Email is one of the most widely used forms of communication in the world. With over 4.17 billion users as of 2021, email usage shows no signs of stopping. It is important to choose an excellent, secure personal email hosting service to ensure that your data is kept safe. How do you know which email host is the right one for you?
The best personal email hosting service offers an affordable price, large storage, an easy-to-use interface, multiple device compatibility, and advanced security features.
Let’s look at the different aspects that make a personal email hosting service secure and safe for your everyday needs.
What Is Email Hosting?
There are two types of email hosting: internal hosting and third-party hosting. Internal hosting is usually done by businesses. They have a server where they store their business emails for all of their employees. However, for personal email use, third-party hosting is the norm. Essentially, you rent space on a company’s server to store your emails.
Most people who use email hosting for everyday personal use opt for free email services such as Gmail or Yahoo. However, people who need lots of space for documents, unlimited emails, and photos may need to pay to have better storage options.
Also, if you are interested in better security features whether for your data or a small business looking for an affordable yet secure small-scale business email, you can pay for hosting services that provide state-of-the-art spam protection and end-to-end encryption of your data.
Why Do You Need a Secure Hosting Service?
Cybersecurity is a top priority for many people as they choose an email hosting service. In 2018, a report showed that email accounts were vulnerable to cyber attacks, with 17% of email accounts in the US being hacked.
Email privacy is a growing concern for many people. As more and more of our communications are through email and the internet, the need for secure hosting clients is essential. The best way to protect your sensitive information is to make sure you select an email hosting service that has layered security.
Look for an email host that has threat protection like malware and spam detection. Also, antivirus programs. You’ll also want a service that has email authentication. You don’t want just anyone to be able to access your email if your password gets compromised. Two-step authentication services offer additional protection.
Yet, you may want to look into getting a password manager, to make sure that your passwords are always secure.
You’ll also want a service that will flag emails that house potential threats. You’ll also want to make sure that they offer some type of data protection.
From 2018-2022, the number of phishing email victims has increased. Emails that claim to be from reputable companies claim victims every year. Many of these crimes involve monetary loss.
If you’ve recently been hacked on another email hosting service, you know that security is your top priority.
Understanding Email Hosting Security Features
Here are some email security features you’ll want to make sure your email hosting service provides:
- End-to-end encryption: This is when your data is encrypted both when it is sent and when it is received.
- Two-factor authentication (2FA; multi-factor authentication; MFA): Whoever accesses your email account has to be able to answer certain security questions to proceed. This can also work with having to access certain devices that you own, such as your mobile device to authenticate the account.
- Antivirus programs: Your device scans files and links to detect any malware before you open them. If the program detects a problem, it will alert you.
- Data protection: Many email hosts will provide cloud data backup. This makes sure that you can recover your data in the case of a breach.
Email Hosting Service Features
As you are shopping around for a new email hosting service, you’ll notice that there are so many options to choose from. It can be daunting trying to find one that feels right for you. To aid you in your search, we are outlining some of the features you should be looking for when you are choosing the right personal email hosting service.
Affordable Price
Whether you’re using your email for communication with family and friends or for paying bills and keeping track of finances, you want to make sure that you will be able to have great service for a reasonable price.
Foremost, you want an email hosting provider that has a reasonable rate for the services provided. Many email hosting companies offer free options that have limited space or free trials to draw you in.
To get more advanced features, you’ll need to pay for a plan. Many plans from well-known email hosting companies such as Google Workspace or Microsoft Office 365, charge you for more storage space. Some plans may even offer unlimited storage, which can be very helpful for people with a need to send, receive, and save a lot of emails.
Large Storage
The best email hosting services offer plenty of storage for their email users. Based on what service you use this could be anywhere from 25GB to 5TB. Based on how many emails you plan on receiving and storing, you’ll want to choose a hosting service that will have enough email storage space for your needs.
Many of these workspace hosting services also offer file storage services, which can be great for both individuals and small businesses.
If you want your information stored and backed up using cloud storage, you’ll want to consider a hosting service that uses the cloud. There are several options out there.
Functionality and Ease of Use
When you choose a personal email hosting service, you’ll want a company that provides an easy-to-use interface. You don’t want to spend more time than is necessary trying to figure out how to access your emails, archive them, delete them, etc.
A way to try out the functionality of an email hosting service before committing is to try out the free plan first to see if you like the interface.
Excellent email hosting services should be intuitive. The right hosting service should be user-friendly and offer great customer support.
Compatibility
Most people not only use email on their computers but also on mobile devices such as tablets and phones. So, you will want to choose a web hosting service that has mobile apps compatible with both Android and iOS, especially if you are using personal email hosts for a business email.
You’ll also want to check to see if you have to pay more for access across multiple devices. Some services have a limit on the number of devices you can access your email through.
Additionally, you’ll want to check your hosting service’s security measures for both mobile devices and computers. Sometimes an email host is better at securing one than the other.
Security
No matter who you are communicating with, you want to make sure that all of your personal information is kept secure. Be sure to thoroughly research each company’s reputation for security before choosing an email client.
Some signs that your email host is secure are the presence of two-step authentication, anti-phishing tools, spam filtering, antivirus software, and malware detection.
Top 5 Best Email Hosting Services
Now, that we’ve discussed the features you should be looking for, let’s check out some of the top email service providers on the market. We’ll go through their pros and cons to give you an idea of what each company offers to help you choose the right email hosting service.
1. Google Workspace
Gmail is a popular cloud-based email server that many people use for their personal and small business email accounts. They have a reputation for being easy to use and offer several pricing tiers for users.
Google Workplace also provides a place for you to use Google Docs to create and send documents. The G Suite also includes Google Drive, Google Meet, and Google Calendar. These are all great features of this email service that are compatible with a large number of websites, apps, and devices.
You get a custom domain name and can use domain aliases with Google Workplace. They provide two-factor authentication, data encryption, and AI detection of malware and spam.
Based on the plan, you can get as much storage as you need, but unlimited storage plans are only available to enterprise plans. Their interface is easy to use and syncs well across devices.
2. Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 integrates with the Office Suite to provide Microsoft Outlook, Sharepoint, and Exchange Online. This is a secure email hosting solution. To make sure your information is secure, Microsoft has multi-step authentication protocols, malware scanning, anti-spam tools, and data loss prevention.
Although Microsoft 365 is easy to use and integrates well with most websites, add-on apps, and devices, Linux users may have difficulty using Microsoft 365.
However, they offer 3 hosting plans to meet your needs. Premium plans come with more storage and more security solutions.
3. ZOHO Mail
ZOHO Mail is an excellent choice if you are looking for a good free plan. They have several features including attachment sizes up to 1GB, team collaboration tools, a word processor, a file manager, instant chat, online video meeting software, and task management tools. ZOHO is compatible with Windows and Mac.
The free plan hosts 5 users and 1 domain. However, the free plan only has 5GB of storage per user. If you want to pay for more features, such as email archiving, you can upgrade to the Mail Lite plan with is only $1 per user. The affordable price plans are billed annually and offer access to offline capabilities.
4. Rackspace
Much like Microsoft Outlook and Gmail, Rackspace provides a third-party email hosting service that works great for business and personal email users alike. This service has a comprehensive migration service that helps you switch email hosts easily.
It integrates with Microsoft Outlook and is a simple, run-of-the-mill email with no special features like collaboration tools. Rackspace offers unlimited email space This is perfect for someone who truly just wants a basic personal email. They offer data protection from viruses and spam. However, archival services cost an additional fee.
5. A2 Hosting
This email hosting service offers unlimited email addresses. A2 Hosting has a reputation for security with spam protection, preinstalled webmail software, and an automatic email filtering system.
They have an unlimited inbox size, fast load times, excellent uptime, and free site migration. They also offer 24/7 customer service.
However, this service can be rather pricey. There are no Windows hosting options and prices increase upon renewal. Although this is a great service for small businesses looking for secure email hosting options, it’s not necessarily the best choice for personal users.
The price plans have to be paid in advance for 3 years. Yet, A2 Hosting does offer a 30-day money-back guarantee if you don’t use their services or are dissatisfied with them.
Sekur Has What You’re Looking For
If you’re looking to get away from big tech companies, yet want to protect your privacy, check out our excellent email hosting service.
Sekur provides email solutions that work great for personal and business emails alike. We have a 100% private platform that gives you encrypted Swiss email hosting, VPN, and instant messaging free from big tech companies.
With SekurMail, you can send emails with unlimited attachment sizes, send encrypted emails to outside email accounts, communicate completely within our secure Swiss server, and monitor email activity. We even provide an easy migration tool to help you transfer from your old email host with ease.
We offer secure cloud-based storage, disaster recovery, document management, encrypted emails, and secure communication tools to meet your needs.
Conclusion:
In today’s world, cybersecurity is a priority. Protecting your personal data is essential. So, you want to make sure you choose a personal email hosting service with enhanced security to keep information safe.
When thinking about your different options, consider what they have to offer. Think about their protections, ease of use, data storage, and compatibility. Remember to weigh your options carefully to keep your online communications protected.
