The 9 Most Popular Email Providers Better Than Gmail and Yahoo Mail (2024)

In 2012, Gmail overtook Hotmail to become the most popular email provider in the world. Since claiming the crown, it's showing no signs of slowing down. Today, the service boasts more than 1.8 billion users. The other go-to free email provider is Yahoo Mail. Sure, its user numbers pale into insignificance compared with Gmail (around 230 million active users), but it's still one of the most recognizable global email brands.

But what other free email providers are out there? If you don't want a Gmail or Yahoo account, here is a list of the best email services you can choose from.

1. Microsoft Outlook

Outlook terminology is confusing. Microsoft has done a poor job of differentiating between its free email accounts, its free modern Windows app, and its Office 365 app. Luckily, if you just want a free email account, you don't need to get bogged down in the details; just head to Outlook and sign up for an @outlook.com email address.

The service has surpassed Yahoo to become the second most popular free email provider in the world. Using an Outlook account comes with significant benefits. Because Microsoft operates it, it's heavily integrated into the Windows 10 and 11 operating systems. It also works seamlessly with the Outlook Office 365 app.

If you decide to use either the web client or the desktop client, you're in good company. 16 percent of all email sent is opened on one of the two apps.

2. GMX Mail

GMX Mail is a subsidiary of United Internet, one of Germany's largest internet service providers. The free online email account has been gaining popularity over the last few years, but it's been around since 1997.

Despite only having around 15 million active monthly users, it still comfortably makes the top ten free email providers list in terms of user numbers. It's a surprising statistic and one which reveals the almost unassailable popularity of services like Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook.

Feature-wise, you can expect 1GB of file storage, a 50MB attachment limit, and support for both IMAP and POP. Most interestingly, it offers 65GB of email storage, which is enough to never run out of space again. Unfortunately, it lacks an RSS reader and a conversation view.

3. Zoho Mail

Zoho Mail is one of the newest providers on the list. It's only been in existence since October 2008.

In its short life, the service has quickly developed into one of the best free email providers outside Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook troika. Driven by an ad-free web client (even for free users), it's grown to more than 12 million active users in just a few years.

The app offers everything you'd expect from a free email provider, including multi-level folders, conversation views, drag-and-drop inbox organizing, and filters. Zoho Mail also lets you set up email at your domain for free, though one omission is an integrated video chat tool.

Zoho Mail is part of a larger office productivity suite. The service is tightly integrated with Zoho Docs—a Microsoft Office and Google Docs alternative that lets you create, edit, and collaborate on text, presentation, and spreadsheet documents.

4. iCloud

iCloud represents Apple's venture into the free email race. Most Mac, iPad, and iPhone users have an account. iCloud itself is a holistic cloud service that underpins other Apple services such as Find My iPhone, Photo Stream, Keychain, and iCloud Drive. Mail is just one facet of the app.

The app boasts over 850 million users, but it's not clear how many of them are using an @iCloud.com email address. However, like Outlook.com and Microsoft, iCloud integrates seamlessly with the default Apple mail client on both macOS and iOS. On mobile, you can add any number of email providers to the app, while on the web client, you can only access your iCloud address.

All iCloud users get 5GB of storage for free. In addition to documents, photos, and other data, any emails you receive count against the limit. As such, you might need to pay for more storage if iCloud is your provider of choice.

5. AOL Mail

AOL Mail is the granddad of free online email accounts. It went live in March 1993, making it three years older than Hotmail, four years older than Yahoo Mail, and almost ten years older than Gmail.

It once had a huge user base, but the numbers have been decreasing in recent years. In 2006, it had 50 million active monthly users, and as recently as 2010, it was the third-largest email provider in the world. Today, the number of active users is down to just 1.5 million.

Just because AOL Mail is a recognizable brand name with millions of users, you shouldn't necessarily rush to sign up. In recent years, several pieces of research have hinted at "email bias." Potential employers are less likely to hire you if you have an AOL or Hotmail address; it suggests you're stuck in 1996.

6. ProtonMail

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Although ProtonMail is still a relative newcomer to the world of email, it has quickly grown to become one of the best emails to use, thanks to its strong focus on confidentiality.

The company was founded at CERN in Switzerland in 2014 and is still incorporated in the country. As such, it benefits from Switerzland's Federal Data Protection Act and Federal Data Protection Ordinance—both of which provide some of the strongest privacy protections in the world.

More importantly, however, ProtonMail uses client-side encryption to protect the contents of a message before it hits the company's own servers. Indeed, the way ProtonMail has designed its systems means the company does not have the technical capability to access your messages.

That removes the risk that it'll be forced to hand over the contents of an email to a third party. It's a very different approach to the one taken by more mainstream providers like Gmail and Outlook.

Other features include minimal information required at sign-up, no tracking or logging of your sessions, and self-destructing messages. Take a look at other secure email services if you like the sound of this.

7. mail.com

mail.com is pretty much the same as GMX Mail because these are subsidiaries of United Internet. With mail.com, you get the following prominent features:

• 65GB of online storage for your emails.
• Ten alias addresses.
• 2GB of file storage.
• An office suite like Microsoft Office and Google Docs.
• Calendar and contacts management.

8. Tutanota

Tutanota has some paid plans too, but its free plan offers a lot too. Besides, the email clients it offers for various OSes are open-source.

• 1GB of storage.
• One calendar.
• Runs on 100% green energy.
• Encrypted mail.
• Ad-free.

9. Yandex Mail

Yandex is like a Russian version of Google. It offers plenty of products along with emails.

• 5GB of file storage in Yandex Disk.
• An office suite.
• Contacts and calendar management.
• A light version for slow internet connections.

Which Email Provider Do You Prefer?

So, which is the best alternative to Gmail and Yahoo? Each has different benefits, but they all have the common theme of being highly popular among certain subsets of users.

Ultimately, it depends on the operating system you use, the apps you use, and the features that are important to you. As ever, the best approach is to test a few of the different services before you commit.