy, protection, and anonymity. However, despite the emphasis on security, it’s still a fully-functional email service with all necessary features, including compatibility with other providers, filters, spam shield, and, recently, connection with its Proton Calendar and Drive services. Moreover, it presents information in three columns and mini popup windows for expanding specific details, but with a more uncluttered interface, unlike the competition. Lastly, it has added a Tor version of the website, so users can even double their anonymity while communicating with others. 

Pros: 

• Best in class privacy and security 
• Fast, lightweight, and easy to use 
• Open-source

Cons: 

• Free plan caps at 500MB storage and 150 messages per day 

6. HubSpot 

HubSpot is a leading company offering digital business solutions, including a CRM and email service.  Unlike other providers, HubSpot’s email tool is only available for the company’s existing users and comes at no cost or additional fees. Regardless, it has some powerful unique features like the flexible email composer with more formatting, message scheduling, and data/file/event attachment options. Since it’s for businesses, the company boasts about the intuitive email designer for marketing, email open/clicks analytics and integration with its own or external CRMs. Overall, it’s a great choice for companies that are either already HubSpot subscribers or looking to save on costs by getting bundled tools. 

Pros: 

• Free for existing HubSpot members 
• Powerful email compose functions 

Cons: 

• No dedicated email service for casual users and non-members 
• Users can’t send emails to non-contact addresses

7. Yandex 

Like Zoho, Yandex is a reputable corporation from Russia that is still not quite as popular with the likes of  Amazon, Microsoft, or Google. Nevertheless, its mail service is an excellent product that offers a generous  10GB storage through Yandex.Disk and various security features. As such, it includes the usual spam/fraud  

protection but goes further by offering PIN/fingerprint support and one of the few built-in antiviruses in  select email providers. Also, it makes scanning the inbox easier with intelligent email sorting that prioritizes real people’s messages and automatically creates contextual folders. Finally, power users can utilize the unified inbox for different Yandex accounts, connection with the company’s other productivity tools, and several customization options. 

Pros: 

• Offers a generous 10GB storage for free users 
• Highly customizable 
• Supports PIN and fingerprint locking 

Cons: 

• No support for Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) 
• Incorrect labeling of legit emails as spam 

8. Mail.com

Even though Mail.com has been around since the 90s, it still offers relevant and excellent digital products  today. As an example, its email service is likely the most versatile and unique among many providers. First,  it provides free custom domains, so users can avoid the typical “name@mail.com” addresses and instead go  for something like “name@europe.com” or “name@post.com.” Next, it has powerful email forwarding  functions, including aliases (up to ten items) and Mail Collector, which transmit emails from different  addresses into a specific Mail.com account. Similar to Yandex, it features a built-in antivirus along with the  standard but highly needed spam filtering. Lastly, Mail.com can automate tasks like filtering incoming  emails and automatically sorting them into folders. 

Pros: 

• Superior free 65GB storage 
• Supports Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) 
• Integrates with Mail.com’s office and cloud storage services 

Cons: 

• Falls short in email organization functions compared to the competition 

9. AOL Mail 

AOL Mail is a straightforward email service that does the necessary things and falls short with the extra  features. Regarding the functionality, AOL Mail offers the standard compatibility with other email  providers, spam protection, and even built-in calendar and contacts tools. However, unlike the competition,  it makes accessing helpful information like weather, news, and sports easier, mimicking the experience of a  morning brief while sipping hot coffee. Additionally, even though there is an antivirus for securing inboxes,  only “AOL Desktop Gold” subscribers can access it, which also still sees ads on the web app. Overall, the  service should suffice basic everyday email tasks, especially as the premium plans cost less than what the  competition asks. 

Pros: 

• Offers a free plan 
• Unifies helpful information near the inbox (weather, news, sports, and more) 

Cons: 

• The free plan displays ads 
• The web app displays ads even with a paid subscription 
• Lacks extra features 

Final Words – The Overall Best Email Service Provider 

If one only wants to do basic email tasks, then any of the listed providers should work. However, for  superior reliability and general use, Gmail and Yahoo Mail are the better choices. If privacy and anonymity  are top priorities, nothing can beat what ProtonMail currently offers. Finally, for power users, Mail.com and  Yandex provide excellent automation tools, email controls, and extra or niche features. In other words, there is an email service provider for almost every use case and need, but Gmail and Yahoo Mail works for most  people better than any of the above. 

Indeed, Gmail is one of the best email service providers available. However, while it’s accessible on  browsers, using multiple tabs hinders productivity and consumes more computer resources. Thankfully, for  Mac users, an app called Boxysuite can solve these issues and drastically improve the experience of using Gmail with clean, productive, and focused working environment.

Which one do you think is the best email service provider for 2022? Let us know in the comments!