The right Microsoft 365 alternative for business email depends on what you want to pay for. LotsMail charges one price per domain ($5 a month) for your whole team. Google Workspace, Zoho Mail, Fastmail and Proton charge per person, like Microsoft. Migadu and Purelymail charge one flat price per account.
Microsoft 365 Business Basic is $7.00 a user a month paid yearly, or $8.40 with a monthly subscription. That buys a lot: Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel and a 100 GB mailbox per person. But if what your team really needs is professional email on your own domain, ten people cost $70 a month before anyone opens a spreadsheet, and an agency pays it again for every person on every client domain.
I opened every provider's own pricing page on 23 October 2026 (LotsMail rechecked on 26 October 2026) and compared them on what changes the bill and the daily work: what you pay for, the entry price, mail apps and calendar, and how ChatGPT or Claude can work in the inbox. Prices are US dollars before tax, list prices only. Sources are at the end.
Microsoft 365 alternatives at a glance
| Provider | You pay for | Entry price (checked 23 Oct 2026) | Mail apps, calendar | AI and assistants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 (for reference) | Each user | Business Basic $7.00 a user a month paid yearly, $8.40 monthly; Exchange Online (Plan 1) $4.00 paid yearly | Outlook, calendar, Teams | Copilot Chat; Work IQ MCP for agents |
| LotsMail | Each domain | Starter $5 a month or $50 a year for 1 domain; unlimited mailboxes and teammates; LotsMail checked 26 Oct 2026 | Browser inbox on every device; import of old mail over IMAP; mail apps coming soon, no calendar | ChatGPT, Claude or any MCP client; read, draft or send set per mailbox |
| Google Workspace | Each user | Business Starter $7 a user a month with a 1-year commitment | Gmail, calendar, Meet, Docs | Gemini in Gmail; Gmail MCP server in developer preview |
| Zoho Mail | Each user | Mail Lite $1 a user a month, billed yearly only; free plan for 1 domain, up to 5 users | Mobile and desktop apps, calendar, migration | Zia assistant; Zoho MCP connects Zoho Mail to AI agents |
| Fastmail | Each user | Standard $5 a user a month yearly ($6 monthly), the first business plan with your own domain | Third-party apps from Standard; calendar and contacts | Official MCP server: read-only, write or send access |
| Proton Mail for Business | Each user | Mail Essentials $6.99 a user a month, billed yearly | Outlook, Thunderbird, Apple Mail; calendar | Lumo AI chat and a writing assistant on Workspace Premium |
| Migadu | Your account | Micro $19 a year; Mini $9 a month or $90 a year | SMTP, IMAP, POP3 and webmail | Not stated |
| Purelymail | Your account | $10 a year | IMAP, POP3, SMTP and webmail | Not stated |
What a team of 10 pays each month
Ten people on one domain, on each provider's entry plan that includes your own domain, yearly billing where offered (competitors checked 23 October 2026, LotsMail 26 October 2026):
| Provider and plan | How it adds up | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| LotsMail Starter | 1 domain × $5 | $5 |
| Zoho Mail Lite (5 GB) | 10 users × $1, billed yearly | $10 |
| Microsoft Exchange Online (Plan 1) | 10 users × $4.00 | $40 |
| Fastmail Standard | 10 users × $5 | $50 |
| Proton Mail Essentials | 10 users × $6.99 | $69.90 |
| Google Workspace Business Starter | 10 users × $7 | $70 |
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic | 10 users × $7.00 | $70 |
Migadu and Purelymail aren't in the table because they don't price per person: Migadu Mini is $9 a month for the whole account, and Purelymail is $10 a year.
Add a support@ and an orders@ mailbox, or hire two more people, and every per-person row grows. LotsMail's doesn't, because mailboxes, addresses and teammates are unlimited on every plan. For an agency the gap multiplies: 10 client domains with 2 people each is 20 Microsoft licences, $140 a month on Business Basic, against $50 a month on LotsMail Starter or $40 on LotsMail Pro (5 domains in the plan, 5 extra at your plan's rate).
1. LotsMail: one price per domain for your whole team
LotsMail is business email on your own domain, priced per domain, not per person. I built it for teams and agencies that keep buying seats when what they need is email for everyone.
- One price per domain. Starter is $5 a month or $50 a year for 1 domain, Pro is $20 or $200 for 5 domains and Business is $60 or $600 for 20 domains, with white-label on every domain. On every plan each domain gets unlimited mailboxes and people, 10 GB of shared storage and 1,000 outbound deliveries a month; add-ons for more are on the pricing page. Extra domains cost your plan's rate. Or skip the plan and pay as you go at $6 per domain a month from LotsTech Credits, with the same 10 GB and 1,000 deliveries as every domain.
- Unlimited mailboxes, addresses and teammates on every plan: a mailbox for each person, plus hello@, support@ and orders@, for the same price.
- Shared inboxes with access per mailbox. Give support@ to the people who answer it, as read, read and send, or full control. Nobody shares a password, and private mailboxes stay private, even from the workspace owner.
- Restricted mailboxes. An owner or admin can limit a mailbox to receive only from listed senders and send only to listed recipients (exact addresses or a whole domain like
*@yourclient.com), for people and AI agents alike. - Agencies: a domain per client under one account, each with its own storage and sending allowance. Client staff sign in to a branded webmail without a LotsTech account.
- Keep your DNS and website where they are. Add the records LotsMail shows you and point mail to it when you're ready. SPF, DKIM and DMARC are checked for you, and each send shows its delivery status.
- A full inbox on phone, tablet and desktop in the browser: threads, search, drafts, sent, archive and attachments.
- If a payment lapses, sending stops at once, incoming mail keeps arriving for 14 days and then pauses, and your mail is never deleted.
What you give up compared with Microsoft: LotsMail is email, not a suite. There's no Word, Excel or Teams and no calendar, and desktop and phone mail apps (Outlook or Apple Mail over IMAP and SMTP) are coming soon. Your current provider keeps your existing mail, and you can copy it into LotsMail with Import mail: Gmail, Google Workspace, Zoho, Yahoo or any host with IMAP, using an app password. Importing from Microsoft 365 and Outlook.com isn't available yet (planned, no date), and calendar and contacts aren't imported. LotsMail also has no group email or distribution lists: an address delivers to one mailbox, so for team@ you use a shared mailbox. It's for normal business email, never newsletters, marketing or cold email. I put the two side by side in LotsMail vs Microsoft 365.
ChatGPT or Claude in the inbox
LotsMail works with the AI agent you already use. Connect ChatGPT, Claude, Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or any MCP client to https://api.lotsmail.to/mcp and sign in with your Lots account; agents without MCP use the REST API. There's no built-in AI and no model costs: your own assistant reads, sorts and drafts.
You choose per mailbox whether the assistant may read, draft or send. Sending by agents is off until you turn it on, so replies wait in Drafts. Nothing sends without you. Once connected, try:
In LotsMail, check my inbox and the support@ mailbox. List what came in since yesterday that needs a reply, with who wants what and by when, and write a reply draft for each one. Don't send anything.
The assistant uses list_mailboxes, list_threads, get_thread and create_draft. Domains, DNS, mailboxes, team access and billing stay in the dashboard, which does the whole job on its own too. Setup for each assistant is on the connect page.
Start free: 5,000 free credits, valid 90 days, no card. Start with LotsMail.
Choose LotsMail if you want everyone and every role address on your domain for one price, shared inboxes with access per mailbox, and ChatGPT or Claude helping with the inbox, and you're happy in a browser inbox while mail apps arrive.
2. Google Workspace: the other suite, per user
Google Workspace Business Starter is $7 a user a month with a one-year commitment, Business Standard $14 and Business Plus $22. Storage is pooled across the team: 30 GB per user on Starter, 2 TB on Standard and 5 TB on Plus. Business plans cover up to 300 users, every user can have up to 30 aliases at no extra cost, and you get Gmail, Calendar, Meet, Drive and Docs together, with a free trial.
Choose Google Workspace if your team works in Docs and Meet every day and you want those apps alongside email. For the full list of options from that side, see Google Workspace alternatives for business email.
3. Zoho Mail: the lowest per-user price, with a free plan
Zoho Mail prices per user. Mail Lite is $1 a user a month with 5 GB and Mail Premium $4 (50 GB plus 50 GB of retention storage), both billed yearly with no monthly plan. Workplace Standard ($3 a user a month yearly, $4 monthly) and Workplace Professional ($6 yearly, $7 monthly) add Zoho's office apps. The Forever Free plan hosts one domain for up to 5 users with 5 GB each, without IMAP, POP or ActiveSync. Paid plans include mobile and desktop apps, calendar and migration help, and the top plan has a 15-day trial with no card.
Zoho MCP lists Zoho Mail among the apps it connects to AI agents. For one to four people, Zoho Mail Lite or the free plan costs less than LotsMail.
Choose Zoho Mail if you want the lowest per-user price with mail apps and calendar today.
4. Fastmail: independent email with calendar and an MCP server
Fastmail's business plans are Basic ($3 a user a month yearly, $4 monthly), Standard ($5 or $6) and Professional ($9 or $10). Addresses on your own domain and third-party apps such as Outlook and iPhone Mail start on Standard, which has 60 GB per user. Calendar and contacts are included, and you can try it free for up to 30 days.
Fastmail also runs its own MCP server: you grant an AI client read-only, write or send access, though attachments aren't available over MCP yet.
Choose Fastmail if you want an independent provider with calendar and mail apps, and per-person pricing suits your team size.
5. Proton Mail for Business: privacy first, per user
Proton prices per user, billed yearly: Mail Essentials $6.99 (15 GB, 3 custom domains, 10 addresses per user), Workspace Standard $12.99 (1 TB, 15 domains, 20 addresses) and Workspace Premium $19.99 (3 TB, 20 domains, Lumo AI chat and an email writing assistant). Every plan works with Outlook, Thunderbird and Apple Mail, has calendar and migration from other providers, a 14-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Choose Proton if encrypted email is your first requirement and your domain count fits the plan.
6. Migadu: a flat price per account, made for many domains
Migadu charges per account, not per mailbox or domain. Micro is $19 a year (yearly only, 5 GB, 20 outgoing messages a day), Mini $9 a month or $90 a year (30 GB, 100 a day), Standard $29 or $290 (100 GB, 500 a day) and Maxi $99 or $990 (500 GB, 2,000 a day). Addresses are unlimited, limits are shared by every domain and mailbox on the account, and its FAQ says many users are agencies hosting client domains. You get SMTP, IMAP and POP3 plus webmail.
Choose Migadu if you want a low flat price with mail apps today and your combined sending fits the account's daily limit.
7. Purelymail: the lowest flat price, for technical users
Purelymail costs $10 a year with no hard limits on users, custom domains or storage; heavy use can move you to usage-based advanced pricing. You get IMAP, POP3 and SMTP plus webmail.
Choose Purelymail if you're comfortable setting up mail yourself and price matters most.
When to stay on Microsoft 365
Stay if your team lives in Outlook, Teams and Office, or a client requires them. Business Basic includes Outlook on the web and mobile, Teams, 1 TB of OneDrive per user and a 100 GB mailbox with a 50 GB archive, for 1 to 300 users. Its shared mailboxes need no licence up to 50 GB. If you only want Microsoft's email, Exchange Online (Plan 1) is $4.00 a user a month paid yearly with a 50 GB mailbox.
LotsMail isn't a Microsoft 365 replacement: it's the email part, priced per domain. Some teams keep Office for the people who need it and move everyone's email elsewhere; that's a decision about how your team works, not just price.
How to choose
- Your whole team and every role address on your domain, one price, ChatGPT or Claude in the inbox: LotsMail.
- Docs, Meet and Gmail together: Google Workspace.
- The lowest per-user price with mail apps and calendar: Zoho Mail.
- An independent provider with calendar and its own MCP server: Fastmail.
- Privacy first: Proton Mail for Business.
- A flat price for many domains, mail apps today: Migadu or Purelymail.
If connecting an assistant is part of the decision, I compared how each provider handles it in business email providers with MCP support.
FAQ
What is the best Microsoft 365 alternative for business email?
It depends on how you want to pay. If you have several people or role addresses on one domain, LotsMail's one price per domain ($5 a month on Starter) keeps the bill flat as the team grows. If you want a suite with documents and meetings, Google Workspace is the closest match. For the lowest per-user price with mail apps, Zoho Mail Lite starts at $1 a user a month billed yearly.
How much does Microsoft 365 cost for business email?
On 23 October 2026, Microsoft 365 Business Basic was $7.00 a user a month paid yearly, or $8.40 with a monthly subscription. The email-only Exchange Online (Plan 1) was $4.00 a user a month paid yearly. Business Standard with Copilot was $23.50 and Business Premium with Copilot $32.00, per user paid yearly.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Microsoft 365 for a team?
Yes. Ten people cost $70 a month on Microsoft 365 Business Basic paid yearly. LotsMail Starter is $5 a month for the domain with unlimited mailboxes, Zoho Mail Lite is $10 for ten users billed yearly, and flat hosts like Migadu and Purelymail cost little for the whole account.
Can I keep using Outlook if I leave Microsoft 365?
With Zoho Mail, Fastmail (from Standard), Proton, Migadu and Purelymail, yes, through IMAP or their apps. With LotsMail, mail apps such as Outlook and Apple Mail (over IMAP and SMTP) are coming soon; today you use the full inbox in the browser on phone, tablet and desktop.
Is LotsMail a replacement for Microsoft 365?
No. LotsMail is business email: mailboxes, shared inboxes and a full browser inbox on your own domain, priced per domain. It has no office apps, Teams, calendar or group email lists, mail apps are coming soon, and importing from Microsoft 365 and Outlook.com isn't available yet. If you need the suite, stay on Microsoft 365 or choose Google Workspace.
Can ChatGPT or Claude work with my business email?
With LotsMail, yes: connect ChatGPT, Claude or any MCP client and choose read, draft or send access for each mailbox. Sending by agents is off until you turn it on, so drafts wait for you. Fastmail and Zoho Mail also connect to AI agents through MCP.
Sources (competitors opened 23 October 2026, LotsMail rechecked 26 October 2026)
- LotsMail: lotsmail.to, pricing, connect page, agent docs, tool list
- Microsoft: Microsoft 365 business plans and pricing, Business Basic, Exchange Online plans, shared mailboxes, Work IQ MCP
- Google: Workspace pricing, aliases
- Zoho: Zoho Mail pricing, Zoho MCP
- Fastmail: pricing, MCP server
- Proton: Proton Mail for Business pricing
- Migadu: pricing
- Purelymail: pricing