Best Email Hosting Providers: Comparing Hostinger, Namecheap, Bluehost, SiteGround, and Google Cloud for Small Businesses

When considering email hosting along with domain registration and website hosting, here’s a comparison of all the providers, including Hostinger, based on email services, pricing, and features:

1. Hostinger

• Email Hosting:
  • Hostinger includes free email accounts with its hosting plans (on some plans), which is a good value for those needing basic business email accounts.
  • You can also use Hostinger Business Email or Google Workspace (which integrates with Hostinger) for professional email services.
  • Price:
    • Business Email: Starting at $0.99/month per email account.
    • Google Workspace: Starting at $6/user per month.
  • Pros:
    • Affordable business email hosting with reasonable features like custom domains and email forwarding.
    • Good integration with Google Workspace for professional-level email and productivity tools.
  • Cons:
    • The email hosting that comes with basic plans can be limited in storage and features compared to more premium email hosting options.
    • If you want robust features, Google Workspace adds to the cost.

2. Namecheap

• Email Hosting:
  • Namecheap offers its own email hosting service called Private Email Hosting.
  • Price:
    • Basic Email: Starts at $0.91/month per email account.
    • Premium plans with more storage start at $2.91/month per account.
    • Google Workspace integration is also available for $6/user per month.
  • Pros:
    • Extremely affordable and offers good basic email hosting options.
    • Easy integration with their domain services, with features like email forwarding and spam protection.
  • Cons:
    • Basic email plan storage is only 5GB, which might be limiting for some businesses.
    • If you need more robust email solutions (e.g., collaboration tools), upgrading to Google Workspace may be necessary.

3. Bluehost

• Email Hosting:
  • Bluehost includes unlimited email accounts with most of its hosting plans, making it very convenient for small businesses.
  • Price:
    • Email hosting comes included with most web hosting plans, so there’s no extra cost for basic email hosting.
    • Google Workspace can be added starting at $6/user per month.
  • Pros:
    • Unlimited email accounts and storage with most plans, making it great for businesses needing multiple email addresses.
    • Integrated Google Workspace support for professional email.
  • Cons:
    • The email included in basic plans might not have advanced features like those offered by Google Workspace or Office 365 (e.g., collaboration tools).
    • Emails stored on Bluehost’s servers can count towards your web hosting storage, which could be limiting if you have a lot of files.

4. SiteGround

• Email Hosting:
  • SiteGround includes unlimited email accounts with its hosting plans.
  • Price:
    • Free email hosting with all SiteGround plans.
    • Google Workspace available starting at $6/user per month.
  • Pros:
    • Unlimited email accounts with free email hosting, making it a strong choice for small businesses.
    • Reliable email hosting with good performance and spam protection.
  • Cons:
    • Like Bluehost, email hosting is tied to your website’s hosting plan, which means it could impact your overall storage capacity if you receive a lot of emails.
    • For more professional features, you would need to upgrade to Google Workspace.

5. Google Cloud

• Email Hosting:
  • Google Cloud itself doesn’t offer built-in email hosting, but it supports Google Workspace for professional-grade email services.
  • Price:
    • Google Workspace starts at $6/user per month.
  • Pros:
    • Google Workspace offers excellent email hosting with collaboration tools (Gmail, Google Drive, Calendar, etc.), making it ideal for businesses needing robust tools.
    • Scalable and secure, with excellent uptime.
  • Cons:
    • Expensive if you only need simple email hosting and not all the added collaboration features.
    • No basic free email hosting included with web hosting.

6. Hostinger vs Competitors (Email Hosting Summary):

• Hostinger: Offers free email with hosting, and business email plans start at $0.99/month per account, making it one of the cheapest options. Google Workspace is available at the standard price if you need more advanced features.
• Namecheap: Offers email hosting from $0.91/month, which is very affordable. However, basic plans offer limited storage, and advanced features require upgrading to more expensive plans or Google Workspace.
• Bluehost: Offers unlimited email accounts for free with hosting plans, making it a great value for businesses needing multiple addresses. Google Workspace is available for advanced features, but Bluehost’s basic email works well for most small businesses.
• SiteGround: Like Bluehost, SiteGround offers free unlimited email hosting with its plans and Google Workspace for those needing more robust solutions. It’s a reliable option with good support for basic email needs.
• Google Cloud: Email hosting is not included directly; you need to subscribe to Google Workspace, starting at $6/user per month, which can be costly if you don’t need all the added collaboration tools.

Recommendation:

• For Basic, Affordable Email Hosting:
  • Hostinger or Namecheap are the best options. Both are extremely affordable for small businesses, with Hostinger offering better features in its basic plans and the option to upgrade to business email for a low price.
• For Unlimited Email Hosting:
  • Bluehost