Three Ways To Get A Free Business Email Address

1. “Forever Free” Plan From Zoho Mail

If you already have a domain website address for your business, you can get up to five free email addresses from Zoho Mail.

The Forever Free plan on Zoho Mail stores up to 5 GB per user, and the file size attachment limit is 25 MB. This is a great place to start building your small business with a small team, but you won’t be able to use IMAP/POP syncing or the entire library of mobile applications on the free plan. The good news is that if you decide to migrate to a paid plan as your business grows, you’ll easily be able to do so.

If you still need a domain, you can easily buy one directly from a domain name registrar, such as Domain.com or NameCheap for under $10. Learn more about the best domain registrars.

2. Bundled With a Web Hosting Plan

Many web hosting services offer email hosting for small businesses as well. This is an easy way to keep track of your websites and business emails in one place.

• Dreamhost is one of the best web hosts for small businesses and offers a user-friendly experience with plenty of options. However, its entry-level plan does not offer a free email. To get the free business email associated with the service, you’ll have to sign up for the Shared Unlimited hosting plan. Pricing starts at $2.99 per month.
• Bluehost is another web host that gives you a free email bundled with your hosting plan. Pricing starts at $2.95 per month and you have the option of using either its free native webmail client or creating a Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 account, which will require a separate subscription.
• Squarespace also offers business email options via Google Workspace. The Squarespace Business plan includes a free business email with your first year of service, after which time you’ll be required to renew the plan at its standard rate.

3. Free Trial of Google Workspace

Google Workspace is such a popular business service because of its many applications and integrations that are easy to use for most customers. Since you can connect Google Meet and Chat with your Gmail as well, it’s a good service for a small team that needs to have more communication options.

While Google Workspace does not offer free plans, it offers a free trial period for 14 days. This is good for businesses to get started and work to scale themselves up. It’s also possible to get a free business email from Google Workspace through some third-party providers. For example, if you need a business website, you can choose a Squarespace plan that includes Google Workspace. However, these offerings are usually only free for a limited time period.

Although you can create a free Gmail account with your business name (such as businessname@gmail.com instead of yourname@yourdomain.com), this looks less professional. Especially if you’re starting a consulting business or any business where you’re courting clients, you want to have a professional business email.

Personal Email vs. Business Email

Personal email should keep your personal business. It’s also important to have a business email so you can keep track of expenses to simplify your taxes. Separating your communications also makes it easier to organize your business processes in general.

Once you have a business email created, you should create a professionally formatted email signature that is easy to replicate across addresses (if you have multiple users).

As you’re setting up your business email, you should ensure that your domain name matches your custom website domain name as well. Have a friend double-check your work—it’s always helpful to have someone else proofread.

Before deciding on your email service, you should also reach out to customer service to see if they can answer questions about software compatibility. They should be able to explain how the email integrates with the services you already have, such as CRM software or a VoIP platform.

When you start using your business emails regularly, you should also build a database of canned responses for customer service purposes. This will be helpful for tracking common questions and creating a historical repository of your business operations.

Depending on the needs of your business, a free email address just might not be enough. Paying for an email service may be the best way to ensure you’re equipped with the tools that will help grow your business. If a free service doesn’t strike the right balance of security, scalability and features, consider subscribing to an email hosting service.