You request a free email relationship — whether it’s for networking, occupation recruitment, downloading resources, transferring files, mounting reminders, gathering pinch colleagues, aliases thing else. Even pinch nan emergence of agency chat platforms, you still dangle connected email for a astonishing number of things. But unfortunately, not each email work is wholly free. And moreover nan free ones mightiness not beryllium nan easiest to usage aliases person each nan features you need. It tin beryllium a situation to find an email work supplier astatine nary costs that balances nan correct features pinch usability. To thief make your hunt easier, we put together a database of nan different types of email accounts you tin group up, followed by nan champion email work providers you tin big your relationship connected correct now for free. There are 2 main types of email work providers to take from: Email clients and webmail. Let's concisely spell complete these different types of providers. Email clients are package applications you instal onto your machine to negociate nan email you nonstop and receive. To entree this email, nan customer interacts pinch a distant email server. Email clients you've apt heard of see Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, and Apple Mail. Webmail is simply a shape of email you entree exclusively from nan net and truthful it exists chiefly connected nan unreality alternatively than your computer. Instead of an installed exertion fetching your email, you negociate your inbox correct from your net browser. Examples of webmail providers see Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, and Hotmail. Now, return a look astatine nan champion free email work providers (and nan champion email accounts for privacy) you tin get your hands connected coming — some webmail and email clients included. For each email work provider, we've highlighted a unsocial characteristic to thief you find nan champion fit. Who should usage it: Anyone who already uses and loves nan remainder of Google's products. It mightiness look for illustration an evident apical pick, but Gmail is conscionable excessively versatile not to get our first slot. According to Litmus Labs, Gmail has nan second-highest email supplier marketplace stock (behind Apple iPhone's autochthonal email app). Ironically, 1 of nan reasons Gmail has go truthful celebrated is because of each nan connection options successful your inbox that don't impact email. Gmail is simply a regular email inbox instrumentality you tin entree erstwhile you person a Google account. Since it’s built into Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), creating a Gmail relationship is much than creating an email account. It gives you entree to a afloat suite of free applications, including Google Play, Calendar, Google Docs, and more, that let you to chat, video conference, and stock files pinch nan group successful your interaction list. For example, Google Hangouts, disposable from your inbox's near sidebar (or nan correct — you tin customize really your inbox is displayed), lets you matter and video chat pinch different Gmail users for nan things that mightiness not warrant an email message. Like astir different email accounts today, Gmail besides has an intuitive almanac wherever you tin group meetings and reminders. Pro Tip: You tin besides usage a free merchandise for illustration HubSpot Meetings to easy schedule meetings without back-and-forth emails. A fewer things to cognize astir setup: First, privateness settings are built into nan personification agreement. So, if you person circumstantial information preferences, beryllium fresh to return attraction of these earlier you commencement utilizing your caller email account. After you create your email address, you'll beryllium redirected to a location page pinch much privateness settings. This conception besides asks astir your YouTube preferences because nan platforms are connected done your Google account. Unlike different email accounts, you tin usage your Gmail reside to log successful to and negociate your YouTube account. You'll besides usage this relationship to collaborate connected shared documents and spreadsheets correct from a cloud-based Google Drive. Offering a generous 15 GB of free email storage, Gmail does everything it tin to make your inbox little chaotic, including providing precocious filters that automatically push emails into abstracted folders arsenic they arrive. And nary of these functions costs a dime. This email work besides has extended options for customizing. And personalizing your inbox is much than selecting graphics aliases themes — it lets you determine really you want your email inbox to function. So, you tin take whether you want a reference pane, which emails show up astatine nan apical of your inbox, and more. Who should usage it: Anyone who uses email for astir of their communication. America Online (I consciousness nostalgic conscionable typing those words) has softly kept up pinch today's standards for a bully personification acquisition and is now erstwhile again 1 of nan champion free email accounts disposable to you. Purchased by Apollo successful 2021, AOL delivers your email from its classical news-driven homepage and comes pinch nan modern spam filters and microorganism protection you'd expect from your email provider. You tin besides nonstop matter and instant messages from circumstantial windows successful your email inbox. AOL does person thing complete Gmail, though: much storage. Additionally, you tin import email contacts from a CSV, TXT, aliases LDIF file, truthful you're not creating your "buddy list" (get it?) from scratch. First impressions: The sign-up acquisition is simple, but it seems arbitrary that location is simply a limit connected characters successful nan email address. This supplier besides requires a telephone number for verification. I sewage an correction connection connected my first effort signing up, but nan 2nd effort everything went smoothly and I was easy capable to create my caller AOL email account. Onboarding is speedy and elemental — it's conscionable choosing a taxable and matter settings. Then, nan location page for my caller email relationship was afloat of news and ads, which I wasn't expecting. There was besides an advertisement astatine nan apical of my inbox. When I clicked "Compose" to create a caller email, location was a adjuvant group of popular ups showing maine really to create emails pinch their tools. The AOL inbox besides offers spaces to prevention contacts, photos, documents, subscriptions, and travel. Image Source Who should usage it: Anyone who uses galore different platforms to link pinch others. If you ever cringed astatine nan show of a "Hotmail.com" email address, you tin convey Outlook for this outdated domain name. But there's bully news: Microsoft has reinvented its longstanding email service, and your free Outlook.com email reside has galore precocious features waiting for you. While it touts a almanac and connection select for illustration Gmail, Outlook besides integrates pinch respective different celebrated connection apps. For example, you tin link Skype, Facebook, PowerPoint, PayPal, and moreover task guidance software specified arsenic Trello. This makes it very easy to scope and activity pinch non-Outlook users without leaving your inbox. Another perk — Outlook offers 15 GB of free retention for each user, on pinch a super-clean interface. Setup experience: Creating an email reside was ace easy. That said, nan verification puzzle wasn't ace intuitive. So, if you return a non-traditional attack to puzzles this measurement whitethorn return longer than you expect. When I sewage into my Outlook inbox, location was already an advertisement astatine nan apical and ads connected nan correct sidebar. The 2nd email was a invited pinch specifications astir nan Outlook mobile app, other tools, security, and really to personalize your inbox. Then, a "Get started" sheet appeared successful nan inbox pinch a 6-point checklist for setup. If customizing your inbox is important to you, make immoderate clip to group up your Outlook inbox. You tin entree personalization choices that aren't successful this checklist, for illustration acheronian mode, notifications, and accessibility, by clicking connected nan cogwheel icon astatine nan apical near of your Outlook inbox. Image Source Who should usage it: Creatives and anyone who sends and receives attachments often via email. Yahoo! Mail, different well-known platform, sits beside AOL successful retention abstraction pinch a whopping 1 TB (that's a terabyte) for free, on pinch a fewer cardinal societal media integrations. You tin person civilization inheritance themes and hunt for cardinal accusation from your inbox pinch Yahoo! Mail. Yahoo! Mail makes it easy to find each photo, video, and archive you've ever attached aliases received via email successful their tabs connected your inbox's sidebar. This makes nan level particularly appealing to those who stock documents regularly aliases simply want an medium made of each photograph they've ever had shared. Setup experience: Overall, this was a akin sign-up acquisition to AOL. I ran into nan aforesaid correction messages too. The taxable action popular up was besides similar, but location wasn't an action to take larger aliases smaller text. Once you've completed taxable selection, you'll beryllium successful your Yahoo! message inbox. Again, location is already an advertisement astatine nan apical of your inbox and an advertisement connected nan correct sidebar. The "Views" paper connected nan correct broadside useful nan aforesaid measurement it does connected AOL, but it besides includes sections for "Emails to myself," "Shopping," "Wallet," and "Receipts." As personification who often sends emails to myself arsenic reminders, this is simply a really adjuvant addition. If you're looking for much personalization, click nan cogwheel icon astatine nan apical right. Scroll past themes, connection layout, inbox spacing, and connection tabs, past click connected "More Settings." Image Source Who should usage it: People who usage Mac and want everything connected 1 system. If you’re a Mac user, you whitethorn want to see utilizing iCloud Mail arsenic your email provider. Their free email relationship comes pinch 5GB of retention that you tin usage to sync your photos, files, aliases email. However, it’s important to statement that retention is shared betwixt each of your apps and devices — truthful if you return a batch of photos connected your iPhone, you whitethorn eat into your email retention allowance for nan month. Upgraded plans commencement astatine $0.99/month and spell up to $9.99/month. While it’s free to create an iCloud email address, you'll request 2 things to create an account: If you person some of these things, it's easy to create your caller iCloud email account. You tin usage this relationship done nan Mail app connected your Apple machine desktop aliases online done iCloud Mail. Below, you tin spot nan iCloud inbox successful nan Mail app: Then, return a look astatine iCloud Mail online: Features are somewhat different betwixt these 2 interfaces. For example, if you want to create an retired of agency car reply email, it's easiest to do this online. One of nan astir important advantages of utilizing iCloud complete different email providers connected this database is nan easiness of integration. Apple builds its desktop and iPhone message apps pinch each email clients successful mind, but it pays typical attraction to making nan acquisition delightful for iCloud users. Who should usage it: Anyone looking for a elemental but customizable email inbox. Thunderbird, a free email exertion from Mozilla (known chiefly for Firefox), offers a speedy email inbox setup and a simple, easy-to-use personification interface. The app offers customizable features, specified arsenic taxable settings and app extensions to amended your email experience. The email app besides allows you to unfastened aggregate emails successful tabs, for illustration really you would unfastened various web pages successful Firefox browsers. First impressions: To usage this instrumentality you'll request to download Thunderbird, truthful it whitethorn not beryllium a fresh if you're looking for an online email platform. It's breathtaking that this is an unfastened root tool, but nan galore popups and aid requests added to nan disorder I was emotion arsenic I tried to group up my email. Also important to cognize — it isn't free to create an email relationship connected this platform. But if you've already created a free email relationship connected different service, for illustration Gmail, you tin usage this instrumentality to create, check, and nonstop emails from aggregate accounts pinch Thunderbird. Who should usage it: Startups and mini businesses. This is nan first of nan free email accounts for privateness to make our list, but it holds a ton of imaginable for businesses. The first point you'll announcement astir Zoho is its user-friendliness. From integrating pinch Google Drive, Box, and different cloud-based record managers, to its built-in task manager, this email work offers a elemental measurement to execute each your regular tasks. Most of Zoho's plans are paid, immoderate for arsenic small arsenic $1 a month. But they do person a free everlastingly scheme too. To create an email relationship you request to either adhd a domain you already ain aliases acquisition a domain. Then you person to verify your domain. This tin consciousness analyzable if you conscionable want to create a speedy individual email account. But if you're looking for a free email relationship for your business, nan existent difference-maker is nan expertise to use a civilization domain to create free email addresses for up to 5 users. The first personification to motion up will go nan ace admin for emails connected your civilization domain. Who should usage it: Anyone who sends and receives delicate information. Proton Mail offers conscionable 500 MB of free space, but for nan worthy waste and acquisition of encrypted email, allowing you to nonstop messages that cipher other tin spot and vanish aft a month. What's nan catch? Is nan work difficult to use? Proton Mail is easy to usage connected immoderate instrumentality without immoderate package needed to encrypt your emails, arsenic pinch astir webmail platforms. Its inbox interface is arsenic easy to understand astatine a glimpse arsenic nan different email services connected this list. And nan instrumentality offers speedy color-coded labels to thief you further shape which emails merit nan astir attraction and protection. First impressions: Creating an relationship was easy, and nan captcha was elemental and speedy to complete. For Gmail users, Proton quickly offers nan proposal to guardant your Gmail relationship to this service. The onboarding is besides inviting and easy-to-understand. It offers adjuvant suggestions for illustration changing app logins to your caller Proton email address. This instrumentality is elemental and intuitive, and it was easy to create useful folders and labels for my caller email inbox. Who should usage it: Anyone who needs aggregate emails pinch 1 cardinal inbox. While you whitethorn not person heard of GMX Mail, it’s been astir for rather a while (since 1997) — and it has a bunch of features that make it worthy considering. First off, GMX offers 65 GB of storage. That’s a batch of retention for a free email service. In fact, they declare that it allows you to support astir half a cardinal messages successful your inbox. Another characteristic worthy noting is nan expertise to nonstop ample attachments. While galore services person debased caps for your email attachments, GMX Mail allows you to nonstop files up to 50MB. That’s awesome if you stock a ton of photos, presentations, aliases different ample files from your account. But nan characteristic of GMX Mail that really sets it isolated is nan expertise to group up to 10 othername email addresses, each from wrong 1 account. This tin beryllium useful successful galore situations — some personally and professionally. For instance, you could usage 1 othername for each your online purchases and logins — to support trading emails abstracted from your backstage messages. From a business perspective, aggregate email addresses tin thief negociate role-based emails specified arsenic [email protected] aliases [email protected]. It's besides ace easy to adhd a files aliases adhd different email relationship truthful you tin cheque aggregate accounts from this service. User acquisition notes: Once I logged successful location was a large advertisement astatine nan apical of nan inbox . This was confusing astatine first, successful portion because nan inbox and different sections person very mini font that could beryllium difficult for immoderate users to read. To reside this, their instructions urge adjusting matter size for your browser, which wasn't what I was hoping for. When you unfastened an email it opens a caller model wherever nan font is overmuch larger. This is good, because it makes nan email easier to read, but overall, this tin create a disorienting personification experience. Who should usage it: Any individual looking for a unafraid free email service. This work is an fantabulous prime for a backstage email account. It isn't a fresh for businesses aliases groups, but it's an fantabulous prime for individuals looking for free and backstage email. This work places a premium connected information pinch end-to-end encryption of soul and outer emails, arsenic good arsenic contacts. Other information features see 2 facet authentication (2FA), convention handling, and phishing protection. Onboarding experience: After sign-up, 1 of nan first screens you'll spot is simply a betterment code. Once you log into your inbox you'll spot 3 emails from Tutanota. Each email offers specifications astir what sets this work isolated and its dedication to security. That said, there's not a batch of accusation astir really to usage aliases personalize your caller email account. You tin click nan settings cogwheel astatine nan bottommost near to spot menus for updating templates, appearance, and different email settings. This instrumentality is ace simple, truthful location aren't a batch of nan extras that different platforms have. But nan interface is easy to understand and usage for its superior usability — receiving and sending email. Who should usage it: Startups looking for a free domain and entree to affordable and master email. This email work is comparatively caller compared to different services connected this list, but offers a ton of useful features. While this isn’t a free service, it does connection a 30-day free proceedings that gives you ample clip to determine whether this work is correct for you. And pricing is affordable, starting astatine $1.99 per mailbox per month. To create an email relationship you’ll adhd an owned domain. You tin besides get a free .co domain pinch a paid email relationship done Neo. Then you person to verify your domain. This tin consciousness analyzable if you conscionable want to create a speedy individual email account. If you’re looking for an email relationship that makes business information a priority, this work is worthy taking a look. It offers nan convenience of online and mobile entree for iPhone and Android, positive filtering for spam and viruses. It besides offers two-factor authentication done an authenticator app aliases pinch a betterment code. Who should usage it: Anyone looking for a unafraid email relationship that integrates pinch different tools. Mailfence is simply a unafraid browser-based email work supplier based successful Belgium. Given nan strict privateness laws successful Belgium, each your information is locked distant from immoderate third-party access. Their free scheme gives you 500 MB of email space. But to genuinely bask nan champion of Mailfence, you’ll person to hop connected a paid scheme that starts astatine €2.50/month. You’d beryllium capable to create up to 10 aliases connected nan paid scheme and person 5GB of email space, among galore different features. With Mailfence, it’s easy to shape your time and business because you’d beryllium capable to easy merge your email relationship pinch your contacts, calendar, and documents. First impressions: The landing page aft relationship creation has a batch of matter to read. This is simply a small spot overwhelming successful comparison to different simpler email services. But erstwhile you're successful nan inbox, nan interface is cleanable and simple. Some functionality isn't ace intuitive. For example, to create a files you click nan 3 dots to nan correct of your email reside astatine nan top. Based connected my acquisition successful different email services, I would expect to adhd a caller files wherever nan "Tags" action is successful Mailfence's interface. Who should usage it: Anyone looking for a free measurement to link email accounts to customer guidance aliases trading tools. Like Thunderbird, this email instrumentality offers an breathtaking free measurement to amended your email experience. As noted above, galore of these free email devices are siloed systems for email creation and management. But what if you want to nonstop beautifully designed newsletters aliases negociate contacts pinch email? If you're creating a free email relationship for business, this instrumentality tin link your email to customer narration management, marketing, and more. This tin thief your squad do much from their email inboxes. You tin way customer conversations, usage income automation for caller leads, and nonstop gorgeous trading emails to your interaction list. Setup experience: Sign up pinch an existing email, for illustration Gmail, is speedy and simple. As soon arsenic you log in, you'll commencement learning really to nonstop free trading emails and link your email to HubSpot's free CRM. The step-by-step onboarding process offers a batch of information, truthful make judge you're fresh to commencement utilizing this instrumentality erstwhile you motion up. No matter which supplier you choose, creating an email is simply a elemental process. But, it’s still important to cognize champion practices truthful you tin person 1 that fits your needs nan best. The intent of an email is to supply a abstraction for you to person easy, unafraid communications. Follow nan steps beneath to create an email: Select an email supplier based connected your needs arsenic a user. Think astir which features, specified arsenic top-tier security, email scheduling capabilities, aliases integrations, are nan astir important to you. Also, see really overmuch retention you will request and what type of supplier useful best. Select a username based connected nan intent of nan account. If it is simply a master account, past your sanction pinch a important number will do. The sanction of your business will do if it’s a business account. You mightiness besides see [email protected] for master accounts. Email providers mostly person minimum requirements for really unafraid your password must be. These often see a number aliases a typical character. Follow these guidelines and take a password that’s unsocial and has a assortment of letters, numbers, and characters to make it other secure. Many email providers see ways to adhd other information to your account. Take advantage of these features to support your relationship and information safe. Setting up two-factor authentication is simply a awesome spot to start. Set up an email signature for your account. This saves a batch of clip arsenic you are penning emails and helps support your closing consistent. Include accusation for illustration your name, your title, and your interaction information. And pinch that, you person immoderate of nan champion options for free email accounts this year. But who knows? Your adjacent email reside could beryllium wholly different while giving you conscionable what you request to succeed. Editor's note: This station was primitively published successful March 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
Types of Email Accounts
What are email clients?
What is simply a webmail?
Best Free Email Accounts
1. Gmail: Best for Offline Accessibility
Unique Feature: Native File Collaboration
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Type of email: Webmail
Core Features
What We Like
What We Don’t Like
2. AOL: Best for Interface Organization
Unique Feature: Unlimited Storage
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Type of email: Webmail
Core Features
What We Like
What We Don’t Like
3. Outlook: Best for Multiple App Integrations
Unique Feature: Multiple App Integrations
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Type of email: Email client
Core Features
What We Like
What We Don’t Like
4. Yahoo! Mail: Best for Lots of Storage
Unique Feature: Media and Attachment History
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Type of email: Webmail
Core Features
What We Like
What We Don’t Like
5. iCloud Mail: Best for Data Encryption
Unique Feature: Labels Senders arsenic VIPs
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Type of email: Webmail
Core Features
What We Like
What We Don’t Like
6. Mozilla Thunderbird: Best for Managing Multiple Accounts
Unique Feature: Ability to Open Multiple Emails successful Tabs
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Type of email: Email client
Core Features
What We Like
What We Don’t Like
Best Free Email Accounts For Privacy
7. Zoho
Unique Feature: Free Business Addresses
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Type of email: Webmail
Core Features
What We Like
What We Don’t Like
8. Proton Mail
Unique Feature: Encrypted Email
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Type of email: Webmail
Core Features
What We Like
What We Don’t Like
9. GMX Mail
Unique Feature: Alias Email Addresses
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Type of email: Webmail
Core Features
What We Like
What We Don’t Like
10. Tutanota
Unique Feature: 2FA Authentication
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Type of email: Webmail
Core Features
What We Like
What We Don’t Like
11. Neo
Unique Feature: Custom Email Creation Without a Domain
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Type of email: Webmail
Core Features
What We Like
What We Don’t Like
12. Mailfence
Unique Feature: Legal Protection
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Type of email: Webmail
Core Features
What We Like
What We Don’t Like
Bonus: HubSpot Free Email Integration
Unique Feature: CRM and Marketing Email Integration
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Type of email: Email Integration
Core Features
What We Like
What We Don’t Like
How to Make an Email Account
1. Choose An Email Provider
2. Choose a Username
3. Create a Password
4. Secure Your Account
5. Write a Signature
Making nan Most of Your Email