Business Email: How to Get a Professional Email Address
How to get a professional email address on your own domain — the main business email services compared from their own pages, what’s really free, and how setup works.
A business email address is one on your own domain — you@yourbusiness.com instead of yourbusiness@gmail.com. To get one you need two things: a domain name, and an email service that hosts the mailboxes for it. This guide compares the main services using their own published details (checked October 2026) and walks through the rest.
The main options
| Service | Mailbox storage | Users | Free trial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Workspace (Gmail) | 30 GB per user on Business Starter, pooled across the organisation; 2 TB on Standard, 5 TB on Plus | Up to 300 on Business plans | 14 days |
| Microsoft 365 (Outlook) | 100 GB mailbox plus 50 GB archive on Business Basic and Standard | Up to 300 on Business plans | One month; card required |
| Zoho Mail | 5 GB per user on the Forever Free plan; more on paid plans | Free for up to 5 users | 15 days of Mail Premium; no card |
| GoDaddy | Sells Microsoft 365 and its own Professional Email alongside domains — see GoDaddy email. | ||
Prices change and differ by country, so we don’t print them here. Google and Microsoft both publish per-user monthly prices, and both offer a discount for paying yearly (Google: 16% with a one-year commitment; Microsoft: up to 16%).
How to choose
- Your team already lives in Gmail, Docs and Drive? Google Workspace — it’s Gmail on your domain.
- You use Word, Excel and Outlook? Microsoft 365. Note that Business Basic includes only the web and mobile versions of the Office apps; desktop apps start at Business Standard. Full comparison: Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365.
- Five people or fewer, and no budget? Zoho Mail’s Forever Free plan — with limits. See free business email.
- Just want mail to your domain to reach your current inbox? A forwarding service can do that for free, but it isn’t a mailbox.
How setup works
- Get a domain from any registrar, if you don’t have one.
- Sign up with the email service and verify the domain — usually by adding a TXT record it gives you.
- Create the mailboxes for each person.
- Point the domain’s MX records at the service, so mail for your domain is delivered there.
- Add SPF, DKIM and DMARC, so your mail isn’t treated as spoofed.
Step-by-step, with each provider’s DNS values: how to create a business email address.
Which addresses to create
Most businesses want one address per person plus a few shared ones like info@ or support@. Naming formats and the standard role addresses are in professional email address examples.
After it’s running
- Check your records with the MX record lookup and the SPF, DKIM and DMARC checker.
- Provider guides: Google Workspace SPF, DKIM & DMARC and Microsoft 365 SPF, DKIM & DMARC.
- Give everyone a consistent signature with the email signature generator.
Just need a personal address instead? See how to create a free email account.
How this guide was checked · October 2026
Verified against 7 official sources
Every step, setting and limit in this guide was checked against the provider’s own documentation on workspace.google.com, microsoft.com, zoho.com and 3 more. Anything we couldn’t confirm was left out.
- 01 Google Workspace: Plans and pricing workspace.google.com
- 02 Microsoft 365 business plans and pricing microsoft.com
- 03 Zoho Mail: Pricing and plans zoho.com
- 04 GoDaddy: Compare Professional Email and Microsoft 365 email plans godaddy.com
- 05 Google Workspace Admin Help: Verify your domain with a TXT record knowledge.workspace.google.com
- 06 Google Workspace Admin Help: Set up MX records for Google Workspace knowledge.workspace.google.com
- 07 Cloudflare: Email Routing cloudflare.com
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What is a business email address?
An email address on your own domain, such as you@yourbusiness.com, hosted by an email service like Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 or Zoho Mail.
What do I need to get a business email?
A domain name and an email service. You verify the domain with the service, create mailboxes and point the domain’s MX records at it.
Is there a free business email?
Zoho Mail’s Forever Free plan covers up to 5 users with 5 GB each on one domain, without IMAP or POP. Google and Microsoft offer free trials.
Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 for business email?
Google Workspace if your team uses Gmail and Google Docs; Microsoft 365 if you rely on Outlook, Word and Excel. Both cover up to 300 users on business plans.
Related guides
Keep reading
Getting Started
Internet Provider Email: Where Your Old Address Lives Now
Comcast, AT&T, Spectrum (Roadrunner), Cox, Verizon, CenturyLink, Frontier, EarthLink, Optimum and Windstream email — where each signs in now, which moved to Yahoo or AOL, and the rules that delete unused mailboxes.
4 min read
Optimum Email Password Reset
How to Reset Your Optimum Email Password (Optimum ID)
Reset or change the Optimum ID password that signs you in to Optimum email — and what to do about locked IDs and forgotten security answers.
2 min read
Optimum Email Login
Optimum Email Login: How to Sign In (and the New Verification Code)
Sign in to Optimum or Suddenlink email with your Optimum ID — including the verification-code step added in October 2026.
3 min read
Cox Email Password Reset
How to Reset Your Cox Email Password (cox.net on Yahoo)
Since cox.net email moved to Yahoo, password recovery is Yahoo’s. Here’s where to reset it and what to update afterwards.
2 min read
Cox Email Login
Cox Email Login: Sign In to cox.net on Yahoo Mail
cox.net email now runs on Yahoo Mail. Here’s where to sign in, what changed, and who to ask for help.
3 min read
Spectrum Email Password Reset
How to Reset Your Spectrum Email Password
Reset or change your Spectrum password — and recover a forgotten username — with Spectrum’s verification-code steps.
2 min read