Do you need your first email address, a second one, or even a third one? Most of us manage more than one email account, usually from multiple email providers. That’s because it’s easier to keep things organized when you have an email account for business purposes and one for personal messages, for example. Furthermore, many devices come with a pre-installed email service, which makes creating and configuring an email account very simple. Of course, you probably want a free email account, mainly if you use more than one.
Considering all these requests, workflows, and lifestyle choices, we’ve compiled a comprehensive list of the 12 most popular free email accounts. Read along to make an informed decision, keep your correspondence safe, avoid spam messages, and communicate with coworkers, businesses, organizations, or family and friends in no time.
A shortlist of the 12 most popular free email accounts
A Google product, Gmail is an email service you will find pre-installed on all Android devices. Owning a Gmail account grants access to all Google software products, such as Google Drive, Sheets, Google Meetings, and Google Books. It’s easy to customize and use regularly, has a pretty good spam filter, and provides all the tools you need to keep your mail organized (e.g., categories, filters, search functionalities, etc.). It also integrates with text editing tools, such as Grammarly, and has a text suggestion engine for fast autocomplete.
Best suited for personal use, freelancers, shopping accounts, employees in small businesses
The free account includes:
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Tips: Here are some email signature examples.
Outlook is Microsoft’s email service provider and offers a free account alongside paid options. It’s easy to use, customizable, complete with organizing tools, and accessible via an app or web-based platform. Nowadays, Microsoft products aren’t exclusively for Windows users anymore. However, if you are familiar with Windows operating systems, you will learn how to use Outlook in seconds. Furthermore, it integrates smoothly with other Microsoft products, such as Calendar, OneNote, Word, and Excel. It also integrates with Skype and DocuSign.
Best suited for: businesses of all sizes, freelancers, Microsoft 365 users
The free account includes:
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Tip: In case you want to setup the signature for Outlook, we have some tips.
AOL is an independent email service provider. Your AOL email account will be accessible via an iOS and Android mobile device app or a browser-based platform. Its versatility goes even further because AOL can manage other email accounts. So, if you already have Gmail and Outlook email accounts, you can check them all from your AOL email account. AOL provides organizing tools and customizable features to simplify mail management. It also includes an integrated online chat.
Best suited for: people with multiple email accounts
The free account includes:
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Yahoo! Mail is one of the first email service providers on the market. It has a news section and a chat service, useful search options, many themes to personalize your email account’s look (including avatars), an integrated calendar, and more. You can use Yahoo! Mail as an app or web-based platform on any device, operating system, and browser you can imagine. It is as easy and intuitive as you would like your email account to be.
Best suited for personal use
The free account includes:
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iCloud is a free email account to which all Apple users have access. It comes pre-installed on iOS devices, but you can access the account via Outlook on Windows devices. iCloud is user-friendly, ad-free, preconfigured with default mail folders, and almost entirely spam-free. You can create up to three aliases, organize your mail in folders, flag important mail, and filter the messages you see in any way you like.
Best suited for: Apple users, whether private persons or businesses
The free account includes:
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Proton Mail uses end-to-end encryption and zero-access encryption to protect your email privacy. No one, not even Proton, can view or read your messages and attachments. The service is also ad-free, spam-free, and phishing-free. Proton Mail features hide-my-email aliases and 1-click unsubscribe tools, scheduling and snooze functionalities, and password protection. In addition, Proton offers calendars, storage solutions, and other services that integrate seamlessly with the email service.
Best suited for: businesses and individuals with concern for data privacy
The free account includes:
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Like Proton Mail, Tuta Mail provides end-to-end encryption, ensuring your emails are safe and private. It runs on all devices, including iOS and Android, is ad-free, offers calendars and organizing tools, and promises to power its service using renewable energy. Tuta Mail is easy to use, intuitive, and well-organized. The developer aims to provide a simple email account with a good workflow. Paid versions offer multi-user support and sharing.
Best suited for: businesses and individuals with concern for data privacy and sustainability
The free account includes:
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Zoho Mail is part of a business suite with AI-based assistance, collaborative tools, advanced data security, and spam protection. It allows you to migrate from other email accounts smoothly, runs as a desktop and mobile app, and offers custom domains that suit your business profile. You get a calendar, tools for taking notes, domain aliases, and plenty of other tools that boost your daily productivity. Zoho Mail is not entirely free, but it costs only $0.9 per month, so it’s not far away from being free.
Best suited for: freelancers, small businesses
The (almost) free account includes:
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GMX Mail offers free email accounts with up to 65GB of storage space and a large attachment size limit of 50 MB. It runs as a desktop and mobile app on any device, comes with antivirus and spam protection, and features PGP email encryption for data privacy. In addition, GMX Mail aims to make email management easy by providing plenty of tools for organizing messages. For example, you can create filter rules, templates, a mail collector tool that merges and manages multiple email accounts, and browser extensions that notify you when you’ve got mail.
Best suited for: businesses and individuals managing multiple email accounts and transferring large amounts of data
The free account includes:
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If you want a domain that fits your business, Mail.com may be the solution. Mail.com allows you to set up a new free email account and offers the option to access your address from over 100 domains. Mail.com runs in a browser and as a mobile app, includes antivirus protection and spam filters, offers two-factor authentication for extended data protection, and provides up to 10 alias addresses. It also has an organizer for scheduling messages and appointments, filter rules, a browser extension, and an online Office tool.
Best suited for self-employed people, small businesses with few employees
The free account includes:
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Neo offers business email accounts, which means you can create an email account with the domain of your business and have a professional online presence. Branded email addresses are perfect for freelancers and self-employed people as well. Neo features up to 100GB of storage space, advanced search tools, a calendar, a one-page website for branding purposes, functionalities for sending marketing emails, meeting scheduling, and more. It runs in a browser and as a mobile app. Unfortunately, it’s not entirely free. It costs $1.86 per month.
Best suited for: for freelancers and self-employed individuals
The (almost) free account includes:
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If you need an email address for just 10 minutes, 10 Minute Mail is for you. The address is ready in seconds; you don’t have to create an account. After 10 minutes, it automatically disappears. You can, however, require another 10 minutes. It’s a fast email solution, free and disposable that you can run in a browser to receive emails you don’t want in your private email account.
Best suited for: individuals who need a one-time-only email address
The free account includes:
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As alternative to this free temporary email, check Minute inbox or Temp Email.
FAQ
How do you make an email account?
To create an email account, you must choose an email service provider. Then, come up with a username that represents you or your business. A professional choice for the username is to go with firstname.lastname@. Also don't forget to go with the a secure password. We recommend that you go with at least 12 characters long, with uppercase, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Then fill out the form with the other personal details to finalize the account creation with these details. Ensure you have a secure authentication process, such as two-step authentication, and a way to recover your email account if you lost your password.
What’s the best email service provider (ESP)?
The best email service provider is secure, ensures data privacy, has reliable servers, and offers the interface and tools you need. Storage space is a sensitive issue because if you run out of space, you must purchase more or migrate to another email service provider. Most people prefer a free email account but consider a paid hosting service to benefit from the best solutions for your business.
How do I pick the best email service provider for my team?
Select a few email service providers that you like and can afford. Then, ask your team for feedback and suggestions. People use all sorts of email accounts, so there is a good chance your team has already experienced some of your choices. Agree together on an email service provider that meets your requirements.
What is the safest email provider that is free?
Email service providers that offer end-to-end encryption, such as Proton Mail and Tuta, are the safest options. It also helps to look at where the company is based. Countries like Switzerland have more strict regulations on data privacy, which means companies based in these countries are forced by law to provide safer services.
What are the types of emails?
There are two types of email accounts: email clients and webmail. Email clients are programs installed on your computer, such as Outlook and iCloud Mail. Webmail is a program that runs in a browser and doesn’t require installation, such as Gmail and Yahoo! Mail. While email clients need to have the device on which the program is installed, webmail solutions are accessible with any device connected to the internet via a browser.
What are the standard email protocols?
Standard email protocols are standardized procedures for sending and retrieving emails between your device and the provider’s servers. The most common email protocols are POP3 (Post Office Protocol Version 3), IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol), and Exchange.
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