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Email services

Email remains as important as ever in our digital lives and choosing the right email service can make life much easier. There are lots of email services to choose from that are packed with features such as spam filters, address book management and social networking integration tools.

Email services comparison chart for 2024

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Gmail
Microsoft Outlook
GMX mail
Aol Mail
Yahoo! Mail
Inbox.com
Fastmail
Mail.com
Lycos mail
Hushmail
Excellent
Five stars means excellent
Very good
Four stars means very good
Good
Three stars means good
Average
Two stars means average /
Poor
One star means poor
 Gmail has been awarded best buy Product image of gmail Product image of microsoft outlook Product image of gmx mail Product image of aol mail Product image of yahoo! mail Product image of inbox.com Product image of fastmail Product image of mail.com Product image of lycos mail Product image of hushmail
 
 
 
Ratings
Overall
 gmail has a rating of five overall microsoft outlook has a rating of five overall gmx mail has a rating of five overall aol mail has a rating of four overall yahoo! mail has a rating of four overall inbox.com has a rating of four overall fastmail has a rating of four overall mail.com has a rating of four overall lycos mail has a rating of four overall hushmail has a rating of two overall
Sign up
 gmail has a rating of five for sign up microsoft outlook has a rating of four for sign up gmx mail has a rating of five for sign up aol mail has a rating of five for sign up yahoo! mail has a rating of four for sign up inbox.com has a rating of four for sign up fastmail has a rating of four for sign up mail.com has a rating of four for sign up lycos mail has a rating of four for sign up hushmail has a rating of two for sign up
Features
 gmail has a rating of five for features microsoft outlook has a rating of four for features gmx mail has a rating of four for features aol mail has a rating of four for features yahoo! mail has a rating of four for features inbox.com has a rating of four for features fastmail has a rating of four for features mail.com has a rating of four for features lycos mail has a rating of four for features hushmail has a rating of two for features
Security
 gmail has a rating of five for security microsoft outlook has a rating of three for security gmx mail has a rating of four for security aol mail has a rating of three for security yahoo! mail has a rating of three for security inbox.com has a rating of four for security fastmail has a rating of four for security mail.com has a rating of four for security lycos mail has a rating of four for security hushmail has a rating of three for security
Organization
 gmail has a rating of five for organization microsoft outlook has a rating of five for organization gmx mail has a rating of four for organization aol mail has a rating of four for organization yahoo! mail has a rating of four for organization inbox.com has a rating of four for organization fastmail has a rating of three for organization mail.com has a rating of four for organization lycos mail has a rating of three for organization hushmail has a rating of three for organization
Email creation
 gmail has a rating of five for email creation microsoft outlook has a rating of four for email creation gmx mail has a rating of five for email creation aol mail has a rating of four for email creation yahoo! mail has a rating of four for email creation inbox.com has a rating of three for email creation fastmail has a rating of three for email creation mail.com has a rating of three for email creation lycos mail has a rating of three for email creation hushmail has a rating of three for email creation
Ease of use
 gmail has a rating of five for ease of use microsoft outlook has a rating of five for ease of use gmx mail has a rating of four for ease of use aol mail has a rating of four for ease of use yahoo! mail has a rating of four for ease of use inbox.com has a rating of three for ease of use fastmail has a rating of three for ease of use mail.com has a rating of three for ease of use lycos mail has a rating of three for ease of use hushmail has a rating of three for ease of use
Help & support
 gmail has a rating of five for help & support microsoft outlook has a rating of five for help & support gmx mail has a rating of five for help & support aol mail has a rating of four for help & support yahoo! mail has a rating of four for help & support inbox.com has a rating of four for help & support fastmail has a rating of four for help & support mail.com has a rating of three for help & support lycos mail has a rating of three for help & support hushmail has a rating of three for help & support
Features
Inbox storage
Inbox storage - Amount of space you have to store emails and attachments. If your often transfer emails with large attachments you should choose a service that offers lots of Inbox storage space.
8 GB 25 GB 5 GB Unlimited Unlimited 5 GB 10 MB 3 GB 5 GB 2 MB
File attachment size
File attachment size - The largest file size you can attach to an email.
 20 MB 10 MB 50 MB 16 MB 10 MB 20 MB 10 MB 10 MB 10 MB 250 MB
Domain name options
Domain name options - Allows you to choose your own domain name for your email. For example: myname@mydomain.com - A very useful upgrade option if your business or organization.
 gmail does not offer domain name options microsoft outlook does not offer domain name options gmx mail does not offer domain name options aol mail offers domain name options yahoo! mail does not offer domain name options inbox.com does not offer domain name options fastmail offers domain name options mail.com offers domain name options lycos mail does not offer domain name options hushmail does not offer domain name options
Multiple languages
Multiple languages - The interface is available in several different languages.
 gmail offers multiple languages microsoft outlook does not offer multiple languages gmx mail does not offer multiple languages aol mail offers multiple languages yahoo! mail does not offer multiple languages inbox.com does not offer multiple languages fastmail does not offer multiple languages mail.com offers multiple languages lycos mail does not offer multiple languages hushmail does not offer multiple languages
No advertising
No advertising - No advertising is displayed within the email service or the email messages. The vast majority of services do include advertising in some form. Advertising revenue helps to pay for the service and keep the vast majority of services free.
 gmail does not have no advertising microsoft outlook does not have no advertising gmx mail does not have no advertising aol mail does not have no advertising yahoo! mail does not have no advertising inbox.com has no advertising fastmail does not have no advertising mail.com does not have no advertising lycos mail does not have no advertising hushmail has no advertising
Email creation
Attachments
Attachments - Allows you to add attachments to emails.
 gmail offers attachments microsoft outlook offers attachments gmx mail offers attachments aol mail offers attachments yahoo! mail offers attachments inbox.com offers attachments fastmail offers attachments mail.com offers attachments lycos mail offers attachments hushmail offers attachments
Plain text editor
Plain text editor - You cannot add font types, sizes or colors to plain text editors. If this is important to you, you should choose a service that offers a rich text / HTML editor.
 gmail offers plain text editor microsoft outlook offers plain text editor gmx mail offers plain text editor aol mail offers plain text editor yahoo! mail does not offer plain text editor inbox.com offers plain text editor fastmail offers plain text editor mail.com offers plain text editor lycos mail does not offer plain text editor hushmail offers plain text editor
Rich text / HTML editor
Rich text / HTML editor - Allows you to add font variations as well as embed images and links to your email message.
 gmail offers rich text / html editor microsoft outlook offers rich text / html editor gmx mail offers rich text / html editor aol mail offers rich text / html editor yahoo! mail offers rich text / html editor inbox.com offers rich text / html editor fastmail offers rich text / html editor mail.com does not offer rich text / html editor lycos mail does not offer rich text / html editor hushmail offers rich text / html editor
Spell checker
Spell checker - Checks for miss-spelling in the content of your email. Its always worth checking that the spell checker has the correct language settings.
 gmail offers spell checker microsoft outlook offers spell checker gmx mail offers spell checker aol mail offers spell checker yahoo! mail offers spell checker inbox.com offers spell checker fastmail offers spell checker mail.com offers spell checker lycos mail does not offer spell checker hushmail offers spell checker
Signatures
Signatures - Configure and attach an email signature to your email. This is ideal if your planning on using your email for business purposes.
 gmail offers signatures microsoft outlook offers signatures gmx mail does not offer signatures aol mail offers signatures yahoo! mail offers signatures inbox.com offers signatures fastmail offers signatures mail.com offers signatures lycos mail does not offer signatures hushmail does not offer signatures
To, Cc & Bcc
To, Cc & Bcc - Send your email with carbon and blind copy options.
 gmail offers to, cc & bcc microsoft outlook offers to, cc & bcc gmx mail offers to, cc & bcc aol mail offers to, cc & bcc yahoo! mail offers to, cc & bcc inbox.com offers to, cc & bcc fastmail offers to, cc & bcc mail.com offers to, cc & bcc lycos mail offers to, cc & bcc hushmail offers to, cc & bcc
Organization
Address book
Address book - Set-up your own contacts list. Typically you can add their name, work and home email addresses as well as mobile numbers.
 gmail offers address book microsoft outlook offers address book gmx mail offers address book aol mail offers address book yahoo! mail offers address book inbox.com offers address book fastmail offers address book mail.com offers address book lycos mail does not offer address book hushmail offers address book
Import address book
Import address book - Import your address book using CSV (Comma Separated Values).
 gmail offers import address book microsoft outlook offers import address book gmx mail offers import address book aol mail offers import address book yahoo! mail offers import address book inbox.com offers import address book fastmail does not offer import address book mail.com offers import address book lycos mail does not offer import address book hushmail offers import address book
Auto reply
Auto reply - Set-up your email so that an automatic reply is sent to people who email you. This is a useful option if your away on holiday or unlikely to read your email for a significant period of time.
 gmail offers auto reply microsoft outlook does not offer auto reply gmx mail offers auto reply aol mail offers auto reply yahoo! mail offers auto reply inbox.com offers auto reply fastmail offers auto reply mail.com offers auto reply lycos mail does not offer auto reply hushmail offers auto reply
Conversation view
Conversation view - Allows you to easily keep track of previous correspondences with conversation view listed in chronological order.
 gmail offers conversation view microsoft outlook does not offer conversation view gmx mail offers conversation view aol mail does not offer conversation view yahoo! mail does not offer conversation view inbox.com offers conversation view fastmail does not offer conversation view mail.com offers conversation view lycos mail does not offer conversation view hushmail offers conversation view
Folders
Folders - Organize your inbox by placing your emails into folders. Some services will allow you set-up individual email addresses go directly into a specific folder.
 gmail offers folders microsoft outlook offers folders gmx mail offers folders aol mail offers folders yahoo! mail offers folders inbox.com offers folders fastmail offers folders mail.com offers folders lycos mail does not offer folders hushmail offers folders
Filters
Filters - Restrict specific email addresses from entering your inbox. You can do this based on the mail address, email content or subject heading.
gmail offers filters microsoft outlook offers filters gmx mail offers filters aol mail offers filters yahoo! mail offers filters inbox.com offers filters fastmail offers filters mail.com offers filters lycos mail does not offer filters hushmail offers filters
Search
Search - Allows you to search for specific emails.
gmail offers search microsoft outlook offers search gmx mail does not offer search aol mail offers search yahoo! mail offers search inbox.com offers search fastmail offers search mail.com offers search lycos mail does not offer search hushmail offers search
Whitelist / blacklist
Whitelist / blacklist - If there is a specific email address you want to block you can place it on a blacklist. However, if there is an email address that you always want to make sure you receive (i.e. so it doesn't get stopped by the spam filter) you can place it on a whitelist.
gmail offers whitelist / blacklist microsoft outlook offers whitelist / blacklist gmx mail does not offer whitelist / blacklist aol mail offers whitelist / blacklist yahoo! mail offers whitelist / blacklist inbox.com offers whitelist / blacklist fastmail does not offer whitelist / blacklist mail.com offers whitelist / blacklist lycos mail does not offer whitelist / blacklist hushmail offers whitelist / blacklist
Security
Download restrictions
Download restrictions - Email attachments these days often contain viruses and other forms of malware. For this reason attachments are not opened automatically. To open an attachment you will need to download it yourself. Attachments that look suspicious should always be viruses checked.
 gmail uses download restrictions microsoft outlook uses download restrictions gmx mail uses download restrictions aol mail uses download restrictions yahoo! mail uses download restrictions inbox.com uses download restrictions fastmail uses download restrictions mail.com uses download restrictions lycos mail uses download restrictions hushmail uses download restrictions
Image blocking
Image blocking - Viruses can be transferred through images as well as email attachments. Images can also contain spam. Images are not displayed, until you give permission to download and view the image.
 gmail uses image blocking microsoft outlook uses image blocking gmx mail uses image blocking aol mail uses image blocking yahoo! mail uses image blocking inbox.com uses image blocking fastmail uses image blocking mail.com uses image blocking lycos mail uses image blocking hushmail uses image blocking
Phishing filter
Phishing filter - Blocks phishing scams that attempt to obtain your debit / credit card details by falsely pretending to appear like legitimate banking emails.
 gmail uses a phishing filter microsoft outlook uses a phishing filter gmx mail uses a phishing filter aol mail uses a phishing filter yahoo! mail uses a phishing filter inbox.com does not use a phishing filter fastmail uses a phishing filter mail.com uses a phishing filter lycos mail uses a phishing filter hushmail uses a phishing filter
Spam reporting
Spam reporting - Allows you to report spam. Spam should always be reported because it helps the email service to identify future spamming attempts.
gmail uses spam reporting microsoft outlook uses spam reporting gmx mail uses spam reporting aol mail uses spam reporting yahoo! mail uses spam reporting inbox.com uses spam reporting fastmail uses spam reporting mail.com uses spam reporting lycos mail uses spam reporting hushmail uses spam reporting
Spam filter
Spam filter - Stops spam from entering your inbox. Most spam is re-directed tot eh spam folder. Its always worth checking your spam folder occasionally in case any legitimate email has been incorrectly filtered.
 gmail uses a spam filter microsoft outlook uses a spam filter gmx mail uses a spam filter aol mail uses a spam filter yahoo! mail uses a spam filter inbox.com uses a spam filter fastmail uses a spam filter mail.com uses a spam filter lycos mail uses a spam filter hushmail uses a spam filter
Virus scanning
Virus scanning - Scans your email attachments for viruses, Trojans, worms and other dangerous forms of malware.
 gmail uses a virus scanning microsoft outlook uses a virus scanning gmx mail uses a virus scanning aol mail uses a virus scanning yahoo! mail uses a virus scanning inbox.com uses a virus scanning fastmail uses a virus scanning mail.com does not use a virus scanning lycos mail uses a virus scanning hushmail uses a virus scanning
Extras
Calendar
Calendar - Personal calender is available for you to add your events and notes.
 gmail includes a calendar microsoft outlook includes a calendar gmx mail includes a calendar aol mail includes a calendar yahoo! mail includes a calendar inbox.com does not include a calendar fastmail does not include a calendar mail.com includes a calendar lycos mail does not include a calendar hushmail does not include a calendar
Games
Games - A variety of different games are available to play either online or to download.
 gmail does not include games microsoft outlook includes games gmx mail does not include games aol mail includes games yahoo! mail includes games inbox.com includes games fastmail does not include games mail.com includes games lycos mail does not include games hushmail does not include games
RSS reader
RSS reader - Really Simple Syndication.
gmail includes a rss reader microsoft outlook includes a rss reader gmx mail does not include a rss reader aol mail includes a rss reader yahoo! mail includes a rss reader inbox.com does not include a rss reader fastmail does not include a rss reader mail.com does not include a rss reader lycos mail does not include a rss reader hushmail does not include a rss reader
Protocols
POP3
POP3 - Post Office Protocol.
 gmail supports pop3 microsoft outlook does not support pop3 gmx mail supports pop3 aol mail does not support pop3 yahoo! mail does not support pop3 inbox.com supports pop3 fastmail does not support pop3 mail.com does not support pop3 lycos mail supports pop3 hushmail does not support pop3
IMAP
IMAP - Internet Message Access Protocol.
 gmail does not support imap microsoft outlook does not support imap gmx mail supports imap aol mail supports imap yahoo! mail does not support imap inbox.com does not support imap fastmail supports imap mail.com does not support imap lycos mail does not support imap hushmail does not support imap
Help & support
Telephone support
 gmail does not offer telephone support microsoft outlook does not offer telephone support gmx mail does not offer telephone support aol mail does not offer telephone support yahoo! mail does not offer telephone support inbox.com does not offer telephone support fastmail does not offer telephone support mail.com does not offer telephone support lycos mail does not offer telephone support hushmail does not offer telephone support
Email support
 gmail does not offer email support microsoft outlook offers email support gmx mail offers email support aol mail does not offer email support yahoo! mail does not offer email support inbox.com offers email support fastmail offers email support mail.com offers email support lycos mail offers email support hushmail offers email support
Live chat
 gmail does not offer live chat microsoft outlook does not offer live chat gmx mail does not offer live chat aol mail does not offer live chat yahoo! mail does not offer live chat inbox.com does not offer live chat fastmail does not offer live chat mail.com does not offer live chat lycos mail does not offer live chat hushmail does not offer live chat
Help files
 gmail offers help files microsoft outlook offers help files gmx mail does not offer help files aol mail offers help files yahoo! mail offers help files inbox.com offers help files fastmail does not offer help files mail.com offers help files lycos mail does not offer help files hushmail does not offer help files
FAQs
 gmail offers faqs microsoft outlook offers faqs gmx mail does not offer faqs aol mail does not offer faqs yahoo! mail offers faqs inbox.com offers faqs fastmail offers faqs mail.com offers faqs lycos mail does not offer faqs hushmail does not offer faqs
Forums
 gmail offers forums microsoft outlook does not offer forums gmx mail does not offer forums aol mail does not offer forums yahoo! mail does not offer forums inbox.com does not offer forums fastmail offers forums mail.com does not offer forums lycos mail does not offer forums hushmail does not offer forums

Email services explained

There are plenty of ways for us to communicate with each other in the digital age. You can contact someone through text messages, IM, social networking websites, but the most popular and still most effective way is through email.

Most email services are completely free and offer a host of powerful email messaging features. Many offer unlimited storage space, spam filtering, address books and folder management.

Email security features

The security measures adopted by email services in recent years has meant that an industry once compromised with hackers, spam and phishing scams is now fighting back. Spam filtering techniques have dramatically reduced spam levels.

Always remember that spam filters can only go so far and you should always be careful who you give your email address too.

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