Best Email Hosting Services of 2026

If you're looking for email hosting services with ultra-affordable pricing and solid mid-volume sending capabilities, Hostinger delivers with a very reasonably priced entry plan. 

ScalaHosting is the best email hosting service for businesses running multiple websites and needing greater flexibility and customization.

For those who need professional features but send fewer emails, Bluehost offers a great feature set, including read receipts, calendar scheduling, and advanced email management tools that help small businesses stay organized.

Each of these email hosting services excels in different areas, and we've highlighted the specific use cases where each one shines. Whether you're running multiple businesses and need unlimited domains (ScalaHosting), want to keep costs down while sending thousands of emails per day (Hostinger), or need professional features for a smaller operation (Bluehost), there's an email hosting solution on our list that can fit your needs.

The best email hosting services 2026

Compare the best email hosting providers

Best for	Best for budget-conscious small businesses	Best for businesses managing multiple domains	Best for low-volume sending with pro features
Star rating	5.0 AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.	4.9 AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.	4.9 AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.
Starting price	Starting at $0.35/mo	Starting at $4.95/mo	Starting at $1.67/mo
Money-back guarantee or free trial	Yes — 30-day money-back guarantee	Yes — cancel anytime and get a pro-rated refund
User accounts	1- unlimited	10 - unlimited	1 - 300
Storage	10 GB - 50 GB/mailbox	50 GB - 2,000 GB/account	10 GB - 50 GB/mailbox
Email sending limits	1,000 - 3,000/day/mailbox	100 - 1,000/hour	150/hour
Email features	AI tools, email aliases and forwarding rules, optional email marketing suite	Flexible, feature-rich custom plan, multi-domain support on higher tiers, daily offsite backups	Read receipts, auto-replies, imports, templates, grammar and spell check on upgrade
Support	24/7 support	24/7 support	24/7 support
Free domain for a year	On tier two plan	On top-tier plan
Learn more	Get Hostinger Read Hostinger Review	Get ScalaHosting Read ScalaHosting Review	Get Bluehost Read Bluehost Review

How we tested the best email hosting services

We tested several email hosts before narrowing our selection down to Hostinger, ScalaHosting, and Bluehost. We tested these providers through their web hosting plans, which include email hosting. We also tested using some of our personal accounts.

As part of our research, we took into consideration how much each host charges and what you actually get for the price, including:

• Storage: How much memory you get for emails and attachments before you're forced to delete old messages or pay for more space, typically ranging from 10 GB to 2,000 GB, depending on the provider and plan.
• Number of mailboxes and aliases: How many email accounts and forwarding aliases you can create under a single plan, which matters if you're managing a team or multiple contact addresses.
• AI features: Whether the provider includes AI tools such as smart replies, email summarization, or writing assistance, and whether they're available on entry-level plans or locked behind an upgrade.
• Email client access (IMAP/POP/SMTP): The ability to use your preferred email app (such as Outlook, Thunderbird, or Apple Mail) instead of being stuck with webmail.
• Spam filtering: How well the service keeps junk out of your inbox without flagging legitimate emails as spam.
• Mobile sync and support: Whether you can access your email on your phone with push notifications.
• Sending limits: The maximum number of emails you can send per hour or day.
• Domain features: Whether the plan includes a free domain name (saving you $10 to $15 annually), and if you can manage multiple domains under one account.
• Customer support availability: Including the quality of service, and whether you can get 24/7 help when things break, or you're stuck waiting until business hours.

Because all three providers bundle email hosting with web hosting plans, we also evaluated website performance — including uptime, page load speed, and stress testing — to give a complete picture of each service.

To learn more about how we test, check out our full testing methodology here.

Hostinger: Best for budget-conscious small businesses

What we liked

Ultra-low pricing: With promo pricing starting at under $1/mo and even renewal rates staying low, it’s tough to find a better deal on email hosting than Hostinger.

AI tools on tier two: Hostinger’s second-tier plan includes an entire suite of AI tools (and these are also included with the free 1-year email trial plan that comes with Hostinger’s web hosting). There’s an AI mailbox assistant, AI-powered email search, AI-driven email replies, and more.

Generous sending limits: The entry-level Starter plan lets you send up to 1,000 emails per day, per mailbox, while the Premium plan bumps that up to 3,000. That’s more than enough for any small- to medium-sized business.

Hostinger Reach email marketing: Hostinger offers a new email marketing service. It’s similar to bulk email services like Brevo and MailChimp, and complements the regular business email features nicely.

Extra storage available: If your storage space isn’t enough, Hostinger makes it easy to buy more during checkout. You can choose from an extra 30 GB or 50 GB.

What we didn’t like

Not a single AI tool on tier one: We understand the selling proposition of upgrading to a higher-tier plan to access more features, but it would be nice if the tier one plan included at least one of the AI tools available on tier two. The higher-tier plan would maintain its value, and the upgrade rate might even increase if users got a taste of what’s available.

Test results

If you need an email hosting service that also offers web hosting, you’ll probably be interested in how reliable the provider is and how fast an average web page loads. We conducted an in-depth examination of Hostinger’s web hosting, including building a mock site and testing its performance.  

Star rating summary

Overall, we’re big fans of Hostinger. It offers some of the most competitive pricing on the market for both web and email hosting, with great features to boot. One downside is that there’s no phone support, but the company’s 24/7 live chat is so effective that you probably won’t notice or care.

ScalaHosting: Best for businesses managing multiple domains

What we liked

Flexible custom plan: ScalaHosting’s custom plan supports unlimited email accounts and unlimited email domains. You choose how much NVMe storage you need, which determines your monthly fee. In addition, it offers a slew of features, including a dedicated IP address, a free domain for the first year, blacklist monitoring, white-labeling, priority support, and more.

Multi-domain support: Aside from the entry-level plan, all of ScalaHosting’s plans let you create email addresses from multiple domains. This is very useful for those who own multiple businesses and need to send professional emails for each.

No inode limit: You can store unlimited emails and attachments on all plans with ScalaHosting, and the provider doesn’t limit the number of files your mailbox can hold.

What we didn’t like

The price: It’s tough to find a real flaw with ScalaHosting’s email plans, other than the fact that they’re generally more expensive than the alternatives. At the same time, the prices are mostly justified when you consider everything that the plans include. Still, if business email costs are a major concern, and you’re looking for a simpler, more affordable option, then Scala isn’t necessarily the best fit.

Test results

When we conducted our in-depth testing of ScalaHosting’s web hosting plans, it performed very well. With a strong overall performance score and both FCP and LCP scores coming in at under 1 second, you won’t be disappointed if you combine your email hosting with a ScalaHosting plan for your website.

Star rating summary

ScalaHosting is reliable where it matters, with great performance and security. It also includes all the features you need to host a website and manage your email. The support is reliable, and the company has a good overall reputation online. The only real reason to choose Hostinger or Bluehost instead is if you have simpler email needs and want to save money. Otherwise, ScalaHosting is the way to go.

Bluehost: Best for low-volume sending with professional features

What we liked

Read receipts: This is a great feature that shows you if email recipients are opening your emails. It can help you adjust your subject lines or clean up your list to keep only active readers. The tier one plan limits you to 10 read receipts per month, making it more of a teaser feature, but the tier two plan removes the cap entirely and gives you unlimited read receipts.

Calendar scheduling: With Bluehost, you can add appointments and share your calendar with others, even those using other email platforms.

Advanced features on second-tier plan: Bluehost’s tier one email hosting is adequate, but it gets more exciting with the second-tier plan. You get everything from email templates to options like unsend and send later, which can help you save time and stay organized.

What we didn’t like

Sending volume limits are low: Regardless of which plan you’re on, Bluehost caps you at 150 outbound emails per hour. That’s relatively low if you have a decent-sized business, and it’s problematic for email newsletters with thousands of subscribers.

Test results

Bluehost received a perfect performance score in our hands-on testing, with impressive FCP and LCP scores well under 1 second. In short, if you use Bluehost to manage your website alongside your email, you should expect very reliable performance.

Star rating summary

Bluehost’s main downside is its relatively high renewal rates. It can get expensive if your website doesn’t start generating income to offset the hosting costs by the time your initial contract expires. This problem also extends to certain features provided by third-party add-ons such as CodeGuard and SiteLock.

Bluehost offers free trials for these products on higher-tier plans, but once the trial period ends, they become an additional expense. If you’re happy with that, then it’s an excellent choice for both web hosting and low-volume email hosting.

Email hosting vs. web hosting: What's the difference?

Web hosting and email hosting are often bundled together, but they’re actually separate services. Think of web hosting as a home for your website on the internet. It stores all of your website's files, images, and code much like a house stores furniture, appliances, and so on. 

On the other hand, email hosting is more like your mailbox. It handles your incoming and outgoing messages, stores them on servers, and ensures that your emails get from point A to point B.

The reason so many companies bundle these services is that matching your website and email domains makes your site look more professional. Managing both services under one roof also means fewer bills to track, one support team to call, and, usually, some cost savings. 

At the same time, you aren't required to purchase web hosting if you only want email hosting. Dedicated email hosting services do exist, and they often offer more features than the email services bundled with hosting plans.

What security features should business email hosting services have?

Most people associate email security with blocking spam messages, and while that is an important component of it, there’s definitely more to it. Email security does a lot of other things in the background that you probably aren’t aware of, but all those features keep your inbox safe. Here’s a rundown of what a good email security setup should offer:

• Spam and malware filtering: Because nobody wants to hear from a wealthy prince with questionable promises or receive messages that contain viruses.
• SSL/TLS encryption: Encrypts your emails in transit so they can't be intercepted and read by prying eyes.
• Two-factor authentication (2FA): Adds an extra security layer beyond your password, making unauthorized access much more difficult.
• Automatic backups: Your emails get backed up regularly, so you're not scrambling to recover everything if something goes wrong.
• Advanced threat protection: Scans attachments and links for suspicious activity before they reach your inbox.
• DMARC, SPF, and DKIM protocols: These authentication methods verify that emails claiming to be from your domain actually are from your domain, which is crucial for preventing impersonation.
• Anti-phishing tools: These identify and block emails designed to trick you into sharing sensitive information.

Bottom line: The best email hosting service

ScalaHosting is the best email hosting service on the market today. It’s so powerful that it might be too much for simpler email needs, but if you want a powerhouse email service, then Scala’s custom-built plans have no equal. With unlimited email accounts and unlimited domains, your only decision is how much storage you want to pay for. With advanced features like a dedicated IP address and white labeling, you can even sublet your own email hosting business through Scala.

That said, Hostinger remains our top pick for budget-conscious businesses that need robust functionality. With ultra-low promotional pricing and sending limits of up to 3,000 emails per day, per mailbox, it's hard to beat, especially when you factor in the AI-powered tools available with the premium plan. It’s also one of the overall best web hosting services we’ve tested.

Meanwhile, Bluehost is ideal for smaller operations that prioritize professional features like read receipts and advanced email management over high-volume sending. All three services offer 24/7 support and reliable performance, so your final choice really comes down to the feature set and price point that meets your needs.

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