Free Business Email on Your Own Domain
Which services give a startup an email address on its own domain for free today, how many users and how much storage the free plan covers, whether it can send as well as receive, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, read from each provider's own page.
Free allowances read on each provider's own pages, all checked on or after . Email providers change their free plans from time to time: confirm the terms on the provider's page before you move your company's mail there.
Services that give a startup email on its own domain for free today include Zoho Mail (Free for up to 5 users, one domain), Cloudflare Email Routing (Free custom addresses and forwarding), Microsoft 365 (One-month free trial), Forward Email (Free forwarding, unlimited domains), and Google Workspace (14-day free trial). Each of the 9 free plans below links to the provider's page that states it, with its main limit, whether your own domain works, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs.
An address at your own domain is the first thing that makes a new company look real to customers, investors and the sites it signs up to. A few providers offer free mailboxes on your domain, and free forwarding services pass that mail on to an inbox you already have.
The headline rarely tells you how far it goes. A free mailbox can cap users and storage or leave out IMAP and mobile apps, free forwarding usually cannot send as your domain, and the best-known suites start with a trial rather than a free plan. Each service below shows what is free, its main limit, whether your own domain works, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, quoted from the provider's own page with the date we read it.
Which services we picked and the order they appear in are our editorial choices; the terms are the providers'. Some of these providers pay us a referral commission when someone signs up through our link: those links are labeled, and they play no part in which services are listed or where.
Business mailboxes on your domain, free or on a trial
Full mailboxes on your own domain, with a free plan or a free trial.
- 1
Zoho Mail
Up to 5 users on one domain, on a standing free plan
Zoho's Forever Free Plan hosts email for one domain for up to 5 users, with 5 GB per user but no IMAP, POP or Active Sync. The first paid plan, Mail Lite, is US$1 per user a month billed annually.
- 2
Microsoft 365
Outlook and Office on your domain, after a card
Microsoft 365 Business offers a one-month free trial, and a credit card is required to sign up. Custom business email is included, and Business Basic is $7.00 a user a month, paid yearly.
- What's free
- One-month free trial (source: microsoft.com)
Start free at MicrosoftTerms read on microsoft.com on Microsoft 365: the free allowance and how to start - 3
Google Workspace
Gmail on your domain, for a two-week test
Google Workspace offers a 14-day free trial on its Business plans. Business Starter includes secure custom business email and lists at $7 per user a month on the annual commitment.
Start free at Google WorkspaceTerms read on workspace.google.com on Google Workspace: the free allowance and how to start Google Workspace for Startups: what startups get - 4
Proton Workspace
Encrypted business mail for a 14-day test
Proton's business plans offer a 14-day free trial. Workspace Standard is $12.99 a user a month, with 1 TB of storage per user and up to 15 custom email domains.
Start free at ProtonTerms read on proton.me on Proton Workspace: the free allowance and how to start - 5
Fastmail
A 30-day test of business email on your domain
Fastmail's business plans can be tried free for up to 30 days. Basic is $4 a user a month, or $3 billed yearly, with 6 GB of storage per user and custom email addresses.
- 6
Neo Mail
A 15-day test, with your own domain
Neo Mail offers a 15-day free trial of its business email, and your card is charged after it. You can use a domain you already own, and Starter is $1.25 a mailbox a month for the first 4 years.
- What's free
- 15-day free trial (source: neo.space)
- Payment card
- Card charged after the trial (source: neo.space)
Free email forwarding for your domain
Addresses on your domain that forward to an inbox you already have.
- 1
Cloudflare Email Routing
Free addresses that forward to any inbox
Cloudflare Email Routing is free for creating custom email addresses and forwarding messages to any inbox. Sending to arbitrary recipients requires the Workers Paid plan.
- Payment card
- No credit card required (source: cloudflare.com)
Start free at CloudflareTerms read on cloudflare.com on Cloudflare Email Routing: the free allowance and how to start - 2
Forward Email
Forwarding for many domains, no sending
Forward Email's Free plan is $0 a month for unlimited domains and forwards your domain's mail. It is forwarding only, which means you cannot send mail.
Start free at Forward EmailTerms read on forwardemail.net on Forward Email: the free allowance and how to start - 3
ImprovMX
Forwarding for one domain with 25 aliases
The ImprovMX Free plan is $0 and includes 1 domain and 25 aliases, with 500 emails forwarded per day. Upgrade to paid for sending emails and higher limits.
- First paid plan
- Premium: $9 a month, up to 30 domains (source: improvmx.com)
Workspace startup programs
Programs from email and workspace companies that give startups free months or credits.
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How this comparison is built
The list covers business email and email forwarding services a founder can use for free today without applying to a program. The order and the "best for" notes are our editorial reading of each service's terms. Every term comes from the service's own pricing or help page on the date shown, never from a third-party list; follow each link for the full conditions. A cap on users or storage, or IMAP and mobile access kept for paid plans, can matter more than the headline, so the comparison quotes them wherever the provider states them. Some of these services pay StartupPerks a referral commission, and their links are labeled as referral links; that decides neither whether nor where a service appears, and no service pays for a placement on this page.
Read the full methodologyCommon questions
Can I get a free email address on my own domain?
Yes. By the terms each provider states, Zoho Mail's free plan covers up to 5 users on one domain, and Cloudflare Email Routing, ImprovMX and Forward Email forward mail sent to your domain to an inbox you already have, for free.
Is Zoho Mail free?
Yes, for up to 5 users on one domain, with 5 GB a user and no IMAP or POP access. Mail Lite costs $1 a user a month, billed annually.
Are Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 free?
No, both start with a free trial: 14 days for Google Workspace and one month for Microsoft 365, which needs a credit card to sign up. Google Workspace Business Starter costs $7 a user a month on an annual plan, and Microsoft 365 Business Basic $7 a user a month, paid yearly.
Can I send email from a free forwarding service?
Not on the free plans: Cloudflare Email Routing needs Workers Paid to send to others, ImprovMX keeps sending for paid plans, and Forward Email's free plan forwards only, while its Enhanced Protection plan at $3 a month can send.
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