Google Workspace Gmail vs Zoho Mail
Two of the top three email hosting services, compared rule by rule on published facts.
In short
- Google Workspace Gmail has 82 points and Zoho Mail 79, 3 apart on our email hosting rules.
- Google Workspace Gmail earns more on mailbox and reliability and support; Zoho Mail earns more on price.
- Cost for a team of 5: Google Workspace Gmail $35/mo, Zoho Mail $5/mo.
- Only Google Workspace Gmail meets: monthly billing and written uptime commitment.
- Only Zoho Mail meets: free plan on your own domain.
82/100 #1 of 9
Best for: Small teams that want a written 99.9% uptime commitment and detailed sign-in options.
Zoho Mail79/100 #2 of 9
Best for: Small teams that want a low price and are happy to pay a year at a time.
Points by group
| Group | Google Workspace Gmail | Zoho Mail |
|---|---|---|
| Price of 22 | 7 | 18 |
| Mailbox of 29 | 26 | 21 |
| Security of 28 | 28 | 28 |
| Reliability and support of 21 | 21 | 12 |
| Total | 82 | 79 |
Rule by rule
What each vendor publishes, and the points it earns. Sources are on each product page.
| Rule (points) | Google Workspace Gmail | Zoho Mail |
|---|---|---|
| Cost for a team of 5 (12) | $35/mo 3 | $5/mo 12 |
| Free plan on your own domain (6) | No 0 | Yes 6 |
| Monthly billing (4) | Yes 4 | No 0 |
| Storage per mailbox (10) | 30 7 | 5 2 |
| Open mail and calendar protocols (8) | IMAP, POP3, CalDAV, CardDAV 8 | IMAP, POP3, CalDAV, CardDAV 8 |
| Shared calendar and contacts (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| More than one domain (3) | Yes 3 | Yes 3 |
| Aliases and catch-all (3) | Yes 3 | Yes 3 |
| Two-factor sign-in (7) | Yes 7 | Yes 7 |
| Passkeys or security keys (3) | Yes 3 | Yes 3 |
| Admins can require 2FA (3) | Yes 3 | Yes 3 |
| Single sign-on (SAML) (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001 (6) | Yes 6 | Yes 6 |
| SPF, DKIM and DMARC guides (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Written uptime commitment (9) | Yes 9 | Not published 0 |
| Public status page (2) | Yes 2 | Yes 2 |
| Live support (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Mail migration tool (3) | Yes 3 | Yes 3 |
| Official phone apps (3) | Yes 3 | Yes 3 |
Google Workspace Gmail
Google Workspace suits teams that want a written uptime commitment, 24/7 phone and email support and admin sign-in controls, including security keys and enforced two-step verification. It supports IMAP, POP, CalDAV and CardDAV. The catch is price: $35 a month for five people, with no free plan on your own domain. Google also reported that in 2025 a threat actor used compromised tokens of a third-party integration to access email in a very small number of accounts.
Zoho Mail
Zoho Mail suits small teams on a tight budget: $5 a month for five mailboxes on Mail Lite, plus a free plan for up to five users. Mail Lite includes SAML SSO, aliases and 24x7 chat and phone support. The catch: yearly billing only, 5 GB per mailbox, and Zoho's terms contain no uptime credits.
Both products are scored by the same rules: how we score email hosting services.