Nextcloud has become a powerful collaboration platform for organizations seeking data sovereignty and privacy. It handles files, calendars, contacts, and team collaboration beautifully. But one question comes up frequently: how do you add professional email to complete your Nextcloud-based workspace?
The answer depends on your specific needs and technical comfort level, but there are several practical approaches worth exploring. This guide walks through your options for integrating email with Nextcloud, from simple to comprehensive.
Understanding Nextcloud’s Email Capabilities
First, let’s clarify what Nextcloud offers out of the box. Nextcloud includes a Mail app—a clean, modern email client that lives within your Nextcloud interface. Think of it like Outlook or Thunderbird, but integrated into your Nextcloud environment. The Mail app is excellent for reading and managing email, and it integrates nicely with Nextcloud Calendar and Contacts.
What Nextcloud Mail doesn’t include is the email server infrastructure itself. You’ll need to connect it to an actual email service—either one you already have or one you set up specifically for this purpose. This is by design. Nextcloud focuses on being the best collaboration platform, while letting you choose the email infrastructure that fits your needs.
This modular approach actually provides flexibility. You can use Gmail, Microsoft 365, or any other email service with Nextcloud Mail. Or you can choose a privacy-focused email provider that aligns with your reasons for choosing Nextcloud in the first place.
Option 1: Connect Existing Email Accounts
The simplest approach is connecting email accounts you already have to Nextcloud Mail. If your team members have existing email addresses—through Gmail, Office 365, or any IMAP-compatible service—they can configure these in Nextcloud.
Setting this up is straightforward. Users open the Mail app in Nextcloud, enter their email address and password, and Nextcloud attempts to auto-detect the server settings. For most major providers, this works automatically. For others, users might need to enter IMAP and SMTP server details, which their email provider can supply.
This approach works well for small teams or personal use where everyone already has email set up elsewhere. The benefits include no additional email costs, quick setup, and the ability to use different email providers for different team members. Email lives wherever it currently lives, and Nextcloud simply provides a unified interface for accessing it.
The limitations are equally clear. Each user manages their own email account and credentials separately from their Nextcloud login. You can’t create custom domain email addresses (like [email protected]) through this method unless you’ve already set those up elsewhere. And if users leave the organization, their email accounts remain with them unless you’re managing them through a separate business email service.
Option 2: Add a Separate Email Hosting Service
For professional use, most organizations want email addresses on their own domain. This means selecting an email hosting provider and configuring it to work with Nextcloud. Many hosting companies offer email services, from dedicated email providers to general web hosts that include email.
With this approach, you choose an email provider that supports IMAP and SMTP (nearly all do). You set up email accounts for your team members with your custom domain. Then each user configures their email in Nextcloud Mail, just like Option 1, but now everyone has professional email addresses from your domain.
This gives you professional email infrastructure without needing to become an email server administrator. Most email providers handle spam filtering, security, backups, and all the technical details. You focus on managing user accounts and your team focuses on their work.
Consider providers who offer good deliverability (emails actually reach recipients’ inboxes), strong spam filtering, reasonable pricing, and support for the number of users you need. Some organizations prefer providers based in specific jurisdictions for data sovereignty reasons—if you chose Nextcloud for European data privacy, you might want European email hosting too.
The user experience requires one additional step: logging into Nextcloud for files and collaboration, plus configuring email in Nextcloud Mail. It’s not quite single sign-on, but once configured, users access everything through the Nextcloud interface.
Option 3: Integrated Nextcloud and Email Hosting
Some providers offer Nextcloud hosting and email as a coordinated package. This is the closest to a true integrated solution, where both services come from the same vendor and work together seamlessly.
With integrated hosting, user accounts typically get created in both systems simultaneously. When you add a new team member, they receive Nextcloud access and an email account together. DNS configuration for your domain happens in one place. Billing comes as a single invoice. And when you need support, one team understands your complete setup.
The technical integration often includes preset email configurations in Nextcloud Mail. Instead of each user entering server settings manually, the system knows how to connect to your email service automatically. Some integrated providers support unified authentication, where one password grants access to both Nextcloud and email.
Finding providers who offer this level of integration requires some searching. Many hosting companies offer both Nextcloud and email but keep them as completely separate products. Look for providers who specifically market integrated solutions or who offer Groupware packages combining collaboration tools with email.
The value proposition is straightforward: simplified management, coordinated billing, unified support, and better user experience. The tradeoff is typically working with a smaller specialized provider rather than choosing the absolute cheapest Nextcloud host and the absolute cheapest email host separately.
Option 4: Self-Hosted Email Infrastructure
For organizations with technical expertise and specific requirements, running your own email infrastructure alongside Nextcloud is possible. This gives you complete control over both systems and how they integrate. For a step-by-step walkthrough, see this guide to self-hosting your own email server.
Self-hosted email typically involves setting up mail server software like Postfix for sending mail and Dovecot for receiving and storing it. You’ll configure spam filtering, security, backups, and all the other components that make a complete email system. You can then integrate this with Nextcloud, potentially sharing user directories so people log into both systems with the same credentials.
This approach makes sense for organizations that already have IT staff experienced with email administration, need complete control over data location and security, want to customize the email system beyond what hosted solutions offer, or have compliance requirements that mandate self-hosted infrastructure.
The responsibilities are significant. Email deliverability requires ongoing attention—maintaining good sender reputation, monitoring blacklists, configuring DNS records properly. Security updates need prompt application. Spam filtering requires tuning. And when problems occur, your team handles them rather than calling a support line.
For the right organization with the right expertise, self-hosted email provides maximum flexibility and control. For most organizations, hosted solutions deliver better reliability at lower total cost when accounting for staff time.
Making Email Work Smoothly with Nextcloud
Regardless of which approach you choose, several practices help ensure smooth operation. Configure Nextcloud’s email server settings in the admin panel so Nextcloud itself can send system notifications. Set up proper DNS records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) for your domain to ensure good email deliverability. Enable encryption (TLS/SSL) for all email connections. And consider using the same domain for both Nextcloud and email—it simplifies configuration and looks more professional.
User training makes a difference too. Show team members how to access email through Nextcloud Mail, how to attach files from Nextcloud storage to emails, and how calendar invitations flow between email and Nextcloud Calendar. These integrations exist, but users might not discover them without guidance.
For calendar integration specifically, ensure users’ email accounts are properly configured in both the Mail and Calendar apps. When someone sends a calendar invitation via email, it should appear automatically in their Nextcloud calendar. When they accept, the response goes back through email. This workflow feels seamless once configured correctly.
Security and Privacy Considerations
If you chose Nextcloud partly for data sovereignty and privacy, your email hosting decision matters too. Consider where your email data physically resides—does it align with your privacy goals? What privacy policies govern the email provider? Are they subject to the same regulations as your Nextcloud hosting?
For European organizations or those serving European customers, GDPR compliance applies to both file storage and email. Having both services from providers who clearly understand and comply with GDPR simplifies compliance. If you split services across providers in different jurisdictions, you manage compliance separately for each.
Encryption practices should match across your platform. If your Nextcloud enforces encryption at rest and in transit, your email service should offer comparable protections. Look for email providers that support TLS for all connections and encrypt stored messages.
Backup and recovery planning becomes simpler when coordinated. If Nextcloud and email come from the same provider, backup schedules can align, creating consistent recovery points. With separate providers, you manage two backup regimes and potentially different recovery procedures.
Cost Considerations
Email hosting costs vary widely based on features, user count, and provider. Basic email hosting might cost just a few dollars per user monthly. Premium business email with enhanced security, larger mailboxes, and better support ranges from $5-15 per user monthly. Integrated Nextcloud and email solutions typically bundle these costs together.
When evaluating costs, consider the complete picture beyond the monthly fee. Administrative time has value—how much time will you spend managing separate providers versus an integrated solution? Technical support costs matter—will you need to hire expertise or can you rely on your provider’s support? And user productivity impacts the bottom line—how much time do users waste dealing with configuration issues or switching between disconnected tools?
For many organizations, paying slightly more for an integrated solution delivers better total value than choosing the cheapest separate options and dealing with the operational overhead.
Getting Started
If you’re currently using Nextcloud without email, start by clarifying your requirements. How many users need email? Do you need a custom domain? What’s your budget? What level of technical management are you comfortable with? Do you have specific data sovereignty requirements?
With requirements clear, evaluate your options. If you’re just getting started with a small team, connecting existing email accounts might suffice initially. As you grow, you can move to professional email hosting. If you’re setting up Nextcloud for an organization from scratch, consider integrated hosting from the start—it’s easier to begin integrated than to migrate later.
For organizations already using Nextcloud with separate email, evaluate whether your current setup meets your needs. If users struggle with configuration, management feels complex, or you’re concerned about data sovereignty split across providers, an integrated solution might improve operations.
Moving Forward
Nextcloud provides the collaboration platform. Email completes the picture. The good news is you have options ranging from simple to sophisticated, from DIY to fully managed. Choose the approach that matches your technical capabilities, budget, and organizational needs.
The key is recognizing that Nextcloud and email work together to create a complete workspace. Nextcloud doesn’t include email infrastructure by design, giving you flexibility to choose the email solution that fits. Whether you connect existing accounts, add separate email hosting, choose an integrated provider, or run your own infrastructure, you can create a unified collaboration experience for your team.
The combination of Nextcloud’s powerful collaboration features with professional email, whether hosted separately or integrated, delivers what modern teams need—a complete platform that respects privacy while providing the tools to work effectively.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some of the most common questions people ask about setting up email hosting with Nextcloud and connecting their Greatmail accounts.
For related setup help, check out our guide on Getting Your SPF Records Right and explore Greatmail Email Hosting Plans for reliable, secure IMAP hosting.
Nextcloud email hosting refers to integrating a professional email service with your Nextcloud platform. It allows you to send, receive, and organize mail directly within the Nextcloud Mail app using IMAP and SMTP. You can connect hosted email accounts, like those from Greatmail, or run your own mail server.
Yes. The Nextcloud Mail app supports most IMAP and SMTP-based email services. You can connect your existing Greatmail, Gmail, or other custom domain email account by entering your mail server credentials under Settings → Mail Accounts in Nextcloud.
No. You can connect any hosted email service that supports IMAP and SMTP. Running your own mail server is only required if you want a fully self-hosted setup, which can be more complex to maintain and secure.
Hosted providers like Greatmail handle deliverability, security, and uptime while you retain your domain and data. You get professional email hosting with spam filtering, SSL/TLS encryption, and seamless integration with Nextcloud — without the hassle of maintaining your own mail server.
Adding email hosting to Nextcloud is an easy way to centralize communication and collaboration. Whether you choose a hosted or self-hosted setup, be sure your mail records and DNS settings are configured correctly for reliable delivery.
Greatmail provides professional email hosting designed to work seamlessly with Nextcloud. Whether you’re currently using Nextcloud and want to add integrated email, or you’re setting up Nextcloud and want both services configured together from the start, we can help. Contact us to discuss email solutions for your Nextcloud environment.