mail.com vs IONOS Mail
IONOS Mail wins on privacy, mail.com wins on price and mail.com wins on features. Every fact below was checked on or before 25 October 2026.
Which should you choose?
- mail.com suits you best if you want a mailbox that costs nothing; a free plan before you pay anything; and more room (65 GB, against 2 GB).
- IONOS Mail suits you best if you want your mail kept in the UK data centre in Worcester; where email sits not confirmed; email from a company that doesn't make money from adverts; and an address on your own domain.
| Feature | mail.com | IONOS Mail |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | 2.5 | 3.0 |
| Privacy | 0.0 | 2.5 |
| Price | 5.0 | 4.5 |
| Features | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| Cheapest plan | Free Free | Mail Basic About £1–£2 a month (not confirmed) |
| Free plan | Yes, with adverts | No |
| Storage | 65 GB | 2 GB |
| Your own domain | No | ✓ Yes |
| End-to-end encryption | No | No |
| Company based in | United States | Germany |
| Your data is kept in | United States | UK data centre in Worcester; where email sits not confirmed |
| Founded | 1995 | 1988 |
| Free trial | Free | Unknown |
| Funded by advertising | Yes, or its parent company is | No |
| Works in any mail app | ✓ IMAP and SMTP | ✓ IMAP and SMTP |
| Calendar and contacts | ✓ Yes | No |
| Aliases | Up to 10 addresses | Yes |
| Open-source apps | No | No |
| Sign up without ID | No | No |
| White label | No | Unknown |
| Reader offer | None | None |
| Last checked | 25 October 2026 | 22 October 2026 |
Want to add another? Open this in the compare tool.
The key differences
- Cheapest plans: mail.com Free, Free. IONOS Mail Mail Basic, About £1–£2 a month (not confirmed).
- For free, mail.com gives you a free plan (with adverts), and IONOS Mail no free plan.
- mail.com comes with 65 GB of storage and IONOS Mail with 2 GB of storage.
- mail.com keeps your mail in the United States, while IONOS Mail keeps it in the UK data centre in Worcester; where email sits not confirmed.
- mail.com is based in the United States and IONOS Mail in Germany, so different privacy laws apply.
- IONOS Mail lets you bring your own domain name; mail.com doesn't.
- Only mail.com is part of an advertising business.
- For extra addresses, mail.com has up to 10 addresses and IONOS Mail has yes.
mail.com and IONOS Mail: your questions
Which is more private, mail.com or IONOS Mail?
IONOS Mail scores 2.5 out of 5 for privacy and mail.com 0. IONOS Mail gives you your mail kept in the UK data centre in Worcester; where email sits not confirmed and email from a company that doesn't make money from adverts.
Which is cheaper, mail.com or IONOS Mail?
mail.com costs nothing to start (Free). IONOS Mail's cheapest plan, Mail Basic, is About £1–£2 a month (not confirmed).
Do mail.com and IONOS Mail work with my own domain?
Only IONOS Mail does (Yes). With mail.com your address stays on its own domain.
Where do mail.com and IONOS Mail keep my email?
mail.com keeps it in the United States. IONOS Mail keeps it in the UK data centre in Worcester; where email sits not confirmed.
Prices and the latest news
No price changes for either since 22 October 2026. I check regularly and add any change here with its date.
The latest headlines: mail.com news · IONOS Mail news.
Alternatives to mail.com and IONOS Mail
mail.com vs mailbox.org · IONOS Mail vs mailbox.org · mail.com vs Posteo · IONOS Mail vs Posteo · mail.com vs Proton Mail · IONOS Mail vs Proton Mail
Moving your email
Whichever you choose, the move follows the same steps. Pick your two providers for the steps.