The best free webmail service
or at least one of the most popular ones is Gmail but there are many
other free
webmail services in case you want to try something different. So what is the
best webmail interface out there? Let’s find out which webmail is the best.
Outlook.com
If you are using Microsoft
365 it offers deeper integration with the rest of Microsoft cloud
services. If
you are planning on using the free version, be prepared to see an ad from time
to time. Outlook.com has a wide selection of themes, not as many
options as
Gmail has but there’s still a variety of themes to choose from.
Conversation view is available and can be turned off or on from the quick
settings and if necessary, you can create subfolders under Inbox.
Email messages
can be categorized and each category can be assigned pre-set color and
custom
name which will make sorting and navigation easier.
Compose mode provides a lot of formatting options but may seem a bit
unintuitive
due to the duplicated toolbars. Other than that, it’s solid webmail with all the
necessary features you can expect from a professional email service.
Gmail
Google’s webmail service is well-known and may not need any introduction but for
the sake of the comparison, we will go through its best features.
Gmail’s webmail has a wide array of themes, UI customization,
and other features like the possibility to link any other account with your
Gmail mailbox.
Gmail lets you import emails from your other mailboxes and it has a
very efficient spam filter so you will rarely see any spam in your Inbox.
When it comes to folders Gmail has a different approach and instead of
the traditional folder structure, you can add a message to multiple folders
without actually copying the message itself.
Gmail calls their folders “Labels” so when you label a message it
stays in the “All Mail” folder but at the same time it can be viewed under other
folders/labels, this helps avoid duplication and keeps mailbox size at bay.
Labels created by the user are displayed separately, under the “Labels” section
so they are easy to find and manage.
Prominent formatting options in compose mode are nice to have, you can
find
everything you need in the toolbar including “Confidential mode” which
allows
you to send expiring messages. Quick access to Google Drive files and the
ability to send bigger attachments by uploading them to the cloud storage. If
you happen to make a mistake, Gmail has intelligent autocorrect and
spell check
that will fix it for you.
iCloud
Apple’s iCloud Mail service offers very basic features without the
subscription
but its premium features are focused mostly on security and privacy.
Most email features like Mail relay, Hide my email, etc. that help
it stand out
are locked under the iCloud+ subscription.
Ideal mail cloud service for Apple
users as it is possible to create an iCloud mailbox only if you
are using one of
the Apple devices.
The formatting tools are hidden under a single button and while it provides a
clean interface, at first glance it may seem that iCloud Mail is
lacking in this
department. It’s a pleasant surprise that it is not, all the basics like the
font format, indentation, and ability to insert the link are present. Themes
are
not available in iCloud Mail and as for the conversation view,
that isn’t
available either so the customization is almost non-existent and there are not
much of email-related settings either.
All in all, solid mail service if you need a secure secondary mailbox for your
Apple devices but don’t expect much from it aside from displaying, sending, and
receiving emails. But if you aren’t an Apple user, no worries, there are plenty
of other email services that can get the job done.
Proton Mail
If you are looking for secure webmail with PGP encryption, Proton
Mail has you
covered. There is even an option to send expiring messages. That may come in
handy if you really want to protect some sensitive info.
It is worth noting that with Proton mail you will have to go with the
premium plan if you need IMAP
access and you want to access the ProtonMail mailbox from 3rd-party email apps.
Without the Premium plan, you will be locked out from accessing the mailbox via
IMAP so it might become a problem if you decide to switch to another provider.
Minimalistic UI and themes, not as minimalist as iCloud so the
features are
visible right away(and there are more of them) and it’s quite intuitive if
you’re coming from Gmail. Proton Mail supports custom folders and
labels so it’s
a hybrid of Gmail’s functionality and regular folders but you can’t
create
custom sub-folders within the existing folder structure.
Proton Mail is using conversation view by default and unlike the
competition,
you need to go deeper into the settings to disable it.
To sum it up, for productivity-oriented users who prefer extra security
and no
extra frills in the UI, it is the obvious choice.
Zoho
Zoho mail offers fewer themes than Gmail but since it is oriented
to a similar
audience as ProtonMai it’s just an extra feature that is nice to have. There are
various services available for companies but the advanced features are locked
for free users. While it is paid email service, it offers mail and
calendar, web
documents, spreadsheets, and a whole lot of work/productivity-oriented
features
while keeping a minimalistic interface. If you decide to change from Zoho
to
another email provider they even allow exporting emails in .eml format
which can
be imported to most email apps.
The interface can be viewed in tabs which makes switching between draft
messages, the message list, and other features a very easy task.
The cheapest plan will cover up to 5 mailboxes so it’s ideal for smaller
companies with the
price of 0,90Eur per month.
Compose window has a well-equipped toolbar, lots of usual formatting options,
and a few extras like the ability to edit HTML and record audio
messages.
Yahoo
Free version has ads but can be upgraded to the Pro version, mailbox offers a
generous 1TB of space which is much more than the others on this list
(The
closest in terms of storage are Outlook and Gmail with 15GB of
free storage).
Themes are available but the selection is limited and the free version appeals
more to the casual user.
The free version has a more informal feel overall with
colorful themes and semi-integrated Yahoo homepage shortcuts.
All the basic formatting options are available but they are quite limited
compared to competitors.
Various postcard-like templates can be used for special occasions like
holidays
and birthdays, again, this feature is more appealing to the casual user.
Quick access to GIFs and emojis has been preferred over more professional
features like HTML editor, encryption, or email signatures.
The lack of these features in the compose toolbar solidifies the
less-formal
mood of the whole Yahoo webmail even more but its storage capacity is hard to
beat.
What if you could access all of those services in a
secure mail client?
With eM Client you can! You can add all the best web mail services like
Gmail,
Yahoo, Outlook, Zoho, ProtonMail, and much more, to a single app and
access not
only webmail but also a calendar, address book, To-Do List, and notes if
your
email provider has these services.
eM Client allows you to customize its interface to your liking. You can:
customize the message list layout, change themes and even
create a new theme
with the theme editor, edit and create email tags, and add or remove
buttons in
the toolbars and that’s just a few of the customization options you have access
to in eM Client.
Emojis, GIFs, and eM Client stickers can be used for less formal
communication
so it’s not just a business-oriented tool, you can use it for all of your email
needs, personal or professional, eM Client offers a perfect balance
between two
worlds.
Browsing and managing folders is very easy and to make it even better eM Client
can move folders within a single account and between different accounts
using
drag and drop.
When it comes to reading messages, it is made more convenient with
the conversation view that can be turned on or off anytime.
Mailbox size is limited by the size of your disk so if the account mailbox
starts getting full you can locally archive your messages and still
access them
via eM Client. At the same time, server-side storage usage will be reduced. With
automatic rules, you can also make this process completely automated.
Why bother yourself with multiple browser tabs and log in to each service
separately if you can have a one-stop solution and never look back?
Not convinced? eM Client has a completely free 30-day trial and after the trial,
you can purchase a Pro license or stick with the free version. To see what the
main differences are, check out the pricing page.