Custom domain email hosting in 2026: Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoho, Fastmail and Proton pricing compared

Per-user prices, free plans, storage and app access for the main business email providers, each checked on its own site, and what a team of 1, 5 or 15 pays a year.

Published by: MarkRelay Research
Updated: October 25, 2026
Sources: 6 primary sources, linked below

Summary

For email on your own domain, Zoho Mail is the cheapest per user ($1 a month with Mail Lite, and free for up to 5 users without IMAP), followed by Fastmail Standard ($5) and Proton Mail Essentials ($6.99); Google Workspace Business Starter and Microsoft 365 Business Basic are both $7, all paid yearly. All of them charge per user. MarkRelay charges per deployment, $99 a year plus $5 a month for Cloudflare Workers Paid, so a team of 15 pays $159 a year against $1,260 on Workspace; it is webmail and API only, without IMAP or office apps.

Key findings

1Cheapest per user: Zoho Mail Lite $1, then Fastmail Basic $3 (no custom domain of its own) and Standard $5, Proton Mail Essentials $6.99, Workspace Starter and Microsoft 365 Basic $7, per month paid yearly.
2The only free plan with a mailbox on your domain is Zoho Forever Free: 5 users, 5 GB each, one domain, no IMAP.
3Monthly billing costs more: Workspace Starter and Microsoft 365 Basic $8.40, Fastmail Standard $6; Zoho Mail Lite has no monthly plan.
4A flat-priced deployment changes the maths from about two users: MarkRelay is $159 a year for any team size, before sending beyond 3,000 emails a month.

Questions this report answers

Asked by real people, quoted as they wrote them.

“Which is the best business email provider that is not Google or Microsoft?”

r/smallbusiness, 35 comments

By price: Zoho Mail ($1 per user), Fastmail ($5 with custom domains) and Proton Mail Essentials ($6.99). Fastmail Standard works in third-party apps such as Outlook and iPhone Mail. MarkRelay is a flat-priced option that runs in your own Cloudflare account.

“What email service do you use with custom domain?”

r/CloudFlare, 79 comments

The table below lists what each provider costs and includes. If the domain is already on Cloudflare, Email Routing can forward it for free, and MarkRelay can turn it into mailboxes in the same account.

“Cheapest way to get a .com + website + business email?”

r/Domains, 50 comments

For the email part: Zoho Mail Forever Free for up to 5 users, or Cloudflare Email Routing forwarding to an inbox you already have, both free. The cheapest paid mailbox we checked is Zoho Mail Lite at $1 per user a month. We did not compare domain or website prices here.

“can i get a free business email address”

Google and Bing search suggestion

Yes: Zoho Mail Forever Free gives up to 5 users a mailbox on one domain you own. Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 have trials but no free plan.

Business email on your own domain (USD)

Plan	Zoho Mail Lite	Fastmail Standard	Proton Mail Essentials	Workspace Starter	Microsoft 365 Basic	MarkRelay$99/yr + Cloudflare
Per user a month, yearly	$1	$5	$6.99	$7	$7	Flat, not per user
Per user a month, monthly	No monthly plan	$6	Not stated	$8.40	$8.40	Not stated
Free plan	Forever Free, 5 users	30-day trial	Not stated	14-day trial	Not stated	No
Mail storage per user	5 GB	60 GB	15 GB	30 GB pooled	Not stated	Your R2, billed per GB
Where mail is kept	Zoho	Fastmail	Proton	Google	Microsoft	Your Cloudflare D1 and R2

Per user a month, yearly

Zoho Mail Lite: $1
Fastmail Standard: $5
Proton Mail Essentials: $6.99
Workspace Starter: $7
Microsoft 365 Basic: $7
MarkRelay: Flat, not per user

Per user a month, monthly

Zoho Mail Lite: No monthly plan
Fastmail Standard: $6
Proton Mail Essentials: Not stated
Workspace Starter: $8.40
Microsoft 365 Basic: $8.40
MarkRelay: Not stated

Free plan

Zoho Mail Lite: Forever Free, 5 users
Fastmail Standard: 30-day trial
Proton Mail Essentials: Not stated
Workspace Starter: 14-day trial
Microsoft 365 Basic: Not stated
MarkRelay: No

Mail storage per user

Zoho Mail Lite: 5 GB
Fastmail Standard: 60 GB
Proton Mail Essentials: 15 GB
Workspace Starter: 30 GB pooled
Microsoft 365 Basic: Not stated
MarkRelay: Your R2, billed per GB

Where mail is kept

Zoho Mail Lite: Zoho
Fastmail Standard: Fastmail
Proton Mail Essentials: Proton
Workspace Starter: Google
Microsoft 365 Basic: Microsoft
MarkRelay: Your Cloudflare D1 and R2

Not stated means the provider's own page does not say. Proton Mail Essentials includes 3 custom domains and 10 addresses per user. MarkRelay is $99 a year plus Cloudflare Workers Paid at $5 a month. Source: Zoho Mail pricing, Fastmail pricing, Proton business pricing, Google Workspace pricing, Microsoft 365 Business Basic.

What a team pays a year

Users	Zoho Mail Lite	Fastmail Standard	Proton Essentials	Workspace / M365	MarkRelay$99/yr + Cloudflare
1	$12	$60	$83.88	$84	$159
5	$60	$300	$419.40	$420	$159
15	$180	$900	$1,258.20	$1,260	$159

Zoho Mail Lite: $12
Fastmail Standard: $60
Proton Essentials: $83.88
Workspace / M365: $84
MarkRelay: $159

Zoho Mail Lite: $60
Fastmail Standard: $300
Proton Essentials: $419.40
Workspace / M365: $420
MarkRelay: $159

Zoho Mail Lite: $180
Fastmail Standard: $900
Proton Essentials: $1,258.20
Workspace / M365: $1,260
MarkRelay: $159

Yearly prices for the plan named. MarkRelay is the $99 Annual license plus $5 a month for Cloudflare Workers Paid, the same for any team size, with 3,000 sent emails a month included; receiving is free.

Per user or per deployment

Every hosted provider here prices by user, so the bill grows with each person, shared inbox that needs its own login, and mailbox for an app or agent. A self-hosted deployment prices the other way: a fixed cost for the software and the infrastructure, then usage. The crossover is low because the per-user prices are low but never zero.

What you give up with MarkRelay is the rest of an office suite and IMAP access from desktop and phone mail apps. What you get is mail stored in your own Cloudflare account, any number of domains and mailboxes, and an API, webhooks and broadcasts on the same mailboxes.

Where MarkRelay fits

A good fit when

More than two people, several domains, or shared and app mailboxes that would each be a seat elsewhere.
Mail that should stay in your own Cloudflare account, with an API for apps and AI agents.

Look elsewhere when

You need IMAP in Outlook, Apple Mail or phone apps, or Docs, Drive and Meet.
One person who wants the cheapest mailbox: Zoho Mail Lite or Forever Free costs less.

Common questions

What is the cheapest custom domain email hosting?

Of those checked, Zoho Mail: Forever Free for up to 5 users without IMAP, then Mail Lite at $1 per user a month, billed yearly.

Is Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 cheaper?

Neither: Business Starter and Business Basic are both $7 per user a month paid yearly and $8.40 monthly.

Sources and method

Zoho Mail pricing (www.zoho.com/mail/zohomail-pricing.html)
Fastmail pricing (www.fastmail.com/pricing/us/)
Proton business pricing (proton.me/business/mail/pricing)
Google Workspace pricing (workspace.google.com/pricing)
Microsoft 365 Business Basic (www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-business-basic)
Cloudflare Email Service pricing (developers.cloudflare.com/email-service/platform/pricing/)

Facts are taken from each vendor's own pricing pages, documentation or terms as of the updated date above; prices are in US dollars per month unless stated. Cost comparisons apply each vendor's published rates to the same volume. MarkRelay is not affiliated with Google, Microsoft, Zoho, Fastmail or Proton;MarkRelay sells a self-hosted email app, which this page mentions where it fits. Spotted something outdated? Tell us.

Revisions

October 25, 2026: First published; every fact checked on the vendor's own pages.