Gmail vs WEB.DE (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Gmail: it is second in our ranking of email apps, and it grades higher too, 3.0 against 2.8.
Checked Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Gmail grades higher on features and ease of use. WEB.DE grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Gmail
Google's email service, free for personal use with 15 GB of storage
WEB.DE
German freemail with a sorted inbox, cloud space and paid MailPlus
Which one is for you
Pick Gmail if
- Fits if you want a free address with 15 GB and can put up with ads
- Works for people whose calendar, files and video calls are already with Google
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if ads in your inbox would bother you, since free accounts may show them
- Not for you if you want a mail app on your Mac or PC, because there isn't one, only a browser tab
- Tight if your phone backs up photos to Google, as they share the 15 GB, and a full account can stop mail
- Pricey if all you want is an address at your own domain, which means a $7 Workspace plan with apps you may not use
- Watch out: Gemini inbox search needs a paid Google AI plan, and the Workspace trial wants billing details first
Pick WEB.DE if
- Fits if you read German and want a free address with a phone app
- Works for people who want PGP and a calendar in the same account
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you don't read German, as the site and sign-up are in German
- Tight on free: 1 GB of email storage, small next to rivals
- Watch out: FreeMail includes WEB.DE informiert messages, which only MailPlus lets you opt out of
- Watch out: prices are in euros
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAGmailVery good | 2.8GPAWEB.DEGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CBusiness email starts at $7 a person a month on a one-year deal, or $8.40 without one, mid-range for this category, and buys the whole of Workspace whether you want Meet and Docs or not. 30 GB each on that plan, and 2 TB means $14. For the email alone, Zoho Mail starts at $1. | BFree with 1 GB of email storage, and MailPlus is €3.99 a month, inside the cheaper half of email prices. The free mail space is small. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree for good, with 15 GB, the spam filter, offline mail and both phone apps. What keeps it off the top mark: the 15 GB is shared with Drive and Photos, so it does fill up, and a free account may show ads. | BFreeMail is free with 1 GB of mail, 4 GB of online storage and 2 addresses, which one person could live on. |
| Features | BSpam blocking Google puts at 99.9%, tabs that sort your mail, suggested replies, nudges, undo send, Confidential Mode and offline mail, with Gemini drafting replies and summing up threads. The AI is the held-back bit, as searching a personal inbox with Gemini needs a paid Google AI plan. | CMail, calendar, address book, PGP and a cashback portal. The gaps are in the listing: only 1 GB of mail storage and fixed WEB.DE informiert messages on the free plan. |
| Ease of use | A4.7 from about 2.4 million App Store ratings. Sign in with a Google Account and the inbox is ready, on the web and on your phone. Long-time users do grumble when an update moves things around. | BNo store rating on record, but you sign up and start using it with nothing to set up. The site is in German. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA browser, iPhone and Android, and that's it for Google's own apps. No Mac or Windows app. It does work inside Outlook, Apple Mail and Thunderbird, though, and there's an API if you like building your own tools. | BWeb plus iPhone and Android apps. No desktop app or API is listed. |
| Best for | free email that ties into the rest of Google | free German webmail with a sorted inbox |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Gmail and WEB.DE. How we grade
Price against what you get
Gmail starts at $7 a month for each person and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. WEB.DE starts at about $4.46 a month and scores 2.7.
Gmail scores higher, and starts $2.54 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other email apps on the chart, 1 scores higher than Gmail for less, and 6 score higher than WEB.DE for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- WEB.DE also covers calendar and file sharing.
At a glance
| Gmail | WEB.DE | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $7 per user / month with a 1-year commitment (Workspace Business Starter) | €3.99 per month (MailPlus) |
| Free plan | Free with a personal Google Account: 15 GB of storage shared across Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos. Free accounts may show ads, and asking Gemini to search the inbox needs a Google AI Pro or Ultra plan. | FreeMail: €0 with 1 GB of email storage, 4 GB of online storage, attachments up to 20 MB and 2 email addresses. |
| Free trial | 14-day Google Workspace trial for new customers, limited to 10 users; billing details required | MailPlus: first month free |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | 1&1 Mail & Media GmbH | |
| Price read from | workspace.google.com | web.de |
| Checked | Oct 10, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Gmail
- Business email is only sold as part of Google Workspace, which also includes Calendar, Drive, Meet and Docs.
- The free 15 GB is shared with Drive and Photos. More space is a paid add-on: the US App Store listing shows 100 GB at $1.99 and 200 GB at $2.99, with no billing period given.
- Free accounts may show ads, though Google says it does not use Gmail content to personalize them.
- No desktop app is listed: Gmail runs in a browser and as Android and iOS apps, or through another mail client.
WEB.DE
- The site and sign-up are in German, and prices are in euros.
- FreeMail includes the 'WEB.DE informiert' messages as a fixed part; MailPlus lets you opt out.
- FreeMail storage is 1 GB for email, much less than free tiers of some rivals.
- The €2.47 own-domain plan is for the domain itself; the page does not state a separate price for MailPlus on a custom domain.
Key features
Gmail
- Spam, phishing and malware blocking
- Google says Gmail automatically blocks 99.9% of spam, phishing attempts and malware, and flags a suspicious message that could still be legitimate.
- Gemini in Gmail
- Drafts and polishes replies and summarizes long threads. Asking Gemini to search a personal inbox needs Google AI Pro or Ultra; Google's AI plans page also lists Gemini in Gmail under the cheaper Google AI Plus.
- Smart Compose, Smart Reply and Nudges
- Suggests replies and sentence completions as you type, and reminds you to answer or follow up on messages you have not dealt with.
- Confidential Mode
- Set an expiry date on a message, require the recipient to verify by text, and remove the options to forward, copy, download or print it.
- Custom domain email and mail merge
- Workspace puts addresses on your own domain, with up to 30 aliases per user. Mail merge, from Business Standard, takes up to 1,500 recipients from a linked spreadsheet.
- Offline mail and other clients
- Gmail offline lets you read, reply to, delete and search messages without a connection. Accounts also work in Microsoft Outlook, Apple Mail and Mozilla Thunderbird.
WEB.DE
- Intelligent inbox
- Incoming mail is also shown sorted into five categories such as Social or Newsletter; messages are only sorted, not changed.
- Mail app for Android and iOS
- The app offers push notifications, a personal spam filter, a four-digit PIN lock and one-time setup of email encryption.
- PGP encryption
- WEB.DE has a help page on encrypting email in three steps with PGP, and the app can encrypt selected messages.
- Calendar, address book and cloud
- A calendar and address book sit in the mailbox, and the online storage is reachable from it; Windows and macOS cloud apps are listed.
- Cashback portal
- A free WEB.Cent cashback portal sits in the mailbox; the paid tariffs earn up to double the cashback.
Plans
Gmail
Personal Google Account$0
Gmail for personal use with 15 GB of storage shared with Drive and Photos. No address at your own domain, and the account may show ads.
Business Starter$7
per user / month, 1-year commitment ($8.40 flexible)
Google Workspace with email at your own domain, 30 GB of pooled storage per user and the Gemini assistant in Gmail.
Business Standard$14
per user / month, 1-year commitment ($16.80 flexible)
2 TB of pooled storage per user, plus custom email layouts, mail merge and Gemini in Gmail, Docs, Meet and more.
Business Plus$22
per user / month, 1-year commitment ($26.40 flexible)
5 TB of pooled storage per user, with Google Vault for retention and eDiscovery and advanced endpoint management.
EnterpriseCustom
No user limit, where the Business editions stop at 300. Adds S/MIME encryption and data loss prevention; priced through Google sales.
WEB.DE
FreeMail€0
1 GB email storage, 4 GB online storage, 20 MB attachments, 2 addresses; includes WEB.DE informiert.
MailPlus€3.99
per month
5 GB email storage, +5 GB online storage, 100 MB attachments, 4 @email.de addresses, double cashback.
Eigene Domain€2.47
per month
FreeMail mailbox on your own domain, with up to 500 addresses you create yourself.
Ways to pay less
Gmail
- Annual discount
Lower rate with a 1-year commitment
Business Starter costs $7 per user per month on the Annual/Fixed-Term Plan versus $8.40 on the Flexible Plan. Standard drops from $16.80 to $14 and Plus from $26.40 to $22.
- Other savings
Introductory discount for the first 3 months
The US pricing page gives new Workspace customers up to 50% off their first 3 months. Read on 10 October 2026 it showed 30% off Starter and Standard and 50% off Plus; the split has differed between readings.
- By country
Lower price shown to buyers in India
On 10 October 2026 the pricing page showed Starter at ₹270 per user a month to a reader in India, against $7 on the US page. Google's help center says it sometimes offers country-based discounts.
- Nonprofit
Google Workspace for Nonprofits at $0
Eligible nonprofits get Google Workspace for Nonprofits at $0 per user, or Business Standard at $3.50 and Business Plus at $6.16 per user per month on a 1-year commitment.
- Education
Education Fundamentals at no charge
Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals is available at no charge to qualifying institutions. Education Plus is a paid edition.
WEB.DE
- Other savings
MailPlus first month free
The tariff comparison page offers MailPlus with the first month free.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Gmail or WEB.DE?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Gmail starts at $7 per user / month with a 1-year commitment (Workspace Business Starter), and WEB.DE starts at €3.99 per month (MailPlus). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Gmail or WEB.DE?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Gmail and WEB.DE have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.