To choose the email hosting providers for this ranking, Forbes Advisor compared each company based on important factors that include features and pricing. We ranked each company on these factors based on a five-star rating system, with the highest score being five out of five stars. Our criteria were similar to that we applied to our guide to the best web hosting services but with some changes to account for email-specific needs.
### Pricing
Email hosting pricing models and total costs were evaluated based on per-user pricing and volume discounting. Those providers whose pricing was considered to be cheap or midrange fared the best. Pricing accounted for 30% of our weighted scoring.
### Features
We compared email hosting providers based on their functions and features, giving preference to providers with the most useful features and tools. Among these included whether a provider offered security tools and calendar functionality, made a mobile app available, offered inbox sizes of at least 20 GB and allowed for attachment sizes of at least 10 MB. We weighted features at 40% of our total score.
### Expert analysis
Vendors should make it easy for customers to get in touch with support staff in case they need help. That was one of the many factors that real users mentioned in third-party reviews, and our experts scoured these reviews to gauge opinions of these email hosting services. Additionally, we researched reviews to get users’ opinions related to ease of use, stand-out features, popularity and value for the money. Our experts’ analysis made up 30% of the total score.
*Canadian specific editing and pricing research conducted by Anna Rey.*
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