Google Workspace vs Zoho Mail for Cold Email
Your cold emails are sent from ordinary inboxes, just like the one you use every day. You need an email provider to host them. Most people use Google Workspace or Zoho Mail, and this guide covers both.
| Google Workspace | Zoho Mail | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | From $7 per inbox per month | Mail Lite: from $1 per inbox per month, billed yearly |
| Free trial | 14 days | Free plan, but it doesn't include IMAP, so you need Mail Lite to connect to Instantly |
| Deliverability | Very good, especially when emailing Gmail users | Good |
| Connecting to Instantly | Google sign-in (OAuth), no passwords needed | IMAP and SMTP with a password |
| Best for | The best inbox placement, if budget allows | Keeping costs low, especially as you add more inboxes |
Which should you choose? If you are just starting out and want the easiest setup, choose Google Workspace. If you plan to run lots of inboxes, Zoho Mail costs much less.
You can also mix them, with some domains on Google Workspace and some on Zoho Mail. Many senders do this so their emails come from more than one provider.
Name your email accounts
Plan your email addresses before you create them. Use a real person's first name, because cold email works best as a person-to-person conversation:
- Do: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
- Don't: support@, sales@, info@ or contact@
Use the same names on each domain if you like ([email protected] and [email protected]). Each inbox should have a real name, a profile photo and an email signature.