Young business owners should capitalize on every opportunity to save and allocate their limited resources to critical areas of development, especially during the early stages of growth. Opting for a free business email makes perfect sense in such scenarios.

However, investing in a quality product that can optimize productivity, save time, and help grow your venture is also essential. In this context, a low-cost, feature-rich business email platform can become an asset that provides various intangible returns.

In this discussion, we'll first explore how to get a free business email with Zoho, and then we'll discuss how to obtain a low-cost, easy-to-set-up business email through Neo.

Setting up email using Zoho:

Before starting with Zoho's free business email account, you need a domain and a business phone number to receive text alerts. You can find suggestions for low-cost, high-quality domain providers in the description below.

1. Log into zoho.com/mail
2. On the homepage, enter your details and click on "Sign Up for Free."
3. Scroll down and click on the "Forever Free Plan" button.
4. Begin creating your account by entering all your details. You will receive a verification code on the provided phone number. Enter the code and click "Verify."
5. On the Zoho Mail Hosting Page, connect your email app with your domain.
6. Enter your company and domain details.
7. Proceed to verify your domain ownership using the "Adding TXT record" method.
8. Login to your domain’s DNS manager (e.g., GoDaddy).
9. Under the DNS tab, create a new TXT record that matches the value provided in the Zoho Mail Setup Console.
10. Once the TXT record is added, return to your Zoho mail console and click "Verify Domain."
11. You can now create your admin and add users to your organization. Note: Zoho Mail allows up to 5 users for free; additional users are payable.
12. After adding users, create group email accounts like sales@xyz.com.
13. Proceed with DNS mapping for MX records to ensure mail delivery. This usually takes about 3 hours to verify.

Honestly, this process is exhausting, non-technical-friendly, and overwhelming.

Once we are done with MX verification, we continue by adding the SPF and DKIM values. This is done by entering the provided values as TXT records in your domain’s DNS settings.

Just as with the MX and TXT records, it's crucial that the values provided match exactly.

Once the TXT records are confirmed, you have the option to migrate your existing emails to Zoho through the Zoho Mail App.

And that’s it, I have finally set up my Zoho Mail after what seems like an eternity.

Honestly, while Zoho does a great job by providing business email services for free, it is so complicated I would rather pay someone to handle the setup.

Moving on to Neo:

With Neo, you need not own a domain, as Neo provides a free domain with every new email account.

1. First, go to www.neo.space and click on "Get started."
2. You should be able to see this screen. Now, if you already have a domain, you can click here directly. For the sake of this discussion, let’s assume that I don’t own one personally, so I am going to click right here.
3. Let me type the domain that I wish to get. Let’s check for "demetripanici". Oh, it’s available, awesome. Now, click on this box here that says "Get Free Domain."
4. Enter all your details - like your name, existing email address, and a strong password.
5. Choose your email address for your first mailbox. I'd like to go for contact@demetripanici.co.site and create the mailbox.
6. Skip adding teammates and general mailboxes if not needed.
7. Neo offers three key plans. Decide based on your needs like Neo Bookings, signature designer, email campaigns, and the AI email responder. I'll be going ahead with the Neo Max plan.
8. Add your details and you're done. Now you're a proud owner of a shiny new email address.

So, in less than 3 minutes, not only did I get a brand new business email, but also a free domain name, and a one-page website.

I didn’t even need to set up my domain name or worry about technical know-how that I had to with Zoho Mail.

About Neo:

Neo is a business email platform designed for startups, entrepreneurs, and small business owners. Along with a business email, it includes a domain, a one-page website, an appointment scheduler, an AI email generator, email campaigns, mail tracking, and much more.

While Neo isn’t completely free, it offers super affordable rates and saves you money with its ease of setup and included features.

‍