When comparing email hosting to web hosting, one might assume they’re straightforward, similar, and possibly even interchangeable terms; however, these services are similar and related, but not the same.
The short and clear answer: Web hosting involves website files being stored on one or more servers, or computers, whereas email hosting refers solely to storing email data. The comparison can get confusing when a company offers both plans and mixes up the naming conventions.
Our mission is to clear up any mysteries throughout this article. Read on for definitions, descriptions, and the best options for all types of site owners and emailers.
-
Navigate This Article:
Best Web Hosting Provider Options
A quality web host should hit on the three hallmarks of reliability: plenty of server space, reputable uptime rates, and competent customer service on-call should anything go wrong. Whether you’re on the hunt for email, domain, WordPress, or cloud services, our recommendations point to hosts that consistently hit these support factors out of the park.
Our current favorites for quality, affordable, reliable web hosting are reviewed below:
Hostinger.com
- Unlimited everything, from storage to databases
- FREE site builder & WP performance upgrades
- FREE daily or weekly backups
- Custom control panel and auto-installation scripts
- SSH access & unlimited FREE SSL certificates
- Get started on Hostinger now.
Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
---|---|---|---|
30 days | 100 GB SSD – 200 GB NVMe | FREE (1 year) | 3 minutes |
IONOS.com
- $1/month for 12 months
- No hidden fees, pay just $12 at checkout
- Easy setup and 24/7 expert support
- FREE domain or transfer, plus FREE SSL certificate
- Unlimited storage and databases with most plans
- Get started on 1&1 IONOS now.
Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
---|---|---|---|
30 days | 10 GB – Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | 4 minutes |
A2Hosting.com
- FREE Cloudflare CDN and SSD speed boost
- Optimized caching and 1-click installs
- Unlimited email, domains, and databases
- Advanced security and FREE HackScan
- 24/7 support via phone, chat & tickets
- Get started on A2 Hosting now.
Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
---|---|---|---|
30 days | 100 GB SSD – Unlimited SSD | New or Transfer | 4 minutes |
Best Email Hosting Provider Options
While we still expect reliability and room to grow to be high on the list of features outlined in our top-recommended email hosts, there are other variables to consider when evaluating a niche service. We like to see hosts include complimentary domain name registrations and free email accounts. The ability to host unlimited domains on one account is a plus, as are unlimited storage, bandwidth, and email allowances.
Our favorite hosts for email, listed below, capitalize on these points while offering other email-friendly features such as IMAP/POP3 support, spam filtering, and integration with Google Apps.
Hostinger.com
- Easily import contacts, messages, and calendars
- Antivirus checks and anti-spam
- 1-click integrations with 50+ productivity tools
- Collaborate with polls, shared to-do lists
- Less than $2 per mailbox per month!
- Get started on Hostinger now.
Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
---|---|---|---|
30 days | 10 GB SSD – 50 GB SSD | FREE (1 year) | 3 minutes |
IONOS.com
- Business email with a personal consultant
- Choice of IONOS mail, Microsoft 365, or Google Workspace mailboxes
- FREE domain or transfer included
- Create up to 500 email accounts
- Premium tools for email marketing available
- Get started on 1&1 IONOS now.
Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
---|---|---|---|
30 days | 10 GB – Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | 4 minutes |
SiteGround.com
- Unlimited email hosting at your domain
- Compatible with multiple webmail and email clients
- Secure email protocols and anti-spam solutions
- Easy oversight via cPanel and FREE site builder
- Ideal for business email hosting with 99.9% uptime
- Get started on SiteGround now.
Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
---|---|---|---|
30 days | 10 GB SSD – 40 GB SSD | New or Transfer | 6 minutes |
Combo Platter: Cheap Web Hosting with Free Email Accounts
Free web hosting — what could go wrong? Always read the fine print and don’t fall for false advertising. While free web hosting plans exist, they’re often laden with impossible storage and bandwidth limitations or hidden fees. Ultimately, you’ll feel cheated and irritated when you pay more to make up for the faults of a rip-off service.
Let’s skip that step and opt for a low-cost, high-quality service recommended by experts. Especially if you’re browsing for professional purposes, you must consider your hosting a worthwhile business investment.
Accept nothing short of ample storage space, free email hosting, 99.9% uptime rates, and (if desired) easy-to-use design tools to get a website up and running. Our favorite host to recommend for cheap pricing met with premium service is below.
Hostinger.com
- Unlimited everything, from storage to databases
- FREE site builder & WP performance upgrades
- FREE daily or weekly backups
- Custom control panel and auto-installation scripts
- SSH access & unlimited FREE SSL certificates
- Get started on Hostinger now.
Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
---|---|---|---|
30 days | 100 GB SSD – 200 GB NVMe | FREE (1 year) | 3 minutes |
See more cheap hosting reviews »
Best Email and Web Hosting for Small Business
If you’re like many business owners, your livelihood begins and ends with your email inbox. It’s how you communicate with employees, clients, partners, and vendors.
We live in an increasingly digital and mobile world, and instant access is do or die when it comes to the content ushered through your email server. We’ve thoroughly vetted the most popular hosting companies, making note of the features and services that directly benefit business owners, and we encourage you to take a look at the hosts below.
My current favorites to recommend for business email and web hosting packages are below:
InMotionHosting.com
- FREE domain registration or no-downtime transfer
- Unlimited SPAM Safe™ email with IMAP
- 1-click app installer and FREE marketing tools
- Business-class hardware and eCommerce-ready
- SSD storage plus FREE backups and SSL security
- Get started on InMotion now.
Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
---|---|---|---|
90 days | 100 GB SSD – Unlimited SSD | FREE (1 year) | 5 minutes |
SiteGround.com
- Unlimited email hosting at your domain
- Compatible with multiple webmail and email clients
- Secure email protocols and anti-spam solutions
- Easy oversight via cPanel and FREE site builder
- Ideal for business email hosting with 99.9% uptime
- Get started on SiteGround now.
Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
---|---|---|---|
30 days | 10 GB SSD – 40 GB SSD | New or Transfer | 6 minutes |
See more email hosts for small business »
What’s the Difference Between Email Hosting and Web Hosting?
In a nutshell, the web host serves up webpages when someone types yourdomain.com into a web browser, whereas an email host owns the server from which content is fetched when an email is sent to yourname@yourdomain.com. The line between email and web hosting has become blurred in recent years, as more providers offer combo packages that include free hosting for your email accounts with the purchase of a web hosting plan.
Fortunately, the roles and responsibilities behind the scenes are pretty straightforward. Your website, domain, and related email accounts are three separate entities that can live in different places.
- Web hosting is a service that enables your website to live on the internet and be accessible to web browsers. Your web content is hosted on a server.
- Email hosting is a service wherein your email content is stored on a server. It can be the same server that’s hosting your website content, a server managed by another host, or two different servers managed by the same hosting company.
- Domain hosting is a tangentially related service worth noting for the sake of clarity. Your domain is the memorable name given to your website, e.g., HostingAdvice.com. You register that name with a domain registrar, but for that domain to be online, you need domain hosting.
You’ll often get domain and web hosting in one fell swoop — and many folks knock out their domain, email, and web hosting needs with one plan/provider.
Is Web Hosting Necessary for Email?
Email must be hosted on a server somewhere — but you don’t necessarily need a web hosting provider. For example, Google’s Gmail service can meet personal-use email needs for free. Business email users may opt for a paid plan by upgrading to Google Workspace, which unlocks Google cloud storage, chat features, and other productivity tools. Other free email hosting options include Zoho Mail, Yandex, and the aptly named Mail.com.
Google Workspace and Microsoft Exchange remain the most popular professional email service options (assuming you don’t require website hosting). The benefit of going with one of these email clients include the ease of use and access to other business essentials such as the collaboration tools packaged in Microsoft Office 365. For more on this, check out our top-recommended hosts for Microsoft Exchange email.
HostingAdvice.com is a free online resource that offers valuable content and comparison services to users. To keep this resource 100% free, we receive compensation from many of the offers listed on the site. Along with key review factors, this compensation may impact how and where products appear across the site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). HostingAdvice.com does not include the entire universe of available offers. Editorial opinions expressed on the site are strictly our own and are not provided, endorsed, or approved by advertisers.
Our site is committed to publishing independent, accurate content guided by strict editorial guidelines. Before articles and reviews are published on our site, they undergo a thorough review process performed by a team of independent editors and subject-matter experts to ensure the content’s accuracy, timeliness, and impartiality. Our editorial team is separate and independent of our site’s advertisers, and the opinions they express on our site are their own. To read more about our team members and their editorial backgrounds, please visit our site’s About page.