Rackspace is one of the most well-known email hosting providers in the business world. However, it lacks productivity tools, email archiving, and sufficient storage space. But are alternative email solutions any better?
Rackspace is a good enough option if you want a basic business inbox and a bit of email storage. That said, you can find email hosting services that offer custom domains, integrated AI features, email backups, and team collaborative tools.
In this post, we’ll take a closer look at why you might consider ditching Rackspace for superior email hosting providers. Then, we’ll explore three of the top choices. Let’s get to it!
Why Consider Rackspace Email Alternatives?
Rackspace excels for its streamlined email hosting services and affordable solutions, making it popular among small businesses.
It offers a 100 percent uptime guarantee and excellent customer support. Plus, you can access your emails on your phone, via Outlook, or using Rackspace’s webmail interface.
However, the cheapest solution lacks data syncing capabilities (including your contacts). Additionally, it doesn’t come with useful productivity tools like shared calendars and instant messaging, and mailboxes are limited to 25 GB storage, which might not be enough.
Rackspace also has add-ons such as email archiving. This feature is vital for compliance with data privacy regulations. While many email providers include it in their plans, with Rackspace you’d have to pay an additional fee for email archiving.
Overall, Rackspace is a suitable option if you’re looking for a basic, low-cost email service. That said, there are other tools that offer much more value for money.
3 Best Rackspace Email Alternatives
Now that you know why you might consider different email hosting services, let’s take a look at three of the best contenders.
1. NameHero
Primarily known as a web hosting provider, NameHero also offers a range of web-based email hosting services. This means you can access your email accounts from any device, from any location, as long as you have an internet connection.
Even the cheapest plan comes with multiple email accounts, making it ideal for businesses that have various departments, locations, or staff members. Another key feature is that you can set up a business email that matches your domain name, which is vital for building trust with new customers.
NameHero takes security very seriously. You’ll get email protection from spam, ransomware, and phishing attacks. And with regular email backups, your messages will remain safe and secure at all times. Thanks to NameHero’s use of dedicated IPs, you can also stop messages from landing in the spam folder.
As we mentioned earlier, NameHero provides web hosting services, so it can be an all-in-one solution for your business. It’s much easier to manage all your web resources, email accounts, SSL certificates, and domains from one central dashboard.
Key Features
- Multiple email accounts
- 50 GB – 150 GB storage space
- Advanced security tools (including spam protection)
- Premium email deliverability
- Integrated calendar
- Email backups
- Free migration
- Custom email domain
- 24/7 support
Price
You can get started with NameHero’s email hosting services for just $3.95 per month. If you require additional email accounts or more storage space, there are three other premium plans that cost between $5.50 per month and $13.28 per month.
Note that this payment structure typically keeps costs much lower, compared to email hosting services that charge per month per user. Whichever plan you choose, NameHero also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee if you’re not satisfied with the service.
2. Zoho Mail
If Rackspace’s streamlined inbox and storage aren’t enough for you, Zoho Mail offers an integrated email service, ideal for small businesses. Zoho is known as a privacy-focused email service that comes with strong encryption, secure access, and an ad-free inbox.
Like NameHero, Zoho Mail provides a free migration service to transfer your messages, contacts, and calendars seamlessly. It also comes with tons of productivity tools to speed up your workflow, including advanced search, instant messaging, quick access, and team collaboration tools.
Zoho Mail lets you customize the user interface to your liking. You can change the position of your calendar, tasks, and notes to de-clutter your inbox and keep things tidy. You can also apply night mode or reader-only view styles.
If you need more, you might prefer Zoho Workplace which offers a broader suite of business applications. This way, you can access any file type (e.g. Word documents, Excel files, etc), build a social network for your business, or set up video calls directly from your inbox.
Key Features
- Integrated calendar
- 5 GB – 100 GB storage space
- Customizable inbox
- Email retention policies and backups
- White labeling
- Collaboration tools
- Free migration
- Custom business email
Price
What’s great about Zoho Mail is that you can use it for free for up to five users, limited to 5GB storage (per user). However, if you require email hosting for multiple domains, or you need IMAP/POP access, you’ll need one of the premium plans, which cost $1-$4 per month.
For Zoho Workplace, you’re looking at paying $3-$6 per month. You can try any plan for free for 15 days, without having to supply your credit card details.
3. Google Workspace
Many people have a free Gmail account for personal use. However, if you’re looking to switch from Rackspace, you’ll probably prefer Google Workspace. This is an all-in-one solution for businesses, similar to the comprehensive Office Suite.
With Google Workspace, you’ll get access to an ad-free business email inbox and you can route emails through a custom domain name, which makes you look more professional. You’ll also receive an integrated Google calendar, Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Drive for cloud storage.
Think of Google Workspace as a one-stop shop for project management and team collaboration. The new Gemini app unlocks AI technologies that help your team write emails, organize data, and keep mailboxes private. You’ll also find extra tools like smart canvas and grammar corrections.
Its cloud-based approach means you don’t have to rely on native apps and email attachments. Plus, Workspace offers built-in controls, encryption, and verification, which protect your business email accounts from phishing, malware, ransomware, and supply chain attacks.
Key Features
- 30 GB – 5 TB storage (pooled storage per user)
- Custom email domain
- Over 100 participants in video meetings
- Multiple email layouts
- AI assistant
- Security and management controls
- Integrated calendar (and appointment booking pages)
- Standard support
Price
Google Workspace offers three premium plans that cost between $6 and $18 per user per month. There’s also an enterprise solution, but you’ll need to contact the sales team to discuss pricing details.
Conclusion
Rackspace email service is sufficient for small businesses that want a basic solution. However, most businesses can get much more value for money with alternative providers. For instance, you can access additional email storage, accounts, productivity tools, and more.
To recap, here are three of the best Rackspace email alternatives:
- NameHero: Best all-around email hosting service with robust security measures.
- Zoho Mail: Best feature-rich email provider with a user-friendly inbox.
- Google Workspace: Best full-service solution with tons of integrated apps.
Do you have any questions about choosing between these email hosting providers? Let us know in the comments below!
Sophia is a staff writer at WordCandy.co, where she produces quality blog content for WordPress plugin and theme developers, hosting providers, website development and design agencies, and other online businesses.
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