If you’re searching for alternatives to GoDaddy email hosting, you’re probably looking for basic but reliable business email without all the bells and whistles of expensive Office 365. You need professional @yourdomain.com addresses that work with standard protocols—IMAP and POP3 for incoming mail, SMTP for outgoing, solid webmail access, effective spam filtering, and maybe CalDAV/CardDAV for calendar sync when needed. In short, you’re looking for email hosting that supports the basic protocols to connect in Outlook or Thunderbird and on mobile phones.
The problem? GoDaddy doesn’t offer this anymore.
On April 13, 2022, GoDaddy discontinued their traditional email hosting (Workspace Email) and encouraged new and existing customers to upgrade to Microsoft 365 plans. What looks like a great deal at $1.99/month becomes a shock when it jumps to $7.99/month after year one—and you’re paying for Microsoft productivity apps you that you may not need when all you wanted was dependable @yourdomain.com email.
The good news is searching for “alternative to GoDaddy email hosting” returns a wide array of email hosting providers offering rock-solid email infrastructure with standard protocols, starting at just $1.95/month per mailbox with consistent pricing.
GoDaddy Email Promotional Pricing That Adds Up
GoDaddy offers compelling promotional pricing starting at “$1.99/month” but automatically jumps to $7.99/month after the first year—a 300% increase that catches many businesses off guard. Even their most basic “Email Essentials” plan is built on Microsoft infrastructure, not traditional email hosting.
Here’s the real cost for a typical 5-employee business over three years:
GoDaddy Route (Microsoft 365 Email Essentials):
- Year 1: $1.99/month × 5 employees × 12 months = $119.40
- Years 2-3: $7.99/month × 5 employees × 24 months = $958.80
- Total 3-year cost: $1,078.20
Greatmail Alternative (Standard Edition):
- $1.95/month × 5 employees × 36 months = $351.00
- Total savings: $727.20
That’s over $700 saved, and the difference grows dramatically if you compare against their higher-tier plans.
Greatmail vs. GoDaddy: Head-to-Head Comparison
| Feature | Greatmail | GoDaddy (Microsoft 365) |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $1.95/month (consistent) | $1.99/month (year 1), then $7.99/month |
| Business Focus | Email specialist since 2003 | Domain registrar pushing Microsoft 365 |
| Phone Support | Yes, during business hours | General support line |
| Email Deliverability | Specialist infrastructure | Shared with web hosting customers |
| Spam Protection | Enterprise-grade filtering | Standard Microsoft protection |
| Mailbox Storage | 10GB or 25GB | 50GB (but you’re paying for OneDrive too) |
| Migration Help | Expert email migration assistance | General setup support |
| Minimum Users | 5 mailboxes | 1 user |
| Contract Terms | Flexible | Annual commitments encouraged |
| Hidden Costs | None | Productivity apps you may not need |
Using a dedicated email host isn’t just about price and saving money—it’s about specialization, support and having someone there to guide you through setup, migration and answer questions when your emails aren’t delivering or you are receiving bounces that don’t make any sense. When you call Greatmail, you talk to email hosting experts who understand deliverability, DNS configuration, and email server optimization. When you call GoDaddy, you’re calling a company that offers dozens of different services, where email is just one part of their broader business model.
Why Greatmail Works for Most Businesses
Transparent, Consistent Pricing GoDaddy’s promotional pricing ($1.99 first year, $7.99 thereafter) makes budget planning difficult and creates surprise renewals. Greatmail’s straightforward pricing stays the same year after year: $1.95/month for Standard, $3.95/month for Groupware. No promotional tricks, no surprise increases.
True Email Expertise Twenty-plus years of exclusive email hosting experience means we understand the nuances that generalist providers miss. Email deliverability isn’t just about sending messages—it’s about SPF records, DKIM authentication, DMARC policies, and maintaining sender reputation. That’s what email specialists do daily.
No Productivity Suite Bloat Most small businesses need reliable @yourdomain.com email, not document collaboration platforms. If you’re already using Google Docs, Dropbox, or other tools that work well for your team, why pay extra to replace them with Microsoft alternatives you’ll never fully adopt?
Scalable Without Lock-in Start with our Standard Edition at $1.95/month. If your team later needs calendar sharing and mobile sync, upgrade to our Groupware Edition at $3.95/month—still less than half of GoDaddy’s entry-level Microsoft 365 pricing.
Real Business Scenarios:
- Local service businesses: Need professional email addresses for quotes and customer communication, not spreadsheet collaboration
- Professional services: Require reliable email for client correspondence, but use specialized software for their core work
- E-commerce businesses: Need transactional email reliability, not another office suite competing with their existing tools
- Growing startups: Want to control costs while maintaining professional communication standards
Making the Switch from GoDaddy
Best Times to Migrate:
- During your renewal period to avoid early termination fees
- When adding new employees (avoid GoDaddy’s per-user pricing increases)
- After experiencing deliverability or support issues
- When you realize you’re paying for unused Microsoft 365 features
Greatmail’s Migration Process:
- Free consultation to assess your current setup and requirements
- Parallel setup so your new email works alongside your existing system
- Email import guidance to help you transfer existing messages and contacts
- DNS transition support with step-by-step instructions and assistance if needed
- Post-migration verification to ensure everything works perfectly
The entire process typically takes 2-3 business days with zero downtime. In many cases, your new email can be up and running in a couple of hours.
Avoiding Common Migration Pitfalls:
- Don’t cancel your old email until the new system is fully tested
- Update your email client settings gradually, one device at a time
- Inform key contacts about the transition timeline
- Keep both systems running briefly to catch any missed messages
Other Email Hosting Specialists Worth Considering
While we believe Greatmail offers the best value for most businesses, we’re committed to helping you find the right email hosting solution even if it’s not us. That’s why we created our Ultimate Email Hosting Guide, which compares 8 dedicated email hosting providers without affiliate bias.
Other solid alternatives to GoDaddy include:
- Fastmail: Premium features with integrated productivity tools ($6/month)
- Rackspace Email: Enterprise-grade infrastructure for larger organizations ($3/month)
- Zoho Mail: Free tier for small teams, paid plans with suite integration ($1-4/month)
The key is choosing a provider that specializes in email hosting rather than treating it as an add-on service. Whether you choose Greatmail or another email specialist, you’ll get better service and lower costs than staying with a generalist provider like GoDaddy.
Ready to Get Back to Simple, Reliable Email?
Many businesses don’t need Microsoft Teams, OneDrive integration, or web-based Office apps bundled with their email. They need professional @yourdomain.com addresses that work reliably with Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird, or any email client—using standard IMAP, POP3, and SMTP protocols that have powered business email for decades.
GoDaddy’s promotional pricing might seem attractive, but when that $1.99/month jumps to $7.99/month and you’re paying for Microsoft services you don’t use, the “deal” becomes expensive fast. Email specialists like Greatmail focus exclusively on email infrastructure, delivering enterprise-grade reliability at $1.95/month with no surprise increases.
What you get with dedicated email hosting:
- Standard email protocols that work with any client
- Professional webmail when you need it
- Enterprise-level spam filtering and virus protection
- Optional CalDAV/CardDAV for calendar and contact sync
- ActiveSync support for mobile devices (Groupware edition)
- Expert support from email specialists, not generalist help desks
- Transparent pricing that doesn’t change after year one
Next Steps:
- Compare our pricing plans to see exactly what standard email hosting costs
- Schedule a free migration consultation to discuss moving from GoDaddy without downtime
- Browse our Ultimate Email Hosting Guide to compare all email specialist options
Professional email hosting doesn’t have to cost a fortune, and there are dozens of options out there if you don’t have the budget for Office 365. Or maybe you just don’t need the advanced features of Exchange or prefer not to be managing your mailboxes in the Microsoft ecosystem. You have options—Greatmail is one of multiple solutions that could work for your business.
Ready for straightforward email hosting without the Microsoft markup? Contact Greatmail today and see why businesses choose email specialists over productivity suite providers.