How to Create a Zoho Mail Account (Free)
Create a free personal Zoho Mail address or a free business account on your own domain — the steps, what the Forever Free plan includes, and its limits.
Zoho Mail offers two kinds of free account: a personal address such as name@zohomail.com, and a business mailbox on your own domain (like you@yourcompany.com) under the Forever Free plan. Both are set up from Zoho's website in a few minutes.
Create a free personal address
- Go to zoho.com/mail and choose Personal email.
- Pick a username — it becomes the first part of your address. The domain depends on the data centre Zoho chooses from your location; in the US it's
@zohomail.com. - Create a password of at least 8 characters, with upper- and lower-case letters, a number and a special character.
- Enter your first and last name.
- Enter your mobile number — it's used to verify the account and can later be used to sign in.
- Accept the Terms of Service and select Sign up for Free.
- Enter the verification code Zoho sends by SMS.
You can also start the sign-up with a Google, Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn account, but you still choose a username. If you do, webmail works through that sign-in, while email apps need a separate Zoho password (see signing in to Zoho Mail).
Create a free business account on your own domain
The Forever Free plan is for small teams that already own a domain:
| Forever Free plan | Included |
|---|---|
| Users | Up to 5 |
| Mail storage | 5 GB per user |
| Custom domain | One domain |
| IMAP, POP and ActiveSync | Not included |
During setup you verify that you own the domain, then point its MX records at Zoho so mail for your domain is delivered there (mx.zoho.com priority 10, mx2.zoho.com 20, mx3.zoho.com 50 for US-hosted accounts — the Admin Console shows the exact values for your region). Until the MX records are in place, mail to your domain can't arrive in Zoho.
Know the free-plan limits before you choose
- No IMAP or POP on new free accounts. You read mail in Zoho's webmail and mobile apps, not in Outlook, Apple Mail or Thunderbird. If you need those, check Zoho's paid plans before you commit.
- 5 GB per user. An account that goes over its storage limit is blocked until space is freed or more is bought.
- Region is fixed by location. The data centre is chosen automatically and determines your address domain and server names.
After you sign up
- Turn on multi-factor authentication — see Zoho Mail security.
- Write down how to recover the account: your recovery email and mobile number are what password reset relies on.
How this guide was checked · October 2026
Verified against 5 official sources
Every step, setting and limit in this guide was checked against the provider’s own documentation on zoho.com and help.zoho.com. Anything we couldn’t confirm was left out.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Is Zoho Mail free?
Yes. You can create a free personal address, and the Forever Free plan gives up to 5 users on your own domain with 5 GB each.
Does the Zoho Mail free plan include IMAP?
No. IMAP, POP and ActiveSync aren't included in the Forever Free plan, and newly created free accounts can't turn them on.
What email address does a free Zoho account get?
It depends on the data centre chosen for your location; in the US it's username@zohomail.com.
Do I need a phone number to sign up for Zoho Mail?
Yes. Zoho sends a verification code to your mobile number by SMS during sign-up.
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