Start on Zoho Mail’s free plan if you have five people or fewer and are happy with the Zoho Mail app. Choose Google Workspace, or a paid Zoho plan, if you need Gmail style tools, Outlook, or more space.
The short answer
| Zoho Mail free plan | Google Workspace | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | No fee | Paid per person, after a free trial |
| People | Up to 5 users | As many as you pay for |
| Space | 5 GB per user | 30 GB per user on the starter plan, shared across mail and files |
| Apps | Browser and the Zoho Mail app only | Gmail app, browser, and other mail apps |
| Domains | One | More than one |
Plans and prices change, so check the current details on Zoho’s and Google’s pricing pages, linked below, before you decide.
Zoho Mail’s free plan, honestly
Zoho’s own pricing page lists the free plan as email for one domain, up to five users and 5 GB per user. It also says plainly that IMAP, POP and ActiveSync are not included.
In plain words: you read and send email in a web browser or in the Zoho Mail app, but you cannot add the account to Outlook, the iPhone Mail app or the Gmail app. For many small businesses that is fine. For people who live in Outlook, it is not.
Google Workspace, honestly
Google Workspace gives each person a Gmail inbox on your own domain, with Google Drive, Calendar and Meet. There is no free plan for your own domain: you pay for each person, monthly or yearly, after a trial.
It suits teams that already work in Google tools, share many files, or need more space than 5 GB each.
Which one fits you
| Your situation | Usually the better fit |
|---|---|
| One to five people, mostly on phones, careful with costs | Zoho Mail free plan |
| Someone needs Outlook or the iPhone Mail app | A paid Zoho plan or Google Workspace |
| You share lots of documents and spreadsheets | Google Workspace |
| You expect more than five people soon | A paid plan on either |
You can switch later. Your address stays the same because it belongs to your domain, not to the mailbox service. Moving old messages across is extra work, so choose with the next two or three years in mind.
Whichever you choose
- Register the domain in the business’s name.
- Make the business owner the main administrator of the mailboxes.
Switch on the settings that keep you out of spam. See why business emails go to spam.- Keep a list of every login and renewal date somewhere the business controls.
Further reading
Official documentation behind the technical guidance in this article.
