Gmail vs Zoho Mail

Gmail

• Anyone who wants a free personal address with 15 GB of shared storage
• Organizations that want email on their own domain inside Google Workspace
• People who already rely on Google Calendar, Meet, Chat and Drive

Zoho Mail

• Small businesses that want low-cost email on their own domain
• Teams that already use other Zoho apps such as CRM or Projects
• Organizations that want to choose the country their mail is stored in

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.

Zoho Mail

• The free plan covers one domain and 5 users, has no IMAP, POP or ActiveSync access, and is offered only in select data centers.
• Mail Lite and Mail Premium are sold on yearly subscriptions only. Monthly billing exists only for the Workplace plans.
• Email retention, eDiscovery and S/MIME are limited to Mail Premium and Workplace Professional.
• Zoho states 24x7 support by email, phone and live chat for paid plans, and guided migration by a dedicated agent only for companies with more than 50 users.

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. On personal accounts, asking Gemini to search the inbox is a premium feature of Google AI Pro or Ultra plans.

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.

Zoho Mail

Email on your own domain

Addresses at your company's domain with group addresses and email and domain aliases. SPF, DKIM, DMARC and BIMI are built in.

Calendar, tasks, notes and bookmarks

A calendar, contacts, ToDo, notes and bookmarks sit inside the mailbox, so events and tasks are handled in the same window as mail.

Streams and shared drafts

Streams lets a team comment, assign tasks and post announcements around email. Drafts, single emails and whole folders can be shared for review or delegation.

Zia AI assistant

Zia drafts replies and summarizes long threads, and Zoho Mail can be connected to AI apps through Zoho Mail MCP.

Admin console and compliance

Role-based access, security policies, audit logs and two-factor authentication for admins. Retention, eDiscovery and S/MIME come with Mail Premium and Workplace Professional.

Migration tools

A free automated tool moves email, contacts and calendars from Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 or any IMAP provider, with migration specialists available at no extra charge.

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.

Zoho Mail

• Forever Free$0

  One domain and up to 5 users with 5 GB of mail storage each. No IMAP, POP or ActiveSync access; offered only in select data centers.

• Mail Lite$1

  per user / month, billed annually (no monthly plan)

  Custom-domain email with 5 GB of mail storage per user, or 10 GB for $1.25, plus calendar and tasks. No file storage.

• Workplace Standard$3

  per user / month, billed annually ($4 billed monthly)

  30 GB of mail storage per user plus WorkDrive, the office apps, Cliq, Meeting and Vault. File storage starts at 100 GB per team.

• Mail Premium$4

  per user / month, billed annually (no monthly plan)

  50 GB of mail storage and 50 GB of retention storage per user, with email retention and eDiscovery, S/MIME and mobile access management.

• Workplace Professional$6

  per user / month, billed annually ($7 billed monthly)

  100 GB of mail and 100 GB of retention storage per user, 1 TB of team file storage, the Premium compliance tools and Zoho Connect.

• Workplace EnterpriseCustom

  Custom limits across the Workplace products, with Active Directory cloud sync and endpoint controls. Priced through Zoho sales.

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 50% off Starter, 30% off Standard and 20% off Plus for their first 3 months, and describes the offer as valid for a limited time.

• 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.

Zoho Mail

• Annual discount

  About 20% off with annual billing

  Zoho's pricing FAQ cites a discount of roughly 20% for annual billing. Workplace Standard is $3 per user / month billed annually against $4 monthly, and Workplace Professional $6 against $7.

• Nonprofit

  Special pricing for nonprofits

  The pricing FAQ says non-profit and charitable organizations get special pricing, arranged by contacting Zoho sales.