All businesses need professional email addresses, and small businesses and startups often need it to be as cheap as possible. To help, we rounded up the best legitimate ways to get a free business email address. All are secure and credible, and some are completely free, while others include free email accounts with products like domains, web hosting, and office software.
- Up to five free email addresses on your domain: Zoho Mail
- Five-plus free emails and free domain with WordPress hosting: Bluehost
- Free email address with domain purchase: IONOS
- Business email in Gmail: Google Workspace
- Business email in Outlook: Microsoft 365
- Unlimited addresses plus free domain with web hosting: DreamHost
- Free Outlook.com email address: Outlook
- Free Gmail.com email address: Gmail
- Most secure free email address: Proton Mail
Zoho Mail: Best for Free Email Addresses on Your Domain
Zoho Mail takes the top spot in this list as you can get up to five free email accounts, provided you own a business domain name (e.g., yourbusiness.com). Plus, it integrates easily with other Zoho apps for sales, customer service, operations, marketing, bookkeeping and finance, productivity, and more.
However, plans don’t come with a domain name, so you’ll have to purchase one separately to use Zoho Mail for free, costing about $12 to $15 per year. If you don’t have a domain name yet, check out our list of the overall best domain name registrars for small businesses.
Here’s how to set up your free email address for business use through Zoho Mail in four easy steps:
- Register a domain name (if you haven’t already).
- Go to Zoho.com/mail/ and click on “Pricing” from the top menu.
- Scroll down to find the “Free Forever” plan and click “Sign Up Now.”
- Follow the prompts to create your free business email account.
In the free plan, you can create up to five business email addresses. For more information, visit our guide to getting business email with Zoho.
Bluehost: Best for Multiple Free Email Accounts & a Free Domain
Bluehost is a top-recommended WordPress hosting provider that includes free business email in hosting plans. It’s best for those who plan to build a website with WordPress and need a domain name (e.g., yourbusiness.com) and web hosting. Bluehost also comes with one of the best WordPress page builders.
For as little as $2.95 per month, your business can get a free domain name, SSL certificate, and web hosting, plus five free business emails, each with 100MB of storage. For unlimited email addresses and storage, upgrade to the Plus plan for just a few dollars more. Learn how to create a custom email address with examples from Bluehost.
Bluehost webmail uses Roundcube’s open source, web-based email interface. (Source: Roundcube)
It’s easy to get a free professional email address through Bluehost, which you can connect to Gmail, Apple Mail, or Outlook—or access via any web browser through Bluehost webmail. Here’s how to set up free work email addresses in Bluehost:
- Go to Bluehost and purchase a web hosting plan.
- Choose a domain name.
- Navigate to the Email Manager and create one or more business email addresses.
- Optional: Connect your Bluehost email address to Gmail or Outlook.
Want to learn more about how you can get a business address through a Bluehost plan? Get detailed step-by-step instructions on how to set up email on Bluehost.
If you already own a domain name or have a web hosting plan, you may already have access to free business email accounts. To check, log in to your account and see whether you can set up email addresses on your domain.
IONOS: Best for a Free Email Address With Domain Purchase
IONOS (formerly 1&1 by IONOS) is one of the top web domain registrars in Europe. Personally, I recommend it highly as someone who has used its email and web hosting packages for more than 15 years. It’s also one of the cheapest business email providers, making it a very affordable solution for startups and small businesses needing email addresses, web hosting, domains, and more.
IONOS’ email hosting plans start as low as $1 per month and come with a free email domain. However, you can also get a free email account through IONOS by purchasing a business domain name for $1 for the first year ($20 per year thereafter).
If you need a website, you can also get a free business email address in IONOS’ all-in-one website builder plans, starting at $1 a month for the first year. Learn more about IONOS’ site builder in our list of the best cheap website builders for small businesses.