Picking the right email service provider can make or break your marketing results. Indian businesses sent over 3.5 billion marketing emails in 2025, and that number keeps growing. But with dozens of options available, finding the one that fits your budget and goals takes real effort.

We spent 4 weeks testing 10 email service providers popular in India. We signed up, built campaigns, checked deliverability, and compared pricing across every plan. This guide covers everything you need to pick the right tool in 2026.

Quick Comparison: Best Email Service Providers in India (2026)

Here’s a side-by-side look at the top email service providers available for Indian businesses right now:

How We Picked These Providers

We evaluated each provider on five factors that matter most to Indian businesses:

• Pricing in INR context – How affordable is it for startups and SMBs in India? We converted all prices and compared them at the ₹83/USD rate
• Deliverability – Do emails actually land in the inbox? We sent test campaigns to Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook accounts from each platform
• Ease of use – Can a non-technical marketer set it up and send their first campaign within 30 minutes?
• India-specific support – INR billing, local payment options, UPI support, and timezone-friendly customer support
• Scalability – Can it grow from 1,000 to 100,000 contacts without breaking the bank? We compared pricing at multiple tiers

If you’re also comparing email marketing costs across platforms, we have a detailed pricing breakdown in a separate guide.

1. CampaignHQ – Best Overall Email Service Provider in India

CampaignHQ is built for Indian businesses that want professional email marketing without paying Mailchimp or HubSpot prices. The platform runs on top of AWS SES, which means you get Amazon-grade deliverability at a fraction of the cost.

What sets CampaignHQ apart from international competitors is its focus on the Indian market. The team is based in India, support is available during IST hours, and the entire product is designed around the needs of Indian D2C brands, SaaS startups, and e-commerce businesses.

What makes CampaignHQ stand out

• AWS SES integration – Connect your own AWS account and send unlimited emails. You only pay AWS rates ($0.10 per 1,000 emails) plus CampaignHQ’s $5/month platform fee. This is by far the cheapest way to send high-volume emails from India
• Email + WhatsApp in one place – Run both email campaigns and WhatsApp Business API messages from a single dashboard. No need to juggle multiple tools
• Drag-and-drop builder – No coding needed. Build responsive emails with a visual editor that works on mobile and desktop
• Built-in email verification – Verify your list before sending. 99% accuracy at ₹0.15 per email (for lists up to 5,000). This saves you from bounces and protects your sender reputation
• AI subject line generator – Get data-backed subject line suggestions to improve open rates without guessing
• Detailed analytics – Track opens, clicks, bounces, and conversions in real time with visual dashboards
• Automation workflows – Set up welcome sequences, abandoned cart emails, and re-engagement campaigns that run on autopilot

CampaignHQ pricing (2026)

• With AWS SES: $5/month (~₹415) – you pay AWS separately for sending
• Standard plan: $7/month (~₹580) – CampaignHQ handles sending infrastructure
• Email verification: ₹120-₹150 per 1,000 emails depending on volume

For Indian startups and growing businesses, this pricing is hard to beat. You get the same deliverability infrastructure that companies like Netflix and Reddit use (AWS SES), wrapped in an easy-to-use interface. Check our CampaignHQ vs Mailchimp comparison for a detailed feature breakdown.

Best for: Indian SMBs, D2C brands, e-commerce stores, and startups that want high deliverability at low cost.

2. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) – Best for Multi-Channel Marketing

Brevo rebranded from Sendinblue in 2023 and now serves over 500,000 businesses globally. It stands out because pricing is based on email volume, not contact count. You get unlimited contacts on every plan, which is a big advantage if you have a large list but send infrequently.

Key features

• 48 responsive email templates with an intuitive drag-and-drop editor
• Built-in CRM with contact management (free on all plans)
• SMS and WhatsApp campaign support for multi-channel outreach
• AI assistant that generates subject lines, email content, and picks optimal send times
• Transactional emails with fast delivery – 50% arrive within 1 second, 99.98% under 20 seconds
• 65 direct integrations (Shopify, WooCommerce, WordPress) + 6,000 via Zapier
• WordPress plugin with 80,000+ active installations and a 4.5-star rating

Brevo pricing (2026)

• Free: 300 emails/day, unlimited contacts, Brevo branding
• Starter: $25/month for 20,000 emails
• Business: $65/month for 20,000 emails (adds A/B testing, marketing automation, advanced analytics)
• Enterprise: Custom pricing with dedicated account manager

Drawbacks: Deliverability can be inconsistent based on independent testing. Removing Brevo branding costs $12/month extra. Landing page features are limited on lower plans. Multi-user access requires higher-tier plans.

Best for: Businesses that need email + SMS + WhatsApp in one platform with unlimited contacts. See our CampaignHQ vs Brevo comparison for a detailed breakdown.

3. Mailchimp – Best for Template Variety & Integrations

Mailchimp is the most recognized email marketing brand in the world, with 14,000+ new signups daily. It was acquired by Intuit in 2021 and has since raised prices multiple times. Still a solid option if you value a massive template library and 300+ native integrations with tools like Shopify, WooCommerce, and Canva.

Key features

• Drag-and-drop Campaign Builder with hundreds of pre-built templates
• Customer Journey builder for automated multi-step workflows
• AI content suggestions and send-time optimization
• A/B testing on subject lines, content, and send times (paid plans only)
• 300+ app integrations including Shopify, WooCommerce, Canva, and Google Analytics
• Audience segmentation with behavioral targeting and predicted demographics

Mailchimp pricing (2026)

• Free: 500 contacts, 1,000 emails/month (very limited)
• Essentials: $13/month (500 contacts, 5,000 emails)
• Standard: $20/month (500 contacts, 6,000 emails)
• Premium: $350/month (unlimited audiences, advanced segmentation)

Pricing scales steeply with contacts. At 10,000 contacts, Essentials costs $100/month. At 25,000 contacts, you’re paying $270+/month. At 50,000 contacts, it crosses $385/month. For most Indian businesses, that’s too expensive when tools like CampaignHQ offer similar capabilities for a fraction of the price.

Best for: Businesses already in the Intuit ecosystem or those who need extensive third-party integrations and don’t mind the premium pricing.

4. Zoho Mail – Best Budget Business Email Hosting

Zoho Mail is an Indian company (headquartered in Chennai) that offers privacy-first, ad-free business email. Unlike the marketing-focused tools above, Zoho Mail is primarily for professional email hosting with a custom domain. It does not track your data or show ads, which is refreshing compared to Google’s approach.

Key features

• End-to-end encryption and two-factor authentication with OAuth 2.0
• Built-in Calendar, Tasks, Notes, and Contacts accessible from the inbox
• Multi-domain hosting with unlimited email aliases
• Deep integration with Zoho CRM, Projects, WorkDrive, and Creator
• 750+ third-party app connections via Zapier
• Unusual activity reporting for suspicious login detection
• Cloud storage integration with Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and Box

Zoho Mail pricing (2026)

• Forever Free: Up to 5 users, 5GB/user (great for tiny teams)
• Mail Lite: $1/user/month (5GB) or $1.25/user/month (10GB)
• Mail Premium: $4/user/month (50GB storage, S/MIME encryption)
• Workplace: $3/user/month (includes online docs, file manager, chat, and meeting tools)

Best for: Small teams that need professional @yourdomain email without paying Google Workspace prices. Especially good for businesses already using other Zoho products.

5. EmailOctopus – Best for Beginners

EmailOctopus keeps things simple. No bloated features, no complicated pricing tiers. It’s built for people who just want to send good-looking emails to their subscriber list without spending hours learning a complex platform. Founded in 2014, it now serves 50,000+ customers and handles 19 billion emails per year.

Key features

• 34 clean, modern email templates with drag-and-drop editing
• Simple automation for welcome sequences and drip campaigns
• Landing page builder with 5 customizable templates
• 47 direct integrations + Zapier/Make connections to 4,000+ apps
• Amazon SES connector for reduced sending costs
• Personalization through merge tags and conditional content blocks

EmailOctopus pricing (2026)

• Free: 2,500 contacts, 10,000 emails/month
• Pro: From $24/month (5,000 contacts)
• 10,000 contacts: $36/month
• 25,000 contacts: $70/month
• 50,000 contacts: $130/month

Amazon SES users get discounted rates: $26, $44, and $74 for the same tiers. The platform scores 4.1/5 from independent reviewers.

Drawbacks: Limited automation compared to Brevo or HubSpot. Reporting and analytics are basic. A/B testing requires manual setup. Amazon SES integration needs some technical knowledge.

Best for: Bloggers, newsletter creators, and small businesses that want a no-frills email tool with a generous free plan.

6. HubSpot – Best for Enterprise CRM + Email

HubSpot is an all-in-one marketing platform where email is just one piece of the puzzle. The free plan is generous (up to 1 million contacts), but costs jump dramatically once you need features like A/B testing, advanced automation, or custom reporting. The price gap between Starter ($20/month) and Professional ($890/month) is one of the biggest in the industry.

Key features

• AI-powered email builder with personalization tokens for contact details, company info, and lifecycle stage
• Full CRM with contact management, deals, pipelines, and task tracking
• A/B testing on emails (Professional plan and above only)
• 1,500+ app integrations including Amplitude, Jira, Adobe Express, LinkedIn
• Marketing, sales, and service hubs in one unified platform
• 117 connector apps in the HubSpot App Marketplace

HubSpot pricing (2026)

• Free: Basic email, forms, landing pages, up to 1M contacts
• Starter: $20/month ($15/month with annual billing)
• Professional: $890/month + mandatory $3,000 onboarding fee
• Enterprise: $3,600/month for Marketing Hub

The jump from Starter to Professional is massive. Most Indian SMBs will find the Starter plan limiting (no A/B testing, basic reporting) and the Professional plan too expensive. Professional and Enterprise plans also require annual contracts with no early cancellation option.

Best for: Mid-to-large companies with budgets above ₹75,000/month that need a full marketing + sales CRM suite.

7. Gmail (Google Workspace) – Best for Professional Email Hosting

Gmail needs no introduction. With 1.8 billion users globally, it’s the default email client for most people. Google Workspace turns it into a business email solution with custom domains, admin controls, and shared drives. For Indian businesses that live in the Google ecosystem (Docs, Sheets, Drive, Meet), Workspace is the natural choice for professional email.

Key features

• 15GB free storage shared across all Google services
• Smart Compose with AI text predictions that save typing time
• 99.9% spam filtering accuracy for phishing, spam, and malware
• Categorized inbox with Primary, Social, and Promotions tabs
• Full Google ecosystem integration (Drive, Calendar, Meet, Docs, Sheets)
• 10,000+ third-party apps via Google Workspace Marketplace
• Offline access on mobile devices
• 99.978% uptime guarantee for business accounts

Google Workspace pricing (2026, India)

• Personal Gmail: Free (15GB shared storage)
• Business Starter: ₹125/user/month (30GB per user)
• Business Standard: ₹672/user/month (2TB per user)
• Business Plus: ₹1,260/user/month (5TB per user)
• Enterprise: Custom pricing with unlimited storage

Drawbacks: Limited customization compared to dedicated business email solutions. Privacy concerns around Google’s data collection. Customer support is mainly for paid accounts. Not designed for bulk email marketing – you’ll still need a separate tool like CampaignHQ for campaigns.

Best for: Teams that want business email with Google’s productivity suite built in. Not a replacement for email marketing tools.

8. ProtonMail – Best for Privacy & Security

ProtonMail was created by CERN scientists in 2014 and operates under Swiss privacy laws – some of the strongest in the world. If your top priority is keeping emails private and encrypted, ProtonMail is the clear winner. Not even ProtonMail’s own team can read your messages.

Key features

• End-to-end encryption on all messages and attachments
• Zero-access encryption for stored data
• Self-destructing emails with expiry timers
• No tracking, no ads, no data mining whatsoever
• Bridge software for IMAP/SMTP compatibility with Outlook and Thunderbird
• Clean interface across web and mobile platforms
• Custom folders, labels, and filters for organization

ProtonMail pricing (2026)

• Free: 1GB storage, 150 messages/day
• Mail Plus: €5/month (~₹450) – 15GB storage, 10 email addresses
• Unlimited: €10/month (~₹900) – 500GB storage, 15 addresses
• Business: €8/user/month (~₹720) – advanced admin controls

Drawbacks: Free plan storage is very limited (1GB). Search is basic due to encryption constraints. Fewer integrations than mainstream providers. More expensive than regular email services for the features you get.

Best for: Journalists, lawyers, healthcare professionals, activists, and anyone handling sensitive data who needs maximum privacy.

9. Hostinger Email – Best Budget Domain Email

Hostinger bundles email hosting with web hosting, making it one of the cheapest ways to get a professional email address with your own domain. The catch: you need to commit for 48 months to get the advertised prices, and renewal rates are significantly higher.

Key features

• DKIM, DMARC, SPF authentication protocols
• Built-in anti-spam and antivirus protection
• Auto-setup with Apple Mail, Outlook, Thunderbird, and Gmail
• Two-factor authentication and encryption
• Automatic backups for data recovery
• Multi-language support with responses typically within 15 minutes

Hostinger Email pricing (2026)

• Business Starter: $0.99/mailbox/month (48-month contract, 10GB storage, 50 aliases)
• Business Premium: $2.99/mailbox/month (48-month contract, 50GB storage, 50 aliases)
• Web hosting with email: From ₹69/month in India

Best for: Solo entrepreneurs and freelancers who need a domain email on a tight budget and don’t mind a long-term commitment.

10. Microsoft Outlook (Microsoft 365) – Best for Microsoft Ecosystem

Outlook pairs naturally with Microsoft 365 tools. If your team already uses Word, Excel, Teams, and OneDrive, adding Outlook for business email is a straightforward choice. Microsoft also built Indian language support into Outlook Lite, with voice typing and transliteration in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, and Gujarati.

Key features

• Folder-based organization with color-coded categories and pinned messages
• Indian language support (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati) with voice typing
• Built-in calendar, tasks, and contacts management
• Advanced malware scanning, encryption, and suspicious link protection
• 10,000+ add-ins via Microsoft AppSource
• Integration with Twitter, Trello, Yammer directly from inbox

Microsoft 365 pricing (2026, India)

• Free Outlook: 15GB mailbox storage
• Microsoft 365 Basic: ₹1,499/year (₹149/month) – 100GB storage
• Microsoft 365 Personal: ₹6,899/year (₹689/month)
• Microsoft 365 Family: ₹8,199/year (₹819/month) – up to 6 users

Best for: Teams already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem who need business email with Office tools and Indian language support.

Email Marketing vs Email Hosting: Know the Difference

Before you pick a provider, make sure you’re comparing the right type of tool. This is a common source of confusion:

Email hosting providers (Gmail/Workspace, Zoho Mail, ProtonMail, Outlook, Hostinger) give you a professional email address like hello@yourbusiness.com. They’re for day-to-day communication – sending invoices, replying to customers, internal team emails.

Email marketing providers (CampaignHQ, Brevo, Mailchimp, EmailOctopus, HubSpot) help you send bulk campaigns to thousands of subscribers, build automation workflows, segment your audience, and track performance metrics like open rates and click-through rates.

Most businesses need both. For a deeper comparison of marketing platforms specifically, check our guide on the best email marketing platforms in India.

Cost Comparison: What You’ll Actually Pay at Scale

Starter prices look similar, but costs diverge fast as your list grows. Here’s what each platform costs at 25,000 contacts:

The difference is stark. At 25,000 contacts, Mailchimp costs 36x more than CampaignHQ with AWS SES. For Indian businesses watching their marketing budget, this gap is significant. Read more about email marketing costs in our detailed guide.

How to Choose the Right Email Provider for Your Business

Here’s a quick decision framework based on common scenarios:

• Budget under ₹500/month? Go with CampaignHQ ($5/month with AWS SES) or Zoho Mail ($1/user/month for email hosting)
• Need email + WhatsApp marketing? CampaignHQ or Brevo are your best options. Both support WhatsApp Business API campaigns alongside email
• Want maximum integrations? Mailchimp (300+) or HubSpot (1,500+) have the biggest app ecosystems
• Privacy is non-negotiable? ProtonMail for personal encrypted email, Zoho Mail for ad-free business email
• Already using Google/Microsoft? Stick with Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 for your team email
• Just starting out with no budget? EmailOctopus free plan (2,500 contacts) or Brevo’s 300 emails/day free tier
• Running an e-commerce store? CampaignHQ for cost-effective automation or Mailchimp for Shopify integration

Frequently Asked Questions