Email Hosting Plans Explained

Types of Email Hosting Plans

Generally speaking, there are 3 types of email hosting plans: Per-user plans, Per-domain plans, and Free plans. Per-User plans charge a fee for each individual email account, whereas Per-Domain plans charge a fee per domain. Free plans don’t cost anything.

However, there are other factors to consider on top of the price of each service. Before choosing a plan you’ll also want to consider how many users will be accessing your email, how many domains will use the plan, how much storage the plan offers, and what tools are included.

Per-User Email Hosting Plans

Per-user email hosting plans provide individual email accounts to multiple users and charge a subscription fee (usually monthly) for each of those users. While more expensive than per-domain hosting, these plans usually include more storage space and other collaboration tools that can be beneficial for medium and large businesses.

You may want to consider a per-user email hosting plan if you need:

Advanced security. These plans are made for multiple users, so the security risk is a little higher than a per-domain plan. It’s not because these services are less secure in general, it’s just that with more users comes more opportunities for phishing emails, spoofing, and viruses. A good per-user plan will include added security to combat these issues.

More storage. Choosing a per-user hosting plan means you’re picking an email hosting plan with more storage. Specifically, because you’re paying per-user, each user gets a dedicated amount of storage space rather than having to share, like you would with a per-domain plan. This is ideal if you are sending and receiving large files or attaching high resolution media (like images or videos).

Plus, some per-user email hosting plans also include additional storage tools, like archive or cloud storage. These tools often let multiple users access the same files, which is ideal for companies who depend on collaboration between employees.

Multiple domains. Per-user email hosting plans also usually allow you to use multiple domains, or aliases, with your singular per-user hosting plan. If you need to manage multiple companies or projects from one mailbox, a per-user email hosting plan that allows you to register multiple domains may be the way to go.

Scalability. Because you’re paying per user, it’s much easier to scale your email services as your company grows. Some per-domain email hosting plans will limit the number of users an account can have, making it difficult to upgrade if you end up needing more from your email provider.

The downside to this, however, is that each new user means an additional fee for that account. This can get pretty pricey depending on the number of users you need to add to your plan.

Collaboration tools. While these plans tend to be more expensive, they usually include advanced collaboration tools, like video meetings, cloud storage, and shared calendars, making it an ideal option for companies dependent on collaboration between a lot of employees.

Per-Domain Email Hosting Plans

Per-domain email hosting plans allow you to create and manage email addresses using your company’s domain, and are ideal for independent business owners or small business owners who don’t deal with a lot of heavy email traffic.

Unlike per-user email hosting plans, which are often managed on an independent server, per-domain email hosting plans are usually managed by the same web host who manages your business’s domain. Connecting your email hosting to your web hosting means that you’ll be able to manage all of the email under your domain in one spot.

Some other features of per-domain email hosting include:

Cost effectiveness. Because you’re paying per domain rather than user, these plans tend to be much cheaper than per-user email hosting plans, especially if you’re a small business who only occasionally needs to add new employees.

It’s also a perk that you can count on a consistent and reliable monthly bill for your domain, regardless of how many people are using it.

Easy management. Most email hosting providers that offer per-domain plans will provide you with a centralized dashboard or control panel in your account where you can manage all of your mailboxes, as well as other domain-wide settings and security features.

Data control. Keeping your business email contained to your company’s domain makes it much easier to keep track of your company records. You maintain full control of the email account, which means you maintain full ownership of your email data. If you ever need to archive a mailbox, you won’t have to pay for a dormant license.

Security. Most per-domain email hosting plans include spam filters and other important security measures that keep your accounts safe.

Unlimited accounts. Per-domain email hosting plans often offer multiple, if not unlimited, aliases and email accounts with their service. This allows you to create as many specific email addresses as you need without having to pay for each. For example, you might want to set up a [email protected] address for your billing department and a [email protected] for your customer service department.

Curious about the difference between web hosting and email hosting? Check out our guide comparing the two here.

Free Email Hosting Plans

Also sometimes called “Limited” email hosting, these email hosting plans, while free, offer the bare minimum when it comes to email hosting service. While perfectly fine for personal email activity, choosing a free email hosting plan for your business may not be ideal.

One positive of choosing a free email hosting plan is that there is no subscription fee. Most services that provide free services (like Gmail and Outlook.com) require little to no technical knowledge to set up an email account, and can be used almost immediately. They also may include access to tools, like cloud storage and document editors.

However, using a free email hosting plan means that you probably won’t be able to use your company’s unique domain. Using a generic email address that ends with @gmail.com or @outlook.com can be perceived by your customers as unprofessional and undermine your company’s credibility. Even worse, you may experience deliverability issues. Free email addresses are more likely to be flagged as spam, making it difficult for your customers to find your messages.

The biggest thing to worry about, though, is that many free email providers have a nasty habit of scraping data from your emails to sell it to third parties. This is why they’re able to offer their service for free: they’re selling your personal data. What might seem like just a way to target you with ads is actually a privacy concern, especially in regards to any sensitive business information that may be found in your email account.

What to Look for in Email Hosting Plans

No matter what kind of email hosting plan you choose, whether it’s per-user, per-domain, or free, you’ll want to keep an eye out for the following features:

Security. When it comes to your email hosting plan, good security is essential. At minimum, the hosting plan you choose should include spam filtering and data loss prevention. Almost all email hosting plans, whether per-user or per-domain, offer these security features, and sometimes others.

If you choose to use a free email hosting plan, you may not have these security features. Without good security, your email may be at risk for common security threats like phishing emails, password security, and keyword scraping.

Domain. You want to make sure that the email hosting plan you choose includes at least one domain. A unique domain for your business is crucial in establishing credibility with your client base and for your company’s branding.

Having a unique domain for your email can also help you better control your DNS records, which improves the security around your business email account.

Tools. Some of the more inclusive email hosting plans offer more than just email service. They also include tools to help your business, like group calendars, cloud storage, and video conferencing. These tools can be especially beneficial if you have multiple employees or employees who work remotely.

Email Hosting Plans

We offer monthly email hosting plans that are designed to accommodate both small and large businesses. Our 3 packages offer a range of storage options, inboxes, and daily sends. Just pick the plan that’s right for your business and we’ll take care of the rest.

All of our plans include 1 free domain and 24/7 customer support from real people.

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