Top 10 Free Email Services

1) Gmail - Free Email Service

Gmail is the Google approach to email and chat. Practically unlimited free online storage allows you to collect all your messages, and Gmail’s simple but very smart interface lets you find them precisely and see them in context without effort. Unfortunately, Gmail does not offer IMAP, only POP access. Gmail also puts contextual advertising next to the emails you read.

2) Inbox.com - Free Email Service

Inbox.com not only gives you 5 GB to store your mail online but also a highly polished, fast and functional way to access it via either the web (including speedy search, free-form labels and reading mail by conversation) or through POP in your email program.

3) FastMail Guest Account - Free Email Service

FastMail is a great free email service with IMAP access, useful features, one of the best web-based email interfaces and few ads.

4) Yahoo! Mail - Free Email Service

Yahoo! Mail is a comfortable, reliable and secure email service with a reasonable amount of storage. A pretty good spam filter keeps the junk out, and you can send rich emails using Yahoo! Mail’s HTML editor.

5) AIM Mail - Free Email Service

AIM Mail, AOL’s free web-based email service, shines with 2 GB of online storage, very good spam protection and a rich, easy to use interface. Unfortunately, AIM Mail lacks a bit in productivity (no labels, smart folders and message threading), but makes up for some of that with very functional IMAP access.

6) Windows Live Hotmail - Free Email Service

Windows Live Hotmail is a free email service that gives you a 2 GB of online storage, fast search, solid security and an interface easy as a desktop email program. When it comes to organizing mail, Windows Live Hotmail does not go beyond folders (to saved searches and tags, for example), its spam filter could be more effective, and POP or IMAP access are missing.

7) HotPOP - Free Email Service

HotPOP offers free, reliable email accounts you can use with any email program using POP3 and SMTP. In addition, HotPOP lets you forward incoming messages to multiple other addresses. Unfortunately, HotPOP lacks IMAP access and a web-based email interface and is a bit short on storage space.

8) Goowy mail - Free Email Service

Goowy mail is your rich Desktop email program on the web with a fast interface that lets you drag and drop, use context menus and enjoy lots of pleasant eye candy. In addition to email, goowy offers a calendar; an RSS feed reader and games done in a similar fashion. More features and online storage would do goowy mail good, though.

9) BigString.com - Free Email Service

BigString.com is a free 1 GB email service that includes rich certified mail services and lets you expire or edit sent messages, for example. Unfortunately, BigString.com is not equally well equipped for handling incoming mail and lacks organizing tools.

10) My Way Mail - Free Email Service

My Way Mail is a clean, fast and fun (though not particularly advanced) free email service.