TechRadar Verdict
OnMail may not shine with anything exceptional, but when you need a simple email provider that just gets the job done, it’s one of the best options available on the market right now. The service has a free tier that provides you with a good deal of features, though if you want to take full advantage of what it has to offer, you’ll want to upgrade to the premium tier. OnMail’s pricing is relatively good compared to other providers with similar features, making it a solid offer in a market that is starting to get very crowded.
Pros
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Easy setup
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Privacy-focused
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Fast and convenient
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Free tier offers a lot
Cons
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Premium subscription required for features like password-protected files
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Trying to find the ideal email service for your needs is not as easy as it might seem. While many people jump to Gmail by default, there are lots of other alternatives worth considering. In some cases, staying away from Gmail is actually a good idea – for example, some don’t enjoy tying up all their accounts under one provider in case something goes wrong. Privacy is another concern that many have had with regards to Google’s services for a while now and that’s where alternatives like OnMail have stepped in with a proposed solution.
OnMail claims to be strongly focused on privacy and from what we’ve seen, the service definitely lives up to the expectations it sets in this regard. Of course, it can be tricky to verify claims like these fully, but OnMail still managed to instill a lot of confidence in us during our testing. The service is also designed in an intuitive manner that leaves little to be desired, and works well on pretty much any computer. In some regards, it’s even faster and more convenient than Gmail.
Plans and pricing
OnMail is offered in three tiers – a free tier and two premium ones. The free tier comes with a 10GB storage limit, as well as 100MB per attachment. Upgrading to the Personal or Professional tiers will cost you $49.99/year or $99.99/year respectively, if you choose to pay annually, and it unlocks a variety of additional features. These include a larger storage and attachment limit, password-protected file links, support for custom domains, and the ability to import third-party accounts.
With the Professional tier, you also get various features aimed at businesses, such as extra customization and branding options and special transfer pages. Most users should find the free version adequate for their needs, although those who communicate over email frequently might want to consider upgrading to Personal for the increased size limits. 10 GB should be plenty for most people’s needs, but the upgrade to 100 GB can be well worth the investment, especially if you want to retain your messages in the future.
Features
OnMail offers all standard features you can expect in a modern email service. You can send and receive messages, add attachments, organize your contacts, and sort through your message archive in various ways. OnMail also offers something rather unique, the ability to import contacts from third-party providers. Currently, this is only available for the Professional tier, and it’s not clear if the company has any plans to change that. The feature’s exclusivity has been the subject of some discussions, with some users calling on the company to revise their pricing plans in this regard.
Interface and in use
The interface is sleek and smooth, and works well on all devices, desktop and mobile. It doesn’t come with any significant hardware requirements and should run comfortably even on a weak laptop, making OnMail one of the better services for those interested in communicating on the go. Unfortunately, there’s no standalone desktop client, something else that has been actively requested by users for some time now. Given the state of the service and the intentions of its developers, it’s not likely that they have any plans to release a standalone application at the moment.
Support
The company provides standard support options, and their email support is known for being relatively fast to respond, and always in a competent manner. You will rarely run into issues using OnMail in the first place, as the service is quite stable and seems to have been extensively tested. But in case you do need to reach out, you should be able to contact the developers quickly and effortlessly. They don’t offer any immediate contact options, though users on the Professional tier should probably contact the company for a special arrangement.
The competition
The service faces fierce competition on many sides. Between Gmail, GMX and Outlook, there are lots of free personal mail services that get the job done right now. Choosing one is mostly a matter of personal preference. Though if you insist on advanced premium features and want to know that your money is being spent the right way, OnMail is definitely one of the better choices you can make. The service is worth the price for its premium version as well. In fact, it can be argued that the company offers a lot more than the average email provider for the price, even if their free tier might leave something to be desired.
Final verdict
An overall competent offering with lots of features that should attract the attention of users from many different categories, OnMail is a solid contender in this corner of the market, and a service worth your time and consideration. As long as you understand that you may have to invest in the premium version to unlock all features and take full advantage of what it has to offer, OnMail can definitely do a fine job, and should be good enough to be most people’s primary email service. This includes professional users with very specific requirements as well.
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