5 of the Leading Gmail Alternatives Available (And Why You’d Want to Use One)

It’s hard to browse the web without some aspect of Google’s ecosystem trailing behind. Alphabet’s number one company has a hand in almost all aspects of the web. Although Gmail has more than 1.8 billion active users in 2025, it’s far from the only option. 

Many users are actively exploring alternatives, whether it’s due to privacy concerns, limited customization, or the desire for features that Gmail doesn’t offer. From robust security options to innovative productivity tools, there are plenty of email platforms that cater to specific needs and priorities.

If you’re ready to rethink your inbox, this guide will take you through some of the best Gmail alternatives available today, helping you find the right fit for your workflow, preferences, and peace of mind. Before this, let’s give you some context on why Gmail isn’t always the best choice.

Why You’d Want to Choose From the Many Gmail Alternatives on the Market

There’s no doubt that Gmail is a top-drawer service, and arguably the best of Google’s offerings. Since 2004, it has revolutionized both the User Interface (UI) and workflow you use with email.

Much like Apple, it takes the concept of the filesystem and squirrels away emails into an archive. Coupled with Google’s unbeatable search functionality, this gives you the power to find and recall the emails you need within nanoseconds.

Once you move from the old system of using folders to store email, you’ll be a convert. Working with email is faster, more efficient, and it’s easier to pick an individual email from the archive.

However, there are two main reasons why you’d want to choose a Gmail alternative instead:

• The usability gap between Gmail and other services isn’t as wide anymore. In the past, Gmail could blow others away through usability, workflow, and UI. However, this isn’t the case in lots of instances now.
• You might not want to use Google’s services, or be a part of its ecosystem.

The latter is what we’ll focus on for this article. Google has a huge market share across a number of product lines and niches. It could be that you want to support other solutions that offer a viable product. This is a core reason why many switch from Chromium-based browsers such as Brave, Edge, and Chrome to Safari and Firefox.

However, you may also have an issue with Google’s general approach to privacy. We’ll touch on this next.

Google’s History When It Comes to Privacy

Google has a reputation for ‘lax’ handing of user data. This reputation doesn’t sit well with non-profit agencies such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation. It also doesn’t sit well with end users who care about their data in general.

It’s straightforward to switch browsers, and you can use a search engine such as DuckDuckGo in place of Google’s own. However, email needs extra consideration, which we’ll cover next.

What to Look For When It Comes to Choosing a Gmail Alternative

Whittling down the number of Gmail alternatives at your disposal is more straightforward based on one decision: Do you want to go more private, or get away from Google?

Once you have the answer to this question, you can start to think about other aspects that are important to you:

• Does the email provider have a plan that meets your budget? For example, some hosts might not offer a free tier.
• Is the storage on offer suitable? If a host can’t store all of your emails both now and in the future, you’ll have problems.
• Can you use your own domain as part of the email address? Some providers don’t let you without some workarounds. For example, Gmail has different setups for both personal and business email domains.
• Do you get to use your choice of email client with the email provider? This might be important if you don’t want to use a web interface, want to access email through your phone, or within a native app on your desktop.

For privacy-focused decisions, look at where the data centers are. You’ll want to likely stay away from those hosting in ‘Five Eyes’ countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and United States) and weigh up the options for ’14 Eyes’ countries. We’d argue that choosing a host in the latter group is less of a concern, especially for central European data centers.

5 of the Leading Gmail Alternatives Available

Over the rest of this article, we’re going to look at some of the most popular, and feature-rich Gmail alternatives you can find. Let’s get into the five we’re going to look at:

1. Posteo. This is a German-based email host that likes to offer as much anonymity to its users as possible.
2. ProtonMail. You’ll find this Swiss-based email host has a rich offering that can provide a good level of functionality to users of all stripes.
3. Tuta. This is one of the oldest email hosts on the market that offers a focus on privacy, with a rich pedigree to boot.
4. Mailfence. Belgium’s privacy laws means its a good location for this Gmail alternative.
5. Zoho Mail. Zoho offers a wide range of products that can replace Google Workspace, and Zoho Mail is just one part of that solution.

First off, we’re going to look at what Europe has to offer with Posteo.

1. Posteo

As a general-purpose email service, Posteo, an open-source solution, could tick almost every box on your ‘wish list’. It has a solid set of basic features, a great price, and protects your privacy as much as possible. In their own words, “Posteo is all about maximum privacy, comprehensive sustainability, and innovative encryption.”

Here’s a quick dive into Posteo’s key selling points:

• You can choose to encrypt your emails and data with one click.
• There’s a built-in spam and virus filter for every email you send and receive.
• You’re able to use an almost unlimited number of ‘filter’ addresses. This means you can set up separate emails for hello+marketing@wpkube.com and hello+social@wpkube.com, or for any other organizational purpose.

Posteo also includes a number of helpful ‘quality of life’ features. For example, you can migrate up to three different accounts to Posteo, complete with folder structures. What’s more, Posteo can bring across new emails from old accounts at regular intervals (around every ten minutes).

Also, the purchasing process is anonymous. This means you can sign up and pay for your Posteo account without supplying data (no tracking). Speaking of which, Posteo costs €1 per month, given that the data center is in Germany.

It’s also worth noting that Posteo is powered by 100% real green energy from Green Planet Energy, so it’s also more environmentally-friendly than some other options.

2. ProtonMail

If you want more privacy from your Gmail alternative, from a true neutral in the world of private data, Swiss-based ProtonMail, another open source option, will be worth exploring.

The original development team all has jobs at the European Organization for Nuclear Research – otherwise known as CERN: Birthplace of the web. In fact, Sir Tim Berners-Lee (the de jure inventor of the internet) is part of ProtonMail’s advisory board, so privacy is at the forefront of the Gmail alternative. 

While leading email providers like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo scan your email content to gather data used for profiling and advertising, Proton is different. As the company website states, “Proton Mail’s end-to-end encryption and zero-access encryption ensure only you can see your emails. Not even Proton can view the content of your emails and attachments.”

Here’s what ProtonMail offers:

• There’s end-to-end and zero access encryption for all emails, with the option to set this on an individual basis.
• It uses archiving as a part of the User Experience (UX), which feels familiar if you come from Gmail.
• The ProtonMail ecosystem also includes an encrypted calendar, cloud storage, Virtual Private Network (VPN), and more.

One element of ProtonMail that you could consider a drawback is the account recovery procedure, or lack thereof.

The ProtonMail team doesn’t have access to any passwords or login credentials for privacy reasons. While there is a way to reset passwords and get username reminders, you’ll need to keep your individual credentials double- and triple-safe.

As for pricing, ProtonMail has a free tier, but it comes with only 1 GB of storage. Paid plans start at $4.99 per month (15 GB of storage, 1 custom email domain, 10 extra email addresses). The recommended plan costs $12.99 per month and offers 500 GB of storage, support for 3 custom email domains, 15 extra email addresses, an ultra-fast and private VPN, an encrypted password manager, and more.

ProtonMail for business is an alternative to Google Workspace for entrepreneurs, teams, and companies. With several plans available, you can choose one that meets the needs of your specific business. You can manage email, calendars, shared drives, and more.

3. Tuta

It’s understandable that lots of users do not want to pay for a Gmail alternative when Google’s basic service is free. Enter Tuta – a long-standing free email service that puts privacy first. Like ProtonMail, Tuta offers free email with up to 1 GB of storage. It is fully encrypted with no tracking.

Tuta is powered by 100% renewable energy and data is stored on servers in ISO 27001 certified data centers in Germany with full GDPR compliance.

It doesn’t have a wealth of features and functionality as selling points, just strong, encrypted email. However, this aspect is feature-rich:

• Each email uses an encrypted Transport Layer Security (TLS) connection that includes end-to-end encryption of your contacts too.
• You won’t find third-party services such as CAPTCHAs within the client.
• Tuta has its own open-source email clients, which means you won’t need to use an app that lacks security.
• The services doesn’t keep any logs.
• You have search functionality that’s ‘zero-knowledge’ – it won’t need to store queries to help you find your emails.

Paid plans start at €3.60  /month, which includes 20 GB of storage, unlimited calendars, unlimited labels, support for 3 custom domains (not available on the free plan), and up to 15 extra email addresses. 

Tuta also offers business plans for teams, starting at €7.20  per user per month, which includes 50 GB of storage. 

4. Mailfence

The privacy laws in central Europe are strong, hence why the companies listed above are based in Germany or Switzerland. Belgium also has robust laws on privacy, and it’s the location for Mailfence.

You’ll use this solution within the browser, much like Gmail itself. However, it looks a lot like Outlook, especially with its blue color scheme. This is where the similarities end though, as Mailfence provides a number of security-focused features:

• No ads, no spam emails, no trackers, no solicitation, and free from government surveillance.
• You can protect chosen emails with end-to-end encryption, with browser-based cryptography.
• There’s a flexible approach for accessing your email – through the browser, or through your own choice of email client.
• Mailfence offers a wider ecosystem that includes cloud storage and calendars.
• There is no tracking within Mailfence of any kind.

As for price, Mailfence is competitive.  They offer a free plan, which includes 500 MB of storage for emails and another 500 MB of storage for documents. Paid personal plans start at just $2.50 per month (billed yearly), which comes with 5 GB of storage for emails, 6 GB of storage for documents, and 10 email aliases. 

Business plans start at $3.50 per month per user, which includes 10 GB of storage for emails, 30 GB of storage for documents, and 50 email aliases.

It’s an all-around stellar service that could see you opt for this Gmail alternative based on price alone.

5. Zoho Mail

Zoho Mail is different than the first four options covered above, but worth mentioning as a viable alternative to Google’s ecosystem. What makes Zoho Mail stand out is the vast range of solutions that fall under Zoho’s umbrella, including things like video conferencing, websites, forms, appointment scheduling, spreadsheets, slideshows, invoicing, and much more. Essentially, Zoho’s suite of products could replace Google Workspace for yourself or your team.

Unlike the four previous Gmail alternatives that we’ve covered, privacy is not the main selling point for Zoho Mail. Instead, Zoho thrives by offering its own ecosystem of products that serve just about any need a business may have. However, Zoho does encrypted, privacy-guaranteed, and ad-free email service.

Like Gmail, Zoho’s data centers are distributed throughout the United States, Europe, and India, which includes some of the “Five Eyes” countries that some users may be looking to avoid. 

Zoho Mail offers a free plan that supports up to five users with 5 GB of storage per user and support for a single custom domain. Paid plans start at just $1 per month (billed annually), although this is just for Zoho Mail, not the full suite of Zoho products. 

Business users may prefer the $3 per user per month plan (billed annually), which includes secure business email, an online file manager, word processor, spreadsheets, presentation software, online meeting software, and more.

Which of the Leading Gmail Alternatives You Should Choose

Just like many WordPress- or hosting-based questions, the answer here is: “It depends”. If you decide to move away from Gmail, privacy may be a key concern. Fortunately, every provider on this list offers a good level of privacy, although the waters become murky in places.

For example German email hosts such as Tutanota, Posteo, and others are within some of the ’14 Eyes’ countries. Canada is one of the original ‘Five Eyes’. The same goes for Zoho Mail with data centers throughout the United States and Europe. Depending on your privacy and security concerns, these may not be the most ideal solutions.

In the end, it comes down to choosing the solution that best fits your needs. Compare the features of each service, and also consider your level of concern for privacy and security. Regardless of your needs, you’re sure to find an excellent solution among the services covered here.

In Summary

Privacy across the web is so important that you’ll do well to consider it for every aspect of how you conduct yourself online. Your choice of email provider has a lot to do with how private your communications are. Regardless of whether this is an issue for you, finding a Gmail alternative lets you take one foot out of Google’s ecosystem and shows that there is demand for services outside of Alphabet’s main brand.

In this post, we’ve looked at a number of different Gmail alternatives. ProtonMail is a leading email host, with good functionality and a solid ecosystem of its own. Posteo is super-anonymous and works well, while Tuta has a history that you can rely on for the long term. Zoho may not offer the same level of privacy or security, but the incredible range of software included in it’s suite may be more than enough to justify a switch.

Are you about to consider one of the Gmail alternatives on this list, and if so, which ones are catching your eye? Let us know in the comments section below!