A Google Workspace alternative for custom-domain email
If you pay for Workspace mostly to get email on your own domains, MarkRelay gives every domain, shared inbox and teammate a mailbox under one flat license, in your own Cloudflare account.
Facts checked
The short answer
Google Workspace is priced per user: Business Starter is $7 per user per month on an annual plan ($8.40 on the flexible plan), and every account people sign in to, including a shared support@ inbox or a mailbox on a second domain, is another user. MarkRelay is one license for your Cloudflare account (from $99/year) plus Cloudflare's own usage, with no charge per user, domain or mailbox, so a team of three with two shared inboxes already pays less, and the gap widens with every hire and brand. It is email only: keep Workspace if your team lives in Docs, Drive and Meet, or move just your extra domains and shared inboxes and keep Workspace for the rest.
Side by side
| Feature | MarkRelayLicense from $99/yr | Google WorkspaceBusiness Starter |
|---|---|---|
| How it is priced | One license per Cloudflare account ($99/yr or $249 once) plus Cloudflare usage | Per user: Starter $7, Standard $14, Plus $22 per month on the annual plan |
| Removing people | No seats to remove | Annual plan: licenses drop only at renewal; cancelling early still owes the full commitment |
| Another domain | Its own mailboxes, no extra cost | Secondary domain: each user is paid for; user alias domain (up to 20): free, but mail goes to the same inboxes |
| support@, billing@ | A mailbox each, granted to the people who answer it | Free aliases (up to 30 per user) land in one person's inbox; a Google Groups Collaborative Inbox; or a delegated account, which is a paid user |
| Who sees which mailbox | Granted mailbox by mailbox; administrators see all | Each user's own inbox, plus delegation and groups |
| Mail from apps and AI agents | HTTP API, signed inbound webhooks and an API key scoped to one mailbox | Gmail API or SMTP as a user, 2,000 messages per user per day, then sending pauses for up to 24 hours |
| Built-in AI | None reads your mail; connect your own agent if you want one | Gemini is included in every Business plan and its price |
| Where mail is stored | Your own Cloudflare D1 and R2 | |
| Where people read mail | MarkRelay webmail in any browser, desktop or phone | Gmail on the web and its apps, Outlook and other IMAP clients |
| Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar | No | Yes |
| Needs | Domains on Cloudflare DNS (the Free plan works); Workers Paid to send | Any DNS host |
How it is priced
- MarkRelay
- One license per Cloudflare account ($99/yr or $249 once) plus Cloudflare usage
- Google Workspace
- Per user: Starter $7, Standard $14, Plus $22 per month on the annual plan
Removing people
- MarkRelay
- No seats to remove
- Google Workspace
- Annual plan: licenses drop only at renewal; cancelling early still owes the full commitment
Another domain
- MarkRelay
- Its own mailboxes, no extra cost
- Google Workspace
- Secondary domain: each user is paid for; user alias domain (up to 20): free, but mail goes to the same inboxes
support@, billing@
- MarkRelay
- A mailbox each, granted to the people who answer it
- Google Workspace
- Free aliases (up to 30 per user) land in one person's inbox; a Google Groups Collaborative Inbox; or a delegated account, which is a paid user
Who sees which mailbox
- MarkRelay
- Granted mailbox by mailbox; administrators see all
- Google Workspace
- Each user's own inbox, plus delegation and groups
Mail from apps and AI agents
- MarkRelay
- HTTP API, signed inbound webhooks and an API key scoped to one mailbox
- Google Workspace
- Gmail API or SMTP as a user, 2,000 messages per user per day, then sending pauses for up to 24 hours
Built-in AI
- MarkRelay
- None reads your mail; connect your own agent if you want one
- Google Workspace
- Gemini is included in every Business plan and its price
Where mail is stored
- MarkRelay
- Your own Cloudflare D1 and R2
- Google Workspace
Where people read mail
- MarkRelay
- MarkRelay webmail in any browser, desktop or phone
- Google Workspace
- Gmail on the web and its apps, Outlook and other IMAP clients
Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar
- MarkRelay
- No
- Google Workspace
- Yes
Needs
- MarkRelay
- Domains on Cloudflare DNS (the Free plan works); Workers Paid to send
- Google Workspace
- Any DNS host
Google Workspace facts from its pricing page and admin help center, checked October 18, 2026. Prices are US list prices before tax and introductory offers.
Which one fits you
Stay on Google Workspace if
- Your team works in Docs, Sheets, Drive, Meet and Calendar every day.
- People read mail in Outlook, Apple Mail or a phone's mail app.
- You are a team of one: a single Starter seat costs less than MarkRelay.
Run both if
- You keep Workspace for your main domain and the people who need its apps.
- Your other brands, product domains and shared inboxes move to MarkRelay, one domain at a time.
Choose MarkRelay if
- You pay for Workspace mainly to have email on your domains.
- You run several domains or shared inboxes and pay a seat for each.
- Your apps and AI agents send and receive mail as well as people.
- Mail should stay in your own Cloudflare account, with no built-in AI reading it.
What a year of email costs
| Team | Google Workspace$84 per seat, Business Starter | MarkRelay$99 license + $60 Cloudflare, any team size | You savePer year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $841 seat | $159 | Google Workspace is $75 less |
| 3 people, plus support@ and billing@ inboxes | $4205 seats | $159 | $26162% less |
| 10 people, plus 2 shared inboxes | $1,00812 seats | $159 | $84984% less |
| 25 people | $2,10025 seats | $180Sends 8,000 emails/mo | $1,92091% less |
1 person
Google Workspace
MarkRelay
3 people, plus support@ and billing@ inboxes
Google Workspace
MarkRelay
10 people, plus 2 shared inboxes
Google Workspace
MarkRelay
25 people
Google Workspace
MarkRelay
The MarkRelay license is $99/year whatever the number of people, domains and mailboxes. Cloudflare bills sending separately: Workers Paid is $5/month ($60/year) with 3,000 emails a month included, then $0.35 per 1,000; receiving is free. Google Workspace Business Starter is $7 per user per month on the annual plan ($8.40 flexible), and each shared inbox people sign in to is a user.
Common questions
Is MarkRelay cheaper than Google Workspace?
From about two people on. A team of 10 with 2 shared inboxes pays $1,008 a year on Business Starter and about $159 on MarkRelay, license and Cloudflare included. For one person, a single Starter seat ($84 a year) costs less.
Can I keep Google Workspace for some domains?
Yes. Each domain's MX records point at either Google or Cloudflare Email Routing, so you can move one domain at a time: keep your main domain on Workspace and run your other brands and product domains in MarkRelay. Within one domain, all of its mail goes to one place.
How do shared inboxes like support@ work?
Each address is its own mailbox. An administrator grants it to the people who answer it, and they see it next to their other mailboxes; nobody else does. The inbox itself is not a user and costs nothing.
What happens to the mail already in Gmail?
It stays in your Google account until you remove it, and you can keep a copy with Google Takeout. MarkRelay receives new mail from the moment the domain's MX records point at Cloudflare Email Routing.
Can we read mail on our phones?
Yes, in MarkRelay's webmail in the phone's browser. Mail is read in MarkRelay rather than synced into the phone's built-in mail app, Gmail or Outlook.
Can our app or AI agent send from our domain without a Workspace seat?
Yes. Give it its own mailbox and an API key that reaches only that mailbox: it sends, reads and replies over HTTP, and new mail reaches it as a signed webhook. There is no per-user daily cap like Gmail's 2,000 messages; sending is billed by Cloudflare per email.
Does any AI read our mail?
No built-in AI reads your mail. An AI agent sees mail only if you connect one, and then only the mailboxes its API key is granted.
Keep reading
Own your email stack today
Buy MarkRelay once and run it in your Cloudflare account. MarkRelay adds no per-message or per-seat charge; Cloudflare usage and service limits remain separate.