Alternatives to Gmail?

August 26, 2014 4:28 PM

I am looking for another free/cheap web mail app that I can use to contact the ten people I normally correspond with. Any recommendations?

I live in a house with many other people and I tend to leave my Gmail logged in because that is who I am. Then, when they go to Gmail, there is my inbox.

posted by craniac to Computers & Internet (13 answers total)

Outlook or Yahoo?
posted by J. Wilson at 4:38 PM on August 26, 2014

Zoho has been working pretty well for me the past year or so, since I got fed up with Gmail.
posted by sibilatorix at 4:40 PM on August 26, 2014 [2 favorites]

My boyfriend is happy with hotmail, but many people have commented to him that "having a hotmail address is sketchy" for some unspecific reason, so YMMV.
posted by sockermom at 5:06 PM on August 26, 2014 [1 favorite]

I have been using Fastmail for years and have been very happy with it. It's not free, but it's cheap, and offers a free trial. They have a bunch of different domains, increasing your chances of getting a username you want.
posted by jkent at 5:19 PM on August 26, 2014 [3 favorites]

Outlook.com has a nice email interface.
posted by Nevin at 5:34 PM on August 26, 2014 [3 favorites]

If the problem is that you want to not have to remember to sign out of Gmail on your computer while still allowing friends to use the internet to check their own Gmail account, another (more secure if not simpler) idea would be to create a guest account for them to use on your computer. Here are instructions for Here are instructions for Windows 7, Windows 8 and MacOS X. Then just ask everyone to use that guest account instead (or force them to use it by password protecting your account).
posted by Aleyn at 5:38 PM on August 26, 2014 [1 favorite]

Mail.com has improved considerably over the past couple of months, and as a long-time user (the earliest messages still left in my inbox date from 2002) I'd feel comfortable recommending it (again) at this point (whereas earlier this year I wouldn't have bothered).
posted by sardonyx at 5:51 PM on August 26, 2014

You're still going to have the same problem if/when the housemates use whichever gmail alternative you choose.

You need to either train yourself to log out, or use incognito/private browsing mode to check your email, then close the tab or browser when you're done which should then automatically log out for you.
posted by jpeacock at 5:59 PM on August 26, 2014 [2 favorites]

Can't say enough good stuff about Fastmail.
posted by armoir from antproof case at 9:50 PM on August 26, 2014 [2 favorites]

Fastmail is awesome.
posted by persona au gratin at 12:49 AM on August 27, 2014 [1 favorite]

I love fastmail. I have two e-mail addresses from it, back when it was free.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 7:14 AM on August 27, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Outlook is really nice, and it's what I use as a second address now. Yahoo is absolutely dreadful, and was what I used to use a secondary address.
posted by General Malaise at 7:40 AM on August 27, 2014

Outlook is what I use for a throw away address. Yahoo is beyond dreadful, IMO, but I know people who still use it.
posted by kathrynm at 1:06 PM on August 28, 2014