Business Email on Your Own Domain: Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 vs Zoho Mail — Which Costs Least?
you@yourbusiness.com, compared across Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 and Zoho Mail. Every price below states its billing term, because the headline prices assume a yearly commitment.
Prices checked Sept 24, 2026 on each vendor's own pricing page (US dollars). Software pricing changes — verify current pricing on the vendor's site before you buy.
| Plan | Price | Billing term | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Mail LitePick | $1/user/month | Billed annually. No monthly plan. | 5 GB mail storage per user |
| Zoho Mail Free | $0 | Forever free, no credit card | Up to 5 users, one domain, 5 GB per user. No IMAP/POP/ActiveSync. Only in select data centers. |
| Google Workspace Business Starter | $7/user/month | Annual plan (1-year commitment), billed monthly | 30 GB pooled storage per user, custom business email |
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic | $7.00/user/month | Paid yearly (annual subscription, auto-renews) | Custom business email, 1 TB cloud storage per user, web and mobile Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook |
Math
One user, one year, annual terms
All three paid plans compared on the same annual terms: Zoho Mail Lite is $12 a year ($1 × 12). Google Workspace Business Starter is $84 a year ($7 × 12, 1-year commitment, billed monthly). Microsoft 365 Business Basic is $84 a year ($7.00 × 12, paid yearly).
Paying month to month: Zoho Mail Lite has no monthly plan. Google says its annual plan saves 16% compared with no commitment, so the no-commitment price is higher than $7; we didn't find that figure in the page text, so check Google's page. Microsoft's Business Basic page shows the paid-yearly price only.
Verdict
Our pick on price: Zoho Mail Lite
Our reason: at $1 per user/month billed annually, it's the lowest paid price of the three plans here, by $72 a year per user. Zoho Mail Free costs nothing for up to 5 users, but it leaves out IMAP, POP and ActiveSync. Our pick if you already run your work in Gmail and Google Docs: Google Workspace Business Starter, the one paid line in our $7/month software stack.
Caveat
The honest caveat
Storage differs a lot: 5 GB per user on Zoho Mail Lite, 30 GB pooled per user on Google's Business Starter, and 1 TB of cloud storage per user on Microsoft 365 Business Basic. Google was also showing a new-customer offer on Sept 24, 2026 (50% off for 3 months, $3.50/user/month); we used the $7 price. Google's price schedule shows $7.00/user/month from the end of that offer onward. Google says the offer is for new customers only, first 20 users. Zoho says its free plan is available only in select data centers. Microsoft's one-month free trial requires a credit card.
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