The below information has not been updated in a long time, but we will update it once we get a chance. In the meantime, some of the best places for free email accounts at this time are: Gmail, Yahoo! Email, Hotmail, GMX and AIM Mail.
There are many sites that offer free email/webmail services, where anyone can get a free email account. However, the service and features vary between providers so you should use our information to find the free email service that is best for you (or you can skip ahead to our comparison chart.)
These days most free email providers cannot afford to offer very much storage space or features. To get more, you have to upgrade to one of their paid plans. A great alternative is to find an ISP that will give you additional free email accounts with your internet access account.
Free Email Benefits
With a free web based email account, you can keep the same address forever, even when you switch internet providers. This makes it much easier to keep in contact with people, mailing lists, and newsletters, and you won't have to transfer your address book next time you move. To be sure that the email provider you select will be around forever, we only included the largest free e-mail services in our comparison chart.
Another advantage to web based email accounts is that you can read your email and send email from any computer, anywhere! This enables you to check your email from home, from work, or even on vacation.
Is Free E-mail Totally Free?
You may be wondering what the catch is, or if there are strings attached. There really isn't any trick; the free email accounts provided by these companies are simply supported by advertising. For example, there will typically be a banner ad displayed on the top of the web page while you are reading or writing email.
Please note that currently many free email providers also have paid plans. These paid plans often come with more storage and features, but we only list what comes with a free email account here.
Free Email Account Comparison Table
The following chart allows comparison of the important features of the best free web based email account providers. For more details or to sign up (you should read all the terms and conditions of the service agreements first), go to the E-mail Providers' websites through the provided links. For an explanation of the terms used in the table, please see our term definitions.
| Company | Download Message | Reply To Address | Filters | POP3 Retrieval | Storage Limit | Forwards | Spell Check | Sig |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| About.com | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3MB | No | Yes | Yes |
| CollegeClub | Yes | No | No | Yes | ? | No | Yes | Yes |
| Email.com | No | No | No | Yes | 5MB | Yes | No | Yes |
| Excite | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | 3MB | No | No | Yes |
| GONetwork | No | No | Yes | No | 3MB | No | Yes | Yes |
| Hotmail | No | Yes | Yes | No | 2MB | No | Yes | Yes |
| HotVoice | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | 5MB | No | Yes | Yes |
| iVillage | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | 4MB | No | Yes | Yes |
| iWon | No | Yes | No | Yes | 6MB | Yes | No | Yes |
| Lovemail - Not free any more | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | 3MB | Fee | Yes | Yes |
| Mail.com | No | No | No | Yes | 5MB | Fee | Yes | Yes |
| Netscape | No | No | Yes | Yes | 5MB | No | Yes | Yes |
| Yahoo | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 100MB | Yes | Yes | Yes |