Zoho Mail vs Gmail: Key features, security, privacy, and differences in pricing

The move came amid the central government’s renewed push to promote ‘Swadeshi’ products and services developed by homegrown tech firms like Zoho, which has recently gained traction with its instant messaging app Arratai. Recently, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also delivered a presentation on highway projects that he said was put together employing Zoho’s Workplace tools. Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare JP Nadda also said that he has switched to Zoho Mail for all official communication.

With all the buzz around Zoho Mail, let’s take a look at how it differs from popular alternatives such as Gmail and Microsoft Outlook.

List of features, AI capabilities

Zoho Mail offers a wide range of features, some of which are standard for email service providers and others that sets it apart from Gmail and Outlook. For instance, Zoho Mail offers a maximum file attachment size of 1 GB per attachment whereas Google Workspace’s default attachment size per file is 25MB. Files exceeding the size limit are automatically converted into a link and added to email.

Additionally, Zoho Mail users can recall a sent email even after the send window has expired. This is in contrast to Gmail, where users only have a small window of a few seconds to ‘Undo Send’. However, the recipient is still notified that the email sent via Zoho Mail has been recalled.

Various productivity tools such as Calendar, Tasks, Notes, Contacts, and Bookmarks are bundled to form the email suite. It also offers access to Zoho Streams, a Slack-like platform that enables greater workplace collaboration between employees by letting them create posts, tag colleagues, assign tasks, etc.

Zoho Mail uses smart AI-powered filters to scan incoming messages and categorise them into folders like Notifications and Newsletters. In order to enable users to further prioritise their inbox, Zoho Mail has integrated Zia, its AI assistant powered by OpenAI, with the platform.

Zia can also be used to quickly draft emails by simply entering a phrase, letting the AI assistant suggest the subject and email content. The tone of the AI-generated email can also be customised to the recipient.

AI-powered summaries of emails have been found in Gmail accounts since last year. The search giant this year further announced ‘contextual’ upgrades to Gmail’s smart replies feature which is capable of pulling information from a user’s inbox and from their Google Drive to better match the tone and style of potential replies.

Security and privacy

Zoho Mail offers advanced threat protection features to protect users against harmful attachments, account takeovers, brand forgery, VIP impersonation fraud, phishing attempts, etc. All emails are encrypted when in transit and when stored on Zoho’s servers, as per the company.

In addition to standard TLS encryption, Zoho Mail supports S/MIME, allowing users to create digital signatures to further secure emails and protect them from attacks. “If the other provider involved does not support TLS, the email is marked as Plain to keep you informed,” the company said.

As part of its Forever Free plan, Zoho offers email hosting for one domain for up to 5 users with 5 GB storage per user. Its subscription packages for sending enterprise-grade custom emails with access to AI assistant Zia, Identity Management & MFA App, eWidget & Developer Space, etc, starts at Rs 59 per user per month billed annually.

On the other hand, the starter payment plan for the paid version of Gmail (with access to Gemini AI assistant, Google Vids, and more) starts at Rs 160 per month.