What is Zoho Mail?
Zoho Mail hosts email for organizations on their own domain names. It runs in a web browser and through desktop and mobile apps, and paid plans also work with standard email clients such as Microsoft Outlook over IMAP, POP and Exchange ActiveSync. Alongside the inbox, users get a calendar, contacts, to-do lists, notes and bookmarks, and a feature called Streams lets colleagues comment on and discuss shared emails in a social-media style feed.
Zoho promotes the service as private and ad-free: it shows no advertising and says it does not sell customer data. Messages are protected with TLS in transit and AES-256 encryption at rest, S/MIME is available for signed and encrypted mail, and administrators can authenticate outgoing email with SPF, DKIM, DMARC and BIMI records. A control panel lets administrators manage users and groups, apply email and security policies, require two-factor authentication, review audit logs and use retention and eDiscovery tools.
Zoho Mail is sold on its own or as the core of Zoho Workplace, which adds file storage, word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, chat and video meetings, and it is also part of Zoho One. Zoho says more than 550,000 businesses use the service. In India it also runs official email for the central government: after the National Informatics Centre selected Zoho in a 2023 tender, about 1.67 million official email accounts had moved to the Zoho-run platform by April 2026, according to figures given to Parliament. The service competes with Gmail in Google Workspace and Outlook in Microsoft 365.
Key features of Zoho Mail
- 01
Custom domain email
Organizations host addresses on their own domain, with setup tools for verifying the domain and configuring the MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records that route and authenticate their email.
- 02
Ad-free, private inbox
Zoho Mail carries no advertising, and Zoho says it does not profile messages for ads, sell customer data or use customer email to train AI models.
- 03
Security and encryption
TLS protects messages in transit and AES-256 encryption protects stored data, while S/MIME, two-factor authentication and spam filtering add further protection for accounts and messages.
- 04
Admin control panel
Administrators manage users, groups and domains, apply email policies and access restrictions, review audit logs and use retention and eDiscovery tools for legal and compliance needs.
- 05
Streams collaboration
Streams turns emails into shared posts where colleagues can comment, react and discuss a message in a feed instead of forwarding long reply chains to each other.
- 06
Built-in productivity apps
A calendar, contacts, to-do lists, notes and bookmarks sit alongside the inbox and are available in the mobile apps, keeping scheduling and follow-ups connected to email.
- 07
Migration tools
Free automated migration tools move existing mailboxes from Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 and other IMAP-based email providers when an organization switches to Zoho Mail.
- 08
Zia AI assistance
Zia, Zoho’s AI assistant, can draft replies and summarize long email threads inside Zoho Mail, helping users work through busy inboxes more quickly.
Who uses Zoho Mail?
- Small businesses set up professional email addresses on their own domain, often starting with the free plan for a handful of users.
- Companies switching from Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 use Zoho’s migration tools to move existing mailboxes to Zoho Mail.
- Indian government ministries and departments use the Zoho-run National Informatics Centre platform for official email.
- Organizations that already use Zoho CRM or Zoho One keep email connected to customer records and other Zoho apps.
- Businesses with compliance obligations rely on retention policies, audit logs and eDiscovery to preserve and search email records.
History of Zoho Mail
Zoho launched Zoho Mail in 2008, when the company was still called AdventNet, as a web-based email service without advertising at a time when major free webmail services were supported by ads. It was built for businesses that wanted email on their own domains, and it became part of Zoho’s online office suite. When the service turned ten in 2018, Zoho said it had more than 10 million business users.
In 2020 Zoho launched a more tightly integrated Zoho Workplace, which combines Zoho Mail with documents, file storage, chat and meetings, as a competitor to Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. In 2023 India’s National Informatics Centre chose Zoho to run email for central government staff, and in 2025 senior ministers, including Home Minister Amit Shah, publicly switched to Zoho Mail. Replies to India’s Parliament put the number of migrated official accounts at about 1.27 million in December 2025 and about 1.67 million in April 2026. Zoho has also added Zia AI features for drafting and summarizing messages.
- 2008
Zoho Mail launches as an ad-free, web-based email service for businesses.
- 2018
Zoho Mail turns ten with more than 10 million business users.
- 2020
Zoho launches a more tightly integrated Zoho Workplace suite that combines Zoho Mail with collaboration apps.
- 2023
India’s National Informatics Centre selects Zoho to run email for central government employees.
- 2025
About 1.27 million Indian government email accounts have moved to the Zoho-run platform by December.
Zoho Mail pricing
Pricing modelFreemium
Forever Free plan for up to five users in select regions; Mail Lite, Mail Premium and Zoho Workplace plans are billed per user, monthly or annually.
Prices change often. Check the official Zoho Mail website for current plans.
Zoho Mail alternatives
Well-known alternativesGmail (Google Workspace), Microsoft Outlook (Microsoft 365), Proton Mail and Fastmail
Zoho Mail: frequently asked questions
Who makes Zoho Mail?
Zoho Mail is made by Zoho Corporation, the privately held software company headquartered in Chennai, India. Zoho launched the service in 2008 and sells it on its own and as part of Zoho Workplace and the Zoho One suite, alongside products such as Zoho CRM and Zoho Books.
What is Zoho Mail used for?
Zoho Mail is used mainly for business email on an organization’s own domain. Companies and government bodies use it to send and receive email, manage calendars, contacts and tasks, apply security and retention policies and discuss messages with colleagues, through a web browser, desktop and mobile apps or standard email clients.
Is Zoho Mail free?
Zoho Mail has a Forever Free plan for up to five users with 5 GB of storage each and one custom domain, available in select regions and limited to web and mobile app access. Paid Mail Lite, Mail Premium and Zoho Workplace plans, billed per user, add more storage, IMAP, POP and ActiveSync access and administrative features.
When was Zoho Mail released?
Zoho Mail was released in 2008 as an ad-free, web-based email service for businesses. Zoho reported more than 10 million business users when the service turned ten in 2018, and in 2020 it became part of a more tightly integrated Zoho Workplace collaboration suite.
Does the Indian government use Zoho Mail?
Yes. India’s National Informatics Centre selected Zoho in a 2023 tender to run email for central government employees, and by April 2026 about 1.67 million official email accounts had moved to the Zoho-run platform. Senior ministers, including Home Minister Amit Shah, publicly switched to Zoho Mail in 2025.
Sources
- Zoho Mail zoho.com
- Zoho Mail pricing zoho.com
- Celebrating 10 years of Zoho Mail with 10 million+ business users, Zoho blog zoho.com
- Lok Sabha confirms migration of official email accounts to Zoho, Republic World republicworld.com
- Zoho Corporation, Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org
Last reviewed . Spotted an error? Send a correction.