Simon Jones
When it comes to emails for your business or professional brand, there is nothing better than having your own branded email – such as info@mybusiness.com. To get info@mybusiness.com, you need to reach out to an email hosting provider.
The email hosting provider rents out its email servers to you. There are many email server providers to choose from. Some even offer free email hosting. If you are serious about creating and maintaining a professional brand, then you should consider professional hosting.
Best Email Hosting UK Quick Overview
There are many email providers to choose from, so it is easy to get overwhelmed by all of the choices. So we tried out over 20 email services on the market, and came up with a list of the ten best email hosting providers.
Some of these email hosting providers are primarily web hosting providers. This means you can decide to host or migrate your website to their servers. Note that some such as NameCheap require you to pay for a premium plan to access certain features.
Siteground Best overall Email Host
Hostinger Best Website & Email Hosting
Zoho Mail Best for Individuals on a tight budget
A2 Hosting Best email hosting for the tech-savvy
Google Workspace (G Suite) Best Dedicated Email Hosting
GoDaddy Best Domain Name And Email Hosting
GreatMail Best For medium-to-large businesses
Namecheap Best email hosting for beginners
Rackspace Email Best low-cost email hosting
Microsoft Office 365 Business Premium Best Enterprise Email Host
Professional Email Hosting: What is It?
Professional email hosting is when your incoming and outgoing emails are managed on distinct dedicated or shared mail servers.
Why should you consider professional email hosting?
Let’s take a look in more detail of the Best Email Hosting Companies, and scroll down for some extra tips on how to choose the best one for you!
The Best Email Hosting Provider Reviews
#1. Siteground – Best Overall Email Host
Siteground Key Features
Siteground makes users WordPress journey an easy and stress-free process by having their account management system to be incredibly self-explanatory and user-friendly. If you ever get stuck, their 24/7 customer support is readily on standby, and the option to watch tutorials will help put your mind at ease.
Siteground has impressive uptime and load time, and they work hard to improve their site speed and performance continuously. They also include free email, which is a great bonus to have and will allow you to have the freedom to create as many email accounts as you need for your website or business.
Siteground Pricing
Sitegrounds StartUp plan is a great choice for beginners or small businesses with features for 10,000 monthly visitors, 10GB storage, a free SSL Certificate, and daily backups.
StartUp: from £2.99 per month – 12 month plan
GrowBig: from £4.99 per month – 12 month plan
GoGeek: from £9.99 per month – 12 month plan
All plans come with a free SSL certificate, free CDN, free email, daily backups and a 30 day money back guarantee.
#2. Hostinger – Best Website & Email Hosting
Hostinger Key Features
Hostinger provides powerful email hosting for businesses and professionals. Marketed as Titian Professional Email, the services go beyond sending and receiving emails. There is a collaboration feature for team members. Using the in-built calendar and contacts, you can make appointments, start video calls, and manage your contact lists.
Titan also works across all major browsers and is available as mobile apps for iOS and Android. This means you can stay up to date using multiple devices. The security feature is Titan’s advanced security measures designed to keep your inbox safe from spam, malware, and phishing attacks.
The advanced search option allows you to search for any email. You don’t have to remember the sender’s email address. A single word in the email is enough to run the search. This way, you can be sure to never lose any mail. If you are transitioning between email accounts, Titan allows you to import your messages and contacts.
That way, you can start using the new account without starting afresh or losing valuable contacts and messages. Titian promises zero data loss, 24/7 customer support, and guaranteed service uptime. If you are not satisfied with the email hosting, you can activate the 30-day money-back guarantee.
Hostinger Pricing
Business Email: £0.99 /month per mailbox
Enterprise Email: £2.49 /month per mailbox
#3. Zoho Mail – Best for Those on a Tight Budget
Zoho Key Features
Zoho Mail is one of the tools available in the Zoho Workspace suite. If you are a solo entrepreneur or a business manager on a budget, you should check out Zoho offers. If you have no money to spare, you can use their free plan.
They allow up to five users on their free plan. Zoho Mail provides secure, encrypted and ad-free email hosting. You also get enhanced protection against spam, viruses and malware. As with professional email host providers, Zoho offers professional email ids to give your brand the authenticity and professionalism that it deserves.
Zoho Mail promises reliable uptimes. This promise is backed by their state of the art surveillance and security features of their data centres. Your emails and associated files are encrypted through S/MIME. The control panel is straightforward and clutter-free. You can make your settings, configurations, and customisations with ease and speed.
You can also retain emails for a specific period to counter legal attacks. the e-Discovery tool helps you to discover your retained emails Zoho offers free mobile apps for both iOS and Android devices. This means you can continue your work on the goal. You can also tag teams, comment, and share files with the mobile apps. T
he pricing plans are very affordable and a lot less than competitors. For example, you can get started with the mail only plan for as low as $1/month. Overall, Zoho Mail is a top choice for entrepreneurs looking for affordable email hosting without sacrificing performance. You only have to pay for features that are important to your business.
Zoho Pricing
Mail Lite: £0.80 / User /Month billed annually
Workplace: £2.40 / User /Month billed annually
Mail Premium: £3.20 / User /Month billed annually
#4. A2 Hosting – Best for Tech-Savvy
A2 Hosting Key Features
A2 Hosting offers both web hosting and email hosting. This means you can manage your email and web hosting on a single control panel. In addition, they operate like Siteground, so you can consider them as alternatives.
One great benefit of using A2 Hosting is you get unlimited storage and data transfer on all of the plans. So if you need lots of space to store multimedia and other large files, this is a good fit for you.
A2 Hosting email hosting is also compatible with many email clients. In addition, it integrates well with software for sending newsletters and comes equipped with Mailman for creating and using contact forms.
You can choose between IMAP and POP3 for sending and receiving emails. In addition, you can use webmail through Roundcube or Horde.
There are two spam detention and filter tools: SpamAssassin and Barracuda. SpamAssassin works like the primary spam filter, while Barracuda uses cutting edge tech to scan each incoming email for spam.
Other resources are email authentication and forwarding options. You can also create a mailing list and set up autoresponders.
Furthermore, you don’t have to worry about losing your emails as they are automatically backed up.
If you are looking to host your website and email with the same provider and don’t like what Siteground is offering, you can give A2 Hosting a trial.
A2 Hosting Pricing
A2 Hosting offers four hosting plans. However, the prices you pay when you first sign up are lower than what you would pay for renewing the plan.
Start-up plan: from £2.14 /per month billed annually
Drive plan: from £3.58 /per month billed annually
Turbo boost plan: from £7.16 /per month billed annually
Turbo max plan: from £10.74 /per month billed annually
#5. Google Workspace – Best Dedicated Email Hosting
Google Workspace Key Features
Google Workspace offers more than email hosting. It is a complete suite of business management tools. It is pretty simple to use as the tools are business-optimised versions of the ones most people use in organising their daily lives. You most likely are already using those tools in your day-to-day life.
The tools are cloud-based, so you are not restricted to a particular device in other to access the tools. You can create, modify and save in the cloud.
It also allows team sharing and collaboration. For example, you can work on the same projects without sharing file attachments and schedule meetings with the calendar tool.
As a bonus, you also have access to other tools that are available in the Google Workplace. Some of the tools are Calendar, chat, Meet, Docs, Forms, Apps Scripts, Drive, Admin, Keep, Cloud Search, Endpoint, Vault and add-ons. This makes it a fantastic option for email hosting regardless of your business size and needs.
We should add that Google Workspace needs an internet connection to work optimally. You can still access some of the tools in offline mode, but their functionality will be limited, and you might not be able to save your work correctly.
There is also a 14-day trial period.
If you need a provider that allows you to work offline, you should check the other providers on this list.
Google Workspace Pricing
With Google Workspace, you can choose from any of the four-tier pricing plans.
Business Starter: £4.40 /user/month
Business Standard: £8.80 /user/month
Business Plus: £13.20 /user/month
Enterprise: Contact sales for pricing
#6. Godaddy – Best Domain Name + Email Hosting
GoDaddy Key Features
GoDaddy is known as a top-tier domain and web hosting provider. They also provide excellent email hosting services. If you want professional-looking emails with easy-to-use features, then you should check them out.
GoDaddy comes with many resources such as a webmail portal, contacts, calendars, and tasks. So if you are shuttling between devices, don’t worry. The emails work impressively well on both computers and other devices.
The system syncs automatically, so you can start work on one device and finish on another. So, you can stay up to date on your emails provided you have an internet connection.
GoDaddy employs an industry-standard spam filer, antivirus, and 256-bit encryption to keep your inbox secure and clean from spam and malware.
But, it doesn’t stop there. The provider combines automated threat monitors, a dedicated team of security experts, and advanced data analytics to ensure your emails and associated files are protected and private.
The customisation feature allows you to create eye-catching professional emails and helps with your branding.
What’s more, you can get a glance at your email attachments before hitting ‘send’. That way, you can tell if you have attached the right documents without having to open them.
GoDaddy also provides a webmail portal to organise your ‘space’ with custom widgets based on your personal preference.
GoDaddy Pricing
Digital Email Essentials: £2.49 per user/month
Email Plus: £3.99 per user/month
Business Premium: £7.99 per user/month
#7. GreatMail – Best for Medium-to-Large Businesses
GreatMail Key Features
GreatMail is a no-frizz email hosting provider for businesses who want to get to work without spending a fortune.
GreatMail is entirely compatible with other email clients such as Outlook, Thunderbird, and Apple Mail. They also offer security by encrypting your emails and using up-to-date technology to keep your inbox free from spam and viruses.
The administrative panel also allows you to manage different email addresses for multiple domains. Again, this is a time and energy saver for those who handle multiple domains.
GreatMail doesn’t offer as much frizz as other email hosting providers, but they offer everything needed for business emails.
The online downside is that GreatMail might not be an excellent choice for small businesses due to their requirement of 8 mailbox minimum for opening an email hosting plan.
GreatMail Pricing
Standard Edition Plan: Monthly payment: £11 /month (15 mailboxes. Add mailboxes as needed)
Groupware Edition Plan: Monthly payment: £22 /month (10 mailboxes. Add mailboxes as needed)
#8. Namecheap – Best Email Hosting for Beginners
Namecheap Key Features
NameCheap is one of the cheapest email hosting providers around. If you are looking for an affordable platform to host your domain and email, you should check them out.
NameCheap email hosting is reliable, fast and secure. Beyond sending and receiving emails, you can manage your contacts, calendar, and email marketing campaigns.
If you are an absolute beginner and hesitant about committing to a plan, you can use NameCheap’s two-month free trial. That is plenty of time to try out the features.
NameCheap offers branded domain names, anti-spam protection, HTML signatures, IMAP or POP3 and safe email access on all of their plans. In addition, the emails work well across all devices, including Windows, iOS, and Android.
Teams are also covered with collaboration tools that allow you to share emails, documents, appointments, schedules, contacts, task lists and spreadsheets. As a result, you can be sure that all your emails get delivered to the specified destination.
To keep your account safe, NameCheap has a Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) feature. You can choose between the Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP) and Universal 2nd Factor (U2F)
Namecheap Pricing
Starter Plan: £0.62 /month £7.42 /year
Pro Plan: £1.76 /month £21.16 /year
Ultimate Plan: £2.91 /month £39.40 /year
#9. Rackspace Email – Best Low-Cost Email Hosting
Rackspace Email Key Features
Rackspace exists to provide professional email hosting services to businesses that don’t have much space. They show that you don’t have to compromise quality for the price.
They offer professional-looking email ids and premium filtering to ensure your inbox stays clean from malware, viruses and spam.
They also offer comprehensive security and complete privacy for your email and associated files.
Email hosting migration is easy with Rackspace. Simply get in touch with their highly dedicated experts, and it would be handled smoothly and quickly.
You can also set up aliases and mail forwarding.
Rackspace Email Pricing
Rackspace Email: £2.39 /user/month
Rackspace Email Plus: £3.19 /user/month
Add Archiving: £5.03 /user/month
#10. Microsoft Office 365 – Best Enterprise Email Host
Microsoft Office 365 Key Features
Like many of the email hosting providers on this list, Office 365 Business Premium offers a complete suite. You get email hosting and so much more. Everything in the Office Suite is available to you, including Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint.
The suite allows sharing to get everyone on board on the same project without sharing attachments. In addition, you can switch to a previous version of a document if you need to.
As part of your subscription, you also have access to new versions of the programs as they are released. Thus, you simply update your software without having to pay additional fees.
Office 365 comes as software you install on your computer. This means you can work on your projects whether you are online or offline. The only limitations are when you want to send a mail or access a stored file on primary storage – the primary storage is cloud-based.
In case you lose your device, Microsoft gives you the option to wipe your emails remotely.
Microsoft Office 365 Email Pricing
Exchange Online (Plan 1): £3.80 user/month (paid annually)
Exchange Online (Plan 2): £9.40 user/month (paid annually)
Microsoft 365 Business Standard: £15.10 user/month (paid annually)
What is Hosted Email?
Hosted email is a hosting package that offers premium features that are not available on other free or generic email hosting services.
A hosted email contains dedicated custom email platforms that allow you to manage an email associated with a domain name and use any email authentication scheme of your choice.
One clear difference between a hosted email and a free email is that the former is free of ads. In addition, the interface is streamlined to ensure seamless control. Hosted email also offers management tools and features.
Some of these features include contact lists, business productivity tools, and organising email marketing campaigns.
Differences between Domain, Email hosting and Web hosting
On the surface, domain hosting, email hosting, and web hosting are similar in that they all rely on servers. Also, they are integral to building a professional online profile for businesses and professionals.
However, there is a lot of confusion regarding what they entail and how they relate. A domain name is like the street address of your online business. It is a URL such as www.mybusiness.com that directs people to your website. Web hosting covers the actual files that make up your website.
The texts, designs, and videos are stored as files and displayed when someone visits your site. Email hosting deals with correspondence and associated files between you and others via your domain.
Here is a brief description of the hosting for each aspect.
Who Hosts Email?
There are three groups of people who host emails. They are:
In the beginning, getting an email address from your internet service provider was good enough for your needs. Then many people shifted to free email companies such as Yahoo and Gmail. The problem is you always have to stick with their domain, e.g., mybusiness@gmail.com.
Businesses and individuals that wanted to enhance their brand decided to purchase plans from domain hosting companies that included free branded email accounts. Many businesses, especially the small ones, had their email and web hosting with the same host, while larger companies preferred to split their hosting between dedicated email and web servers.
This used to demand immense resources in the past, but cloud hosting has made everything
easier and more efficient.
Free vs Paid Email Hosting Services
Email hosting services can be divided into two:
What you decide to choose depends on the features you need and your budget. For those on a budget, they might want to consider the least expensive options first. On the surface, that might seem like the straightforward choice, but sometimes it isn’t.
That is why you should take your time to evaluate your business or brand needs and what it would need in the nearest future. Here is a quick rundown of the pros and cons of free and paid email hosting services entail respectively.
Free Email Hosting Services
Free email hosting providers allow you to send online messages via webmail (POP) and email clients (IMAP). There are lots of them, but the most popular are Google’s Gmail, Microsoft Hotmail, AOL, and Yahoo.
Pros:
Cons:
Paid Email Hosting Services
Paid email hosting services are the preferred option for people who want the best available email experience. There are many reasons for this.
If your business relies on email to make revenue, it makes sense to get a professional email hosting plan.
Also, paid email plans are the best choice for growing businesses.
Pros:
Cons:
The Different Types of Mail Servers
There are different types of mail servers used for email hosting. They each have distinct features that make them unique from one another. These types are:
IMAP and POP3 are the only two protocols through which you can receive emails. ISP, meaning Internet Service Provider, provides the mail servers for personal email. Cloud email hosting provides email servers for businesses and individuals that want efficiency and professionalism.
Here is a brief description of each type of mail server.
Best Email Hosting Conclusion
Who is the Best Email Hosting Provider?
Modern businesses rely on emails. It facilitates the flow of communication between team members, clients/customers, and suppliers. One important decision you should make is the type of email hosting services you need.
In this case, this depends on how heavily your business or brand relies on email. For small businesses, a free email plan would work. The trade-off is you will get an ‘ugly’ email address, put up with limitations and also deal with security issues on your own
If you want a reliable and professional email service, then you should consider paid email hosting. For that, you will get a branded email with a lot of business and marketing tools. In addition, you don’t have to manage the technical aspect or worry about security. As long as you choose one of the host providers listed in this article, you are in good hands.
For beginners, we recommend going with web host providers that also provide email hosting. Having all of your hosting under a single roof can make things easier for you.
Advanced users can take advantage of options such as Google Workspace or Office 365.
Our Best Overall Email Host!
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