Outlook and Microsoft 365 alternatives for business email

Google Workspace if you want another complete suite with mail, calendar, documents and video calls. Zoho Mail or Fastmail if you only need email and calendar for less. OVHcloud if you depend on Exchange features like shared calendars and want hosting in France. Proton or Infomaniak if you want your mail under Swiss law.

“Outlook” means two things. Outlook is the mail app, and it also stands for Microsoft’s business email, Exchange Online, sold inside Microsoft 365. This article is about replacing the email service. If you only want a different app and keep your Microsoft mailbox, Thunderbird, Apple Mail or a client from our Superhuman alternatives roundup will connect to it.

How we chose

• Own domain: each option hosts email for your company domain.
• Price per user: public prices on the date of this article, with billing basis and currency.
• Hosting region and GDPR: where mail is stored and whether a DPA is available.
• Works with the Outlook app: IMAP, Exchange or a connector, so people can keep the app they know.
• Migration: how you move mail out of Exchange Online.
• AI: what is included compared with Copilot.

In the US, Microsoft 365 Business Basic costs US$7 per user per month paid yearly, and Exchange Online Plan 1, mail only, costs US$4. In Spain they are €6.07 and €3.50, excluding VAT. Business Standard (US$14 in the US, €12.13 in Spain) and Business Premium (US$22, €19.06) are also sold with Copilot included, at US$23.50 and US$32 per user per month paid yearly in the US, or €20.36 and €27.73 in Spain.

Business Basic and Standard come with a 100 GB mailbox; Exchange Online Plan 1 with 50 GB. The free Copilot Chat does not work with your mail; Copilot inside Outlook needs a plan with Copilot or the Copilot Business add-on.

Prices are public list prices on 2026-10-05, in the currency each vendor's page showed, excluding tax unless stated.

1. Google Workspace

Google Workspace is Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs and Meet on your domain. On Google’s European page, Business Starter is €6.80, Standard €13.60 and Plus €21.10 per user per month on the annual plan, excluding tax (€8.10, €16.20 and €25.30 on the flexible monthly plan), and Gemini is included in Gmail on every plan. Keeping data in Europe is available on Standard and Plus, not Starter. Google’s migration service imports from Exchange Online.

Best for: teams that prefer browser-first tools and Google Docs. Trade-off: a change of habits for a team used to Outlook desktop and Office files. See Google Workspace alternatives for the reverse view.

2. Zoho Mail

Zoho Mail costs €0.90 per user per month for Mail Lite and €3.60 for Mail Premium, billed annually only; Zoho Workplace adds office apps from €2.70. Paid plans include IMAP, mobile and desktop apps and the Zia AI assistant. EU customers can be hosted in Amsterdam, with Dublin as backup.

Best for: the lowest cost per person with a proper admin console. Trade-off: fewer integrations than Microsoft.

3. OVHcloud Hosted Exchange and Email Pro

OVHcloud, a French cloud provider, still sells Microsoft Exchange as a hosted service: Hosted Exchange starts at €4.19 per account per month excluding VAT, with 50 or 300 GB mailboxes and data hosted in France. Email Pro, its lighter plan, starts at €1.59 with IMAP and data in France, but no calendar or contact sync. Zimbra Pro, from €1.82, adds calendar and contacts over CalDAV and CardDAV.

Best for: teams that rely on Exchange features but want a French provider. Trade-off: no Office apps or Teams, and the admin tools are more technical.

4. Fastmail

Fastmail is mail, calendar and contacts with a fast web app and full IMAP, so Outlook keeps working. Standard is €5 per user per month billed yearly with 60 GB and custom domains; Professional is €9 with 150 GB and a retention archive. Since August 2026 you can choose an EU region with the primary copy of your data in Amsterdam; backups and logs remain in the US.

Best for: small teams that want reliable mail without a suite. Trade-off: no documents or video calls.

5. Proton

Proton encrypts mail end to end and hosts it in Switzerland. Mail Essentials is €6.99 per user per month billed yearly; Workspace Standard, with drive, docs and calendar, is €12.99. The Outlook app works through Proton Mail Bridge, a desktop app that encrypts and decrypts mail on your computer and needs a paid plan.

Best for: teams with confidential mail. Trade-off: Bridge on every desktop, and no Outlook on phones.

6. Infomaniak

Infomaniak, a Swiss provider, hosts mail only in Switzerland. Its Mail Service starts at CHF 2.29 per month; the kSuite plans add drive, office apps and the Euria AI assistant, from CHF 1.76 per user per month. Mail works in Outlook, Apple Mail and Thunderbird over IMAP and SMTP, and Infomaniak offers free migration help.

Best for: an affordable Swiss alternative to the whole Microsoft suite. Trade-off: smaller ecosystem, prices in Swiss francs.

7. IONOS

IONOS sells domains, mail and hosting together. On its German site, Mail Business is €6 per user per month including VAT, with 50 GB, cancellable monthly. It works with Outlook over IMAP and offers an optional AI assistant in its webmail.

Best for: a small company that already has its domain at IONOS. Trade-off: offers and terms change often; read the renewal price.

8. mailbox.org

mailbox.org is a German provider with mail, calendar, office apps and video calls. Business accounts are €1, €4 or €12 per user per month net, plus a required service package from €25 per month for up to 50 mailboxes, with monthly billing and no annual contract. It offers a DPA and migration through a partner.

Best for: teams that want German hosting and an office suite. Trade-off: the service package makes it costly for very small teams.

9. Skein

Business email on your own domain with an agent that follows up on every conversation. Hosted in the EU. The agent notices when a customer, investor or candidate is waiting and drafts the follow-up in your tone. By default nothing is sent without your OK, from the app or, at launch, from Slack or WhatsApp, and every send has a few seconds to undo. For the contacts you choose, you can let it send on its own. Mail and agent run in Frankfurt, and you can keep reading mail in Apple Mail, Outlook or the Gmail app over IMAP. The agent proposes meeting times from your Microsoft, Google or iCloud calendar inside the thread.

It is pre-launch: teams reserve a spot by paying their first month, refundable until they start (pricing). The interactive demo shows the app with sample data. Trade-off: mail only, no Office apps, and not available yet. More in Skein vs Microsoft 365.

• You need Word, Excel and Teams: stay on Microsoft 365, or move to Google Workspace for the closest equivalent.
• You only use Outlook for mail and calendar: Fastmail, Zoho Mail or Infomaniak cost less and keep the Outlook app working.
• You depend on Exchange features: OVHcloud Hosted Exchange.
• Data must stay outside US companies: Proton, Infomaniak, mailbox.org, IONOS or OVHcloud. See European email providers.

1. 1List every mailbox, shared mailbox, distribution list and alias in the Microsoft 365 admin centre.
2. 2Create them at the new provider and verify your domain there, leaving MX unchanged for now.
3. 3Import mail over IMAP or with the provider’s migration tool. Export calendars and contacts from Outlook.
4. 4Switch MX, SPF and DKIM to the new provider, publish DMARC, and remove Microsoft’s autodiscover record.
5. 5Run a final import after a few days, then reduce or cancel the Microsoft licences.

Our guides on SPF, DKIM and DMARC and the email deliverability checklist help make sure mail still lands after the move.