How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Ratings come from G2, Capterra or Trustpilot, with the date we checked them.
Key takeaways
- Fastmail Individual costs $5 a month billed yearly, with a 30-day trial and no free plan. Business Standard is $5 a user a month, and Professional is $9.
- Proton Mail is the closest direct swap: cheaper per month, a real free plan, and stronger privacy, with 15 GB on Mail Plus.
- Zoho Mail Lite at $1 a user a month billed yearly is the cheapest paid custom-domain mailbox we verified, with a free plan for up to five users.
- Tuta Mail and Mailbox.org are the best picks for European hosting and encryption. Tuta Mail Revolutionary is 3 euros a month billed yearly, and Mailbox.org Light is 1 euro a month.
- Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 cost more per seat, but they bundle docs, storage and meetings, so they win when email is only part of the job.
Why do people look for a Fastmail alternative?
Fastmail is a paid email host from Australia with no ads, fast webmail, masked email addresses and solid calendar and contacts. People usually look elsewhere for four reasons. First, price: Individual is $5 a month billed yearly, and there is no free plan, only a 30-day trial, so a family or a small team pays for every mailbox from day one. Second, privacy law: Fastmail is based in Australia, and some buyers prefer a host in Switzerland or Germany, where privacy law is stronger. Third, encryption: Fastmail does not offer end-to-end encryption by design, which matters to buyers who want their mail unreadable even to the host. Fourth, the wider suite: Fastmail covers mail, calendar, contacts and file storage, but not docs, spreadsheets or video meetings, so teams that want one subscription for everything look at Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 instead.
What should a Fastmail alternative do differently?
Match the alternative to the reason you are leaving. If the reason is price, Zoho Mail Lite at $1 a user a month billed yearly is the cheapest credible host, and Proton Mail Mail Plus at $3.99 a month undercuts Fastmail while adding encryption. If the reason is privacy, Proton Mail and Tuta Mail both encrypt mail by default and host in Switzerland and Germany. If the reason is the missing office suite, Google Workspace Business Starter at $7 a user a month adds Gmail on your domain, Docs, Drive and Meet, and Microsoft 365 Business Basic at $7 adds Outlook, Teams and 1 TB of OneDrive. If the reason is aliases, StartMail gives unlimited aliases with built-in PGP. Check storage too: Fastmail Individual gives 60 GB, so a cheaper plan with 5 GB, like Zoho Mail Lite, is a downgrade for heavy users.
How much do Fastmail alternatives cost?
| Tool | Starting price | Free plan | Best for |
| Proton Mail | $3.99 per month, billed yearly | Yes | Private mail on your own domain |
| Google Workspace | $7 per user per month, billed yearly | No | Mail plus docs, Drive and Meet |
| Zoho Mail | $1 per user per month, billed yearly | Yes | The cheapest custom-domain mailbox |
| Tuta Mail | 3 euros per month, billed yearly | Yes | Encrypted mail hosted in Germany |
| Mailbox.org | 1 euro per month, paid yearly | No | Low-cost German mail with office tools |
| StartMail | $4.99 per month, billed yearly | No | Unlimited aliases with PGP |
| HEY | $99 per year | No | A calm, screened inbox |
| Microsoft 365 | $7 per user per month, billed yearly | No | Outlook mail plus Teams and OneDrive |
A five-person team pays $300 a year for Fastmail, $240 for Proton Mail Mail Plus, $60 for Zoho Mail Lite, and $420 for Google Workspace Business Starter. The cheapest and dearest options differ by seven times, so the right pick depends on whether you are buying mail alone or a whole office suite.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Proton Mail | People who want Fastmail-style speed with stronger privacy and a lower price | $3.99 per month, billed yearly (Mail Plus; $4.99 billed monthly) | Yes. Free plan with 1 GB of storage and one encrypted address. |
 Google Workspace | Small businesses that want Gmail on their domain plus Docs, Drive and Meet | $7 per user per month, billed yearly (Business Starter; $8.40 on the flexible plan) | No free plan. 14-day free trial. |
 Zoho Mail | Small businesses that want the cheapest paid mailbox on their own domain | $1 per user per month, billed yearly (Mail Lite, 5 GB; annual billing only) | Yes. Forever Free plan for up to five users on one domain, webmail only, no IMAP. |
 Tuta Mail | Privacy buyers who want encrypted mail and calendar hosted in Germany | 3 euros per month, billed yearly (Revolutionary; 3.60 euros billed monthly) | Yes. Free plan with 1 GB of storage. |
 Mailbox.org | Buyers who want low-cost German mail with an office suite in the browser | 1 euro per month, paid yearly (Light; 12 euros a year) | No free plan. 30-day free trial. |
 StartMail | People who want unlimited disposable addresses with built-in PGP encryption | $4.99 per month, billed yearly (Personal; $6.99 billed monthly) | No free plan. 7-day free trial, and the trial needs a card. |
 HEY | People who want a calmer inbox and are willing to change their address to get it | $99 per year (HEY for You; billed annually only) | No free plan. 30-day free trial with no credit card required. |
 Microsoft 365 | Businesses that already run on Outlook, Teams and OneDrive | $7 per user per month, billed yearly (Business Basic, annual commitment; up from $6 on 1 Jul 2026) | No free plan. Trial available. |
Is your product missing or out of date?
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The 8 best Fastmail alternatives
#1
Proton Mail
Best for: People who want Fastmail-style speed with stronger privacy and a lower price
Visit proton.me
Starting price$3.99 per month, billed yearly (Mail Plus; $4.99 billed monthly)
Free planYes. Free plan with 1 GB of storage and one encrypted address.
Proton Mail is the most direct Fastmail replacement in this list. Mail Plus at $3.99 a month billed yearly undercuts Fastmail Individual by about a dollar a month, gives 15 GB of storage, 10 addresses, one custom domain and IMAP access, and adds end-to-end encryption that Fastmail does not offer. Proton Unlimited at $9.99 a month billed yearly adds 500 GB, three domains, a VPN, a password manager and cloud storage. The free plan is a genuine free tier with 1 GB, which Fastmail does not have at all. The trade is search speed: because mail is encrypted, Proton search is slower than Fastmail, and the free plan fills up fast.
What we like- End-to-end encryption, based in Switzerland, custom domain on paid plans, no ads and no tracking
Watch out for- Encrypted search is slower than Fastmail search, and the free plan has only 1 GB of storage
#2Google Workspace
Best for: Small businesses that want Gmail on their domain plus Docs, Drive and Meet4.6/5 on
G2 (48,175 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit workspace.google.com
Starting price$7 per user per month, billed yearly (Business Starter; $8.40 on the flexible plan)
Free planNo free plan. 14-day free trial.
Google Workspace is the choice when email is only part of the job. Business Starter at $7 a user a month billed yearly gives Gmail on your own domain, 30 GB of pooled storage per user, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, Meet for up to 100 people and Gemini in Gmail. Business Standard at $14 adds 2 TB of storage and more Meet capacity, and Business Plus at $22 adds enhanced security and 5 TB. The drawback is the price and the lock-in. At $7 a seat it costs $2 more per user per month than Fastmail Standard, and the annual plan requires a one-year commitment. It is also the largest mail host in the world, which is a privacy trade some buyers will not make. For a team that already lives in Google Docs and Meet, the bundle is good value.
What we like- Gmail on your own domain, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Drive included, Meet for up to 100 people, Gemini in Gmail
Watch out for- At $7 a user a month it costs more than Fastmail, and the annual plan locks you in for a year, with early cancellation charged in full
#3
Zoho Mail
Best for: Small businesses that want the cheapest paid mailbox on their own domain
Visit zoho.com
Starting price$1 per user per month, billed yearly (Mail Lite, 5 GB; annual billing only)
Free planYes. Forever Free plan for up to five users on one domain, webmail only, no IMAP.
Zoho Mail is the budget answer to Fastmail. Mail Lite at $1 a user a month billed yearly is the cheapest paid custom-domain mailbox we verified, at a fifth of the price of Fastmail Individual. Mail Premium at $4 a user a month billed yearly adds 50 GB of storage plus retention storage. There is also a Forever Free plan for up to five users on one domain, although it is webmail only, with no IMAP, POP or ActiveSync, and it is limited to select data centres. The limits are real: 5 GB on Mail Lite is small next to Fastmail at 60 GB, and there is no monthly billing, so you pay for the year up front. The interface is also a step behind Fastmail polish.
What we like- Cheapest paid custom-domain mailbox verified, clean webmail, calendar and contacts included, free plan for tiny teams
Watch out for- Mail Lite has only 5 GB of storage and no monthly billing option, and the free plan has no IMAP, POP or ActiveSync
#4
Tuta Mail
Best for: Privacy buyers who want encrypted mail and calendar hosted in Germany
Visit tuta.com
Starting price3 euros per month, billed yearly (Revolutionary; 3.60 euros billed monthly)
Free planYes. Free plan with 1 GB of storage.
Tuta Mail, formerly Tutanota, is an encrypted email service from Germany that encrypts mail, calendar and contacts by default and moved all accounts to post-quantum encryption in March 2026. Revolutionary at 3 euros a month billed yearly includes 20 GB of storage, 15 aliases and up to 3 custom domains. Legend at 8 euros a month billed yearly raises storage to 500 GB and adds mail import and priority support. Business plans run from 6 euros a user a month. The hard limit is IMAP: Tuta does not support it, so you must use Tuta apps on web, desktop and phones, and you cannot use Outlook, Thunderbird or Apple Mail. Search and filtering are also basic next to Fastmail. For buyers who rank encryption and jurisdiction above convenience, Tuta Mail is the strongest pick here.
What we like- End-to-end encryption by default, including calendar and contacts, post-quantum encryption on all accounts, open-source apps
Watch out for- No IMAP support, so third-party mail apps do not work, and importing old mail needs the 8 euro Legend plan and a desktop app
#5
Mailbox.org
Best for: Buyers who want low-cost German mail with an office suite in the browser
Visit mailbox.org
Starting price1 euro per month, paid yearly (Light; 12 euros a year)
Free planNo free plan. 30-day free trial.
Mailbox.org is a paid email service from Berlin, run by Heinlein Hosting, with no ads and no free tier. Light at 1 euro a month, paid yearly, gives 2 GB of mail storage, a calendar and an address book. Standard at 3 euros a month billed yearly adds 20 GB of mail, 10 GB of Drive storage, custom domains, an online office suite and video calls. Premium at 9 euros a month billed yearly adds 50 GB of mail, 100 GB of Drive storage and priority support. The service is serious about privacy, with PGP and S/MIME built into webmail, and it is one of the few low-cost hosts that also gives you documents and spreadsheets in the browser. The drawbacks are the small storage on Light, support limited to contract questions on that tier, and euro pricing with VAT added on top.
What we like- No ads, hosted in Germany, PGP and S/MIME in webmail, online office suite and cloud storage on Standard
Watch out for- No free tier, Light has only 2 GB of storage and support limited to contract questions, and prices are in euros with VAT added
#6
StartMail
Best for: People who want unlimited disposable addresses with built-in PGP encryption
Visit startmail.com
Starting price$4.99 per month, billed yearly (Personal; $6.99 billed monthly)
Free planNo free plan. 7-day free trial, and the trial needs a card.
StartMail is a private email provider from the Netherlands, made by the team behind StartPage, built around one idea: give every service a different address. The Personal plan at $4.99 a month billed yearly includes 20 GB of storage, one custom domain and unlimited aliases, so you can create a throwaway address for every sign-up and delete it when spam arrives. It supports PGP encryption with one click and works over IMAP, so you can use it in any mail app. The Business plan at $6.99 a month billed yearly adds 30 GB. The limits are the trial and the scale. There is no free plan, only a 7-day trial that needs a card, and the ecosystem is smaller than Proton or Fastmail, with fewer integrations. For buyers whose main worry is sign-up spam and address leaks, StartMail is the best tool in this list.
What we like- Unlimited aliases for sign-ups, one-click PGP encryption, works over IMAP with any client, based in the Netherlands
Watch out for- No free plan, only a 7-day trial that needs a card, and the interface and ecosystem are smaller than Proton or Fastmail
#7
HEY
Best for: People who want a calmer inbox and are willing to change their address to get it
Visit hey.com
Starting price$99 per year (HEY for You; billed annually only)
Free planNo free plan. 30-day free trial with no credit card required.
HEY is the opposite of Fastmail in philosophy. Where Fastmail gives you a fast, traditional inbox on your own domain, HEY rebuilds email around screening and triage: every new sender must be approved, newsletters go to the Feed, receipts and notifications go to the Paper Trail, and only chosen people reach the Imbox. HEY for You costs $99 a year for a personal @hey.com address with 100 GB of storage, a calendar and a personal blog. HEY for Families is $179 a year for up to five people, and HEY for Domains is $12 a user a month on your own domain. The price per year is close to Fastmail Individual, but the cost is the move: a new address, a new workflow and no folders or labels. For buyers who are drowning in noise, HEY is the most effective cure in this list.
What we like- The Screener controls who can reach you, Imbox, Feed and Paper Trail split mail by type, tracking pixels blocked by default
Watch out for- No free plan and no monthly billing, you must move to an @hey.com address, and HEY for Domains for teams costs $12 a user a month
#8Microsoft 365
Best for: Businesses that already run on Outlook, Teams and OneDrive4.6/5 on
G2 (5,872 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit microsoft.com
Starting price$7 per user per month, billed yearly (Business Basic, annual commitment; up from $6 on 1 Jul 2026)
Free planNo free plan. Trial available.
Microsoft 365 Business Basic at $7 a user a month billed yearly gives Exchange email on your domain, Teams, SharePoint, 1 TB of OneDrive per user and web and mobile versions of the Office apps. Business Standard at $14 adds the desktop Office apps, and Business Premium at $22 adds advanced security. The no-Teams variant of Basic costs $5.40 a user a month. The drawback is the missing desktop apps on Basic: if your team needs Word and Excel installed on their computers, you need Standard at twice the price. The admin console is also heavier than Fastmail for a team of five.
What we like- Outlook mail on your domain, Teams, SharePoint and 1 TB of OneDrive per user, web and mobile Office apps included
Watch out for- No desktop Office apps on Basic, the price rose from $6 to $7 on 1 Jul 2026, and the admin console is heavier than Fastmail for a small team
How we picked these alternatives
We checked each vendor pricing page on 15 Nov 2026, and we used the annual billing rate where the vendor lists one. Fastmail prices were read from its pricing page on 5 Oct 2026, Proton Mail from proton.me/mail/pricing on 31 Oct 2026, Google Workspace on 3 Nov 2026, Zoho Mail on 30 Oct 2026, Tuta Mail on 5 Oct 2026, Mailbox.org and StartMail in Oct 2026, and HEY in Oct 2026. Microsoft 365 prices reflect the 1 Jul 2026 increase from $6 to $7 for Business Basic. Prices change, so confirm the current figure on the vendor page before you pay. Last verified: 15 Nov 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to Fastmail?
Yes. Proton Mail, Zoho Mail and Tuta Mail all have free plans. Proton Mail and Tuta Mail give 1 GB free, and Zoho Mail gives up to five users on one domain free, although the free plan is webmail only with no IMAP. Mailbox.org, StartMail, HEY, Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 have no free plan, only trials.
Which Fastmail alternative is cheapest?
Zoho Mail Lite at $1 a user a month billed yearly is the cheapest paid custom-domain mailbox here, at $12 a user a year. Mailbox.org Light is 1 euro a month paid yearly, about the same in dollars. Proton Mail Mail Plus at $3.99 a month billed yearly is the cheapest option that also adds encryption and 15 GB of storage.
Which Fastmail alternative is best for privacy?
Proton Mail and Tuta Mail are the strongest privacy picks. Proton Mail offers end-to-end encryption and is based in Switzerland. Tuta Mail encrypts mail, calendar and contacts by default, hosts in Germany and moved all accounts to post-quantum encryption in March 2026. Fastmail itself is based in Australia and does not offer end-to-end encryption.
Can I use my own domain with these alternatives?
Yes, on every paid plan in this list except Mailbox.org Light, which does not support custom domains. Proton Mail Mail Plus includes one custom domain, Fastmail Individual includes custom domains, Tuta Mail Revolutionary includes up to three, and StartMail Personal includes one. Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 are built around your own domain.
Which Fastmail alternative has the best calendar?
Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 have the strongest calendars, because they are built for teams: shared calendars, room booking and meeting links are native. Fastmail own calendar is good for personal use, with CalDAV support. Proton Mail and Tuta Mail both include an encrypted calendar, but sharing is more limited than Google or Microsoft.
Sources we checked (9)
- https://www.fastmail.com
- https://proton.me/mail/pricing
- https://workspace.google.com/pricing
- https://www.zoho.com/mail/zohomail-pricing.html
- https://tuta.com/pricing
- https://mailbox.org/en/prices/
- https://www.startmail.com
- https://hey.com/pricing
- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has 5+ years in B2B and SaaS SEO. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.