Business email cost: what an address on your own domain costs

You pay per mailbox, every month, on top of the domain. Here is what the main providers charged on October 28, 2026.

We.Inc is free to start, no credit card. AI building from $20/mo.

How much does a business email cost?

A business email address usually costs $3 to $8 per user a month. On October 28, 2026 the providers' own pages listed Fastmail Business Basic at $3 a month on a 12-month term, Proton Mail Essentials at $6.99, Microsoft 365 Business Basic at $7.00 paid yearly, and Google Workspace Business Starter at $7 on an annual plan ($8.40 month to month).

Mailboxes bundled with web hosting look cheaper, such as Hostinger's $0.39 a month on a 48-month term, but renew at a higher price. You also need a domain, which is a separate yearly cost.

Business email per user a month (US, checked October 28, 2026)

PriceBillingStorage per user
Fastmail Business Basic$3 ($4 month to month)12-month term6 GB
Fastmail Business Standard$5 ($6 month to month)12-month term60 GB
Proton Mail Essentials$6.99Billed $83.88 a year15 GB
Microsoft 365 Business Basic$7.00Paid yearlyNot compared here
Google Workspace Business Starter$7 ($8.40 flexible)Annual plan30 GB, pooled
Hostinger Business Starter$0.39, renews at $1.5948 months paid upfront ($18.72)5 GB

Prices as listed on each provider's own page on October 28, 2026, in US dollars per user a month, before tax. Confirm on the provider's page before you buy.

Pros and cons

Email-only providers (Fastmail, Proton)

Best for: Small teams that only need email, calendar and contacts

Price: Fastmail from $3 per user a month on a 12-month term; Proton Mail Essentials $6.99 billed yearly; checked Oct 28, 2026

Pros: Lowest price for a full mailbox; Proton adds end-to-end encryption

Cons: No office suite included; Shared files live somewhere else

Office suites (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365)

Best for: Teams that also want documents, video calls and shared storage

Price: Google Workspace Starter $7 (annual) or $8.40 (flexible); Microsoft 365 Business Basic $7.00 paid yearly; checked Oct 28, 2026

Pros: Email, calendar, documents and meetings in one bill; Familiar tools for new hires

Cons: Higher price per user; Annual commitments on the lowest prices

We.Inc

Best for: People who want to describe a site or web app in plain English and have AI build it

Price: Free plan: up to 3 template sites on a we.inc address, no AI. AI building from $20/mo (Starter, 250 credits). Pro $50/mo, Max $99/mo.

Pros: Describe what you want in chat and AI builds a full, editable site or app; Edit by clicking on the page, by asking in chat, or in a real code editor; Export the React and TypeScript code to GitHub, so you are never locked in; Unlimited sites on paid plans, custom domains from Starter

Cons: The free plan is templates only; AI building needs a paid plan; Newer platform with a smaller app marketplace than the big names; Store features are simpler than a dedicated ecommerce platform

What you are paying for

Every option above charges per mailbox. A business of five on Google Workspace Starter's annual plan pays $420 a year; on Fastmail Business Basic's 12-month term it pays $180. Shared addresses such as hello@ or orders@ can often be set up as aliases or groups rather than paid mailboxes, which keeps the count down.

The domain is billed separately by your registrar, usually yearly. See our domain renewal guide for what a .com costs to keep.

Hosting mailboxes: cheap now, more later

Web hosts often include or discount email. Hostinger's Business Starter mailbox was $0.39 a month on a 48-month term ($18.72 paid upfront), renewing at $1.59 a month, with 5 GB of storage. Bluehost's hosting page offered a one-month Pro Email trial that renews at $2.50 a month. These are fine for low-volume addresses; compare the renewal price, not the first term.

Is there a free business email?

Some providers have a small free tier, for example Zoho Mail's free plan, which its pricing page described as 5 GB per user for up to 5 users on one domain. Free tiers come with tighter limits than paid plans, so read them before you rely on one; our free business email guide covers the options.

Where We.Inc fits: the free plan publishes up to 3 template sites on a we.inc address, with no AI and no custom domain, and needs no credit card. AI building, where you describe the site and it is written for you, starts at $20 a month (Starter, 250 credits); Pro is $50 and Max is $99.

Who wrote this and how

We.Inc makes a competing website builder, so read this with that in mind. Every price on this page comes from the vendor's own pricing page on the date shown, with a link to it. We say where the other option is the better choice, and we do not publish scores for tests we have not run.

Start from a template

Sources

Frequently asked questions

How much does a business email cost per month?

About $3 to $8 per user a month at the providers we checked on October 28, 2026: Fastmail from $3, Proton $6.99, Microsoft 365 Business Basic $7.00 and Google Workspace Starter $7 on yearly terms.

Is Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 cheaper for email?

At entry level they cost the same: $7 per user a month on yearly terms. Google's flexible month-to-month plan is $8.40.

Do I need a domain for a business email?

Yes. The address uses your own domain, which you register separately and renew every year.

What is the cheapest business email?

Of the paid mailboxes we checked, Fastmail Business Basic at $3 a month on a 12-month term was the lowest list price outside of hosting bundles. Hosting bundles start lower but renew higher.

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