Did you know that you can set up an Outlook.com account (formerly known as Hotmail) with your own current email address or personal domain and don’t necessarily have to use an @outlook.com address?
An email hosting service provides a stress-free experience for both business email hosting and personalized email users alike. With a hosted email service like 1&1 IONOS, you have the opportunity to create your own email domain – something which is not provided with a free email account. When you want to host multiple email accounts at Outlook.com and want it to handle all the emails for your entire domain, then switching to Office 365 Exchange Online might be the better solution even though this isn’t free (unless you are a non-profit organization).
This allows you to both send and receive emails with an address which you already own, even if it is from another provider such as Gmail.
Using an Outlook.com account is a great alternative for your current POP3 or IMAP account if you want to sync your emails, contacts and calendar items with multiple devices such as your desktop, laptop, netbook, tablet or smartphone. It behaves a lot like a personal (hosted) Exchange or Office 365 for Business account but for free.
Setting this up is relatively quick and easy but there are some pitfalls to notice. This guide walks you through the entire process of setting up an Outlook.com account with your own current email address and how to transfer all your current data.
- Synching with Smartphones and Tablets (Exchange ActiveSync)
Step 1: Create a Microsoft Account with an @outlook.com address
A Microsoft Account is basically your username to make use of various Microsoft services such as Outlook.com, OneDrive, Xbox and even Windows 8 or Windows 10. This username can be any existing email address you already own or a new Outlook.com address.
If you already have an @outlook.com address, then you can use that one or create a new one. If you already have a Microsoft Account for your current email address, it is important that it also has an @outlook alias configured with it.
Option 1: Create a new @outlook.com address
- To sign up for an Outlook.com account go to https://outlook.com and click on the Create free account link in the center or top left of the screen.
- Fill out the form with the address that you want to use.
- Follow the instructions to personalize your account and complete the signup process.
- You’ll be directly taken to your new Outlook.com mailbox and be asked to set your Language, Time zone, pick a theme, and create a signature.
Option 2: Add an @outlook.com address to your current Microsoft Account
- To add an @outlook.com address to your current Microsoft Account, go to https://account.live.com/names/Manage.
- In the “Account aliases” section, click on the “Add email” link.
- Fill out your preferred alias @outlook.com alias and click on the “Add alias” button.
- Once returned to the “Account aliases” overview, click the “Make primary” link behind your newly added @outlook.com address.
- This is needed to be able to configure Outlook. You’ll still be able to login with your other alias if you want.
Adding an @outlook.com alias to your Microsoft Account.
Step 2: Receive emails from your current address in Outlook.com
Now that you have a Microsoft Account with an @outlook.com address, you can configure it to receive email from your current mail account. There are 2 methods you can use;
- Method 1: Use a Connected Account
This method is an all-in-one solution that is easy to set up. Aside from receiving your emails, it also allows you to still send out with your current address as well, instead of using the @outlook.com address. - Method 2: Configure a forwarder for your current address
This method is a bit more technical to set up and requires proper forwarding support by your current ISP. However, the benefit of this method is that emails sent to your current address will arrive almost instantly in Outlook.com instead of every 30 – 60 minutes. Optionally, you can configure Outlook.com to send out with your current email address as well.
Method 1: Use a Connected Account
- Go to the Outlook.com webpage and sign in if you are not automatically signed in already.
- In the top right corner but on the left of your user icon, you’ll see a gear icon. Click on it and from the menu that pops up choose: View all Outlook settings (listed at the bottom).
- In the Settings screen, select the Mail section on the left and then the Sync email section in the middle to see the Connected accounts feature.
- In the “Add a connected account section” click on “Gmail” when your original account is a Gmail account or otherwise click on “Other email accounts”.
- Specify your account credentials and set your options.
- When you are only going to add a single Connected Account or when this account is your main account, then it is recommended to set the option: Import into existing folders, such as Inbox, Sent Items, and Draft, and create folders for others.
- If your current account only has a limited amount of storage, it is best to add it as a POP3 account instead of an IMAP account. You can then disable the option “Leave a copy of messages on the server”.
- To make sure your account is being added as a POP3 account, it might require you to choose the manual configuration type.
- Once configured, the emails from your other account, that are still on the mail server, will be imported into your Outlook.com mailbox.
- The mail collecting is being done in increments so if you have a lot of email still in the mailbox of your other account, this could take a while.
- To make changes to your Connected Account configuration, you can double click the account or select it and then press the pencil icon.
Connected accounts on Outlook.com.
Method 2: Configure a forwarder for your current address
- Add your current address as an alias.
Before creating a forwarder, we’ll first make sure that your current email address is added as an alias to your Microsoft Account. This will reduce the likelihood that all forwarded messages will be marked as spam.- Go to the Manage how you sign in to Microsoft page and click on “Add email” if your current address hasn’t been added yet. Follow the instructions to complete adding the alias address.
- Configure a forwarder with your current email provider.
Logon to the web based mailbox provided by the ISP that hosts your mailbox or logon to the control panel to manage the mail settings for your custom domain to set up forwarding. As this is different for each mail provider, it is hard to be more specific. If you can’t find it, it is best to contact your current provider and ask for it.
Once you’ve found it, configure it to forward the emails to your @outlook.com address.
For example, this is how it will look like in Gmail;
To configure Gmail to forward your emails, use the Forwarding and POP/IMAP section in your Gmail settings. - Optionally: Configure your account as a Send Only account in Outlook.com.
Instead of adding your Connected Account account as a “send-and-receive account” as instructed in Method 1, you can also add it as a “SMTP send only” account instead. This will allow you to still send as this address from Outlook.com while at the same time prevent Outlook.com from generating duplicates by collecting the emails itself as well. To do this;- Choose: Other email accounts-> Select: Manually configure account settings (POP, IMAP or Send Only account)-> press OK-> select: SMTP send-only connection settings
You can manually configure a SMTP Send Only account.
![Personal domain email hosting 2018 Personal domain email hosting 2018](/uploads/1/2/5/2/125287211/906757714.png)
Step 3: Connect to your Outlook.com account in Outlook
You’re done with the web configuring part and now it is time to get everything into Outlook. This is an easy process by using Auto Account Setup.
- Outlook 2007
Tools-> Account Settings…-> Add Account - Outlook 2010 / 2013 / 2016 / 2019 / Office 365
File-> Add Account
Depending on your version of Outlook, you’ll get one of the dialogs below.
When you get the dialog shown above, fill out your name, email address and password. When you have Two-Step Verification enabled for your Outlook.com or Microsoft Account, then you’ll have to use a special App Password instead of your regular password.
When you get this screen, fill out your email address and press the Connect button. When you’ve already stored your credentials for this account in Windows, the account will be added directly. If not, you’ll get prompted for your password. When you have Two-Step Verification enabled for your Outlook.com or Microsoft Account, then you’ll have to use a special App Password instead of your regular password.
Step 4: Configure a POP3 Send Only account (optional)
Currently, when you configure your Outlook.com in Outlook, Outlook doesn’t allow you to actually send as an address that is configured as a Connected Account or custom domain alias in Outlook.com.
When you are using Outlook 2013, 2016, 2019 or Office 365, these type of aliases are shown in the From dropdown menu, but when you try to send as such an alias, the recipient will see it as;
- Your Name <[email protected]> on behalf of Your Name <[email protected]>
To prevent this from happening and not show the @outlook.com address, you can add your the mailbox of your current address as a Send Only account in Outlook.
- If the account of your current address isn’t configured in Outlook yet as a POP3 account, do this first. Contact your ISP if Auto Account Setup fails and you don’t know the server settings for your account.
- Open the Send/Receive Groups dialog by pressing the CTRL+ALT+S keyboard shortcut or as an alternative use:
- Outlook 2007
Tools-> Options…-> tab Mail Setup-> button Send/Receive… - Outlook 2010 / 2013 / 2016 / 2019 / Office 365
File-> Options-> Advanced-> button Send/Receive…
- Outlook 2007
- In the Send/Receive Groups dialog press the Edit… button.
- In the left section, select the POP3 account.
- In the Account Options section, disable the option for “Receive mail items”.
- Press the OK button until you have closed all open dialogs.
- Open your Account Settings.
- Outlook 2007
Tools-> Account Settings… - Outlook 2010 / 2013 / 2016 / 2019 / Office 365
File-> Account Settings-> Account Settings…
- Outlook 2007
- Select your POP3 account and use the Change Folder button at the bottom to set the delivery folder of the POP3 account to the Inbox of your Outlook.com account.
To send as your [email protected] address and prevent duplicates in Outlook, you must disable the Receive process of your POP3 account.
Step 5: Transfer your data (optional)
With the Outlook.com account now configured in Outlook, you can start transferring your current email, contacts and calendar items to the Outlook.com account so that you can sync them to multiple devices.
Important!
Before starting with the transfer, make a good backup of your current pst-file. This way, when things go wrong, you can easily restore your pst-file and start over.
Before starting with the transfer, make a good backup of your current pst-file. This way, when things go wrong, you can easily restore your pst-file and start over.
Moving your emails is quite easy; Select all your messages in the Inbox with CTRL+A and move them to the Inbox of your Outlook.com account via drag & drop or use the Move command in the Edit Menu (Outlook 2007) or on the Ribbon (Outlook 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 and Office 365). You can also use the keyboard shortcut CTRL+SHIFT+V or right click on your selection to move your messages.
Tip!
If you left all your mail on the server, then Outlook.com has also downloaded them. Moving the messages will result in duplicates. To prevent this, empty your Outlook.com Inbox before you start moving emails. When you move the emails, the read/unread/reply/forward status is kept, as well as any assigned Follow Up Flags and Categories.
If you left all your mail on the server, then Outlook.com has also downloaded them. Moving the messages will result in duplicates. To prevent this, empty your Outlook.com Inbox before you start moving emails. When you move the emails, the read/unread/reply/forward status is kept, as well as any assigned Follow Up Flags and Categories.
For messages in other folders, you can directly move the entire folder via drag & drop or by right clicking on the folder and select the Move Folder option. Any subfolders are automatically transferred as well and the folder structure will be preserved.
Calendar items (CTRL+2)
Moving Calendar items is a bit more tricky but definitely not impossible.
The easiest way to move all your Calendar items at once is by placing your Calendar folder in a list view such as the All Appointments list view or the By Category view. Once you’ve done that, you can again move them via the CRTL+A and drag & drop method.
To change the view of your Calendar folder to a list view use;
- Outlook 2007
View-> Current View-> All Appointments - Outlook 2010 / 2013 / 2016 / 2019 / Office 365
tab View-> button Change View-> List
Contacts (CTRL+3)
Moving your Contacts is similar to moving your Inbox messages; Press CTRL+A to select them all and then move them via drag & drop or one of the other move options available.
Tasks (CTRL+4)
To move your Tasks, press CTRL+A to select them all and then move them via drag & drop or one of the other move options available.
Notes (CTRL+5)
When you are storing Notes in Outlook, you can also transfer these via the regular CTRL+A and move options available. However, the Notes feature is no longer being further developed in Outlook and the use of OneNote is recommended. To migrate your Notes from Outlook to OneNote see: Export Outlook Notes to OneNote.
Journal (CTRL+8)
When you were using the Journal, you can transfer the items by placing the folder into the Entry List view and then use the CTRL+A and move options available.
Step 6: Remove your old POP3/IMAP account
With all your data transferred and Outlook.com automatically collecting your new emails, you can remove your old POP3 or IMAP account from Outlook (unless you are using it as a Send Only POP3 account) and set the Outlook.com mailbox as the main mailbox if it isn’t already.
- Set your Outlook.com account as the default account.
- Outlook 2007
Tools-> Account Settings…-> select your Outlook.com account-> button: Set as Default - Outlook 2010 / 2013 / 2016 / 2019 / Office 365
File-> Account Settings-> Account Settings…-> select your Outlook.com account-> button: Set as Default
- Outlook 2007
- In that same dialog box, set your Outlook.com mailbox as the default Data File.
- Outlook 2007
tab Data Files-> select your Outlook.com mailbox-> button: Set as Default - Outlook 2010 / 2013 / 2016 / 2019 / Office 365
tab Data Files-> select your Outlook.com mailbox-> button: Set as Default
- Outlook 2007
- Accept any warning you might get about changing your default Mail Delivery Location.
- Restart Outlook.
- Return to the Account Settings dialog box from step 1.
- Select your POP3 or IMAP account and press Remove.
- Optionally; Switch to the Data Files tab and remove the pst-file from your POP3 account (this will not delete the pst-file from your disk).
Set your Outlook.com mailbox as the default data file and optionally remove your pst-file.
Synching with Smartphones and Tablets (Exchange ActiveSync)
Accessing your mail, calendar and contacts stored within an Outlook.com on a smartphone or tablet is really easy.
With a bit of additional configuration, you can also make your Tasks, Notes and Journal available on these devices.
Synching Mail, Calendar and Contacts
As mentioned, a big benefit of having an Outlook.com account is that you can sync your Mail, Contacts and Calendar with multiple devices. These devices don’t have to be PCs or laptops but can also be tablets (iPad/Android/Surface) or smartphones (iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, etc…).
It is recommended to use the Outlook app for for iPhone and iPad and Android as it supports the most features for Outlook.com account and can configure your account without needing to enter any server information.
However, you are free to use any other mail app as well. Most devices have built-in support for configuring Outlook.com accounts but in case you need to do it manually, you can use the following configuration settings to configure is as an Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) account which syncs your mail, contacts and calendar.
Server/URL | eas.outlook.com |
---|---|
Username | E-mail address in full |
Domain | <empty> |
SSL | enabled |
Certificate | Accept the SSL certificate when prompted |
If you are using Windows 8 or Windows 10, then you can also configure your Outlook.com account in the Mail, Calendar and People apps to get Lock Screen and Start Screen information about upcoming appointments. For details see: Live Tiles for Outlook on Windows 8.
Synching Tasks, Notes and Journal
While the Tasks, Notes and Journal folders sync with other Outlook for Desktop installations, these folders do not sync to all other devices when using Exchange ActiveSync or the Outlook app. You can consider the following alternatives;
Tasks
Tasks syncing via the EAS protocol is supported but many Mail apps, including the Outlook app for iOS and Android, do not sync this folder. Microsoft has developed a separate app called To-Do which is dedicated to Tasks management. It uses the Tasks folder in your Outlook.com for storage so everything stays synchronized. You can get the free app for Windows 10, iPhone and iPad, Android or use it in your favorite Internet browser .
Tasks syncing via the EAS protocol is supported but many Mail apps, including the Outlook app for iOS and Android, do not sync this folder. Microsoft has developed a separate app called To-Do which is dedicated to Tasks management. It uses the Tasks folder in your Outlook.com for storage so everything stays synchronized. You can get the free app for Windows 10, iPhone and iPad, Android or use it in your favorite Internet browser .
Notes
The Notes folder isn’t available unless you are using Outlook for Desktop. As an alternative to the Notes folder in Outlook, you could consider using OneNote instead. OneNote 2010 and later can also sync your locally stored OneNote Notes to the Internet (OneDrive) with your Microsoft Account. There is also a free dedicated OneNote App by Microsoft for Windows 10, Mac, iPhone and iPad, Android, and Windows Phone or use it in your favorite Internet browser.
The Notes folder isn’t available unless you are using Outlook for Desktop. As an alternative to the Notes folder in Outlook, you could consider using OneNote instead. OneNote 2010 and later can also sync your locally stored OneNote Notes to the Internet (OneDrive) with your Microsoft Account. There is also a free dedicated OneNote App by Microsoft for Windows 10, Mac, iPhone and iPad, Android, and Windows Phone or use it in your favorite Internet browser.
Journal
There is no real alternative to the Outlook Journal but you can create an additional Calendar folder and create a new view which is using a Timeline layout. Then you can use Appointments to create “Journal” entries. You could of course also leave it in the Day/Week/Month view for a more diary style Journal. This additional Calendar folder will automatically sync with any Mail app.
There is no real alternative to the Outlook Journal but you can create an additional Calendar folder and create a new view which is using a Timeline layout. Then you can use Appointments to create “Journal” entries. You could of course also leave it in the Day/Week/Month view for a more diary style Journal. This additional Calendar folder will automatically sync with any Mail app.
Domain owners: Outlook.com or Office 365 Exchange Online?
When you want to host multiple email accounts at Outlook.com and want it to handle all the emails for your entire domain, then switching to Office 365 Exchange Online might be the better solution even though this isn’t free (unless you are a non-profit organization).
When you choose to go this route, you don’t have to configure Outlook.com to collect your mail via POP3 or configure any forwarder. Mail is then being received instantly as if it was a native domain of Outlook.com itself.
The costs depend on the country that you live in but currently a single mailbox costs $4 per month. As the domain owner, this also provides you with lots of management options and you have the additional benefit of being able to share email, calendar and contact folders between your colleagues as well as creating shared mailboxes. You can find out more here: Compare Exchange Online plans. (You can switch your language and geographical location at the bottom left of the page.)
A better deal might be the Office 365 Business Essentials subscription for $5 per month. In addition to the above benefits, it will also grant each user with 1TB of online storage (OneDrive for Business), Office Online, Teams / Skype for Business (online conferencing and collaboration) and a collaboration website (SharePoint based).
Note:
Microsoft used to offer “Custom domain management” for Outlook.com via the Windows Live Admin Center (domains.live.com) and later via Outlook.com Premium. Both offers have been discontinued but previously configured mailboxes will continue to work. The recommendation is to switch to any of the aforementioned Office 365 subscriptions.
Microsoft used to offer “Custom domain management” for Outlook.com via the Windows Live Admin Center (domains.live.com) and later via Outlook.com Premium. Both offers have been discontinued but previously configured mailboxes will continue to work. The recommendation is to switch to any of the aforementioned Office 365 subscriptions.
Putting together your first email address at a domain you own is a pretty satisfying feeling. While webmail services like Yahoo and Gmail have come a long way over the years, there’s still something to be said for a personalized, professional email address.
Most best web hosting providers offer some kind of email service, but there are plenty of standalone options, too. These will come in handy for people that do want a unique email address, but don’t want a site, or in case you’re hosting your own website: server hardware is expensive to buy and maintain. Because of that, an inexpensive way to host an email service makes sense for some businesses.
Whether you fit into the business category or you just need a little more than Yahoo or Google can offer, an inexpensive email hosting plan will spiffy up your presentation. For something that seems so simple, though, there are a few things to look out for and so ensure the best possible experience.
What Makes an Email Hosting Service the Best?
While email hosting is fairly straightforward, there were a few things we looked at when choosing providers. The first was that each provider gave you enough space in your inbox. You’ll still have to filter through and clear it out from time to time, but missing messages because you ran out of storage is about the worst thing that can happen when it comes to email.
Next, we looked at compatibility. Webmail isn’t ideal for most, so it was important that each provider was compatible with desktop email clients. While some kind of browser interface is available for each, so is the option to add it to Outlook, Thunderbird or whatever client you fancy.
Email hosting has gone far beyond just an email address and a mailbox, though, so we looked at any extras the provider could throw in. G Suite, for example, comes with a line of fully featured business software, built around the core of email hosting.
Last, but not least, we took cost into account. Email hosting should be pretty inexpensive and there are few ways to justify a price hike outside of bundling software. Because of that, all the providers on this list stay around a few bucks per user, per month.
G Suite
Gmail has over a billion active users, accounting for nearly 20 percent of the email market. The power behind the service is strong, with a suite of tools, named Drive, for managing your schedule, creating spreadsheets and drafting documents (which you can read about in our Google Drive review).
The only difference between Drive and G Suite is that it works under your domain. You still get the user-friendly Drive interface, but with professional email addresses for you and your team. There’s no forwarding to a Gmail account or any nonsense like that; this is full email hosting.
It’s also completely compatible with Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird and more, so you can choose a different client if you’d like. However, with Gmail applications available for nearly any device and offline syncing available, there’s no real reason to opt for something else.
For the skeptics, the difference between regular Gmail and G Suite is quite staggering. You get an email at your domain, yes, but also unlimited group email addresses, twice the storage of regular Google Drive, zero ads and round-the-clock support.
Other Reasons We Like G Suite
We want to emphasize that G Suite is basically just Google Drive for business (though not a full EFSS provider). You save your files on Drive, add them to emails as links instead of attachments and update both in real time. It’s like the Google tools you’ve used before, but integrated to work within the confines of your team. For the ins and outs, we recommend you give our Google Drive guide a read.
It’s cheap, too. Plans start at only a few dollars per month, per user. Google charges for each additional user, yes, but not for additional email addresses. For example, “[email protected]” would cost extra, while “[email protected]” would not. You also get 30GB of storage space, to boot.
While businesses will see the greatest benefit from G Suite, there’s still plenty for individuals here. Prices are inexpensive for how much you’re getting, and Google’s keen eye for usability shines through. Try it out for yourself with a free 14-day trial. If it’s mostly the storage space you’re interested in, we recommend you read our best cloud storage buyers guide.
Cons:
- Not as practical for individuals
- Not a full EFSS solution
Zoho
Zoho has adapted its popular email hosting service to provide a suite of applications alongside options like G Suite. The catch is that Zoho is cheaper and even offers a free plan with support for up to 25 users.
Let’s start there. The free plan offers up to 25 users at base, with an additional 25 gained through referral bonuses. Email addresses can be from a single domain, with 5GB of space per user and a 20MB attachment limit.
So, the plan isn’t ideal, but it’s also free. This is the biggest difference between Zoho and G Suite, as a plan like this caters to those who are looking for single domain email hosting and nothing else. Some extra vigilance is required to keep your inbox tidy, but it’s still the best way to get a professional address for free.
Paid plans are a few dollars cheaper than G Suite and even integrate with the platform. You have more limitations like 30GB for storage and 30MB for attachments, but these are easy to overlook considering the how inexpensive it is.
Other Reasons We Like Zoho
So far, we’ve discussed what’s known as “Workspace,” a bundle of nine applications that Zoho offers, including email. Most of these are standard office applications, but some miscellaneous ones like ShowTime, a web-conferencing tool for virtual training, are included as well.
The impressive part about Zoho is not in Workspace, but in every other application it offers. There are tools in categories ranging from sales to IT to customer service, catering to nearly any business. The company also offers an accounting program, which we’ve covered in our Zoho Books review
While each of the tools costs extra, the ability to put everything in one place is what makes Zoho so special. You can build a website, do online training or even manage your books, all in a single spot.
Pros:
- Free plan
- Massive list of applications
- Inexpensive
RackSpace
RackSpace offers a wide variety of cloud hosting solutions, but ditches the bundles in favor of streamlined email hosting. It offers hosting for Office 365, Exchange and its own RackSpace Email platform.
Basically, its services are based around moving your server to the cloud. RackSpace aims to cut the local server out of business email, utilizing a network of servers to free up space, reduce costs and provide better overall performance.
While costs are quite high compared to other email providers, you’re getting a lot of value here. Exchange servers, for example, run a few dollars more per user, but offer 100GB mailboxes and 50MB attachments, double or triple the size of all providers on this list.
Other Reasons We Like RackSpace
It’s clear that the focus is on businesses and, for that, RackSpace delivers. The Office 365 plan, for example, comes with the full version of Microsoft’s suite, with 24/7/365 Fanatical Support.
If you’ve never heard of that term, no one would fault you. This RackSpace definition of support means that you have access to a team of top-quality staff, eager to solve any issues you may encounter. There’s no script or department hopping, but instead a knowledge team of support, responding to all inquiries in 15 minutes or less.
RackSpace is far more expensive, but provides comprehensive business solutions in and outside of email. It’s hard to argue with, especially with clients like Under Armour and Oliver Wight on the list. If you need top-notch business hosting, it’s best to try out RackSpace.
Pros:
- Excellent support
- 100% uptime
- Deep integration into Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office 365 Business Essentials
Riding on the back of G Suite is an application bundle from Microsoft. Change out the Google line of tools with Microsoft Office and Outlook, and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what Business Essentials can offer.
However, the two are not fully on par. Office 365 is slightly more expensive, but offers applications that can do far more than the Google suite. You get Outlook and Exchange, allowing you to craft emails far beyond what Google Drive can do. This includes up to 150MB in attachment sizes and 50GB of storage space, up over Google’s 30GB size on its most inexpensive plan.
The downside is that you only have access to the online version of Microsoft Office. While that’s not an issue when compared to G Suite, it is when considering how limited Office Online applications are. The best variant of Office 365 comes with the full version of Microsoft Office.
Other Reasons We Like Microsoft Office 365 Business Essentials
Outside of email, business essentials offers a comprehensive toolset for businesses. One of our favorites is Microsoft Teams. On the surface, this looks like a simple messaging app like Slack, but offers much more.
Skype meetings and Microsoft documents integrate seamlessly into it, allowing you to keep everything that has to do with team under one roof. You don’t need to add attachments or install plugins like other team messaging applications. As long as you work in the Microsoft ecosystem, it’s a great team solution.
Teams isn’t all you get, of course. Microsoft includes team Skype functionality, Yammer as a corporate social network and online conferencing tools as well. While the toolset isn’t breaking much new ground, the integration across platforms is something special. You can sign up for a free trial of Business Essentials to see if it’s right for you.
Pros:
- Integration across platforms
- Access to Outlook & Exchange
Liquid Web
Liquid Web is mainly focused on high quality VPS and dedicated hosting solutions. However, it also offers competitively priced email hosting as well, with zero downtime, top-notch spam filtering and 25GB mailboxes.
While the storage space is lower, it’s hard to pass up considering the cost. The standard plan only costs $1 per month, per user and offers the full range of Liquid Web features. You’ll be able to use any POP or IMAP mail client, or login through webmail with 25GB of storage and 50MB attachments.
You also get tools for keeping your email streamlined and free of spam. Adjustable filters allow you to tailor what gets through, but Liquid Web’s spam block is quite good on its own. Additionally, you can make user and domain level safelists and blacklists to keep your inbox looking the way you want.
Other Reasons We Like Liquid Web
However, it offers far more than email hosting. Liquid Web is a fully featured host, with plans ranging from VPS to WordPress (though didn’t make it onto our best web hosting for WordPress list). While plans are pretty expensive, the targeted business market will be happy with free security features and exceptional support.
Email comes some extra features too. The slightly more expensive “Plus” plan comes with mobile sync across your devices for contacts and calendars, 30GB of cloud storage and a suite of online document editing tools. If you’re more inclined to the Microsoft end of the spectrum, Liquid Web offers Exchange hosting as well.
Nothing stands out as exceptional at Liquid Web as far as email hosting goes, but it doesn’t need to. The biggest draw is that the service is inexpensive and always works, providing plenty of storage space and options. It’s next to free, so try it out for a month to see if it’s right for you.
Conclusion
While webmail services like Gmail and Yahoo have come a long way, there is no substitute for a professional email address. Thankfully, costs have gone down significantly with monthly plans coming in cheaper than buying a soda.
Sign up for our newsletter
to get the latest on new releases and more.
to get the latest on new releases and more.
If you’d like more about web hosting in general, check out some of our web hosting reviews.
Many of the providers include email with the hosting, so you can kill two birds with one stone. What email host do you like best? Let us know in the comments below and, as always, thanks for reading.
Starts from$199per month for 100 GB
Free plan available
Free plan available