A Google Workspace alternative for when you only need email
By the Olvane team · Updated
Google Workspace is a good product. But many small businesses pay for it only to get name@company.com addresses, and never use most of what's included. Because it's priced per user, every new person, and every shared address that needs its own login, adds to the bill.
If email is what you actually need, there are cheaper ways to get it. Here's an honest comparison.
When Google Workspace is still the right choice
- Your team works in Google Docs, Sheets and Drive every day.
- You rely on Google Meet, shared calendars and Google's admin and security controls.
- You want one vendor for everything and the per-user cost doesn't matter much.
If that's you, stay. The rest of this page is for teams that mainly want email.
The cost of per-user pricing
When we checked in November 2026, Google listed Business Starter at €6.80 per user per month on an annual plan (shown for Germany; prices vary by country and billing term). Microsoft 365 Business Basic is around $7 per user per month after its July 2026 price rise, and Exchange Online Plan 1, Microsoft's email-only plan, around $4.
Per-user pricing is fair for a team of three. It gets expensive when you need addresses that aren't people: info@, support@, invoices@, one per branch or one per project. Aliases help, but a shared address that several people need to log in to separately usually needs its own paid seat.
How the options compare for email
| Google Workspace | Microsoft 365 | Zoho Mail | Olvane | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per user | Per user | Per user | Per account |
| Free plan | No (trial) | No (trial) | Yes: 5 users, 5 GB each, no IMAP | Yes: 1 domain, 3 mailboxes, 2 GB, IMAP included |
| Storage | From 30 GB per user | 50 GB mailbox per user | From 5 GB per user | Shared per account: 30 GB on Starter, 100 GB on Pro |
| Works in any mail app (IMAP/SMTP) | Yes | Yes | Paid plans | Yes, all plans |
| Email API for your app | No | No | Separate product | Included |
| Documents, storage, video | Yes | Yes | Yes (Zoho Workplace) | No, email only |
| Import PST / MBOX files | Via migration tools | PST via admin tools | Yes | Yes, in the dashboard |
Competitor details change often; check their pricing pages for current terms in your country.
Why per-account pricing changes the maths
Olvane charges per account, not per person. The Starter plan is $9 a month for up to 25 mailboxes sharing 30 GB across 5 domains, and Pro is $29 a month for up to 100 mailboxes sharing 100 GB across 15 domains. A ten-person team with a few shared addresses pays the same as a team of two.
The trade-off is clear: you get email, webmail, IMAP/SMTP for any app and an email API, but no office suite. Many teams pair it with the free versions of Google Docs or Microsoft Office online, or with tools they already pay for.
Switching without losing email
- Create your Olvane account and add your domain. Don't change the MX record yet.
- Create the mailboxes you need.
- Export each Google mailbox with Google Takeout and import the MBOX file into the matching mailbox (see moving old emails).
- Switch the MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records. Keep Google active for a few days so nothing is lost while DNS updates.
- Connect your phones and mail apps, then cancel Workspace.
Want to try it first? Use a subdomain such as mail.yourcompany.com on the free plan, and your current email isn't touched at all.