# Outlook.com 13 Hacker News commenters recommended Outlook.com and 59 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 15 years (4 owners). **Verdict:** Recommended for a fast web interface with folders, rules, shared mailboxes and calendar. Common caveat: mail to its addresses is often blocked or delayed. ## Why people recommend it - Good web interface that works well (4 comments): "I exclusively used the web UI because it always ran faster for me" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48586784)) "It does the job -- indeed I find it better than modern gmail." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49626496)) "The outlook webapp is quite decent." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47179731)) - Folders, rules, shared mailboxes, calendar (2 comments): "The web mail has folders, rules, shared mailbox support, integrated calendar, etc." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48587374)) "which can at least sync also calendar/contacts" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49934045)) - Light and fast in browser (2 comments): "I exclusively used the web UI because it always ran faster for me" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48586784)) "the Outlook PWA uses 281kB. You still get notifications" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46516396)) ## What people warn about - Mail to its addresses gets blocked (8 comments): "got so angry at certain messages never appearing that a couple of years ago I reversed the flow of forwarding and swapped to another account as my primary" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47251433)) "I found it maddening that I couldn't whitelist a sender (MS Outlook web, Gmail); well I could, but they still blocked the messages." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46990962)) "virtually impossible to run your own mailserver and have the mail delivered, consistently at Gmail and Outlook/Live/Hotmail" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48376344)) - Browser navigation and clicking glitches (3 comments): "The Outlook web app breaks browser navigation, I thought we had that figured out in SPAs like, more than a decade ago." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48585086)) "I often get the case where I aim for one icon, something will load in, create a new icon, and push my intended target out of the click." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45832962)) "It makes searching on such "feed" pages with the browser's search function an utter pain in the ass" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49548104)) - Sign-in and access errors (4 comments): "The "rate limiting" started two weeks ago, giving us a code that Microsoft's documentation doesn't even list. It remains unresolved." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47254409)) "In other browsers I regularly get stuck in an auth redirect loop between different Microsoft domains when I open the site." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48611536)) "rolled out passkeys with no recovery option and no option to sign in using username and password once enrolled" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49757538)) - Support takes long to resolve (2 comments): "The "rate limiting" started two weeks ago, giving us a code that Microsoft's documentation doesn't even list. It remains unresolved." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47254409)) "Had to supply MS support with proof of ownership of the IP. The whole process took about a week to resolve." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47252801)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Gmail](https://hackerapproved.com/p/gmail.md): 295 recommend - [mailbox.org email](https://hackerapproved.com/p/mailbox-org.md): 45 recommend - [Zoho Mail](https://hackerapproved.com/p/zoho-mail.md): 29 recommend - [iCloud Mail](https://hackerapproved.com/p/icloud-mail.md): 24 recommend - [HEY email by Basecamp](https://hackerapproved.com/p/hey-email.md): 23 recommend ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://outlook.live.com/mail/) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Outlook.com", https://hackerapproved.com/p/outlook-com/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).