So I have researched about self hosting your own email server such as Mailcow but it seems pretty divided on whether or not you should do it due emails potentially not getting delivered due to spam filters and such. So I'm kinda not interested in self hosting so I'm wondering what is the next best option to get my own email ideally for free but maybe settle for really cheap?
Edit: I have my own domain already.
Edit2: Thank you all! I have my domain with Cloudflare so I have tried their email routing but would like to be able to send from it too. I'll check out some other suggestions.
Edit3: Wow this got a lot of replies. Again thanks all for the recommendations. I haven't had a chance to actually check any out yet (busy weekend) but I will get to it.
Edit4: So I've had a little time to look at some of the options and it looks like maybe Zoho, onepoundemail or PurelyMail. They are both fairly cheap and around the same price. Anyone know how they compare?
Edit5: I ended up paying for Zoho for $12/year. So far it's doing everything I wanted and more. Very happy with it! Thank you all!!!
Videos
How does an email domain work?
What is custom email domain?
How can I create a free email address with a domain name?
Hi. I'm Brian and I'll try to help.
If you purchase a Personal or Family subscription, the custom domain should still apply. However, as of November 20, 2023, Microsoft will no longer support custom domains with Microsoft 365 Personal or Family. It will be supported with the Microsoft 365 business subscriptions. Custom domains should still work if you have one but you won't be able to create a new one. My personal inclination is to not use a feature for which there no longer is support because if it were ever to break, it would never be fixed and there would be no recourse. It's not that much more expensive to get a business subscription if a custom domain is important to you when using Microsoft 365 and you don't need to be an actual business to subscribe.
I use a custom domain with the free version of Outlook.com. Microsoft (or GoDaddy) is not the registrar. I have my custom domain point to a mailbox that I then forward to my @outlook.com address and I have the custom address configured as an alias for that Outlook.com mailbox. I also have it set as the default From address. If I use the web interface, the From address is my custom address and people receiving my messages see that address whether it's a new message or a reply to an existing message. It doesn't work as straight-forward with a mail client (you would see "on behalf of" in the From address). However, there's a work-around for that as well if you create a send-only account in the client that sends messages you want to show as From the custom address through the real custom domain mailbox rather than relaying through Outlook.com. It can take just a bit more thought about the From address when sending, but I'm so used to it now I rarely make a mistake. I most often use a Chromebook for my normal computer work and since that uses the web interface, the From is always good.
As long as the code you purchase is a genuine Microsoft 365 code and not, say, a code for Microsoft Office Professional Plus, which is often a pirated license, it shouldn't make a difference.
Hi David
I'm Anna and I'd be happy to help you with your question. In this Forum, we are Microsoft consumers just like yourself.
Yes, you can continue to use your custom domain with a personal 365 account. You would need to configure the custom domain in the Office 365 admin center and update the MX records for your domain to point to the Office 365 mail servers.
If you decide not to renew your subscription, your account will be downgraded to the free version, which means you will lose access to certain features and services that are only available with a paid subscription. However, you will still be able to access your email using the free version of Outlook.com.
You can use a code purchased elsewhere to upgrade to Office 365 Personal, as long as it is a valid code for that product and it hasn't been used before. You will need to redeem the code in the Microsoft Store or on the Microsoft website, and then follow the instructions to upgrade your account.
I hope this helps ;-), let me know if this is contrary to what you need, I would still be helpful to answer more of your questions.
Best Regards,
Anna
Give back to the community. Help the next person with this problem by indicating whether this answer solved your problem. Click Yes or No at the bottom.