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Gmail vs Outlook.com vs Proton Mail vs Zoho Mail vs Fastmail vs iCloud Mail

Email providers side by side: free storage, your own domain, cheapest paid plan, encryption, ads and IMAP

Updated

Why compare these

Six mailboxes people choose between, for personal mail or an address on their own domain. A feature table, not a ranking. Cheapest ways to your own domain: Zoho Mail (free for one domain, or $1 a user) and iCloud+ ($0.99 a month). Proton Mail is the only one with end-to-end encryption on every plan, free included. Gmail and Outlook.com say on their own pages that the free inbox shows ads. Microsoft stopped new own-domain addresses on personal Microsoft 365 plans in 2023.

  1. 1 G

    Gmail

    Google's email service: free personal Gmail with 15 GB of Google Account storage, and paid Google Workspace plans for custom-domain email.

    Free Google mailbox; own domain via Workspace

  2. 2 O

    Outlook.com

    Microsoft's consumer email service: free Outlook.com with 15 GB of mail storage, upgraded to an ad-free 100 GB mailbox with a Microsoft 365 consumer subscription.

    Free Microsoft mailbox; ad-free with Microsoft 365

  3. 3 P

    Proton Mail

    Swiss privacy-focused email with end-to-end and zero-access encryption, an ad-free free plan and paid plans that add custom domains and IMAP via Bridge.

    End-to-end encrypted email with a free plan

  4. 4 Z

    Zoho Mail

    Business email from Zoho with a Forever Free plan for one domain (up to 5 users) and paid Mail Lite plans billed annually.

    Low-cost business email, free plan for one domain

  5. 5 F

    Fastmail

    Independent paid email service with no ads or tracking, custom domains on Individual and higher plans, and a 30-day free trial instead of a free plan.

    Paid, ad-free email with a 30-day trial

  6. 6 i

    iCloud Mail

    Apple's email service included with an Apple Account (5 GB free iCloud storage), with Custom Email Domain on every iCloud+ plan.

    Apple's email; own domain with iCloud+

Compare side by side

GmailOutlook.comProton MailZoho MailFastmailiCloud Mail
Free plan
Free planYes (personal Gmail)Yes (Outlook.com)Yes (Proton Free)Yes (Forever Free, available only in select data centers)No (30-day free trial)Yes (with an Apple Account)
Free plan: storage15 GB per Google Account ("All Google accounts come with up to 15 GB of storage")15 GB email storage (separate from 5 GB Microsoft cloud storage)Up to 1 GB (500 MB at start, raised to 1 GB by completing a checklist)5 GB mail storage per userNo free plan5 GB iCloud storage, shared
Free plan: own domainNot listed (custom business email is listed only under paid Google Workspace plans)NoNo (custom domains need a paid plan)Yes, email hosting for one domain for up to 5 usersNo free planNo (Custom Email Domain is an iCloud+ feature)
Paid plans
Cheapest paid planGoogle Workspace Business Starter: $7 per user/month with 1-year commitment, billed monthly, excl. tax (promo $3.50 Nov 4, 2026 - Feb 4, 2027)Microsoft 365 Basic: $1.99/month, or $19.99/yearMail Plus: $3.99/month billed $47.88 every 12 months, or $4.99 month-to-monthMail Lite 5 GB: $1 per user/month, billed annually (no monthly plan)Basic: $3 per user/month billed yearly ($36), or $4 month-to-month; Individual from $5/month billed yearlyiCloud+ with 50 GB: $0.99/month (US)
Paid plan: storage30 GB pooled storage per user100 GB mailbox (subscriber benefit) plus 100 GB cloud storage15 GB5 GB mail storage per user (10 GB option at $1.25 per user/month)6 GB per user on Basic (60 GB on Individual)50 GB iCloud storage, shared
Own domain on paid planYes ("Secure custom business email you@your-company.com")No for new users: new personalized addresses closed to Microsoft 365 Personal/Family since Nov 30, 2023; Microsoft points to Business plansYes, 1 custom domain on Mail Plus (all paid plans support custom domains)Yes ("Enterprise-grade custom email")Not on Basic; yes on Individual, Duo, Family, Standard and ProfessionalYes, Custom Email Domain on every iCloud+ plan
Privacy
End-to-end encryptionNot on personal Gmail or Business Starter; Gmail client-side encryption only on Enterprise Plus, Education Standard/Plus and Frontline PlusNot listed as end-to-end; Microsoft 365 subscribers get message encryption and prevent-forwarding in Outlook.comYes, end-to-end and zero-access encryption on all plansPGP encryption listed as an end-to-end feature, plus S/MIME; per-plan availability not listedNo in Fastmail's own apps; PGP or S/MIME possible via third-party appsNo, even with Advanced Data Protection (optional S/MIME in Apple mail apps)
Ads in the free inboxYes (help page: "When you open Gmail, you'll see ads")Yes ("An ad-free inbox" is listed as a Microsoft 365 upgrade benefit)No ("Ad free, always free")No ("We will never serve you ads, nor sell your data")No free inbox; all plans "no ads, ever"Not listed
Apps
IMAP / third-party appsYes, IMAP is always on for personal Gmail accountsYes, POP and IMAP (off by default; turn on in settings; OAuth2 required)Paid plans only, via Proton Mail Bridge (IMAP/SMTP)Paid plans only; IMAP/POP/ActiveSync not included in Forever FreeYes on Individual and higher; Basic plans do not include IMAP, SMTP, CalDAV or CardDAVYes, IMAP and SMTP (no POP)

How it is measured

Read from each provider's own pricing pages and help docs on the date in the references, with US prices (pages that detect location were read from a US address). Prices in US dollars, before tax; promotions shown next to the regular price.

References

  1. Curated: email providers (official pricing pages and help docs), shortlist20 research (facts from official pages). Checked 2026-10-21 09:02 UTC.
  2. Google Workspace pricing, Google, checked 2026-10-21.
  3. Google One plans, Google, checked 2026-10-21.
  4. Gmail Help: Add Gmail to another email client (IMAP), Google, checked 2026-10-21.
  5. Gmail Help: Ads in Gmail, Google, checked 2026-10-21.
  6. Google Workspace Admin Help: S/MIME for Gmail client-side encryption, Google, checked 2026-10-21.
  7. Microsoft 365 Basic, Microsoft, checked 2026-10-21.
  8. Storage limits in Outlook.com, Microsoft, checked 2026-10-21.
  9. Subscription features in Outlook.com for Microsoft 365 subscribers, Microsoft, checked 2026-10-21.
  10. Get a personalized email address in Microsoft 365, Microsoft, checked 2026-10-21.
  11. POP, IMAP, and SMTP settings for Outlook.com, Microsoft, checked 2026-10-21.
  12. Proton Mail pricing, Proton, checked 2026-10-21.
  13. Proton Mail, Proton, checked 2026-10-21.
  14. Proton Support: custom domain, Proton, checked 2026-10-21.
  15. Zoho Mail pricing, Zoho, checked 2026-10-21.
  16. Zoho Mail Help: IMAP access, Zoho, checked 2026-10-21.
  17. Fastmail pricing, Fastmail, checked 2026-10-21.
  18. Fastmail security, Fastmail, checked 2026-10-21.
  19. Fastmail Help: Server names and ports, Fastmail, checked 2026-10-21.
  20. iCloud+ plans and pricing, Apple, checked 2026-10-21.
  21. iCloud data security overview, Apple, checked 2026-10-21.
  22. iCloud Mail server settings, Apple, checked 2026-10-21.

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