5 Gmail Alternatives & Competitors for Better Business Communication

The Best Gmail Alternatives & Competitors for Business Communication

1. Connecteam — The best alternative to Gmail for business communication
   

   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android

   Start for free

   

   Key Features

   • Instant one-to-one and group chats

   • Chat organization features

   • Knowledge base to securely store company documents

   • Updates feed for company-wide announcements

   • Surveys and polls to gather employee feedback

   • Mobile app

   Pros

   • Security features to safeguard internal communications

   • Intuitive interface

   • Free plan for up to 10 users

   • All-in-one employee management solution

   Cons

   • No video conferencing feature yet

   Connecteam is an all-in-one employee management app with a range of features to improve internal communication. Although it doesn’t offer an emailing feature, Connecteam has a secure chat tool, company updates feed, and many more features to streamline your business communications while making them more secure.

   Connecteam is available on Android and iOS devices and web browsers, so you and your employees can stay in touch anytime, anywhere. 

   Let’s discuss Connecteam’s top features that make it a great alternative to Gmail. 

   Real-time, secure instant messaging 

   Connecteam offers a powerful, secure chat feature for instant messaging in individual and group chats. It keeps employees’ work communications separate from their private ones, preventing any mishaps. 

   You can organize conversations according to project, topic, team, location, or any other category. This way, your communication is always on-topic, and your inbox is clutter-free. 

   Within messages, you can easily attach documents, images, videos, audio notes, and more to messages. This allows for seamless information sharing. 

   As a manager, you have full control over chat moderation and user permissions. Delete any inappropriate messages or file attachments and designate which conversations each employee can access. These functionalities ensure your internal communications stay professional and the chat is safe for your employees. 

   

   Connecteam also offers the option to mute conversations so you don’t receive work communications while you’re off the clock. Similarly, you can favorite conversations for easy access later. 

   In terms of security, Connecteam encrypts all messages as they’re sent and delivered. This is called end-to-end encryption. Additionally, chat data is never saved on users’ devices. It’s backed up in Connecteam’s highly secure private cloud. Users can’t export conversations, and as soon as an employee leaves your organization, you can revoke their chat access. 

   All in all, Connecteam’s chat facilitates direct and easy communication between your employees, even on the go. What’s more, instant messaging usually takes less time than typing out an email, minimizing the disruption to your team.

   Updates feed for team- and company-wide announcements

   Connecteam’s other main communication feature is the updates feed. It’s a social media-style company feed you can use to share updates and announcements quickly and efficiently.

   

   You can choose who to share your posts with—a few employees, a specific team, or your whole organization. You’re also able to schedule posts, giving you total control of your communications.

   You can add text, GIFs, images, and more to each post to make them more engaging. Plus, you can add your company branding to customize your announcements.

   The feed is interactive as well, so your employees can like and comment on your posts. At a glance, you can see which employees have viewed your posts and quickly follow up with those who haven’t to ensure they aren’t out of the loop.

   Easily gather employees’ thoughts using surveys and polls

   You can also use Connecteam to create, send out, and collect employee surveys and polls in minutes. Use survey and poll templates or create custom ones using yes/no, multiple-choice, rating scale, and open-ended questions. Surveys can be anonymous to encourage honest responses, too. 

   You’ll receive survey results as they come in and get instant responses when you publish live digital polls. Connecteam will notify employees when they have a survey or poll to complete, and you can set automated reminders for them to fill out surveys before the deadline. 

   Once the results are in, you can review them to identify training needs, information gaps, or opportunities for employee support or incentives. 

   

   Store important documents in the digital knowledge base

   Connecteam includes a knowledge base where you can store and share important documents across your organization. It lets you store policies and procedures, employee handbooks, health and safety documents, benefits and wellness information, and more. Connecteam also syncs documents in real time, so your team always has access to the most up-to-date versions.

   Your employees can access these documents at any time, from anywhere. That said, you can also control which documents they can access. This ensures workers are viewing only the documents relevant to their jobs. 

   Additionally, Connecteam places no limits on storage and encrypts all documents end-to-end. 

   Easy to use with a sleek interface

   Connecteam is super straightforward to use—even for team members who may be less tech-savvy. You and your employees can easily get started without any special training to complete or learning curve to overcome. The intuitive interface is easy to navigate, and you can access features with just a few touches or clicks of your device.

   This makes your internal communications effortless and saves you and your team time, effort, and frustration.

   A budget-friendly all-in-one solution

   As well as the above features, Connecteam includes tools to help you with scheduling, task management, training and onboarding, employee recognition and rewards, event planning, time off management, and so much more.

   

   With a free Small Business Plan for teams of up to 10 and paid plans starting at just $29 a month for up to 30 people, Connecteam is an affordable all-in-one solution to improve all your business operations. 

   Connecteam also offers a free for life plan – Get Started Now!

   Pricing

   Free-for-life plan availablePremium plans start at $29/month for 30 users

   14-day free trial, no credit card required

   Start your free trial
2. 

   ProtonMail — Good for secure email communications
   

   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android

   

   Key Features

   • Advanced search capabilities
   • End-to-end encryption
   • Contact management functions
   • Integrates with Proton Calendar

   Pros

   • Can migrate existing Gmail or Outlook systems
   • Strong security features

   Cons

   • Per-user pricing can add up
   • Email storage limits on smaller plans

   From software company Proton, ProtonMail is an email provider that emphasizes security and privacy. It offers free email accounts for individual users, but these have limited features. ProtonMail also provides a business package that enables users to keep their custom business email addresses. There are 3 levels of business subscriptions available: Mail Essentials, Business, and custom Enterprise plans. 

   Additionally, the platform is customizable. Users can create folders and filters to organize their emails and customize their inbox layout and appearance. 

   Regarding security, ProtonMail complies with strict Swiss data privacy laws. It includes automatic backups and spam filters to protect against malicious messages or content. ProtonMail uses open-source code and encrypts messages to protect them. Not even the platform itself has access to users’ information. Plus, the platform’s security is independently audited. 

   In addition to emails, Proton offers a range of other digital products, including a calendar, file storage space, VPN, and password manager. However, its per-user pricing can get expensive.

   Learn more about ProtonMail

   Pricing

   Starts at $6.49/month/user Trial: No Free Plan: No

3. 

   Tutanota — Good for environmentally responsible email
   

   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android
   • Windows
   • Mac

   

   Key Features

   • Multiple custom domains
   • Integrated calendars and contracts
   • Dedicated business support
   • 1GB of storage with free account

   Pros

   • Ad-free
   • GDPR-compliant

   Cons

   • Per-user pricing can add up
   • Email templates only available with highest plan

   Tutanota is an ad-free, cloud-based email provider that allows you to send and receive business emails securely. All email data—including subject lines, attachments, contacts, and inbox rules—is encrypted end-to-end. 

   The platform’s other security features include 2-factor authentication, phishing protection, and session handling. There’s also a biometrics unlock feature on mobile devices to protect personal information and communications. Tutanota also offers integrated calendar and contact management. 

   Tutanota’s servers are based in Germany— and therefore compliant with the ​​General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)—and powered by renewable energy. Tutanota can be used across all devices, including iOS, Android, and desktops. 

   The platform offers a free basic account for individuals, with business plans ranging from €6 ($6.64 USD) to €12 ($13.29 USD) per user, per month per user. This can get pricey for larger teams.

   Learn more about Tutanota

   Pricing

   Starts at €6 (approx. $6.60)/user/month Trial: No Free Plan: No

4. 

   Zoho Mail — Good for locating stored emails
   

   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android
   • Windows
   • Mac

   

   Key Features

   • Encrypted email
   • e-Discovery feature for locating retained emails
   • Private email groups
   • Offline email mode

   Pros

   • Includes integrated calendar feature
   • GDPR-compliant

   Cons

   • Email sorting functions aren’t as robust as competitors
   • Free plan only allows for up to 5 users

   Zoho Mail offers users secure, encrypted email hosting via an ad-free platform. Users can create custom business domains and email addresses. They can also set company-wide email retention times and use the e-Discovery feature to locate stored emails as needed. 

   Zoho Mail’s user management features allow managers to set a password policy for users, create group emails for different departments, and assign moderators to each group. Users can also assign administrators to manage organization-wide email policies and user accounts. 

   With an offline mode, users can access recent emails without an internet connection. Zoho Mail’s security features include encryption and 2-factor authentication. 

   Zoho Mail also includes a Streams feature that lets users manage social media-style conversations instead of lengthy email threads. Employees can use this to post to individuals or groups, comment and react to posts, and assign tasks. 

   The downside is that Zoho Mail’s free plan is limited to 5 users, so it isn’t a great option for businesses. 

   Learn more about Zoho Mail

   Pricing

   Starts at $1/user/month Trial: Yes Free Plan: Yes

5. 

   Outlook — Good for using email with personal calendars
   

   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android
   • Windows
   • Mac

   

   Key Features

   • Email organization features
   • Integrated calendar
   • Contact management
   • Automatic replies and forwarding

   Pros

   • Fully integrates with other Microsoft products
   • Offline mode available

   Cons

   • Business access requires Microsoft 365 subscription
   • Per-user pricing can add up

   First launched in 1997, Microsoft Outlook is an email client widely used by businesses. Users can manage emails via an inbox and set rules for automatic replies or forwarding. An integrated calendar feature lets users keep track of events, meetings, and appointments. Users can also access emails when offline. Microsoft Outlook then automatically syncs inboxes once the internet connection is restored. 

   Additionally, Microsoft Outlook offers the same level of security available across all Microsoft products. This includes data encryption, automatic phishing and virus detection, and file recovery. 

   While Microsoft offers a free version to individual users, business users need to subscribe to a Microsoft 365 business plan to access an ad-free version, advanced security features, and extra storage. These subscriptions range between $6 and $22 per user, per month. 

   Learn more about Outlook

   Pricing

   Starts at $5/user/month Trial: Yes — 1-month Free Plan: Yes