best email hosting: professional business email address

# best email hosting: professional business email address A professional email address on your own domain name is essential for any serious business. "info@yourbusiness.nl" radiates much more trustworthiness than "johnbusiness123@gmail.com". But which email solution do you choose? With your hosting provider, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or something else? In this guide we compare all options and costs. ## why a professional email address is important **Trust and credibility** - customers trust businesses with their own domain name more. A free email address suggests you're not serious. **Brand recognition** - every message reinforces your brand name. "contact@yourbrand.nl" promotes your brand with every email. **Professionalism** - business partners expect business email. In acquisition and networking it makes a difference. **Control** - with your own domain name you're not dependent on external services. Switching providers is possible without changing email address. **Employee accounts** - john@company.nl, sarah@company.nl - clear and professional. ## email hosting options: what are the possibilities? There are three main categories: ### 1. email with hosting provider **What is it?** Email hosting included with your web hosting package. **Examples:** TransIP, Hostnet, Vimexx, Antagonist **Advantages:** - often free included with hosting - manage everything in one place - Dutch providers with local support - no extra costs **Disadvantages:** - fewer features than Google/Microsoft - simpler webmail interface - no office apps included - sometimes more limited spam filters **For whom:** small businesses, freelancers, simple email needs ### 2. Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) **What is it?** Professional Gmail on your own domain name, plus Google apps. **Included:** Gmail, Google Drive, Calendar, Meet, Docs, Sheets **Advantages:** - familiar Gmail interface - powerful spam filtering - 30GB-5TB storage - Google Drive file sharing - video calling (Meet) - all Google apps - reliable uptime **Disadvantages:** - monthly costs per user - dependent on Google - privacy considerations (American servers) **For whom:** businesses already using Google, teams working together on documents ### 3. Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) **What is it?** Outlook email on own domain, plus Office apps. **Included:** Outlook, OneDrive, Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint **Advantages:** - full Office suite (desktop apps) - familiar Outlook interface - Microsoft Teams for collaboration - 1TB OneDrive storage - good integration with Windows - enterprise features **Disadvantages:** - more expensive than alternatives - more complex for small businesses - American servers **For whom:** businesses using Office, teams with lots of collaboration, enterprise environments ## cost comparison: what do you pay for email hosting? ### provider email (included with hosting) | Provider | Costs | Accounts | Storage | Webmail | |----------|-------|----------|---------|---------| | **TransIP** | Free* | 100 | 10GB/account | Yes | | **Hostnet** | Free* | Unlimited | 5GB/account | Yes | | **Vimexx** | Free* | 50 | 10GB/account | Yes | | **Antagonist** | Free* | Unlimited | 5GB/account | Yes | *with hosting package from €4-€6/month **Total:** €4-€6/month including hosting + email ### Google Workspace | Package | Costs/user | Storage | Best for | |---------|-----------|---------|----------| | **Business Starter** | €5.75/month | 30GB | Freelance, small teams | | **Business Standard** | €11.50/month | 2TB | Growing businesses | | **Business Plus** | €17.25/month | 5TB | Larger teams | **Total:** €5.75-€17.25/month per user ### Microsoft 365 | Package | Costs/user | Storage | Office apps | Best for | |---------|-----------|---------|-------------|----------| | **Business Basic** | €5.10/month | 1TB | Web only | Budget teams | | **Business Standard** | €11.70/month | 1TB | Desktop + web | Standard business | | **Business Premium** | €20.60/month | 1TB | Desktop + extra security | Enterprise | **Total:** €5.10-€20.60/month per user ### standalone email providers **ProtonMail** - €4.99/month - encrypted email, privacy focused **Zoho Mail** - €1.08/month - budget business email **Mailbox.org** - €3/month - European servers, privacy ## provider email vs Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 ### when do you choose provider email? **Choose this if:** - you have 1-5 employees - email basic functionality is sufficient - you want to keep budget minimal - you already have hosting with a provider - you don't need office apps **Budget example (5 people):** - Hosting + email: €6/month total - Extra costs: €0 **Total: €6/month for 5 accounts** ### when do you choose Google Workspace? **Choose this if:** - your team collaborates on documents - you use Google Drive a lot - you need video calling (Meet) - you prefer the Gmail interface - you don't need Office desktop apps **Budget example (5 people):** - 5x Business Starter: 5 × €5.75 = €28.75/month - Hosting (website): €6/month - Extra costs: €0 **Total: €34.75/month** ### when do you choose Microsoft 365? **Choose this if:** - you need Word, Excel, PowerPoint (desktop versions) - your team uses Microsoft Teams - you work a lot with Office files - you need enterprise security features - you're already in Microsoft ecosystem **Budget example (5 people):** - 5x Business Standard: 5 × €11.70 = €58.50/month - Hosting (website): €6/month - Extra costs: €0 **Total: €64.50/month** ## setup and ease of use ### provider email **Setup:** 1. choose hosting package 2. register domain 3. create email account in control panel 4. set up email on phone/computer **Average setup time:** 15-30 minutes **Ease of use:** reasonable. Webmail is functional but not fancy. IMAP/SMTP works fine with Outlook/Thunderbird/Mail app. ### Google Workspace **Setup:** 1. register with Google Workspace 2. verify domain 3. adjust MX records (DNS) 4. create users 5. configure apps **Average setup time:** 30-60 minutes **Ease of use:** excellent. Familiar Gmail interface, works everywhere immediately. ### Microsoft 365 **Setup:** 1. register with Microsoft 365 2. verify domain 3. set DNS records 4. add users 5. install Office apps **Average setup time:** 45-90 minutes **Ease of use:** good for Windows users, slightly more complex for Mac. Lots of features so learning curve. ## features comparison | Feature | Provider email | Google Workspace | Microsoft 365 | |---------|---------------|------------------|---------------| | **Own domain** | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | **Webmail** | Basic | Excellent | Good | | **Spam filter** | Reasonable | Excellent | Very good | | **Mobile apps** | IMAP/POP3 | Native apps | Native apps | | **Calendar** | Basic | Google Calendar | Outlook Calendar | | **Contacts** | Basic | Google Contacts | Outlook Contacts | | **Cloud storage** | 5-10GB | 30GB-5TB | 1TB | | **Office apps** | No | Web only (free) | Desktop + web | | **Video calling** | No | Google Meet | Teams | | **Document collaboration** | No | Docs/Sheets/Slides | Office Online | | **2FA security** | Sometimes | Yes | Yes | | **Support** | Provider | Google | Microsoft | ## best email hosting per use case ### best for freelancers and sole proprietors **Recommendation: Provider email (TransIP or Vimexx)** **Why:** - minimal costs (€5-€6/month total) - everything in one place - sufficient for basic email traffic - Dutch support **Setup:** take Vimexx hosting (€5.95/month), get free domain + 50 email accounts ### best for small teams (2-10 people) **Recommendation: Google Workspace Business Starter** **Why:** - affordable (€5.75/user/month) - familiar interface, low learning curve - good collaboration tools - reliable **Alternative:** if you don't want Google: provider email also works fine up to 10 people ### best for medium businesses (10-50 people) **Recommendation: Microsoft 365 Business Standard** **Why:** - full Office suite (essential at this scale) - Teams for internal communication - good management tools for IT - enterprise features available **Costs:** €11.70/user/month - for 20 people = €234/month ### best for privacy-conscious businesses **Recommendation: ProtonMail or Mailbox.org** **Why:** - European servers (GDPR compliant) - end-to-end encryption - no data mining - privacy focused **Costs:** €3-€5/user/month ### best for budget **Recommendation: Provider email or Zoho Mail** **Why:** - provider email: free with hosting - Zoho Mail: €1.08/user/month - both fine functionality **Note:** don't save on email when your business grows. Reliability is more important than saving €5/month. ## frequently asked questions about email hosting **Can I still switch providers later?** Yes! Email migration is relatively simple. Tools like IMAP sync copy all your old emails to your new provider. Do plan a weekend for the transition to minimize downtime. Keep old email available for at least 1 month. **How important is email uptime?** Very important for businesses. Missed emails = missed opportunities. Google and Microsoft offer 99.9% uptime guarantee. Hosting providers are usually slightly lower (99-99.5%). For mission-critical email: choose Google or Microsoft. **Can I have email and hosting with different providers?** Yes, that works fine! Many businesses have hosting with TransIP but email with Google Workspace. You point the MX records of your domain to your email provider. This gives flexibility to switch later. **What is the difference between POP3 and IMAP?** IMAP synchronizes emails between devices (recommended), POP3 downloads emails to one device. Always use IMAP for business email, unless you have specific reasons for POP3. **How much storage do I need per email account?** Average business use: 2-5GB per year. For heavy users (lots of attachments): 10-20GB. Start with 5-10GB per account. Google and Microsoft offer lots of storage (1TB+), provider email often 5-10GB. ## email security and spam **Essential security measures:** **SPF record** - prevents others from sending emails on behalf of your domain **DKIM** - digital signature for your emails **DMARC** - policy for handling spam/phishing **SSL/TLS** - encrypted email transmission **2-factor authentication** - extra security for login Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 have this well configured by default. With provider email you sometimes have to configure this yourself. **Spam filtering:** - Google: best spam filter (machine learning) - Microsoft: very good (advanced filters) - Provider email: reasonable (basic filtering) **Tip:** use extra spam filter (SpamTitan, Barracuda) if you get a lot of spam with provider email. ## email migration: switching to new provider **Step-by-step:** 1. **Create new email account** with new provider 2. **Run IMAP sync** - copies old emails to new account 3. **Prepare DNS changes** but don't activate yet 4. **Test new email** - send/receive test mails 5. **Inform important contacts** about possible short downtime 6. **Update MX records** - points domain to new email server 7. **Wait 24-48 hours** - DNS propagation 8. **Monitor both accounts** first week 9. **Deactivate old email** after 1 month **Tools for email migration:** - **ImapSync** - free, command line - **Google Workspace Migration Tool** - free with Workspace - **Microsoft 365 Migration** - built-in - **Professional migration services** - €50-€200 if you don't want to do it yourself ## cost breakdown: what do you really pay? ### scenario 1: sole proprietor (1 person) **Option A: Provider email** - Vimexx hosting + email: €5.95/month - Domain: free first year - **Total: €71.40/year** **Option B: Google Workspace** - Business Starter: €5.75/month - Hosting (website): €5.95/month - **Total: €140.40/year** **Advice:** provider email. Save €69/year. ### scenario 2: small business (5 people) **Option A: Provider email** - Hosting + 5 accounts: €5.95/month - **Total: €71.40/year** **Option B: Google Workspace** - 5× Business Starter: €28.75/month - Hosting: €5.95/month - **Total: €416.40/year** **Advice:** depends on needs. Collaboration important? Google. Basic email sufficient? Provider. ### scenario 3: growing business (15 people) **Option A: Provider email** - Hosting + 15 accounts: €5.95/month - **Total: €71.40/year** **Option B: Google Workspace** - 15× Business Standard: €172.50/month - Hosting: €5.95/month - **Total: €2,141.40/year** **Option C: Microsoft 365** - 15× Business Standard: €175.50/month - Hosting: €5.95/month - **Total: €2,177.40/year** **Advice:** at this scale Google/Microsoft are worth it. Office apps and collaboration tools save more time than they cost. ## get started with professional email **For most small businesses and freelancers:** start with email from your hosting provider. It's free, simple, and sufficient for basic needs. **When you grow or collaborate intensively:** upgrade to Google Workspace. The extra costs are worth the productivity gain. **For businesses with Office needs:** Microsoft 365 is the logical choice. You're already paying for Office licenses, so get professional email with it. ## our recommendations per profile **Freelancer/sole proprietor:** - Start: **Vimexx** hosting + email (€5.95/month) - Later: stay here or upgrade to Google Workspace Starter **Small team (2-10):** - Budget: **Provider email** with TransIP/Vimexx - Collaboration: **Google Workspace** Business Starter **Growing business (10-50):** - Standard: **Microsoft 365** Business Standard - Google fans: **Google Workspace** Business Standard **Enterprise (50+):** - **Microsoft 365** Business Premium - Or **Google Workspace** Business Plus Compare all hosting providers with email options on our [comparison page](/nl/vergelijk). For complete hosting + email packages, check our reviews of [TransIP](/nl/providers/transip), [Vimexx](/nl/providers/vimexx) and [Hostnet](/nl/providers/hostnet).