Zoho Mail alternatives for small business email

Google Workspace if you want the most integrations and the Gmail interface; Microsoft 365 if your team works in Outlook and Office. For a focused mail service like Zoho’s, Fastmail or Infomaniak. For encrypted mail, Proton. If price is the reason you chose Zoho, Hostinger or Migadu may be the only ones that cost less.

People leave Zoho Mail for a few reasons: the free plan does not include IMAP, they want more third-party integrations, they prefer another interface, or they want AI that does more than help write. Zoho is cheap and capable, so it is worth being clear on what you want before you move.

How we chose

• Own domain: every 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.
• Migration: how you bring mail out of Zoho, usually over IMAP.
• AI: what is included compared with Zoho’s Zia.
• Apps: web, mobile, desktop and IMAP support.

On Zoho’s pricing page in euros, Mail Lite is €0.90 per user per month with 5 GB (€1.13 with 10 GB), and Mail Premium €3.60 with 50 GB plus 50 GB of retention, both billed annually only. Workplace Standard, with office apps, is €2.70 billed annually or €3.60 monthly; Workplace Professional is €5.40 or €6.30. Local taxes are added.

There is also a free plan for up to 5 users on one domain with 5 GB each, but it does not include IMAP, POP or ActiveSync, so you can only use Zoho’s own apps, and it is available only in some data centres. Every paid plan includes the Zia AI assistant, which writes, summarises and suggests replies using third-party models the admin chooses.

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 puts Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs and Meet on your domain. On Google’s European page, Business Starter is €6.80 per user per month on the annual plan (€8.10 on the flexible plan), excluding tax, with 30 GB per user; Business Standard is €13.60 with 2 TB. Gemini is included in Gmail on every plan. You can keep data in Europe on Standard and Plus, and Google’s migration service imports from IMAP providers, Zoho included.

Best for: teams that want the widest choice of integrations. Trade-off: several times Zoho’s price, and EU data location needs Standard. See Skein vs Google Workspace.

2. Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 Business Basic is US$7 per user per month paid yearly in the US (€6.07 in Spain, excluding VAT), with a 100 GB mailbox, Teams and web Office apps. Customers who sign up in the EU are covered by the EU Data Boundary, and Microsoft documents IMAP migration from other providers.

Best for: teams that work in Outlook and exchange Office files. Trade-off: Copilot in Outlook is a paid add-on or bundle.

3. Exchange Online Plan 1

If you only need mail and calendar from Microsoft, Exchange Online Plan 1 costs US$4 per user per month paid yearly, with a 50 GB mailbox and archive. It is the closest Microsoft equivalent to Zoho Mail Premium.

Best for: Outlook users who do not need Office apps. Trade-off: no Teams or OneDrive.

4. Fastmail

Fastmail is a mail, calendar and contacts service with an excellent web app and full IMAP. Standard is €5 per user per month billed yearly with 60 GB; Professional is €9 with 150 GB. Since August 2026 you can keep the primary copy of your data in Amsterdam, with backups and logs in the US. It includes an import tool.

Best for: people who want Zoho’s focus with a faster interface. Trade-off: several times Mail Lite’s price. See Skein vs Fastmail.

5. Infomaniak

Infomaniak, a Swiss provider, hosts mail only in Switzerland. kSuite Standard is CHF 1.76 per user per month with unlimited mail storage, and includes the Euria AI assistant, which is also hosted in Switzerland. The Mail Service alone starts at CHF 2.29 per month. It works in any IMAP app and comes with an import tool and free migration help.

Best for: Zoho’s price range with Swiss hosting and Swiss AI. Trade-off: billed in Swiss francs.

6. Proton

Proton encrypts mail end to end and hosts it in Switzerland. Mail Essentials is €6.99 per user per month billed yearly, with 15 GB and three custom domains. Desktop mail apps work through Proton Mail Bridge, and Proton advertises easy migration from the big providers.

Best for: confidential mail. Trade-off: encryption limits search and integrations. See Skein vs Proton Mail.

7. Hostinger Email

Hostinger sells mailboxes from US$0.39 per month on a 48-month term, renewing at US$1.59 for Starter (5 GB), US$2.79 for Standard (20 GB) and US$3.99 for Premium (50 GB). Standard and Premium include AI writing and summaries, and every plan has Agentic Mail, an API and MCP server for AI agents.

Best for: a low price per mailbox if you are happy to prepay. Trade-off: email hosting region not stated. See Skein vs Hostinger Email.

8. Migadu

Migadu, a Swiss company, charges per account rather than per user: Mini is US$9 per month (US$90 per year) for unlimited mailboxes on your domains, with 30 GB and daily limits of 1,000 incoming and 100 outgoing messages. It offers IMAP, POP3, SMTP and webmail, and nothing more.

Best for: a founder or agency with many low-volume mailboxes. Trade-off: daily sending limits and no apps of its own.

9. Skein

Where Zia helps you write a message, Skein’s agent notices who is waiting and drafts the follow-up. 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. Aliases are unlimited.

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: it costs more than Zoho Mail Lite, it is mail only, and it is not available yet. More in Skein vs Zoho Mail.

• You left because of the free plan’s limits: a paid Zoho plan may be all you need: IMAP comes with every paid plan, from Mail Lite at €0.90.
• You need integrations: Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.
• You want European hosting from a European company: Infomaniak or Proton. See European email providers.
• You want AI that does the follow-up, not only the writing: see our roundup of AI email assistants.

1. 1Make sure IMAP is enabled for every Zoho account. The free plan does not include it, so you may need a paid plan to export your history.
2. 2Create the mailboxes and aliases at the new provider and verify your domain.
3. 3Import mail over IMAP or with the new provider’s migration tool; export contacts and calendars from Zoho.
4. 4Point MX to the new provider and replace Zoho’s SPF include and DKIM key with the new ones.
5. 5Keep Zoho until the next renewal date, then cancel.

Use our SPF record generator and DMARC record generator to write the new DNS records.