mail.com vs Names.co.uk
In short: Names.co.uk wins on privacy, mail.com wins on price, and mail.com wins on features. The full comparison is below, last checked 25 October 2026.
mail.com or Names.co.uk: which should you choose?
- mail.com is the better pick if you want a mailbox that costs nothing; a free plan before you pay anything; and more room (65 GB, against 5 GB).
- Names.co.uk suits you best if you want your mail kept in the United Kingdom; email from a company that doesn't make money from adverts; and email at your own domain name.
| Feature | mail.com | Names.co.uk |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Privacy | 0.0 | 2.5 |
| Price | 5.0 | 2.0 |
| Features | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| Cheapest plan | Free Free | Email £9.99 per user a month (£1 for the first month), or £109.89 a year |
| Free plan | Yes, with adverts | No |
| Storage | 65 GB | 5 GB |
| Your own domain | No | ✓ Yes |
| End-to-end encryption | No | No |
| Company based in | United States | United Kingdom |
| Your data is kept in | United States | United Kingdom |
| Founded | 1995 | Unknown |
| Free trial | Free | £1 for the first month |
| 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 | 25 October 2026 |
Want to add another? Open this in the compare tool.
How mail.com and Names.co.uk differ
- On price: mail.com Free at Free, against Names.co.uk Email at £9.99 per user a month (£1 for the first month), or £109.89 a year.
- For free, mail.com gives you a free plan (with adverts), and Names.co.uk no free plan.
- mail.com comes with 65 GB of storage and Names.co.uk with 5 GB of storage.
- Data location: United States for mail.com, United Kingdom for Names.co.uk.
- mail.com is based in the United States and Names.co.uk in the United Kingdom, so different privacy laws apply.
- Names.co.uk 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 Names.co.uk has yes.
mail.com and Names.co.uk: your questions
Which is more private, mail.com or Names.co.uk?
Names.co.uk scores 2.5 out of 5 for privacy and mail.com 0. Names.co.uk gives you your mail kept in the United Kingdom and email from a company that doesn't make money from adverts.
Which is cheaper, mail.com or Names.co.uk?
mail.com costs nothing to start (Free). Names.co.uk's cheapest plan, Email, is £9.99 per user a month (£1 for the first month), or £109.89 a year.
Do mail.com and Names.co.uk work with my own domain?
Only Names.co.uk does (Yes). With mail.com your address stays on its own domain.
Where do mail.com and Names.co.uk keep my email?
mail.com keeps it in the United States. Names.co.uk keeps it in the United Kingdom.
Prices and the latest news
Neither price has changed since my first check on 25 October 2026.
The latest headlines: mail.com news · Names.co.uk news.
Also worth a look
mail.com vs mailbox.org · Names.co.uk vs mailbox.org · mail.com vs Posteo · Names.co.uk vs Posteo · mail.com vs Proton Mail · Names.co.uk vs Proton Mail
How to switch
Whichever you choose, the move follows the same steps. Pick your two providers for the steps.