Looking for a reliable email hosting service that won’t break the bank? Whether you’re setting up a professional email for a business, a brand, or even a side hustle, the cost of email hosting depends on a few key factors. These include storage space, features, support, and the provider you choose.
So, what should you expect to pay? Basic plans usually cost around $3 to $6 per user/month, while feature-rich options with extra storage, advanced security, or collaboration tools can go over $15 to $20 per user/month.
Let’s break it down and help you figure out what’s worth your money.
What Is Email Hosting?
Email hosting is a service that lets you use a custom business email address with your custom domain (e.g., you@yourbusiness.com) instead of free webmail accounts like Gmail (you@gmail.com) or Yahoo (you@yahoo.com ). It routes your emails through a professional mail server, which gives you more control, security, and reliability.
Business email hosting is a popular choice for businesses that want to keep email communication professional and manage it all under their brand name.
The price of email hosting is low for those who know the benefits, like brand consistency, email management, mailbox security, and integrated tools that come with it. To help you choose a reliable plan, we compared and ranked the best email hosting services and created an email hosting price table so you can know the cost of renting email servers.
If you’re just here for the recommendation, here’s what we suggest for the best value for money:
Email Hosting Pricing Comparison Table – Best Email Hosting Deals
| Provider | Cheapest Monthly Price | Length of Plan | Monthly Savings | Money Back Guarantee | Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | $2.95 | Monthly | 50% | 45 Days | Visit ChemiCloud |
 | $0.59 | Monthly | X | 30 Days | Visit Hostinger |
 | $1.99 | Monthly | 50% | 30 Days | Visit Hosting.com |
 | $1.08 | Monthly | 50% | X | Visit Webdock |
 | $2.35 | Monthly | 81% | 30 Days | Visit BoostedHost |
 | $2.49 | Monthly | X | 30 Days | Visit FastComet |
 | $4 | Monthly | 80% | 30 Free Trial | Visit Kamatera |
 | $1.10 | Monthly | 63% | 30 Days | Visit IONOS |
What Affects the Cost of Email Hosting?
Since there is no standard price for email hosting, most web hosting providers customize their mail server plans based on several factors. The factors include the type of email hosting, email account limits, email aliases, and dedicated storage.
- Type of Email Hosting
You can access email hosting solutions through three main options: a shared web hosting and email solution, self-hosted email hosting, and third-party email hosting.
1. Shared Hosting and Email Solution: It comes bundled with web hosting. It’s budget-friendly but often has limited resources and lower sending/receiving limits (e.g., bulk emails).
3. Self-Hosted Mail Servers: This type of email hosting, including dedicated email services, allows users to host their email on a dedicated server. The drawbacks are that it is expensive, unreliable, and requires technical know-how for managing the complex server.
3. Third-Party Email Hosting: Third-party email hosting is a popular choice because it’s easy to scale and usually comes with responsive customer support. Many web hosting companies also offer email hosting plans, so you don’t have to deal with the high cost of running your own email server.
Examples of third-party email hosts are Hostinger, A2 Hosting, and others listed on our top email hosting providers page. Each provider manages your custom domain name and offers extra email authentication security like filtering and rerouting to scan for malicious elements.
- Email Account Limits
Hosting providers often limit the number of emails you can send daily or monthly to prevent spam. Some plans offer 500–1,000 emails/month, while others give unlimited sending based on the tier.
Bonus: Higher-tier plans also include advanced anti-spam features for better protection.
- Email Domain
Do you want an address like you@yourcompany.com? You’ll need a domain. Most plans allow at least 1 email domain, but premium ones may include multiple or unlimited domains.
Bonus: Some hosting plans offer a free domain name for the first year, which can be used to create a professional, personalized email address.
- Dedicated Email Storage
Storage ranges from 1 GB to 2 TB, with some providers offering unlimited email storage. If your team deals with many emails, go for 2 GB per user at minimum.
- Email Aliases
An email alias is an extra email address (nickname or variation of the user’s name) that sends and receives messages like the main one. Businesses use them to give employees custom addresses for customer communication, like johndoe@hostadvice.com. Most hosting plans include 10 to 400 aliases, depending on the provider.
- Renewal Prices
Some providers offer low intro prices, but the regular price may kick in after a year. You must budget wisely for the long term, so make sure to check renewal rates.
Extra Hosting Costs to Consider
Email hosting works best when combined with other services. For example, if you email a customer, you’ll want to link them to your website to buy something or learn more. So, keep these extra costs in mind as part of your digital marketing setup.
| Service | Typical Price | Why It Matters |
| Domain Registration | $7.99 to $20/year |
|
| Web Hosting | $1.99 to $200/month |
|
| Dedicated IP Address | ~$5.99/month |
|
| Spam Filtering | ~$2.99/month |
|
| Microsoft 365 | $6 to $22/month |
|
| SiteLock (Security Tool) | $14.99 to $34.99/month |
|
These extras can really boost your email hosting setup, especially if you’re running a business or need more control. Some are optional, but others, like domain registration or spam filtering, are worth considering from the start.
Tips for Choosing the Right Email Hosting Services
Email hosting is key to running smaller and large businesses in today’s digital world. It makes communication with customers, clients, and employees a lot easier.
That said, choosing a new email hosting service that’s the perfect fit can be tricky sometimes. You’ll want a plan that fits your budget, offers solid security, good support, and the right features. Here are a few tips to help you find the best option for your business and get the most out of it:
- Figure out your business needs: Think about how many email accounts you need, how much space you need, and what features you need, like collaboration tools or spam blocking.
- Check the uptime and reliability: Make sure that the email hosting provider has a high uptime percentage. This will make sure that your email service is always available.
- Look for security measures: The company that hosts your email should offer strong security measures, such as SSL encryption, and virus and spam protection.
- Check the customer service: The email hosting service should have reliable and helpful customer service that is available around the clock, if possible.
- Think about pricing and billing: Choose an affordable email hosting plan and look at the billing policies, such as how to pay, get a refund, and upgrade or downgrade.
By following these tips, you can choose the best email hosting plan for your business, get the most out of it, and make sure it’s easy for your team and clients to communicate.
Why Email Hosting Prices Vary So Much
Prices for email hosting can vary a lot between providers, even if the plans look similar. Several factors affect the price, such as the provider’s infrastructure, support and security levels, and the features they offer.
The size and needs of your business also play a big role. Larger businesses that send many emails or need more storage per user will likely need more robust hosting, which costs more. Here’s why email hosting prices can differ:
- Type of Email Hosting: Pricing depends on the type of hosting, like shared, VPS, or dedicated, which affects resources and support levels.
- Scalability: Some providers offer plans that let you adjust resources as your business grows. These plans might cost more upfront but save you money in the long run.
- Extra Features: Plans with added tools (like collaboration features) or stronger security can increase the price. More advanced features can cost extra, but they add value for businesses needing more control and efficiency.
- Brand Reputation and Customer Service: Providers with a better reputation and premium support may charge higher prices for their services.
- Contract Terms: Pricing can also depend on the subscription length and how often you pay. Longer contracts and frequent payments can lower costs.
Is Free Email Hosting a Good Choice for Your Business?
More and more people are turning to free email hosting services, especially small businesses and solo entrepreneurs. But before choosing a free email service, you should consider some potential downsides.
In some cases, free services may not offer the features, security, or support your business needs, which could slow things down or even put you at risk. Here are a few things to think about when deciding if this type of hosting is the right choice for your business:
- Features: Free email hosting may not have all the features, such as the ability to make changes or work with other business tools.
- Storage and Data Limits: Many free hosting services have limits on how much storage and data you can use. If you go over these limits, you may have to pay extra or switch to a paid plan.
- Security and Privacy: Free email hosting may have weaker security and privacy measures than paid hosting, which makes your business more vulnerable to hacking and data breaches.
- Reliability and Uptime: Free email hosting may be less reliable and have more downtime than paid hosting, which can hurt your business’s productivity and reputation.
- Support: Some free email hosting services offer little or no support, which can make it hard to solve technical issues or answer questions quickly.
While free email hosting might seem like an easy way to save money, you should weigh the potential downsides. Paid email hosting plans often offer more reliable, scalable, and secure solutions that are better for businesses with more email hosting needs.
If cost is a concern, exploring cheap email hosting options can strike a good balance between affordability and the essential features your business needs.
Predicting Future Email Hosting Price Trends: What to Expect
Over the years, the price of email hosting has steadily gone up. This is because more and more people want email services and need stronger security and reliability.
However, it can be hard to predict future email hosting price trends because of things like market competition, changes in technology, and changes in how people act. Here are some things that could change how much email hosting costs in the future:
- Cloud Computing: If cloud computing keeps growing and more people start using it, prices for email hosting could go down as service providers take advantage of economies of scale and streamline their infrastructure.
- AI and Automation: As email hosting companies use more advanced technologies, like AI and automation, service delivery could become more efficient and costs could go down.
- Increased Demand for Security: As cybersecurity threats become more common, email hosting providers may need to invest more in security measures, which could lead to higher prices for customers.
- Changes in the Law: If laws about data privacy and security change, email hosting companies may face higher costs, which could mean higher prices for customers, too.
What to Expect
In the coming years, the email hosting market could become more concentrated, with bigger companies buying up smaller ones. This could affect prices and the number of companies in the market.
As email hosting companies keep coming up with new ideas and adapting to changing customer needs and technological advances, prices may continue to change.
Because of this, businesses need to stay up-to-date and carefully consider their options. Staying informed and flexible will help you make the best decisions as email hosting prices evolve.
Summary
To cut costs on email hosting, look for a web host that offers everything you need in one package, like domain registration and web hosting. Email helps your business stay connected with your team and customers, so pick a reliable provider.
Besides, choosing a managed mail server means you won’t have to worry about extra costs for managing your own mail server.
For the best performance, make sure your business email hosting matches your domain, which creates a smooth connection between your brand’s identity and your email communication.
Still unsure about your email hosting provider? Give Hostarmada a try with their 30-day money-back guarantee.
