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Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook are great email providers with free accounts, but they don’t scream “professional.” You need a dedicated email server to provide you with the credibility, scalability, reliability, and security you need for your business. At the same time, you shouldn’t have to spend a fortune. My philosophy is that cheap doesn’t have to mean low-quality or bare-bones. Just because you aren’t paying a lot doesn’t mean you have to suffer for it.
I’ve tested dozens of the best hosting providers with cheap or free email hosting. These hosts weren’t only chosen because they provide some of the cheapest email hosting on the market. They all have something more than a budget-friendly price to offer – whether it’s a small business email solution or one that includes email marketing tools along with hosting, all my recommendations have something valuable for your business.
Hostinger is my top pick as it has a lot to offer at a low price, whether you opt for one of its website hosting plans with unlimited emails or one of its business email hosting plans. You can sign up for a 30-day money-back guarantee with Hostinger or check out more of the best cheap email hosting providers.
What We Look For in the Cheapest Email Hosting Providers
So, what makes an inexpensive email hosting provider good enough to meet my high standards? Here’s what I considered:
Price and value. Pricing was one of the first things I evaluated. After all, I needed to find the best cheapest email hosting providers to recommend to you. But I also looked at the price-to-value ratio. Some more expensive email hosting options are worth their price tag.
Email-specific features. I looked at the elements that make up a good email service, such as the number of inboxes, storage capacity, available backups, and more. Host also got bonus points for offering services like free email migrations and easy-to-use desktop and mobile app interfaces.
Strong security. My next priority was security, which correlates with deliverability. What good is a cheap email host if your sent messages all go to SPAM folders or are flagged as unsafe?
Collaboration and integration. Your team, like mine, needs seamless communications, a centralized work platform, and streamlined workflows to perform at its best. Most of the hosts on my list offer email tools for teams.
Hostinger offers both website hosting with email services and separate business email hosting plans
Hostinger was chosen as my “best value” cheap email host for many reasons, not the least of which is that I consider Hostinger to be an all-around great hosting provider. I’ve experienced Hostinger’s website hosting personally and know the company can deliver on its promises. Living up to its reputation, Hostinger’s web hosting packages pack in quite a few features while keeping costs extremely low.
You’ll receive that essential domain name for free no matter what level of plan you choose. Each web hosting plan also comes with 100 email addresses and forwarders at no extra cost. If you prefer using WordPress, you’ll be pleased to know that Hostinger offers managed WordPress accounts with the same email features, too.
Each Hostinger web hosting plan includes 1 GB of email storage. If that’s not enough for you and your team, Hostinger offers two separate business email hosting plans. The Business Starter package includes 10 GB of storage per inbox, while the Business Premium plan ups that to 50 GB. One thing to note, however, is that the Business Email hosting plans limit your forwarders and your email addresses, offering far fewer than the web hosting packages.
A free domain name is included with some hosting plans from Hostinger
Features
Cloud-based email hosting. Hostinger’s cloud infrastructure offers faster and more reliable email services. This setup is more cost-effective, offering smooth delivery without delays.
Free SSL certificate. Hostinger includes a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate, which protects your site by encrypting data. It’s automatically renewed, ensuring that your website remains secure without manual intervention
Detailed access logs. You can monitor your email activity directly from your hPanel account. Access and action logs help keep your email secure and alert you to any suspicious activity.
3000 emails/day limit. Ideal for managing small- to medium-sized businesses, Hostinger’s email service allows sending up to 3000 emails daily.
IONOS offers your business inbox advanced security, including privacy features
IONOS is another great choice for cheap web hosting that includes a decent email package. Each plan contains a free domain name and you’ll get 2 GB of email storage (compared to Hostinger’s 1 GB). You’ll also receive anti-phishing and anti-spam protection. The one drawback is that there’s only one email address per hosting plan.
This could be due to the fact that IONOS, like Hostinger, offers several separate business email packages. In my opinion, the best one isn’t the cheapest email hosting plan, but the most expensive, which is still affordable by most standards. With an IONOS Mail Business account, you’ll receive 50 GB of email storage, 10 email addresses, a free domain name, and premium anti-virus and anti-spam protection.
What makes IONOS’s Mail Business worth the slightly higher cost than its web hosting plans are the collaboration tools included. If your team is anything like my team, anything that makes communication and working together easier is a major bonus. Mail Business plans include shared contacts, tasks, and calendars so that your team members can quickly and easily coordinate with one another. Not bad for a cheap email hosting provider, eh?
A free domain name is included with some hosting plans from IONOS
Features
Microsoft Exchange hosting. IONOS provides a seamless Microsoft Exchange hosting service that integrates email and calendar tools, ensuring your team stays connected on all devices.
Email marketing plan. With an intuitive email interface, IONOS offers AI content generation, customizable templates, and the capacity to send up to 60,000 emails monthly, making it perfect for targeted email marketing campaigns.
Automatic daily backups. IONOS backs up your emails daily, helping you protect critical communication and avoid data loss.
Email archiving add-on. Tailored for industries like legal or healthcare, IONOS’ archiving service stores emails securely for long-term, compliant access.
In addition to the email services offered in its web hosting plan, InterServer offers a separate email hosting package
When using email as a marketing or team communications tool, it’s vital that your messages get through. InterServer makes my list of the best email hosting providers by guaranteeing delivery of your emails at a low price.
InterServer conducts constant email monitoring and guarantees the delivery of all non-spam, non-bulk messages. (Your marketing emails will have to be creative to get through the system.) Minute-by-minute tracking of sender statistics helps identify spammers and keep them out of your inbox. At the same time, easy-to-understand non-delivery reports help you identify issues with your own emails.
InterServer only offers one web hosting plan, but it’s feature-packed with unlimited storage, unlimited bandwidth, and unlimited email accounts. InterServer’s email accounts come with unlimited forwarders, although email backups and archiving are an additional cost. The hosting plan is so inexpensive, however, most budgets will have room for that small monthly fee.
Accessible email. InterServer’s email hosting works on any device and is compatible with iPhone, Android, Mac, and Windows devices without requiring additional software. You can access your inbox from webmail or through mobile apps.
Strong security solutions. In addition to keeping your email secure and protected against brute-force attacks, InterServer also offers a comprehensive security suite for your hosting. If your site ever becomes compromised, this host will clean it up or restore it for free.
Windows ASP.NET hosting. InterServer provides unlimited email hosting with the same robust features and resources on Windows servers. This is ideal for users who need seamless integration with ASP.NET.
100% uptime guarantee. With Private Email hosting, your emails are always available, ensuring uninterrupted communication and reliability.
With email hosting from A2 Hosting, you can manage both incoming and outgoing messages from your dashboard
A2 Hosting is another impressive cheap email hosting provider. Like InterServer, it offers unlimited email addresses with all its shared hosting plans. But unlike InterServer, A2 Hosting doesn’t offer unlimited resources on its entry-level Ignite plan. And it’s only the two more expensive plans that offer the best features, unlimited resources, and best performance optimizations.
Similar to the hosts before it, A2 Hosting offers separate email hosting plans. The Professional plan offers 10 GB of email storage and up to 500 emails/day, while the Pro Plus plan has 30 GB and allows you to send and receive up to 1000 emails/day. The Pro Plus also offers nice-to-have features like email templates, read receipts, shareable contacts, and an undo function that lets you retrieve and edit sent emails.
A2 Hosting guarantees a 99.9% uptime, ensuring that your inbox is always available. It also provides advanced anti-spam and anti-virus protection, as well as two-factor authentication on Pro Plus plans.
Automatic backups and manual email archiving. A2 Hosting automates your email backups, ensuring that data is consistently safe. You can manually archive emails through the dashboard for added control.
Integrated email calendar. Efficiently schedule, plan, and organize email campaigns using A2 Hosting’s integrated email calendar, which syncs across your devices for real-time updates.
Collaboration tools. Share contacts, tasks, and calendars effortlessly, making it easier for teams to work together on email management and other business functions.
Configurable mobile and desktop apps. A2 Hosting allows you to access your email accounts on both mobile and desktop apps, keeping you connected on the go.
InMotion Hosting offers a ton of customization options for developers
Every one of my top cheapest email hosting providers would be an ideal choice for those new to website hosting. And while InMotion Hosting’s plans don’t require a degree in rocket science, it does have a lot to offer the more experienced customer. If you’re a developer looking for an inexpensive email hosting provider, InMotion Hosting is well worth a look.
InMotion doesn’t offer separate email hosting plans. Instead, its shared hosting and unmanaged WordPress hosting plans all include email services. The entry-level plan in each set gives you 10 email addresses, while the remaining three offer unlimited inboxes.
No matter which type of hosting plan you choose, you’ll have access to what InMotion terms its Hosting Plus program. This gives you the opportunity to use Python, Ruby, Node.JS, or GIT version control on entry-level plans. You’ll also have a suite of marketing tools to build your brand. And yes, that necessary domain name is free for all InMotion Hosting plans. There is one big disadvantage to InMotion, though: data backups are a paid extra service.
A free domain name is included with some hosting plans from InMotion Hosting
Features
Google Workspace integration. You can connect your Google Workspace account seamlessly, enhancing team communication and collaboration by integrating email, calendar, and cloud-based documents.
Real-time spam filtering. Automatically block spam with advanced tools like SpamExperts and SpamAssassin. These filtering tools assess email content and sender reputation in real-time, protecting you from phishing attacks and malware.
Webmail interface. InMotion Hosting lets you access and manage your email through your web browser with cPanel’s webmail client. You can also connect any external email clients to your cPanel for easy access.
Unlimited mailboxes. If you opt for one of InMotion Hosting’s higher-tier (but still very affordable) plans, you’ll have access to unlimited emails with up to 20 GB of storage space per inbox.
While FastComet doesn’t offer separate email hosting plans, its web hosting plans are packed with email features
So far, all my cheapest email hosting recommendations have offered you both website hosting with email plans and separate email hosting plans. FastComet only offers web hosting plans with email included. Nevertheless, its hosting plans have plenty to offer in terms of email features.
FastComet protects all email accounts from threats with its anti-spam and anti-virus software suite. It’s also reliable, with the ability to receive 20 to 40 emails/minute and up to 400/hour. The email client is compatible with all mobile devices and daily website backups are free. Unfortunately, only manual email backups to your PC are available.
One advantage to FastComet’s hosting and email combo is that plans are managed, which is ideal if you’re new to web hosting or don’t have time to deal with server management. On top of that, a custom domain name is free on all plans. While these are all value-added features, the only way that FastComet made my list of the cheapest email hosting providers is by considering its highly discounted long-term plans.
Free managed email migrations. Migrate your emails with no downtime with FastComet’s free service. The expert tech team ensures a smooth, uninterrupted transfer process.
Free domain transfers and one-year renewals. FastComet offers free domain transfers, making it easy to connect your existing domain to your hosting. Plus, you can enjoy a free renewal for an additional year by transferring your domain.
Month-to-month plans. FastComet’s flexible monthly payment plan means no long-term commitments. You don’t have to lock into a long-term contract when trying out these services.
Open-source email solutions. FastComet supports the popular Horde and Roundcube email clients. While Roundcube is the more user-friendly option, Horde offers more features but has a steeper learning curve.
Whether you choose one of SiteGround’s web hosting plans or its Email Marketing package, you’ll find plenty of resources and featuresIf you’re looking for a hosting provider to serve as an email marketing engine, SiteGround may be your answer. SiteGround doesn’t have separate email hosting, but you can get free professional email with its shared hosting and WordPress hosting plans. SiteGround offers unlimited email addresses, forwarders, bandwidth, and a free automated email migrator tool with each plan.
SiteGround’s Email Marketing plan is the best value for money – its suite of email marketing tools is well worth the added fee. You get an AI email writer and image gallery to help you craft professional messaging, plus unlimited daily sending limits, audiences, and sign-up forms. There’s even a campaign test feature and scheduling tool. While SiteGround isn’t the cheapest email hosting provider, you do get a lot for your money.
All three of HostArmada’s space-inspired web hosting plans offer the same great email features
HostArmada’s not the cheapest email hosting provider in the business – but for what it offers, it’s a good deal if you want to invest in your startup from the get-go. While you can have unlimited email addresses, you’ll have to share your email storage across mailboxes (and on its entry-level plan, 750 MB is really only feasible for one active inbox). Even a small business with a mid-sized mailing list would find HostArmada’s email resources limiting.
But if all you need is a small inbox to get started, HostArmada offers other hosting perks. As a web hosting provider, its cloud hosting provides dedicated CPU and RAM resources – even on shared plans. You can also set up your website and professional email with just a few clicks using one of HostArmada’s managed WordPress hosting plans.
GreenGeeks is one our favorite cheapest email hosting providers but it’s full of added-value featuresGreenGeeks almost always tops my list for beginner-friendly recommendations. Its 24/7/365 support team is one of the best in the business – you’ll get all the help you need for your website, whenever you need it. This also goes for your email hosting.
There are three shared plans to choose from: Lite, Pro, and Premium. Pro and Premium offer unlimited websites, email addresses, bandwidth, and storage. You’ll also receive nightly backups and a free domain name and SSL. GreenGeeks isn’t as affordable as Hostinger or IONOS, but its hosting plans are reasonably priced for what they offer. And the GreenGeeks support team even has IMAP experts to help you set up your email account across devices.
With its Google Workspace integration, you can access your HostGator email through the familiar Gmail platform
It’s true that HostGator’s entry-level plan only offers 100 MB of email storage (say hello to constantly cleaning out your inbox and sent items), but its other two shared hosting plans offer unlimited storage and unlimited email addresses with free Spam Assassin security. HostGator also offers a separate email package and Google Workplace integration, allowing you to use Gmail as your email client.
Higher prices and a concerning issue keep HostGator last on my list. Some users have complained about HostGator not doing enough to keep its shared hosting customers from being blacklisted because of bad actors on its shared servers. While I’ve not experienced this personally, it is something to consider. If guaranteed delivery is a concern, HostGator may not be the email hosting provider for you.
Which Is the Best Cheapest Email Hosting Service for You?
All the contenders on my list would be a good choice for most solo professionals and small businesses. Which one is right for you depends on your needs.
If you’re simply looking for the best value in an email hosting package that’s both feature-filled and inexpensive, look no further than Hostinger. Whether you choose one of its web hosting plans with email services or one of its professional email hosting packages, you’ll get a good deal for your money.
If your business is medium-sized or growing into one, IONOS may have your answer. Both its web hosting and separate Business Mail plans have a lot to offer the thriving professional.
When delivery of every email is your top priority, InterServer’s guaranteed email service is the best choice. While others offer similar promises, only InterServer does so at such an inexpensive rate.
The summary table below can assist you in finding the right choice for your business inbox.
What are the cons of a cheaper email hosting provider?
Some of the trade-offs can be less storage capacity, a lower daily or hourly sending limit, and fewer email addresses allowed per account. But not all cheap email hosting is that limiting. Hostinger offers plenty of email storage, 100 addresses per account, a high daily send limit, and 100 addresses per account, all for a low price. It also offers professional email plans that are some of the cheapest on the market.
How easy is it to set up and manage email accounts with budget hosting?
IONOS makes email account administration very easy. Its intuitive, easy-to-use dashboard takes away most of the hassle and stress of email setup and admin. You can easily access your emails via browser by logging into your Webmail account or by setting it up on your favorite email client.
Is it possible to scale my business using a low-cost email hosting service?
Yes. If scaling is a concern, choosing an email hosting provider who offers generous email resources should be a priority. A2 Hosting’s top-tier hosting plans offer unlimited email addresses and large email storage capacities, giving you plenty of room to grow your business.
Are the cheapest email hosting providers as reliable as the more expensive options?
Yes, they can be. Budget-friendly InterServer offers guaranteed delivery of all non-bulk messages, along with minute-by-minute SPAM security monitoring and detailed non-delivery reports for rejected email. Add in its advanced server security measures and 100% server uptime scores and you’ll find it to be an incredibly reliable email hosting provider.
Suzanne has been a freelance writer and editor for 31 years, and has been writing online content since 2008. She holds professional certifications in editing and SEO strategy. She’s often been in the same desk chair as our Website Planet readers, needing to know what’s best and what’s best avoided. When she’s not testing and reviewing vendors, Suz is a professional artist as well as a volunteer therapy musician, playing the Celtic lap harp. She is a nature-lover who is often found walking the hiking trails near her home. She also enjoys time with her family, her grandchildren, and two cats.
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