Here, we feature reviews of the various e-mail services, POP3 accounts, e-mail software and autoresponder services. E-mail is one of the most popular activities on the Internet and there are numerous free services available. Some providers, since they are free, rely on advertising to cover their costs. Nevertheless, online e-mail services are improving all the time, and with many now incorporating spam filtering and virus protection, you really can’t go far wrong. Please contact us with details of any other free e-mail services you think we should include in this category.
This impressive Web-based e-mail service provides a high level of features free of charge. With unlimited storage for messages, mobile access and effective anti-spam and anti-virus, GMX could very well replace your existing e-mail account.
The provider highlights a number of key features, including unlimited storage space, virus protection facilities and “unprecedented spam protection”. If like many people you receive a lot of junk mail, GMX will help to identify and remove spam before it reaches your inbox. GMX’s anti-virus scans each message to identify potential threats to your system.
The interface is particularly user-friendly and allows you to drag and drop messages into various folders, which you can create at will. Mobile access is also available so you can view, send and reply to e-mail when on the move.
The service supports file attachments up to 50MB in size, which is enough for general, everyday use and for the sending of standard word processed documents, small images and PDFs. GMX also offers an address book and organiser, so you can keep track of all your appointments, plus other tools to help you manage multiple e-mail accounts. Register for an account here and your e-mail address will resemble: [email protected] or [email protected] (some other choices are also available).
Support is readily available at GMX and you can contact the provider by using the links on the website.
This free, highly secure encrypted e-mail service from Switzerland offers 500MB of storage space and complete privacy for your e-mail correspondence. ProtonMail’s “free” package can handle up to 150 messages per day from a single e-mail account. Upgrade options are available if you require more storage, custom e-mail filters, extra folders or additional aliases.
ProtonMail is among the most secure e-mail services we’ve seen and operates from Switzerland, known for its strict privacy laws. The provider uses end-to-end encryption, ensuring that messages cannot be intercepted or read by anyone other than yourself. Even the provider cannot read your e-mail!
The service is user-friendly and should be immediately familiar if you’ve used other services, such as Gmail or Outlook. The interface has been optimised for productivity and allows you to manage e-mail messages with ease. Other features include: labels for messages, draft compositions, spam handling, a trash folder, and message importance flagging.There’s also a handy search feature so you can quickly locate messages.
ProtonMail is available for smartphones (Android or Apple iOS) by downloading the relevant app. Alternatively, you can also access the service on your mobile device or computer via any popular Web browser.
Two commercial options are available (ProtonMail Plus and ProtonMail Visionary), which offer greater amounts of storage space, additional e-mail addresses and message allocations, custom e-mail filters, priority support, and additional folders. The top-level package includes multi-user support, up to a total of five different users.
For more information, head over to the ProtonMail Blog pages to find posts on security issues, how to prevent “phishing” attacks, the lowdown on VPN services, and of course, the latest development news.
Formally known as Hotmail, Microsoft’s free personal e-mail service is now available as Outlook.com. With over 400 million users worldwide, the provider is a major contender in the free e-mail market. And with access to Calendar, Office Online and OneDrive, there are many reasons to register.
Outlook.com brings a fresh new look and can be used on a variety of devices, including Apple iOS, Android and Windows smartphones. Registering for Outlook.com also entitles you to use other online Microsoft services, such as OneDrive (an online cloud storage service), Calendar, and Office Online, where you can use online versions of popular software, such as Word, Excel, Skype, PowerPoint, and more.
Better still, you can use a single e-mail address to access all these services on every device you own – and synchronise data between them. This means that all your messages and files can be kept continually up-to-date, which is great news if you work away from your desk and like to keep up with your correspondence.
The provider includes excellent spam (junk-mail) filtering and lets you arrange messages into different folders, such as newsletters, promotions, important messages, etc. The interface is intuitive and allows you to quickly unsubscribe from e-mail lists, pin messages, initiate chat or create additional aliases as necessary. In this respect, Outlook.com is very adept at keeping your mailbox tidy and organised. If you’re already using Gmail or Yahoo! Mail and want to import your contacts and e-mail messages, this can also be done by using the simple import tool.
A handy disposable e-mail address service that’s free for personal use and ideal for generating temporary e-mail accounts. Mailinator is perfect if you want to register for a Web site and need an e-mail address, but are concerned about the possibility of spam.
There’s no need to complete a registration either. Simply think up your own “@mailinator.com” address and you’ll be able to check the inbox via the Mailinator site. Easy! After couple of hours, any e-mail sent to your temporary e-mail address is deleted. This keeps any junk mail separate from your main e-mail account – something that is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve with the continual onslaught of spam.
You can choose from a wide selection of domain extensions. In fact, you can select from over 100 Mailinator e-mail domains. Generating an e-mail address can be done on the fly, so there’s no waiting around. It takes literally seconds and is well worth doing if you’re serious about protecting your primary account from spam (junk mail).
Note: the “free” version of Mailinator uses mailboxes that are in the public domain. Therefore, you should refrain from using the service for sensitive purposes. (The free account is best used for bypassing basic online registration forms).
However, you can select from some commercial options, which include a private e-mail domain and allocated storage space. There’s also a helpful FAQ page to answer any other questions you may have. Sign-in using your Google account or simply enter an e-mail address to check a public mailbox.
A great free e-mail service, providing a massive 5GB space, with Web mail, POP3 access, spam protection and a host of other useful features. Please note, however, that the 5GB offer is only valid for U.S., Canada and UK residents (2GB is allocated for other locations). Inbox.com also offers a free online calendar service and an online photo album, so you can share pictures with family and friends.
The interface at Inbox.com is user-friendly and minimalist. This makes writing, browsing, or managing your messages a straightforward process. The “labels” feature lets you sort messages into categories for easy browsing. In addition, you can “star” messages to mark their importance.
One of the most appealing things about Inbox.com is the company’s approach to privacy. The provider does not examine the content of your e-mail messages in order to target advertising to you. Likewise, your data is never disclosed to any third party organisation.
Inbox.com is also a great choice if you often find yourself searching for historic e-mail messages. The “search” feature is particularly powerful, enabling you to locate old e-mails within seconds.
With anti-virus and spam protection included as standard, along with POP3 and IMAP access, Inbox.com provides a comprehensive, secure, and reliable service.
One of the largest and oldest of the free e-mail providers. Yahoo! is a popular and feature-rich e-mail service offering fast Web-based access and a massive 1TB of free storage space (more than enough for most people). Yahoo! Mail includes an impressive number of features, including a robust spam (junk-mail) filtering service and free anti-virus scanning.
The mailbox interface here is visually appealing and intuitive, so even if you’re an inexperienced user, you should find the service straightforward. The colour scheme can also be customised according to your personal preference.
Besides the basic functionality of the inbox, Yahoo! Mail also has a powerful search feature, which enables you to find e-mail messages in an instant. In addition, the service provides easy access to attachments, saving you from trawling through dozens messages to find photographs or documents.
For message management, custom folders can be created to enable you to categorise messages, such as “work”, “personal”, “important”, etc. The service also allows you to “star” important e-mail messages.
As is common with other large e-mail services, Yahoo! Mail provides a smartphone app that allows you to compose and check messages while you’re away from your desk.
One of the world’s largest free e-mail providers. Gmail is a powerful, easy-to-use and fast online service, offering 15GB of storage space, excellent spam filtering, plus numerous ways to organise and search through messages.
One of the best things about Gmail is the way the provider filters and organises messages. Your important correspondence will arrive in the “Primary” folder. Social media alert messages are categorised into the “Social” folder, while less important messages, such as e-mail newsletters, are categorised into “Promotions”. This makes keeping your inbox tidy a breeze.
Gmail has more features than most free e-mail services. For example, the provider lets you “un-send” an e-mail, which is ideal if you make a mistake and wish to retract a message. Likewise, you can also set an “out of office” auto-reply, which is ideal if you go on holiday and need to alert your contacts. The security settings are also impressive at Gmail, with features such as 2-step verification and log-in alert messages for different devices.
We especially recommend Gmail if you already make use of other Google services, such Calendar, Google Plus, or if you have an Android-driven device. With a powerful message search feature, intelligent security, a user-friendly smartphone app, along with POP3 and IMAP compatibility, Gmail is arguably the best free e-mail account.