Domain and email related query

Trifid · 21 Mar 2016 at 10:52

Hi,

My sister wants her own domain for email and I was going to set her up with Google Apps but I've seen they are now charging for this. Are there any free alternatives that you guys recommend before I commit her to £3.30 a month for the rest of time (plus domain charges)?

P.s. is it me or have domains got expensive? My last renewal was £8.38 for 2 years but it is now £6.99/year?

Thanks.

Craig321 · 21 Mar 2016 at 10:56

Yep, domain prices increased recently unfortunately

. I believe you can still get them a bit cheaper from someone like Vidahost, but they have generally gone up.

If I was to choose again now and had to pay, I'd go for a 365 account which is £3.10 per user per month and includes 1TB storage which is nice for backup or file sharing or whatever.

Alternatively, if either of your already have web hosting, that'll likely come with email and would probably be free, but it'll be nowhere near as good as 365 or Gmail.

thenewoc · 21 Mar 2016 at 11:01

Zoho mail still has a free option i believe to use your own domain name.

Gimpymoo · 21 Mar 2016 at 11:08

I use TSOhost.

I park the domain then setup a forward and delete for the email to my free standard Gmail account.

Setup sending from the same email in Gmail so all emails for the domain are received and sent through gmail for free with no web space needed externally.

Trifid · 21 Mar 2016 at 11:09

Good shout on Office 365 business. I'm guessing that is basically hosted exchange? Looks like it has 2 step authentication too which is important to her.

Gimpymoo said:
I park the domain then setup a forward and delete for the email to my free standard Gmail account.

Setup sending from the same email in Gmail so all emails for the domain are received and sent through gmail for free with no web space needed externally.

This is what I do, but has sent on behalf of in the email header, which is fine as I use it mainly to receive but she sends lots of emails so is no good.

Craig321 · 21 Mar 2016 at 11:10

Trifid said:
Good shout on Office 365 business. I'm guessing that is basically hosted exchange? Looks like it has 2 step authentication too which is important to her.

Yup, hosted Exchange, so you get all your calendar, contacts, mail sync across devices and works nicely on iPhone/Android native apps or you can use the 365 app plus webmail. The 1TB storage is a bonus.

Gimpymoo · 21 Mar 2016 at 11:12

Trifid said:
Good shout on Office 365 business. I'm guessing that is basically hosted exchange? Looks like it has 2 step authentication too which is important to her.

This is what I do, but has sent on behalf of in the email header, which is fine as I use it mainly to receive but she sends lots of emails so is no good.

Exchange Online can be had for £2.50 (+vat) a month

The £3.70 package also needs to add VAT on top.

https://products.office.com/en-gb/exchange/compare-microsoft-exchange-online-plans

Depends how much storage is needed but if email only, the £2.50 tier is a good shout IMO.