Microsoft Outlook vs Zoho Mail

Microsoft Outlook

• People who want mail, calendar and contacts from several accounts in one app
• Organizations already paying for Microsoft 365 and Exchange email
• Windows users: Microsoft says Outlook is included free with Windows

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

Microsoft Outlook

• Free accounts show ads in the inbox; a Microsoft 365 Basic, Personal or Family subscription removes them.
• Business Basic includes only the web and mobile versions of Outlook. Business Standard with Copilot, at $23.50 per user / month, adds the desktop apps.
• On home plans, Copilot in Outlook currently works only with outlook.com, hotmail.com, live.com and msn.com addresses, and only for the subscription owner.
• Microsoft lists Outlook for Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and the web. No Linux app is listed.

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.

Microsoft Outlook

Several accounts in one app

The desktop and mobile apps take Outlook.com, Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud and other mail services alongside work or school accounts, and switch between them without leaving the app.

Focused Inbox, Sweep and snooze

Focused Inbox and Sweep clear clutter out of the main view. Messages can be snoozed until later or flagged as important.

Calendar, contacts and to-do lists

Email, calendars, contacts and to-do lists sit in one view. Outlook can schedule events, set reminders, and track packages and flights on supported platforms.

Copilot in Outlook

Drafts a message from a prompt, adjusts tone, length and clarity, and summarizes long threads. Included with Microsoft 365 Personal and Family, with usage limits.

Mailbox protection

Outlook scans attachments and links for threats on Microsoft email addresses. Paid plans add mailbox encryption, checks on suspicious links and removal of dangerous attachments.

Office files from the inbox

Open, edit or send Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents from the inbox, and attach OneDrive files as links.

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.

Microsoft Outlook

• Outlook$0

  For 1 person: email and calendar on web, desktop and mobile, 15 GB of mailbox storage, 5 GB of cloud storage and core spam filtering, with ads.

• Microsoft 365 Basic$1.99

  per month, or $19.99 per year

  For 1 person: ad-free Outlook, 100 GB of mailbox storage, 100 GB of cloud storage and advanced Outlook security features.

• Business Basic$7.00

  per user / month, paid yearly ($5.40 without Teams)

  Custom business email on Exchange for up to 300 users, with the web and mobile versions of Outlook only and 1 TB of cloud storage per user.

• Microsoft 365 Personal$9.99

  per month, or $99.99 per year

  For 1 person on up to 5 devices at once: the Outlook desktop app with Copilot, 1 TB of cloud storage and Microsoft Defender.

• Microsoft 365 Family$12.99

  per month, or $129.99 per year

  The Personal benefits for 1 to 6 people, with 1 TB of cloud storage each. AI features are for the subscription owner only.

• Business Standard with Copilot$23.50

  per user / month, paid yearly ($20.30 without Teams)

  Adds desktop versions of Outlook and the other Office apps, plus Copilot grounded in work data. Business Premium with Copilot is $32.00.

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.

Microsoft Outlook

• Annual discount

  About 16% lower with yearly billing

  Paying yearly costs $19.99 for Microsoft 365 Basic, $99.99 for Personal and $129.99 for Family, against $1.99, $9.99 and $12.99 a month.

• Education

  Students save 50% on Microsoft 365 Personal

  College and university students who verify their status get 50% off Microsoft 365 Personal, which includes the Outlook desktop app with Copilot. Eligibility is re-verified each year.

• Nonprofit

  Business Basic free for eligible nonprofits

  Microsoft lists Business Basic as a grant, free for up to 300 users. Nonprofit staff pricing is $3.50 per user / month for Business Standard and $5.50 for Business Premium, paid yearly.

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.