Best Email Hosting Providers

Want to jump straight to the answer? The best email hosting provider for most SMBs is DreamHost.

When running a small or medium-sized business, having a branded email address is a big help. Customers are sure to take the SMB more seriously with a branded email using the SMB’s domain name versus a generic Gmail account. 

Email hosting providers give SMBs the ability to receive multiple high-end email features with strong security options too. With so many email hosting providers available, we’ve put together a list of the seven best options, depending on the needs of the SMB.

The Top 7 Best Email Hosting Providers

1. DreamHost — Best All-Around Email Hosting Provider
2. Hostinger — Best Budget-Friendly Provider
3. Intermedia — Best for Email Security
4. Scala Hosting — Best for Significant Storage
5. Google Workspace — Best for Google-Centric Users
6. Microsoft 365 Business Standard — Best for Microsoft-Centric Users
7. Amazon WorkMail — Best for AWS-Centric Users

#1 – DreamHost — Best All-Around Email Hosting Provider

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• Versatile and affordable
• Strong security features
• Extremely easy to use
• Multiple services available

Try it today

We like DreamHost as the best all-around email hosting provider because of its ease of use and versatility. It delivers everything the SMB could need in an email host for a low price. This is a fast and inexpensive option for obtaining a professional email address, especially for a small organization.

DreamHost delivers stronger security features than expected, especially considering the low price it offers. It carries a highly effective defense against spam, viruses, malware, and phishing attacks.

Users receive a strong mobile app with DreamHost, simplifying the process of working away from the office. All messages sync automatically between the web browser version and the mobile version.

DreamHost unfortunately does not offer customer support by phone. It does have live chat and email support, though.

When your organization needs more than email hosting services, DreamHost also has services like website creation and hosting, domain name acquisition, WordPress hosting, and many others. The basic email plans start at $1.67 per month per mailbox.

#2 – Hostinger — Best Budget-Friendly Provider

Visit Hostinger

• Affordable email provider
• Easy email list migration included
• Includes email aliases
• Website and WordPress hosting available

Try for 30 days risk-free

Hostinger has one of the least expensive email hosting options anywhere, as its Business tier starts at $0.99 per month per mailbox. It has plenty of strong features for that price, including support for multiple devices, 10 GB of storage, and 50 email aliases per account.

Even the more expensive Enterprise tier is extremely affordable at $2.49 per month per mailbox. It offers 30 GB of email storage per account. Both tiers have a browser version, as well as apps that will work with either iOS or Android devices. 

The Hostinger email hosting service runs on Titan client software, which includes apps for managing contacts and a calendar. For those SMBs that need to migrate email information from another client into Hostinger, this is an easy process.

Should an SMB need more than email hosting, Hostinger has website hosting and WordPress hosting too. In fact, the most basic website hosting tier in Hostinger will include an email address based on the SMB’s domain, which can save money.

Hostinger offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. 

#3 – Intermedia — Best for Email Security

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• Automated security updates and tools
• Unlimited storage
• Offers calendar software
• 24/7 telephone support

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The Intermedia Hosted Exchange Email service is a great choice for those needing high-end features in a provider. It’s built over the top of the Microsoft Exchange business email service. 

Security is a key component of Intermedia. Some of the benefits found with this service include:

• Multiple backup options
• Anti-spam tools 
• Anti-malware tools 
• Simple data recovery plans
• Regular patches and security updates implemented automatically

For those working in a highly regulated environment, high-security email is a necessity. Intermedia can provide this service for its customers.

End users can access their email messages through a web browser or through an app on mobile devices. As end users make changes on one device, the changes will sync to all devices simultaneously.

Those using Intermedia will have unlimited email storage, ensuring end users and SMBs never have to worry about how they use the email client. 

With an Intermedia account, end users will have access to calendar and contact management software. It’s easy to integrate the calendar with the email client to organize a meeting, for example.

It is a bit more expensive than some other email hosting solutions on our list, as it starts at $7.49 per month per mailbox. However, it has quite a few more features than some of the lower-priced models too. For example, customers have the option of around-the-clock telephone support here, which is not a common option.

#4 – Scala Hosting — Best for Significant Storage

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• Easy access to 150MB+ of storage
• Multiple pricing options
• Built-in security functions
• Unlimited email boxes

Try for 30 days risk-free

Scala Hosting has a wide range of different price points and features available that allow SMBs to create the perfect email hosting service for their needs. 

For organizations that need large amounts of storage paired with the email client, Scala Hosting delivers. Its Medium tier offers 150 GB of storage, while the Corporate tier allows the end user to select any amount of storage.

Organizations can select among four different tiers, ranging from 10 email boxes per account to an unlimited number of email boxes, which are available in the Corporate tier. 

The majority of users will select the Corporate tier, which includes significant protection against spam. It also includes a free domain name. End users will receive their own dedicated email server with Scala Hosting in this tier, creating a higher level of security for the business’ emails.

The Corporate tier starts at $9.95 per month. SMBs will pay quite a bit more, however, unless they’re willing to commit to a three-year contract. Scala Hosting does allow SMBs to adjust their account settings each month, ensuring they only pay for the services they’re actually using.

#5 – Google Workspace — Best for Google-Centric Users

Visit Google Workspace

• Integrates with Google apps
• Advanced security controls
• Very easy to use
• Multiple price points

Get started for $6

With a Google Workspace account, businesses gain email hosting services, along with all of the other Google services they’re already using. For those SMBs that rely on Google apps regularly, adding email hosting through Workspace makes a lot of sense.

Through Workspace email hosting, organizations are able to gain a customized and secure business email address that runs in the Gmail client. However, the business email address includes the business’ domain name, rather than using gmail.com as the domain.

Unlike with a personal Gmail account, customers using the Workspace hosted email service do not see ads within the Gmail client.

It offers advanced security controls that protect the data the business is sending and receiving. Workspace also protects against spam messages and phishing attacks in Gmail. Google claims that it can stop at least 99.9% of these issues. Teams using Workspace to host their business Gmail account can activate two-factor authentication, providing an extra layer of security.

Workspace offers business email hosting in all of its pricing tiers. The Business Starter tier starts at $6 per user per month, and it has 30 GB of cloud storage available per user. End users will need to share this storage amount across all of the Google Workspace apps they’re using.

#6 – Microsoft 365 Business Standard — Best for Microsoft-Centric Users

Visit Microsoft 365

• Made for Microsoft users
• Works easily with Outlook
• 1TB cloud storage included
• Sorts emails automatically

Try for 30 days free

Those who rely on Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Outlook, and other Microsoft apps will have good luck with this Microsoft email hosting service for business. With the subscription to this Business Standard tier, users will gain access to the hosted email solution, along with all of the Office productivity tools.

Subscribers will receive email hosting with custom email addresses based on the SMB’s domain name. In the Business Standard tier, users will have up to 50 GB of email storage per account, as well as 1 TB of cloud storage on Microsoft OneDrive.

Each license includes support for multiple devices, including smartphones and tablets. Team members can make use of the Outlook email client with Business Standard.

For especially busy organizations, this Microsoft email provider attempts to sort messages based on importance. It uses an algorithm that can help with limiting the sheer volume of messages the user must look at every day.

Users will play a starting price of $12.50 per month per user for everything in the Business Standard tier. A 30-day free trial period is available.

#7 – Amazon WorkMail — Best for AWS-Centric Users

Visit Amazon WorkMail

• Perfect for AWS users
• Made for larger SMBs
• Robust security protections
• Includes 50 GB storage

Try for 30 days free

For an SMB that is making use of AWS (Amazon Web Services), adding the Amazon WorkMail email hosting service is a natural progression. WorkMail integrates closely with other AWS services that the business may already be using, making it highly efficient.

With WorkMail, organizations can count on the security of their email messages and data. It encrypts all data at rest and in transit. It provides protection against malware, viruses, and spam.

The service works well on mobile devices, as well as through a web browser.

Businesses that have an extremely busy email environment with dozens of employees likely can successfully make use of WorkMail. It does require some knowledge and experience with AWS to achieve the best results. Small businesses that only need a few email addresses may find WorkMail (and AWS) require too much work to set up and use for their needs.

WorkMail starts at a price of $4 per month per user. Each email box receives 50 GB of data storage, which is impressive. A 30-day free trial period is available.

How to Find the Best Email Hosting Providers for You

Here are some of the criteria we used to determine the providers included in our list. Focusing on these areas can help small or medium-sized businesses find just the right hosting provider for their needs.

Mobility

Employees who work away from the office may frequently track their email messages on a smartphone. Any email hosting provider should have a strong app that simplifies accessing messages on a small smartphone screen.

Although mobile users could access their email through a web browser on a smartphone, this doesn’t always yield the best results. Some email clients running through a browser on a smartphone are tough to read or navigate. For the best results, look for an email hosting provider that offers an app. 

The majority of providers that create apps will have both iOS and Android versions available. 

Security

For SMBs that frequently send sensitive files over email, the security features a provider offers are important to consider. Some of the security options that the best email hosting providers will have include:

• Spam filters
• Data protection
• Encryption
• Scanning for viruses
• Scanning for malware
• Alerts about potentially dangerous messages
• Two-factor authentication for account holders
• Phishing protection

Pay attention to the security features the provider offers, as well as to any guarantees it provides regarding security. 

Understand that many data breaches and security issues occur because of errors on the part of end users in the SMB. However, when the email hosting provider has a strong set of security features available, this can reduce the severity of potential end user errors.

Privacy

The majority of the best email providers will have clear policies in place regarding how they will handle the SMB’s data. Most of them will include a policy that states the provider will not sell the organization’s usage data statistics to third parties.

However, some providers do monitor and track the way the SMB uses its email. This could lead to targeted advertising and marketing. These are issues the business may not want to have to deal with regularly.

It’s far better to stick with an email hosting provider that guarantees the privacy of client business data.

Support

The majority of email hosting services are extremely easy to set up and use. This is important for an SMB that needs to be sending and receiving emails as quickly as possible.

However, for those times where the business needs customer support, email hosting providers offer a wide range of options. Most providers will offer around-the-clock support through live chat or email. Depending on the service tier an SMB is using, it’s possible to have phone support available too.

Along these same lines, email hosting providers need to offer nearly perfect uptime to their clients. No business wants to discover its employees cannot send and receive emails, even for a few minutes during the business day, because of a failure on the provider’s end. The majority of providers will guarantee at least 99.9% uptime.

Storage

Some SMBs need to have cloud storage space available that’s tied to the email software. End users can take advantage of storage that comes with the email account to archive messages, for example.

An average user will need 1 GB or 2 GB of data storage space with the email provider. Those who are heavy email users and who archive huge numbers of messages may need 10 GB or more to do the job.

Summary

We chose DreamHost as our favorite email hosting provider. It will deliver a nice set of features for a variety of SMBs.

However, we recognize DreamHost won’t be perfect for every organization. For those who need some specific features, we have several other recommendations. Those who need extra security can count on Intermedia. Scala Hosting provides huge amounts of storage for the busiest environments, while Hostinger is better for small organizations on a budget.

And of course, for those businesses that rely on Microsoft, Google, or AWS for their other services, each of those companies has a great email hosting service. 

We may loathe seeing several dozen new emails on Monday morning, but we all know the importance of email to any business. The email hosting providers on our list will make it easier to manage daily email needs and to do so securely.

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Best International Payroll Services

With remote work becoming the new normal, companies across all industries are expanding their workforces to global markets. The ease of digital communication allows organizations to work with employees and contractors in different countries, often for inexpensive labor. 

But not every payroll solution supports cross-border payments. Companies with employees in different countries also need to understand payroll compliance and tax laws in multiple jurisdictions. 

The best international payroll services make it easy for any business to pay employees regardless of their location while remaining compliant. 

The Top 6 Best International Payroll Services

1. Papaya Global — Best Global HR Solution With Built-In Payroll
2. ADP Global Payroll — Best For International Payroll Compliance
3. Immedis — Best For Streamlining Administrative Payroll Tasks
4. Globalization Partners — Best For Businesses Expanding to New Countries
5. Payoneer — Best For Paying International Contractors
6. Rippling — Best For Fast International Payroll Runs

After extensive research, we’ve narrowed down the top six international payroll providers on the market. The in-depth reviews below will help you find the best international payroll service for your specific business.

#1 – Papaya Global — Best Global HR Solution With Built-In Payroll

Visit Papaya Global

• Active in over 140 countries
• Doubles as an Employer of Record
• Compliance built-in
• Starts at $20/employee monthly

Try for 60 days risk-free

Papaya Global is an all-in-one solution for international hiring, onboarding, and cross-border payroll. This award-winning payroll provider is trusted by global brands like Microsoft, Toyota, Johnson & Johnson, Intel, Wix, and more.

The fully integrated HRIS platform has everything you need to manage your global workforce.

Papaya Global doubles as an Employer of Record (EOR). This means you can hire employees internationally without establishing a local entity and still remain compliant. 

The platform makes it easy for you to streamline the hiring process and standardize international onboarding procedures. Papaya Global even has the tools you need for employee relocation, work permits, residence permits, and other immigration solutions. 

In addition to international payroll, Papaya Global supports HR and benefits administration in 140+ countries as well. 

The payroll solution ensures that employees will be paid in their local currencies and receive pay stubs in native languages. Papaya Global takes the stress out of cross-border payments with automation, built-in compliance, and payroll reports from a single source of truth.

Payroll plans start as low as $20 per employee per month, and contractor payments start at $25 per pay cycle. 

To get the most out of Papaya Global, I recommend the payroll intelligence suite, starting at $250 with an annual billing cycle. Your plan is backed by a 60-day money-back guarantee. 

#2 – ADP Global Payroll — Best For International Payroll Compliance

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• Compliance experts in 140 countries
• Over 70 years of expertise
• Built-in security and data privacy
• Free demo available

Request a quote

As previously mentioned, maintaining compliance with international employees must be a top priority for all businesses.

ADP is one of the most trusted names in the payroll industry. They’ve been an innovation leader in this category for 70+ years. So it should come as no surprise to see that ADP Global Payroll lives up to the standards for maintaining compliance. 

Every global payroll solution comes with built-in compliance expertise. The team at ADP understands all of the government regulations and local laws that must be followed when you’re hiring and paying employees in different countries. 

These compliance experts are available in 140+ countries across the globe. You’ll also benefit from built-in security provisions and data privacy for your payroll system. 

There are actually two different ADP Global Payroll solutions to consider—ADP Celegro and ADP GlobalView Payroll.

ADP Celergo is built for companies with employees in at least three countries, with up to 1,000 employees per country. ADP GlobalView Payroll is designed for multinational businesses in up to 42 countries. You need to have at least 1,000 employees in a single country to be eligible for ADP GlobalView Payroll. 

Request a demo and free quote to learn more.

#3 – Immedis — Best For Streamlining Administrative Payroll Tasks

Visit Immedis

• Supports payroll in 150+ countries
• Real-time analytics included
• Robut automation capabilities
• Includes 24/7 payroll support

Request a free demo

Immedis is a technology-forward cloud-based payroll system. It supports complete payroll cycles for international pay runs in 150+ countries with real-time analytics and advanced reporting tools.

Global brands like Uber, Wayfair, McAfee, Adobe, and Twilio all rely on Immedis for international payroll processing. 

Compared to other international payroll services, Immedis really stands out with its robust technology. The platform lets you automate payroll inputs and other processes to reduce the administrative labor required to run payroll. 

The software also comes with an employee self-service portal so each employee can enter and access their own data from anywhere. Your staff can access old pay stubs or update bank details without needing to contact your payroll department. 

If you run into any problems or need some help, Immedis offers 24/7 payroll support and fast ticket response. So you can rest easy knowing they have your back if trouble arises. 

Request a free demo to get started. 

#4 – Globalization Partners — Best For Businesses Expanding to New Countries

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• Easy setup in new countries
• Employer of Record services included
• Active in 187 countries
• 97% customer satisfaction rating

Request a free proposal

Globalization Partners is a bit unique compared to some of the other solutions on our list. That’s because this service goes above and beyond basic international payroll. 

It’s designed for companies that want to expand to new countries without creating a subsidiary or local office. You can use Globalization Partners to expand your business to a new country with just a few simple clicks online.

Globalization Partners offers exceptional Employer of Record (EOR) services in addition to international payroll. It’s a low-risk way to expand since they handle all of the responsibility. Here’s how it works.

All you need to do is find the employees you want to hire internationally, and their team takes care of the rest.

Globalization Partners manages the onboarding process to ensure compliance. They also handle payroll and benefits administration in 187 countries. This includes tax filings and other country-specific laws. 

Adding bonuses, commissions, and other payroll exceptions is a breeze. 

Their reputation speaks for itself. Globalization Partners boasts a 97% customer satisfaction rating and 99% payroll accuracy score. 

Request a free proposal online to get started with Globalization Partners. 

#5 – Payoneer — Best For Paying International Contractors

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• Flexible contractor payment methods
• Batch payment options available
• Active in 200+ countries
• No sign-up or membership fees

Try for free

Payoneer is not a full-service payroll provider. With that said, it’s still an excellent and reliable solution for businesses that need to issue payments to international workers. 

It’s perfect for sending payments to contractors, suppliers, freelancers, and remote employees overseas. 

Use Payoneer to issue contractor payments via bank transfer, ACH debit, or even credit card. This gives you lots of flexibility in terms of how you pay your contractors.

The platform supports one-off payments, recurring payments, and monthly salaries. So whether you’re working with contractors on a per-project basis or for ongoing work, Payoneer has you covered. 

For those of you working with multiple contractors or freelancers, Payoneer even supports batch payments. So you can issue payments to all of your contractors at the same time, making it easy for you to scale without adding extra administrative work on the back end. 

Payoneer supports international payments in 200+ different countries, which is the largest number we’ve seen when researching global payroll solutions. 

The service is available for businesses registered in the US, Canada, Switzerland, India, Chile, Brazil, Israel, Peru, Turkey, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Columbia, and the Russian Federation. 

It’s free to sign up, and fees are only assessed when payments are sent. Depending on the recipient, your business might not pay any fees to use Payoneer. 

#6 – Rippling — Best For Fast International Payroll Runs

Visit Rippling

• Full employee management system
• Runs international payroll in 90 seconds
• No manual data entry needed
• Starts at $8/user monthly

Request a free quote

Rippling is branded as an “employee management platform” as it supports payroll, HR, benefits, onboarding, and more. If you’re looking for the easiest way to run international payroll, Rippling is second to none.

In fact, Rippling’s platform lets you run international payroll in just 90 seconds.

Rippling’s pay runs are so quick because you never need to manually enter data or make calculations on your own. The platform syncs all of your HR data with the payroll system, so all of this gets handled automatically.

It’s just a matter of setting your pay periods, reviewing the payroll, and approving it. 

The platform comes with built-in compliance tools, automatic tax filings, time tracking, reporting tools, and so much more. 

Rippling’s only major drawback is its scalability. It’s designed for businesses with up to 1,000 employees. So if your company currently has more people on the payroll or you’re planning to grow beyond the 1,000 employee mark, Rippling probably won’t work for you.

Plans start at just $8 per user per month. Contact Rippling for a free custom quote to learn more about the company’s international payroll services. 

How to Find the Best International Payroll Service For You

All international payroll services have one thing in common—they allow you to pay employees in multiple countries. So you’ll see lots of common features from one service provider to another.

With that said, there are some key factors that you should take into your final decision as you’re shopping around and comparing services. This will help you distinguish which international payroll services support the needs specific to your company.  

HR Tools

Beyond payroll, some of the top options in this category provide an all-in-one solution for workforce management. This includes tools for international hiring, onboarding, benefits administration, time-off tracking, and more. 

Most businesses use some type of HR software to manage their international teams. So it’s just a matter of deciding whether you want a separate solution for HR or if you want a fully integrated solution with your payroll provider. 

Going with an all-in-one solution for HR and payroll definitely has its fair share of benefits. 

For starters, it limits the amount of software you and your staff need to use for everyday tasks. But these solutions also tend to simplify payroll in the sense that all of the data exists in one place. So you won’t have to worry about imports, exports, and integrations between different systems. 

These solutions typically offer more accurate payroll runs as well since all of the employee data is coming from the same source. 

Employees vs. Contractors

There are several differences that you need to consider when you’re paying an employee compared to a contractor. 

Some international payroll services support both employee and contractor payments, while others are better for one or the other. 

Make sure the platform you’re evaluating can handle payments for the type of workers you need to pay. To remain compliant in some countries, you need to set up a local presence to legally pay employees. This requirement typically isn’t necessary if you’re paying contract workers. 

Tax forms, filing status, and other variables need to be taken into consideration here as well.

Employer of Record (EOR) Services

This piggybacks off of our last point about the requirements needed to pay employees in certain countries. An employer of record is a company that’s legally responsible for payroll, employment taxes, insurance, visa applications, immigration forms, and more. 

So if you want to hire employees in certain regions without actually setting up a local presence there, you need to go with an international payroll service that offers EOR services.

In this case, the service provider will handle everything for you. They’ll become legally responsible for maintaining the payroll services and everything else required for you to remain compliant. 

This route is much more cost-effective and offers less risk than starting a new entity or subsidiary in every country where you hire a new employee. 

Not every international payroll provider offers this type of service. So you can quickly eliminate certain providers if an EOR is something you need. 

Summary

Payroll is a significant responsibility for employers. For those of you with employees in different countries, finding the right international payroll service for your business is an important decision. 

Use the top recommendations and methodology described in this guide to narrow down your options. 

Papaya Global is ideal for organizations that want an all-in-one solution for HR and international payroll. ADP Global is our top recommendation for international payroll compliance. For payroll automation and reducing the administrative burden, check out Immedis.

Globalization Partners works well for companies that want to expand to new countries without setting up a local office. For one-off and recurring payments to contractors and freelancers, try Payoneer.

If your business has less than 1,000 employees and you want a simple way to manage international payroll, Rippling should be at the top of your list.

Regardless of your needs, this guide has something for everyone. 

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