Setup Free Email Hosting Account in Minutes
Last Updated on February 16, 2024 by James Wilson
When it comes to getting a FREE email address you need to consider what you’ll be using it for – Business or Personal email. If you are looking for a business email address, then you’ll want it to be professional to help your business image and make you stand out.
Personal email addresses are easy to get, we’ll go into them. But many people are unaware that you can actually get professional email addresses for free in a few different ways. So in this article we’ll go into free business and free personal email addresses, how to set them up and the benefits of using each different option. You can also take a look at our case study of the best email hosting services.
What is the Best FREE Business Email?
I personally love using cPanel on my server, then I can generate as many mailboxes and email addresses as I like. The only thing I am restricted on is the amount of space my emails take up. If you have unlimited cloud hosting then you can make email addresses until your heart is content.
Be aware that some website hosts allow you to have unlimited email addresses while others restrict you on how many email addresses you can create. So check that out with your host (if you already have one). If you are choosing a new one, then you can check out how many email addresses you are allowed on each package. Generally speaking shared hosting will offer one or more email addresses for free, website builders will charge for email addresses and dedicated servers with cPanel will allow you to make as many emails as you like.
I actually created a comprehensive guide to using cPanel that you can access here. It also has a whole section on creating email addresses included. It’s a lot simpler than you might think.
If you don’t want to go down the cPanel and Webmail option – Webmail is the software you can use to access your emails free of charge with your hosting provider. Then let’s go over some other options.
1. Zoho/ Webmail
When you have your business email address created with your host or cPanel, then you need a way to read and reply to emails easily. For this you’ll need to install software. Webmail and Zoho are free options for you to use to read and send emails.
2. Bluehost, HostGator (or Other Hosting Providers)
Both of these hosts offer a free business email and software when you open your domain/ hosting account. This is a great place to start if you don’t want to have to mess around with things like cPanel or software.
3. 100% FREE email providers
Email providers that are 100% free are great – but you’ll not get the professional domain name extension. What do I mean by that? Basically if you want name@yoursite.com, where you replace the “name” for your own name and “yoursite.com” for your business website address, then you can’t do that with a 100% free email providers. If you are happy with using the email providers domain name extension (for example @gmail.com or @yahoo.com) and just want a free email address for personal use then you can use Gmail or a similar provider.
Reasons to Choose a Professional Business Email Address
For a start you can get your business email address up and running in minutes once you know how. So it is super easy to do. Secondly, using a custom domain name for your email address just looks so much more professional.
A Custom Email Address is Free Advertising
Thirdly, your domain name will be doing some advertising for you – when you send an email out, people might want to go over and check out everything that your business does. This is great for brand awareness.
People respond more favourably to a business email when they are buying goods and services. Plus they can go over and check you out by cutting and pasting your custom domain name. Your professional email address does the work that a business card can do (especially if you put professional email footer at the end of your emails).
Related: Get a FREE Domain Name
Generic FREE Email Addresses Can Hurt a Business
Using a free email address like yourname@gmail.com or yourname@yahoo.com is a NO-NO for business. A business email builds trust as it has to come from someone at that company, while a generic FREE email address could come from anyone. Here are 5 reasons to create a professional custom email address:
- To build trust
- Safety
- Professional persona
- Essential for B2B Businesses
- Build brand Awareness
How to Create a Custom Email Address
If you already have a business website, then you can get an email address (or several) to match it. I’ll go over several ways to approach this below.
Can You Get a Free Email Address With a Website Builder?
YES! Even website builders like Wix offer custom email addresses to match your domain name. The only thing is you’ll need to be on their premium plan to get a professional email address. Other hosts like 1&1 IONOS and Godaddy now have website builders that you can use to create your website in minutes, and some packages come with free email addresses.
You can get a FREE email address and domain name with 1&1 IONOS when you buy their website hosting that starts at £1 per month.
How to Choose Your Domain Name
If you don’t already have your own domain name – you don’t need one to get a free personal email address – you just require a domain name for a business email address. Your domain name should represent your business. Normally the name of your business with a .com extension has been the standard practice. However you can now get domain extensions like .coach or .academy that may fit your business better.
Check out our 21 Domain Name Generators
How to Choose a FREE Email Provider
When you are looking for a FREE email address, there are several things you should think about. Firstly, if you are using an email address from your host, then check that they can set everything up for you, like Bluehost and HostGator do. Unless you are confident that you can do this manually, for example – if you are a tech wizz kid.
Checkout our Bluehost vs HostGator Review
In either case you want to choose an email service provider that has decent customer support. You don’t necessarily need this for a personal email address, but it is certainly a major consideration for your business email address. Your business email will be essential for your business to succeed in the online space. So it’s great to know that you can get support if and when it’s needed.
Here are some other considerations when selecting your new FREE email provider:
1. Uptime Guarantee
If you are thinking about using a basic generic free email address then the major providers like Yahoo and Gmail already have this in the bag. They just about never experience downtime. However, if you are using your own domain name, then you want to make sure that the host that you are using has a 99.9% uptime guarantee. Consider the situation whereby your email hosting goes offline and you can’t receive emails. This means you could lose out on potential business.
2. Spam Filters
Let’s face it – everybody hates spam. So make sure that your email provider offers decent spam filters. In our cPanal guide we discussed how to set up spam filters in your cPanel account. If you aren’t using cPanel then make sure that you provider has spam filters. Some providers like Gmail come with in-built spam filters.
3. Security
You don’t want someone to access your email addresses, so make sure that the provider you use has security measures in place like malware detection and two-factor authentication. Bear in mind that email providers like Gmail reserve the right to take a peek into your mail.
4. Ease of Use
There are two considerations here – how easy is it to compose, send and reply to emails? And how easy is it to set your email up? The setup with providers like Gmail and Yahoo is extremely simple. Some hosts will allow you to set up your professional custom email address in a few minutes.
5. Storage Space / Archives
Most FREE email providers have a limit on the amount of data you can store in your mailbox. For instance the Gmail quota is 15GB. This gets filled up quickly if you have many images and videos in our email account. The emails that are stored in “archive” also take up space and should be deleted periodically.
6. Advanced Features
You can integrate your email with your CRM, for instance Hubspot or any other CRM. The reason I mentioned Hubspot is that they offer a FREE CRM tool to manage your customers. You can even use their calendar booking system on your website or via email and sync everything up.
7. Customer Experience
It can pay to have a look at what other customers are saying about your new free email provider before signing up. That way you can establish any flaws without putting yourself out. To do this – type in your email provider name and reviews into Google to find out what people are saying.
8. Additional Emails
How easy is it to add on new email accounts? If you are expanding your business you might want to add on new business users. Bear in mind that while some hosts and email providers will allow you to add unlimited people, this might come at an additional cost.
Google for instance is a great FREE email provider; however when you start to add on custom domain names, the price can quickly mount up – even if you just have a few email addresses.
Professional Email Formats
When setting up your business email address, consider your employees, including, if you plan on taking on employees in the future. Choose an email format that works for you. For example:
james@domainname.com
james.walker@ domainname.com
james.w@ domainname.com
james@ domainname.com
w.james@domainname.com
You get the gist – decide on a format and then use it for all of your employees.
FREE Professional Email Account Setup – A Step-By-Step Guide
There are many ways to approach FREE business email setup. In this guide I’ll go through a few of the most straight forward options. If you already have a domain name you can use Zoho to set up your email address in minutes.
If you don’t already have a domain name, you can get one and some cheap hosting – plus a fee email address from Bluehost, 1&1 IONOS or HostGator. But first, let’s take a look at setting your account up on Zoho.
Create Your Professional Email Address With Zoho
If you already own your domain name, you can set up your email address up with Zoho in minutes. You might want to set up your email address up as a subdomain, if so discuss this with your system administrator or simply set up a subdomain in cPanel. If you want to go ahead and create a straight forward business email, then it’s easy with Zoho.
Zoho also have CRM software, ad free email, accounting apps and some nice analytic tools. I’d say that this setup might not be great for complete beginners as you need to switch between your domain registrar/ host and Zoho. But if you’re cool with that, it’s fairly straight forward. Let’s get started setting up your professional account with Zoho.
Step 1 – Visit Zoho.com and create an account.
Step 2 – Select “Sign up with a Domain you already own.”
Step 3 – Fill in your details and tap “Sign Up”
Step 4 – Two-Factor Authentication code will be sent to your phone – fill this in on the site
Step 5 – Go to the Domain DNS Manager in Zoho. Choose your domain’s DNS host from dropdown
Step 6 – Login using your username and password domain registrar
Step 7 – Go to “My Accounts” > “Domains” > “Manage DNS.”
Step 8 – Copy the Zoho code thath will begin with “zb*******”
Step 9 – Paste code in “Host” field. Enter “zmverify.zoho.com” under “Points to” field in DNS records and hit “Save” to finish.
Step 10 – Verify your domain name by selecting “Proceed to CNAME Verification.” Then hit “Verify Now”
Step 11 – Select “Create Account”
Step 12 – Login to your domain name provider and go to the “DNS Manager”
Step 13 – Choose MX Record in DNS Manager (over on your domain host). In the “Host” field, enter “@” and in the “Points To” field, paste “mx.zoho.com.”
Step 14 – Select the “Priority” field and type “10” then hit “Save.
Step 15 – Add new MX Record by entering “@” in the “Host” field and pointing it to “mx2.zoho.com” set priority to “20” and then hit “Save.”
Step 16 – Add a 3rd MX Record. Set the “Host” field to “@” and point it to “mx3.zoho.com” then set the priority to “50” and click “Save.”
Step 17 – Delete any other MX records as you only need the 3 I’ve outlined above.
Step 18 – A pop-up should appear that reads – “Configure Email Delivery” and should say that MX Records are pointed to Zoho servers.
CONGRATUATIONS – Your email should now be configured. You should now be able to send and receive emails in Zoho.
If you get stuck at any point, then check your domain name hosts tutorials on managing DNS or email setup – because sometimes the MX records can be a bit different. Failing that give your host a quick call to make sure everything is set up correctly.
Create Your Professional Email Address with Bluehost
If you have hosting with Bluehost, you get your email address free of charge. It’s really easy to set up, even for the complete novice. Here’s a quick guide:
Step 1 – Visit Bluehost.com and create an account or login (if you already have an account go to step 3).
Step 2 – Choose “Web Hosting” and select a plan and set it up
Step 3 – Log in to Bluehost and go to your cPanel account and login.
Step 4 – Select “Email Accounts” under “Mail.”
Step 5 – Enter in an email address and password.
Step 6 – Tap “Create Account”
As you can see, setting up email addresses this way is SUPER EASY. So you can go ahead and create a few if you require them. Remember to set the email quota if you are creating accounts for others.
Bluehost also have some security settings that can help you manage spam.
Create Your Professional Email Address with HostGator
If you have hosting with HostGator, you get your email address free of charge. It’s really easy to set up, even for the complete novice. Here’s a quick guide.
Step 1 – Visit HostGator.com and select “Web Hosting.” (if you already have an account go to step 3).
Step 2 – After you have created your account check your email for ServerName
Step 3 – Paste this URL in your browser: https://ServerName:2083. Replace “ServerName” in the URL with the ServerName you received in your email.
Step 4 – Login to cPanel with your username and password to enter cPanel.
Step 5 – Select “Mail.” And then “Email Accounts.”
Step 6 – Enter your new email address name and strong password.
Step 7 – Hit “Create Account.”
Sending and Receiving Emails
Zoho has their own software to send and receive emails, but hosts like Bluehost and HostGator use cPanel and then you install Webmail. Most hosting providers now use cPanel so you should be able to create your email account by accessing cPanel. If you are using cPanel then Webmail is the usual suspect for sending and receiving.
If you have successfully created your email address, you’ll want to test it. You can normally access your webmail by going to yoursite.com/webmail (where yoursite.com is replaced for your own domain name). You then put in your email and password (that you set up above).
You can normally access your emails a number of ways. Another way is to login to your cPanel and then go to the mail section and selecting “view inbox”.
What are the Best Free Personal Email Hosting Providers?
Do you want to get a quick and easy personal email address? Here are some of the best FREE email address providers:
#1 | Yahoo Mail
Yahoo mail is a brilliant solution if you want a tonne of storage space for FREE. Their email storage limit is a massive 1TB for all users. Founded over two decades ago, in 1997, and Yahoo continues to thrive. They currently have 225 million active users. They have some great features like spam filters, SSL encryption and search tools.
When you create your Yahoo account you’ll automatically have a login for Flickr and Tumblr as they are part of the same company. Yahoo is the best option for a free personal email address, as they give you so much space, features and security – all totally free.
#2 | Gmail
Gmail can be used for both personal and business email addresses. It is really user friendly and simple to set up – for that reason Gmail is a very popular email solution. Gmail is intuitive and has some great folder structuring that allows you to organise your mail and also filter out spam and promotions. You get 15GB storage space for free when you sign up to Gmail.
I personally love the Gmail user interface and would have put it top of my list if Yahoo didn’t offer such a jaw dropping storage quota for free.
Business Gmail – You’ll need to buy your domain name from a domain name registrar, and also buy G-Suite.
Personal Gmail – Simply fill in your details and you’ll be up and running in minutes.
#3 | Outlook.com
It’s really quick and easy to set up an @outlook.com email address. Go to Outlook.com and follow the steps and you’ll be up and running in minutes. Outlook is a feature rich email solution that comes bundled with Microsoft Office 365. You can also set up a free account directly from their site.
Outlook is a great solution for businesses as you can download the software to your computer and manage your emails there. It is really easy to use, even though it does look a little bit dated now. They automatically sort high-priority and low-priority mail with their “Clutter” feature, which is great for people who get a high volume of emails. You can also manage all of your emails into folders.
#4 | iCloud Mail
If you use any Apple device you’ll need to set up an Apple ID. People say that you’ll already have an iCloud account with your Apple ID. However, this is not strictly true, because you can use your own business or personal email address with another provider as your Apple ID. This will get you into iCloud, but not get you a free email address.
If you have an Apple Iphone then iCloud is a great choice as you can check your email easily from your device. iCloud has a built in spam filter and also uses two-factor authentication, which is great to avoid the possibility of anyone logging into your email.
iCloud is specifically designed for people who own an iPhone, iPad, iWatch or iPod touch. However you can also set it up on your Windows PC (provided you own an Apple device). If you are using a Windows PC then you’ll need to follow these steps:
Step 1 – Visit iCloud and download iCloud for Windows
Step 2 – Use your Apple ID from one of your Apple devices to login.
Step 3 – You’ll then be asked to select the services you want. For example if you want to turn on iCloud Drive to store files on the cloud.
#5 | GMX Mail
GMX is another email provider that is great on storage space as they offer a UNLIMITED storage. Surprisingly, this lesser known mail service has been around just as long as Yahoo – since 1997. They offer an intuitive mobile app that you can use on both iPhone and Android.
Like Yahoo and Google, GMX mail offers a lot of other features that you might like. For example they have virus protection and a spam filter. You can also use their version of the Google Calendar called “GMX Organizer.”
#6 | Yandex Mail
Yandex is part of a massive co-corporation based in Russia. They offer all sorts of digital products like mobile apps, a search engine and eCommerce. Their mail solution “Yandex Mail” has some cute e-card and template features to make your email stand out. They offer just 10GB of storage. Additionally they have some great features to optimize your inbox – for example mail sorting, highlighting emails that come from real people and virus/ spam protection.
All in All
There you go – a tonne of options to get your free email up and running in minutes. Businesses need to have a professional email address, whereas if you are just looking for a personal address, you can use one of the 6 totally free and easy accounts I’ve mentioned above. Looking for a free business address? Check if your host offers a free email address for your business and get started with cPanel.
