Is Zoho Mail Still Free in 2026? Free Plan Limits Explained

Yes, Zoho Mail still has a Forever Free plan in October 2026: up to 5 users on one custom domain, 5 GB of storage each, used in a web browser, with no IMAP, POP or ActiveSync. Zoho's India pricing page still offers it, marked "available only in select data centers", and new free accounts cannot forward mail either. If you need Outlook, Apple Mail or the Gmail app, Zoho's cheapest option is Mail Lite at ₹59 per user a month, billed yearly, plus GST.

The short version, checked on Zoho's own pages on 22 October 2026:

• Free plan: 5 users, 1 domain, 5 GB per user, "web-only access".
• Not included for new free sign-ups: IMAP, POP, ActiveSync, email forwarding and Huge Attachments.
• Paid plans in India: Mail Lite ₹59 (5 GB) or ₹75 (10 GB), Mail Premium ₹199, all yearly only; Workplace Standard ₹99 yearly or ₹129 monthly. GST is added on top.

Is Zoho Mail free in 2026? What Zoho's own pages say

Visitors from India who open Zoho Mail's pricing page are sent to the India version. As of October 2026, below the paid plans, it shows a "Forever Free Plan" box: "Email hosting for one domain for up to 5 users", "5 GB Mail storage per user" and "IMAP/ POP/ Active Sync not included", with a footnote saying the plan is "available only in select data centers".

Zoho's subscription help page says the same: up to 5 users, one domain "with web-only access", 5 GB each, and a free plan that "may not be accessible in all regions". Zoho does not publish a list of the data centres that offer it. The India page still offers the plan with a working Sign Up Now button, but Zoho only confirms it for your account during sign-up.

Blogs disagree for three reasons:

• Old and new free accounts differ. Zoho's help pages say IMAP and POP are unavailable "for newly signed-up users (Free plan)", and forwarding likewise. Older free accounts may have kept features that new ones don't get.
• Region. Where the free plan isn't offered, the only no-cost option is Zoho's 15-day trial of a paid plan.
• Reseller prices. Some Indian reseller pages quote other figures, such as ₹99 for the 10 GB Mail Lite tier. Zoho's own India page shows ₹59 for 5 GB and ₹75 for 10 GB.

Zoho Mail free plan limits (Forever Free plan)

Here is the free plan next to Mail Lite, Zoho's cheapest paid plan, using Zoho's pricing page and help centre as of October 2026:

Five users means five mailboxes. Zoho's custom domain page says the free plan has "a cap of five custom domain email addresses". The Huge Attachments page says the feature "is not available with free plan". Zoho's pricing page promises never to show ads or sell your data to third parties.

Zoho Mail free plan and IMAP, POP and SMTP

This is the change that catches most people. Zoho's IMAP help page says: "For newly signed-up users (Free plan), the IMAP Access feature will not be available." The POP page says the same about POP, and the forwarding page says new free users cannot use email forwarding.

In practice, a new free Zoho account:

• cannot be added to Outlook, Thunderbird, Apple Mail or the Gmail app as an IMAP account;
• cannot auto-forward to your personal Gmail;
• cannot be pulled into Gmail either, because Gmail has stopped fetching mail from other accounts. You read it in Zoho's webmail.

Sending over SMTP is less clear. Zoho lists its SMTP settings on the same pages as IMAP and POP but doesn't say separately whether new free accounts can use them, and users in Zoho's community forum report it is paid-only. Don't plan to send website form mail through a free Zoho mailbox. A transactional service such as Zoho ZeptoMail, Brevo or Postmark is the better route; see fixing WordPress email.

On paid plans, Zoho Mail supports both IMAP and POP. Zoho's reference settings for paid organisation accounts are imappro.zoho.com on port 993 (SSL), poppro.zoho.com on port 995 (SSL), and smtppro.zoho.com on port 465 (SSL) or 587 (TLS) for sending. The exact names depend on the data centre your account is in, and Zoho shows the right ones in your account's server configuration details.

How to get free Zoho Mail on a custom domain

Zoho doesn't show the free plan among its main plan cards, so it is easy to miss.

1. Have a domain ready. The free plan only works with a domain you own, such as yourbusiness.in. Our guide to a business email ID on your own domain covers that step.
2. Find the free plan box. On Zoho Mail's pricing page, scroll past the paid plans, the "Take it for a spin" trial box and the mix-and-match box until you reach "Forever Free Plan", then click Sign Up Now. "Start Free Trial" is a 15-day trial of a paid plan, not the free plan.
3. Create the account. The sign-up form asks for your name, an email address, a mobile number (+91 is preselected from India) and a password.
4. Verify the domain and point mail to Zoho. Zoho's MX setup page lists three MX records (mx, mx2 and mx3) with priorities 10, 20 and 50. Their ending depends on your data centre, so copy the values from the admin console's Tools & Configurations section. Delete your old MX records; Zoho warns that mail may not reach it if other MX records have equal or lower priority numbers. See DNS records explained.
5. Add SPF and DKIM from the same admin console, so your mail isn't marked as spam. Our post on why business emails go to spam explains each record.

If you only see the trial, read the terms carefully. Zoho's subscription page says that where the free plan is available, an account "will automatically be switched to a free plan once the trial ends", keeping 5 users. Where it isn't, mail stops for every user when the 15 days end, and if you don't upgrade within a further 30 days the organisation's data is scheduled for deletion.

What happens when you outgrow the free plan

• A sixth person joins. You must upgrade. Zoho's pricing FAQ says the 5 free users "apply only to the Free Mail plan": on a paid plan every user is billed, not only the sixth.
• A mailbox fills up. Zoho's usage policy sends an alert at 75% and locks an account within 48 hours of reaching 100%.
• You need Outlook or forwarding. Mail Lite is the cheapest plan with IMAP, POP, ActiveSync and forwarding. Zoho lets you mix plans in one organisation, so only some users need the dearer ones.
• You stop paying. If you cancel or don't renew, Zoho moves the account back to the free plan with premium features switched off, where the free plan exists. Where it doesn't, the organisation is locked until you subscribe again.

Zoho Mail India pricing in 2026: Mail Lite, Premium and Workplace

These are the INR prices on Zoho's India pricing page as of October 2026, per user per month. The page says: "Local taxes (VAT, GST, etc.) will be charged in addition to the prices mentioned."

So the Zoho Mail Lite price is ₹59 per user a month, paid for a full year. Five users on Mail Lite 5 GB cost ₹3,540 a year, or ₹4,177.20 with 18% GST.

Workplace Standard costs only ₹24 a month more than Mail Lite 10 GB. It adds 30 GB of mail storage, Zoho's Writer, Sheet and Show office apps, WorkDrive file storage and Zoho Meeting. It is also the cheapest Zoho plan you can pay monthly. If you are already upgrading, compare it with Mail Lite before you buy. Paid plans allow attachments of 30 MB (Mail Lite and Workplace Standard) or 40 MB (Mail Premium and Workplace Professional).

Who should use the Zoho Mail free plan

The free plan is a good fit if:

• you are a team of one to five people and happy to read mail in a browser;
• you want a professional address on a new domain before you spend anything;
• mail volume is light, and you don't need forwarding or a desktop mail app.

Pay for a plan, Zoho's or someone else's, if:

• you work in Outlook, Apple Mail or the Gmail app;
• customer mail is business-critical. Zoho lists 24x7 support for its paid plans, and the free plan box mentions none;
• you will need a sixth mailbox soon;
• you want your old mail kept in a separate inbox through forwarding.

Zoho Mail vs Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365

The cheapest business email plan from each, as listed on their India pages in October 2026, per user per month, before GST:

Sources: Google Workspace pricing ("does not include tax") and its Business Base help page; Microsoft 365 Business Basic ("GST extra as applicable"). Google's page also shows 50% off Business Base for the first three months for new customers from 5 November 2026.

On Zoho Mail vs Google Workspace: Zoho is cheaper at the bottom (₹59 against ₹99) and is the only one of the three with a real free plan. At ₹99, Google's Business Base gives you the Gmail interface and apps your team may already know, and Zoho's Workplace Standard gives more mail storage. Microsoft makes sense if you already live in Word and Excel. For other providers, including Titan, Rediff and Hostinger, see our business email price comparison for India.

Best Zoho Mail alternatives, including HostEthical Mail

The best alternative depends on why the free plan stopped fitting:

• Stay with Zoho on Mail Lite if you like Zoho and only need IMAP and forwarding. At ₹59 a month it is hard to beat.
• Google Workspace Business Base if your team wants Gmail, Drive and Docs, and you have 20 users or fewer.
• Microsoft 365 Business Basic if you need Exchange email, online meetings and Word, Excel and PowerPoint on the web and phone.
• HostEthical Mail if you want plain IMAP mailboxes on your domain from the company that hosts your website.

HostEthical Mail runs on our own mail server, not a resold Google or Zoho product. Every mailbox works in webmail and over standard IMAP and SMTP, so you can add it to the Gmail app on Android or iPhone, Outlook, Apple Mail or Thunderbird. Email 1 is one 10 GB mailbox and Email 5 is five 10 GB mailboxes, from ₹79 a month, or about ₹65.83 a month when billed yearly, with the same price at renewal. If your domain uses our nameservers, we add the MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records for you. HostEthical isn't GST-registered, so there is no GST line on our invoices.

If you already host a website with us, you may not need to buy anything: every HostEthical web hosting plan includes free 1 GB mailboxes (one on Lite and Starter, three on Business, five on Pro).

What it doesn't do: there is no POP3, no ActiveSync, no shared calendars and no office suite, and each mailbox can send 100 emails an hour, with no bulk or marketing mail. If you need calendars and documents in one place, Zoho Workplace or Google Workspace is the better buy.

Frequently asked questions

Does Zoho Mail still have a free plan?

Yes. As of October 2026, Zoho's India pricing page still offers the Forever Free plan: up to 5 users on one domain, with 5 GB of storage each. Zoho says it is available only in select data centres, and new free accounts get web access only, without IMAP, POP, ActiveSync or email forwarding. Where the free plan isn't offered, Zoho gives you a 15-day trial of a paid plan instead.

Can I get Zoho Mail for free?

Yes, if you own a domain and need five mailboxes or fewer. Scroll to the Forever Free Plan box near the bottom of Zoho Mail's pricing page, click Sign Up Now, then verify your domain and add Zoho's MX records. The plan costs nothing, but you read mail in a browser. For IMAP or forwarding you need a paid plan such as Mail Lite, at ₹59 per user a month billed yearly, plus GST.

Is Zoho free up to 5 emails?

Yes. Zoho's free plan allows up to five users, which means five mailboxes such as you@yourdomain.in, on one domain, each with 5 GB of storage. Zoho's custom domain page calls this a cap of five custom domain email addresses. To add a sixth user you must move to a paid plan, and then every user is billed at that plan's per-user price, not just the extra one.

Is Zoho Mail POP3 or IMAP?

Zoho Mail supports both IMAP and POP3, but for new accounts only on paid plans. Zoho's help pages say IMAP and POP access are not available to newly signed-up free users. On paid organisation accounts, Zoho's reference settings are imappro.zoho.com on port 993 and poppro.zoho.com on port 995, with smtppro.zoho.com on port 465 or 587 for sending. The exact server names depend on your data centre and are shown in your account.