Business email comparison
Email Hosting vs Gmail/Google Workspace
A detailed comparison of email hosting and Gmail across 10 criteria. Find out which is the better choice for your business email - branding, price, privacy and control.
What is better for a company: email hosting or Gmail?
For a company, email hosting on your own domain (info@your-company.com) is the better choice because it builds a professional image, costs less and gives you full control over your data. BeoHosting email hosting starts from about €1 per mailbox per month, while Google Workspace costs from about €6 per user. Free Gmail (@gmail.com) is for personal, not business, addresses.
- Bottom line: email hosting (@your-company) is more professional and cheaper than Google Workspace for business email.
- Price: BeoHosting from ~€1/mailbox/mo vs Google Workspace from ~€6/user/mo.
- Privacy and control: data on your server and local support — no Google scanning for ads.
Email hosting or Gmail - which is better for business?
Business email is the foundation of professional communication. When a client receives an email from info@your-company.com instead of yourcompany@gmail.com, it automatically increases trust and professionalism. But what is the best way to get a business email?
Email hosting (such as BeoHosting email hosting) gives you full control over email on your own domain plus local support. Gmail is free but only comes with a @gmail.com address, while Google Workspace offers email on your own domain at a significantly higher price.
In this guide we will compare all three options across 10 key criteria to help you make the right choice for your business.
More trust
in email from a business domain
Email hosting
per mailbox per month (BeoHosting)
Google Workspace
per user per month (minimum)
Comparison table: 10 criteria
A direct comparison of email hosting and Gmail/Google Workspace.
Price comparison for a company with 5 employees
How much does business email really cost? Here is a realistic cost comparison.
Email Hosting (BeoHosting)
- Email on your domain (@your-company)
- 5-50 GB storage per mailbox
- Webmail + IMAP/POP3/SMTP
- Spam and virus protection
- Local support
- Transparent pricing
Gmail (free)
- @gmail.com address only
- 15 GB storage (shared with Drive)
- Excellent spam filter
- Google integrations
- No business branding
- No local support
Google Workspace
- Email on your own domain
- 30 GB - 5 TB storage
- Google Drive, Docs, Meet
- Advanced admin console
- Google AI features
- English support
Annual cost for 5 email accounts:
Email Hosting (BeoHosting)
Gmail (but without @your-company)
Google Workspace Starter
When to choose email hosting, and when Gmail/Workspace?
1What is your email budget?
2Do you need email on your own domain?
3How many employees do you have?
4Do you use Google Docs/Drive intensively?
5How important is privacy to you?
Professional email on your own domain
BeoHosting email hosting gives you full control over business email at an affordable price.
Related guides and resources
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FAQ: Email hosting vs Gmail
Answers to the most common questions about our services.
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(+381) 60 3535 720Is Gmail good enough for business?
Free Gmail with a @gmail.com address is not professional for business. Clients trust info@your-company.com more than yourcompany123@gmail.com. Google Workspace lets you have email on your own domain, but it is more expensive than email hosting. For a small company with 5 employees, email hosting costs around €5 per month, while Google Workspace costs around €30 per month.
How much does email hosting cost?
BeoHosting email hosting starts from about €1 per mailbox per month. The price depends on storage and the number of email accounts. Most BeoHosting hosting plans already include an unlimited number of email accounts on your domain. Google Workspace starts from about €6 per user per month (Business Starter), which is significantly more for companies with several employees.
Can I use Outlook with email hosting?
Yes, email hosting supports IMAP and POP3 protocols, which means you can use Outlook, Thunderbird, Apple Mail or any other email client. You also have access to webmail (RoundCube or Horde) to read email from any browser. The SMTP protocol lets you send email from desktop and mobile apps.
What if I move from Gmail to email hosting?
Migrating from Gmail to email hosting is relatively simple. You can use IMAP sync to transfer all existing emails, or the BeoHosting team can help with the migration for free. The most important step is changing the MX records on your domain to point email to the new server. During migration, the old and new email run in parallel so you will not miss any messages.
Does email hosting include spam protection?
Yes, BeoHosting email hosting includes professional spam protection via SpamExperts, which filters 99.98% of spam before it reaches your mailbox. Antivirus protection via ClamAV is also included. Google's spam filter is also excellent and uses AI for detection - this is one of the few criteria where Gmail is slightly better.
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