There is no need to pay for an email account. There are a ton of free options available and you can have as many accounts as you like — even with different providers.
Best Free Email Accounts
As an Information Technology expert, I will give an overview of the four most popular services so you can choose which one is right for you.
Gmail
Gmail is Google’s email service. If you use an Android phone, Gmail is likely the default email account that you create when you set up your phone.
Each Google account offers 15 GB of free storage which is shared across Google services Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. You can upgrade to a paid account if you need additional storage space.
When you sign up for a Google account, you also get access to all of the other services Google offers such as Contacts, Calendar, Google Keep, YouTube, Photos, Blogger, Maps, Drive and Google Docs.
I find that Gmail has a user-friendly interface that is highly customizable. You can choose different themes, colors, fonts, how messages are displayed and more.
It also has several other helpful features.
Gmail’s spam blocker automatically moves suspicious emails to the spam folder and deletes them after 30 days. But you can review the messages in the spam folder and move them to your inbox if they’re messages you want to keep.
The snooze feature lets you “hide” an email in your inbox and pick a time and date for it to reappear at the top of the list.
The archive feature lets you move messages from your inbox into the “All mail” folder, helping to keep your inbox clutter-free. You can move messages out of the archive and back to your inbox at any time, and if you receive a response to an email you archived, the conversation will reappear in your inbox automatically.
Outlook
Microsoft Outlook is the free email service from Microsoft. When you register for an account, you also get access to Microsoft’s other online services including Contacts, Calendar, Word, Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint, Teams, To Do and Skype.
You get 15 GB of free storage space. If you need more space you can upgrade to Microsoft 365 which offers 50 GB of storage.
The user interface is clean and simple. If you are familiar with Microsoft Office, you will probably find the look and feel very similar.
The spam filter automatically moves spam messages to the spam folder. Any malware or malicious software is disabled, and you can block email from specific senders.
It’s worth nothing that there is some advertising within the email platform which can be annoying for some users.
iCloud Mail
iCloud mail is Apple’s free email service. If you use an iPhone, this is the email provider you use when creating your Apple account. You also get access to the other free Apple services: Contacts, Calendar, Photos, iCloud Drive, Notes, Reminders, Pages, Numbers, Keynote and Find my Phone.
You get 5 GB of free storage space which is less than Gmail and Outlook. That space is shared between other Apple services like Photos, Videos, Documents and App Data. You can purchase additional storage space from Apple.
One interesting feature is Hide my Email which allows you to keep your personal email address private. The feature creates a unique, random address to use when you don’t want to use your real email address.
Yahoo
Yahoo Mail includes a generous 1 TB of free storage space.
You can customize your mailbox layout and choose from many different themes and use customizable stationery options to give your email messages a unique look.
Yahoo Mail also offers disposable email addresses to use when you want to keep your personal address private.
Final Thoughts
When using email, you should always establish a primary account/address and then create a few others. Use the secondary addresses when shopping online or when signing up or registering for services. Having different email addresses for different purposes helps keep your main email inbox free of spam and unwanted emails.
