Still sending quotes from a Gmail or Hotmail address? You’re not alone – but it could be costing you customers. A professional address like [email protected] looks trustworthy, and it’s cheaper to set up than most people think.
There are two popular ways to get one: business email hosting or Google Workspace. Both give you email at your own domain. But they work differently, they’re priced differently, and they suit different teams. In this article, we’ll compare them side by side, with real prices, so you can choose with confidence.
What is business email hosting?
Business email hosting gives you professional mailboxes on your own domain name. You create the addresses you need – info@, accounts@, your name – and read your mail in Outlook, Apple Mail, your phone, or a web browser.
It does one job, and it does it well: email. You pay for a plan, not for each person. That plan comes with a set number of addresses and a shared pool of storage.
What is Google Workspace?
Google Workspace is Google’s business suite. You get Gmail at your own domain, plus Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Calendar, Meet and Chat.
Workspace is priced per user, per month. Each person gets their own account, their own storage and the full set of Google apps.
Email hosting vs Google Workspace at a glance
| Business Email Hosting | Google Workspace | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | Professional email | Email plus Drive, Docs, Sheets, Calendar, Meet and Chat |
| How it’s priced | Per plan, with many addresses included | Per user, per month |
| Email apps | Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird, mobile and webmail | Gmail app and web, plus other email apps via IMAP |
| Storage | Shared across the plan | Per user |
| Best for | Teams that mainly need reliable email | Teams that work together in shared documents and calendars |
What does each one cost?
For many small businesses, price is the deciding factor. Here’s how the numbers look at tasjeel.ae. All prices exclude 5% VAT.
Business email hosting plans
| Plan | Email Addresses | Total Storage | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Email | 5 | 10 GB | AED 20 a month |
| Startup Email | 25 | 50 GB | AED 40 a month |
| Business Email | 100 | 100 GB | AED 60 a month |
| Business Email Pro | 200 | 200 GB | AED 90 a month |
| Business Email Max | 400 | 400 GB | AED 180 a month |
Pay yearly and you get two months free. The Startup plan and above also include a free .ae or .com domain for the first year.
Google Workspace plans
| Plan | Storage Per User | Price Per User |
|---|---|---|
| Business Starter | 30 GB | AED 29 a month |
| Business Standard | 2 TB | AED 63 a month |
| Business Plus | 5 TB | AED 100 a month |
A real example: a team of 10
- Startup Email: AED 40 a month covers all 10 people, with room for 15 more addresses.
- Google Workspace Business Starter: 10 users × AED 29 = AED 290 a month.
That’s a big gap. So the real question is simple: will your team use the extra Google apps enough to justify the difference?
Storage: shared pool or per person?
This is the difference people most often miss.
With email hosting, storage is shared across the plan. On Startup Email, all 25 addresses share 50 GB. That’s plenty for most teams, because most mailboxes stay small. But one person who never deletes attachments can use more than their share.
With Google Workspace, each user has their own storage, which covers Gmail and Google Drive together. It’s more predictable per person – but you pay for every account, including shared ones like info@.
Tip: You don’t need a paid account for every address. With email hosting, aliases and forwarders, such as info@ forwarding to your inbox, are unlimited. This means you only create full mailboxes for the people who need them.
Working together: calendars, files and meetings
If your team shares calendars, edits documents together and runs video calls, Google Workspace is hard to beat. Everything lives in one place, and it all works together.
If your team already uses Microsoft Office, or simply needs dependable email, business email hosting is the leaner choice. You can still use your favourite calendar and file-sharing tools alongside it.
Security and spam protection
Both options give you strong protection when they’re set up properly.
- Spam filtering: Our email hosting plans include spam filtering, and Google Workspace uses Google’s own filters.
- Proving your email is really from you: Records called SPF, DKIM and DMARC tell other mail servers your messages are genuine. That keeps your email out of spam folders and makes your domain harder to fake. Our team sets these up with your email hosting.
- Backups: Our email hosting includes daily backups, or twice-daily backups on Business Email Pro.
What about Zoho Mail and other providers?
Zoho Mail is another popular choice, and there are plenty of email hosting providers to pick from.
Whichever you consider, compare the same things: the real price for your team size, how storage works, where you’ll get support, and whether you can use your own .ae or .com domain.
Business email in the UAE: three things to check
- Use your own domain. An address ending in .ae tells customers you’re a local business. It also means your email moves with you if you ever change provider.
- Think about customer data. If your emails hold customers’ personal details, the UAE’s Personal Data Protection Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021) applies to how you keep and share them. Some sectors have extra rules – health data, for example, generally has to stay inside the UAE. If that applies to you, ask any provider where your data is stored before you sign up.
- Check the support hours. Email problems rarely wait for office hours. Choose a provider whose support is available when your team is working – ideally 24/7.
Can you switch later?
Yes. Choosing one today doesn’t lock you in.
Moving to our email hosting? Our team migrates your existing email for free. Once your plan is active, just open a ticket or email [email protected], and we’ll move your messages across. Want Google Workspace instead? We handle the domain verification, so you can start using it straight away.
One thing to know: a single domain’s email normally lives in one place. If you’d like some staff on Workspace and others on email hosting, the simplest way is to use a separate domain for one group.
So, which should you choose?
Choose business email hosting if:
- You mainly need professional, reliable email.
- You want many addresses for one low price.
- Your team already uses Microsoft Office or other tools.
Choose Google Workspace if:
- Your team works together in Docs, Sheets and Drive every day.
- You want calendars and video meetings built in.
- You’re happy to pay per user for the full Google toolkit.
Still unsure? Most small UAE businesses we speak to start with email hosting because it covers what they need at the lowest cost. You can move to Workspace later if your team outgrows it.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Outlook with business email hosting?
Yes. Our email hosting works with Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird and the mail app on your phone, using IMAP, POP or SMTP. You can also read your email in any web browser with the included webmail.
Do I need a separate paid mailbox for info@ or sales@?
No. Every email hosting plan includes unlimited aliases and forwarders. So info@ and sales@ can land in an inbox you already have, and you only pay for the mailboxes people actually log into.
Does business email hosting include a domain name?
Our Startup Email plan and above include a free .ae or .com domain for the first year on yearly and multi-year plans. The Personal Email plan doesn’t include a domain, so you’ll use one you already own.
How quickly can I start using my new email?
Email hosting plans activate instantly. Once your domain is pointed at the new service, you can start sending and receiving straight away.
If I change my website host, does my email have to move too?
Not at all. Your website and email can live in different places. Your domain’s DNS records decide where each one goes, so you can change one without touching the other.
What if my team grows?
You can move to a bigger email plan at any time – or upgrade to a web hosting package that includes both your website and email.
Ready to get a professional address?
Explore our business email hosting plans or see our Google Workspace plans – and if you’d like advice, our experts are here 24/7.
