Email is a must-have for any business, whether you run a major corporation or a part-time side hustle. People need a quick and economical way to get in touch with you, and email ticks all the boxes. However, to use email, you’ll need to select an email service provider (ESP) — and many more options are available today than just five or ten years ago.
While you can certainly sign up for a free email account, opting for a dedicated business email service provider opens the door to some awesome features, like a dedicated domain and enhanced security. Plus, you’ll give your business an air of professionalism in its earliest stages, which customers look for in organizations they’re unfamiliar with.
A business email service provider may also help you build your sender score and sender reputation under your domain, which is critical if you plan on sending email digital marketing messages. The stronger your sender’s reputation, the more likely your email will avoid deliverability issues and land in the recipient’s inbox.
Criteria for choosing the best ESP
Selecting an email service provider starts with understanding the available features and deciding which are integral to your organization’s needs.
A few factors to consider include:
- Product quality: It may sound a little obvious, but you don’t want to end up with an email service provider that doesn’t offer a sound product. Consider each option’s uptime history, user interface, and security features so you know how each one lines up in terms of reliability.
- Excellent customer support: There may be times when you need email support immediately. See if you can access customer care via phone, email, or chat. Some companies also offer other resources, like articles, how-to guides, and community forums.
- Successful client history: Email service providers with a healthy client list like to show off their strong reputation. See which organizations use their service and what kind of testimonials they provide.
- Affordability: Enrolling with an email service provider shouldn’t be a significant expense, especially when starting out. Look for ESPs with graduated plans that allow you to scale up or down according to your needs.
Email service providers for businesses typically fall into one of two categories: email clients and webmail. Email clients offer desktop and app software you install onto your device. Outlook and Apple Mail are two types of email clients.
Webmail is only accessible via internet browser. You sign into the service to access your email and can manage your inbox according to your preferences directly on the site.
ESP features and functionalities
Some email service providers offer advanced features for business users. Here are a few you may come across:
- Two-factor authentication (2FA): Two-factor authentication gives an additional layer of security besides your password to log into your email account. If an ESP uses 2FA, you may provide a second verifier to log into your account, like a security token or biometric factor.
- Alias addresses: An alias address is a disposable, unique email you can provide to third parties with whom you don’t want to share your actual address. Anything sent to an alias address is automatically filtered into your inbox without the sender knowing your real contact information.
- Data encryption: Through data encryption, an ESP can encode your emails during the sending and receiving process, making it extremely difficult for hackers to decipher sensitive information.
- Storage limits: Most ESPs set storage caps to keep costs down. If you send and receive a lot of emails, you may need to purchase additional storage to prevent the loss of critical messages and data.
Another functionality to consider is marketing integrations. Many organizations use email marketing service providers to reach clients and share details on upcoming promotions, new products and services, and other information. Check each ESP’s integration options to see how it aligns with your email marketing needs.
Comparing the top ESPs
How do the top email service providers compare? Here’s a look at a few of the most common ESPs among business users.
Gmail
Gmail remains one of the top email service providers worldwide, commanding a 31% market share of email accounts. For business users who rely on Google’s other services, such as Calendar, Docs, Sheets, and Slides, it’s the obvious choice for an ESP. It also integrates with Google’s Marketing Platform, which includes Analytics, Campaign Manager 360, and Tag Manager.
Unique features:
- Ad-free experience for business accounts
- Custom email domain
- Storage options start at 30 GB per user
- Two-step verification
- Advanced protection program
Pricing for Gmail business plans starts at $6 per user monthly.
Zoho
Zoho is a newer email service that is gaining traction among business users. It offers an extensive selection of business apps, including a customer relationship management (CRM) system, marketing and finance tools, a human resource platform, and office productivity tools. Business users can pick and choose the apps they need, so there’s no requirement to sign up for anything but email if that’s all you want.
Unique features:
- Reliable service with 99.9% uptime
- S/MIME message encryption
- Custom domain
- Set automatic email retention times to comply with legal requirements and company standards
- Supports giant attachments — up to 1 GB on its premium plan
Zoho is one of the top free email service providers since it offers a Forever Free plan for up to five users with a 5 GB storage limit. Its paid plans start at $1 per monthly user and include access to the Zoho calendar.
Outlook
Office 365 remains one of the world’s most popular office productivity suites. It’s the second-biggest office suite worldwide, commanding 46% of the market, compared to Google’s G Suite, which carries 48%. Businesses that rely on Microsoft’s Office suite, which includes Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, typically use Outlook too, since it’s included in the plan. Outlook is one of the best enterprise email service providers, as it caters to larger organizations.
Unique features:
- Includes access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams via web, mobile apps, or desktop solutions, depending on your plan
- 1 TB of storage per user
- Automatic spam and malware filtering
- Business Premium solution includes advanced security features, such as cyberthreat protection and enterprise-grade and endpoint protection
Outlook comes standard in Microsoft 365 Business Basic plans, starting at $6 per monthly user.
GMX
GMX email offers an entirely free email service to personal and business users. It’s a leading German provider that offers English email services to worldwide users. If you’re looking for a no-frills email service that includes a calendar, lots of storage, and contact list management tools, GMX may be a good fit for you.
Unique features:
- All users receive 65 GB of storage
- Large attachment limit of 50 MB
- Create up to 10 email alias accounts
- Access to an online Office to create and edit Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files
While GMX offers a wealth of benefits for users, its one drawback is that it doesn’t support custom domains. If that’s important to you as a business user, you may want to consider other options.
iCloud Mail
iCloud Mail takes a privacy-centered approach to email. All users access its Mail Privacy Protection program, which prevents senders from obtaining your IP address or reviewing your online email activity. It also offers two-factor authentication and encryption tools. Users of Apple devices stand to benefit the most from iCloud Mail.
Unique features:
- Spam and phishing filtering technology
- Completely ad-free
- 5 GB of free iCloud storage with every account
- Supports custom domain when you upgrade to iCloud+
- Generate random alias accounts to protect your address details
A basic iCloud Mail account is free. Upgrading to iCloud+ starts at $0.99 per monthly user.
AOL Mail
AOL Mail may not be as prevalent now as it was in the 1990s and early 2000s, but it’s still a viable email alternative for personal and business users. It’s an entirely free service unless you choose to add on special virus, malware, and phishing security protections. Other paid security benefits include identity protection and live support.
Unique features:
- All accounts have two-factor verification options
- Access to an AOL calendar and folders
- Advanced settings are available to set a signature or display name
- Customize your inbox with colors, images, and folders
While AOL offers essential email tools, it doesn’t provide domain support. That may be a drawback if you plan to use email for business purposes, including email marketing.
HubSpot
HubSpot’s free email hosting service lets you personalize marketing emails to existing clients and subscribers. It includes a drag-and-drop email editor and pre-designed templates to help you organize and customize emails to fit your message and brand.
Unique features:
- Integrates with your customer relationship management (CRM) system to segment messages and target specific client groups
- Personalize content with dynamic attributes such as customer and company names and available deals
- Built-in analytics to view open rates, conversions, and other metrics
While HubSpot’s email hosting services are free, you’ll need to upgrade to a more expensive plan to get the best features. The service is mainly designed for email marketing, so it may not be the right fit if you’re looking for a solution for daily office interactions.
Titan
Titan’s business email is available for purchase via specific partners, including WordPress, Hostinger, and Name.com. It includes features suitable for internal and external mailing, including email templates, scheduled send, read receipts, and follow-up reminders. You must own a domain to use Titan.
Unique features:
- Email threads
- Smart filters and custom folders
- Shareable calendars that integrate with Outlook, Gmail, and Apple Mail
Pricing varies depending on the partner you use to access Titan.
Brevo
Brevo’s solution targets businesses that use email for marketing and customer service purposes. It includes support for omnichannel marketing, pipeline management, and automation tools.
Unique features:
- Drag and drop editor for professionally-designed emails
- Increased efficiency using AI-generated subject lines and content
- 99% delivery rate
- Analytics to review marketing email performance
Brevo’s solutions are customer-facing, so it may not be the right choice if you’re looking for an internal solution.
Setting up and migrating to a new ESP
If you plan on migrating your existing emails to a new email service provider, it helps to do some advance planning.
- Define data you want to retain: Emails sent to a prior ESP can easily be lost if you don’t correctly migrate them. Take steps to identify which emails you want to keep during the transition.
- Note unsubscribe data: You may have clients who have previously unsubscribed from your list. To avoid triggering complaints, ensure customer unsubscribes transfer to your new platform.
- Set security protocols: Define the security parameters available with your new ESP and utilize them properly. For instance, you may need to change passwords and update two-factor authentication.
Integrating ESPs with other business tools
Ideally, your chosen email service provider will integrate with the numerous business tools you use daily. While those tools may vary depending on your role and responsibilities, it’s vital to select an ESP with a varied set of integrations. That way, your team won’t need to switch between multiple platforms when performing their tasks.
If you use email marketing to reach customers, you may do well with a service like Constant Contact. With Constant Contact, you can handle all your business and marketing needs in one platform. It offers a variety of automation and collaboration tools for your marketing team, plus, you can migrate emails from other email clients into your Constant Contact interface.
Email privacy and security considerations
Over the years, many organizations have experienced cyber threats and hacks that put their sensitive business details at risk. To mitigate the risk of a hack, consider each email client’s security offerings. For instance, you might go for a service like Outlook, which offers advanced security options with its premium plans.
Other solutions, like iCloud, Gmail, and Zoho, offer advanced security. Consider the security protections available when deciding on the ESP that best suits your needs.
Cost and budgeting for ESP subscription
Very few email service providers offer entirely free email services for businesses. If you enroll in a free plan, remember that you probably won’t have access to critical features like business productivity apps, advanced security, and email marketing tools. Expect limited storage capacity and customer service assistance.
Most email service providers set costs based on the number of users and the storage amount you require. You can always choose a starter plan with minimal storage to support a small staff, then scale up or down according to business needs.
When considering the cost of your email service provider, don’t forget about return on investment (ROI). For instance, investing in an ESP that supports email marketing and email list building may have a high ROI since you’ll have the tools to create and develop professional email marketing campaigns that convert clients.
Choosing the right ESP is a big decision
While several email service providers are available, only one is the right fit for your business. To decide which is best, consider your needs, budget, and desired features. For instance, if you’re a Microsoft power user and need lots of storage, Outlook might be a good fit. If you’re only looking for an email solution and have one employee, Zoho could be a viable alternative.
Once you sign up for an ESP, continuously evaluate it and be willing to adapt if necessary. It’s not unusual for a business to outgrow its tools as it expands. To learn how to send bulk emails, check out “How to Send Out Mass Emails.”
Next up, choose a digital marketing platform to help solve your business needs
