Purelymail
Hacker ApprovedRanked 6 of 15 email services by recommenders
Cheap custom-domain email with unlimited mailboxes and domains for about $10 a year, with easy setup and reliable delivery. Main caveat: worries about a management change.
31 people recommended Purelymail in Hacker News comments, 2 had mixed feelings and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. People who said how long they have used it report a median of 2 years, among 10 people.
Summary written by Claude from 41 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 39 of those comments still count.
35 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 31
- mixed feelings
- 2
- warn against or regret it
- 2
The record
Recommended in 10 of 12 months
In 18 different threads.
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
Used for 2 years
Median of the 10 people who said how long they have used it.
Each square is one year.
Why it carries the badge
- 31 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 16 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 10 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
- Recommended in 18 threadsNeeds 5 or more, met.
- The biggest thread supplies 19% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 38 of the 42 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Very cheap for the price
“Happy Purelymail user here. $10/year is the default plan, on advanced pricing I end up paying less than $5/year which is absolutely crazy.”
Comment from 5 Oct 2026 in “All I wanted was a custom domain email” “It’s much cheaper, having an unlimited plan for just $10/year, or even less if you choose usage-based pricing.”
Comment from 25 Oct 2026 in “Now Google says it might use your Gmail and Google Photos data to target ads” “Ten dollars a year (though it's expected that price will go up) for as many mailboxes as you like.”
Comment from 24 Jan 2026 in “Bye Bye Gmail” - Comment from 24 Jan 2026 in “Proton Spam and the AI Consent Problem”
- Comment from 8 Jan 2026 in “Gmail is entering the Gemini Era”
- Comment from 3 Jun 2026 in “Gmail thinks I'm stupid, so I left”
- Comment from 16 Sep 2026 in “Leaving Proton Mail”
- Comment from 24 Oct 2026 in “Now Google says it might use your Gmail and Google Photos data to target ads”
- Comment from 23 Oct 2026 in “Now Google says it might use your Gmail and Google Photos data to target ads”
- Comment from 18 Aug 2026 in “An Update on Leaving Gmail for Fastmail”
- Comment from 25 Jul 2026 in “Self-host your mail server”
- Comment from 5 Oct 2026 in “All I wanted was a custom domain email”
- Comment from 2 Jun 2026 in “Gmail thinks I'm stupid, so I left”
- Comment from 3 Jun 2026 in “Gmail thinks I'm stupid, so I left”
- Comment from 5 Oct 2026 in “All I wanted was a custom domain email”
- Comment from 24 Jan 2026 in “Bye Bye Gmail”
- Comment from 3 Jun 2026 in “Gmail thinks I'm stupid, so I left”
Reliable, works without fuss
“haven't had any issues around deliverability or availability”
Comment from 24 Jan 2026 in “Bye Bye Gmail” “It does exactly what I want in the way I expect it to.”
Comment from 23 Oct 2026 in “Now Google says it might use your Gmail and Google Photos data to target ads” “I've never had a single mail delivery issue.”
Comment from 4 Nov 2025 in “Google suspended my company's Google cloud account for the third time” - Comment from 13 Oct 2026 in “All I wanted was a custom domain email”
Easy setup and quick support
“First time I set up a domain with purelymail only took me about 15 minutes.”
Comment from 24 Jan 2026 in “Bye Bye Gmail” “They responded within an hour and fixed the problem as well.”
Comment from 24 Jan 2026 in “Bye Bye Gmail” “Great customer service and easy to get going”
Comment from 5 Oct 2026 in “All I wanted was a custom domain email” Unlimited mailboxes and domains
“Unlimited domains, unlimited users, easy to setup.”
Comment from 24 Jan 2026 in “Bye Bye Gmail”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Worry about new ownership and direction
“The direction feels different after the management change, and I have less confidence now.”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Purelymail 2026 Roadmap” “the new design blows and I'm really unsure about the new owner”
Comment from 4 Sep 2026 in “Gmail to end support for "Send as" for third-party addresses, such as @yahoo.com”
Other email services people recommend
The four most recommended other email services, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fastmail | 309 | 51 | 81 | 79% | 12 | 5 yrs82 people | Approved |
| Gmail | 156 | 108 | 745 | 17% | 12 | 20 yrs56 people | — |
| Proton Mail | 133 | 50 | 206 | 39% | 12 | 3 yrs28 people | — |
| Tuta Mail | 40 | 7 | 16 | 71% | 12 | — | Approved |
| PurelymailThis page | 31 | 2 | 2 | 94% | 10 | 2 yrs10 people | Approved |
Also compared with mailbox.org email, Migadu, Zoho Mail and iCloud Mail.
What people said
38 of the 42 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“while it's barebones I've been quite happy with it”
“It’s much cheaper, having an unlimited plan for just $10/year, or even less if you choose usage-based pricing.”
“Super cheap. Has WebDAV, calendar, email filtering, etc.”
“It does exactly what I want in the way I expect it to.”
“Really cheap, just works and doesn’t get in my way.”
“works very nice for me for now”
“Great customer service and easy to get going”
“the easiest and cheapest I had found”
“Happy Purelymail user here. $10/year is the default plan, on advanced pricing I end up paying less than $5/year which is absolutely crazy.”
“Zero complaints, especially for the price.”
“No complaints other than that.”
“Purely Mail is a nice provider in that regard. $10 a year!”
“This works for me in PurelyMail.”
“the new design blows and I'm really unsure about the new owner”
“You can still find honest companies providing correctly priced services.”
“both work well, and are very reasonably priced”
“iCloud, Purelymail, Migadu, etc. are cheap.”
“it's cheap and it works well”
“It's simple and purely just email”
“$10 a year, I think multiple domains and users. Really nice.”
“I just signed up given the low price”
“Purelymail is the real deal.”
“it's a very cheap no-nonsense service”
“If you use a client anyway just purelymail”
“a budget, batteries included option”
“I love purely mail - I am a user since 2020.”
“The direction feels different after the management change, and I have less confidence now.”
“for the rest, it's a good provider”
“First time I set up a domain with purelymail only took me about 15 minutes.”
“They responded within an hour and fixed the problem as well.”
“Unlimited domains, unlimited users, easy to setup.”
“I love the fact that it's so cheap”
“haven't had any issues around deliverability or availability”
“Ten dollars a year (though it's expected that price will go up) for as many mailboxes as you like.”
“Reaaally cheap, easy to set up and without any bloat whatsoever.”
“Thank God I've moved to Purelymail.”
“It's dirt cheap ($10 per year for unlimited amount of users”
“I've never had a single mail delivery issue.”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.