DuoboxWhich one is right for a small team's email
This page is for anyone who found Zoho Mail while looking for email on their own domain without paying Google prices, and wants to know what's behind each plan. We read the prices on Zoho's official site on 26 October 2026, in dollars and before tax.
Both have a way to start without paying. The difference is in what you can do with it.
Your first inbox is free, and it works like any other
On Duobox you start without paying: 1 person, 1 inbox, 1 domain and 10 GB, no card and no time limit. And that inbox is the real thing: you open it in the browser or in the mail app you already have on your phone, over IMAP, like any email.
Zoho's free plan comes with 5 GB per person and no IMAP or POP: you can only use it on their website and in their own app. If you want to set it up in your phone's mail app, that's already a paid plan.
1 person, on the phone
DuoboxDuobox$0Prices checked on 26 October 2026.
In one line
DuoboxDuobox is your company's email on your domain, with shared inboxes and an agent that can handle them with the permissions you choose.
Zoho Mail is the email of a big suite, with a free entry plan and paid plans billed by the year.
Side by side
| DuoboxDuobox | Zoho Mail | |
|---|---|---|
| To start | The first inbox is free: 10 GB, no card | Free plan: 5 GB per person |
| The free plan in your phone's mail app | The mail app you already have, over IMAP | No IMAP or POP: only their website and their own app |
| Storage on the paid plan | 50 GB per inbox | 5 GB on Mail Lite, 50 GB on Mail Premium |
| How you pay | Monthly, no contract | Mail Lite and Mail Premium, annual only |
| Inboxes per person | Up to 10 | One account per person |
| Shared sales@ | Shared inbox with its own history | Through groups or shared addresses, depending on the plan |
| Agent | Your agent (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or another MCP client), with permissions one by one | Zia, Zoho's assistant |
| Bring your email | From Gmail, Outlook, Zoho or any other IMAP | — |
What you pay
| DuoboxDuobox | Zoho Mail | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person, on the phone | $0 | $1 a month on Mail Lite, paying for the year: the free plan has no IMAP |
| 5 people with 50 GB | $8 a month, month to month | $20 a month on Mail Premium, paying for the year ($240) |
Look at what you're comparing: with 50 GB per inbox and no paying for the year, Duobox costs less than half.
Why Duobox
The free plan is complete email
Browser or your phone's mail app, from day one and with no card.
The shared inbox comes built in
sales@ replies from sales@, and its history doesn't depend on who opened it that week.
One person, several inboxes
Whoever handles sales@, billing@ and their own email isn't three accounts: it's one person with three inboxes.
50 GB per inbox
As soon as you move to the paid plan.
No paying for the year
Month to month, and if you cancel it goes back to what's included without deleting anything.
An agent with permissions you can see
Paste
https://mcp.duobox.io/v1/mcpinto Claude or ChatGPT and choose what it can do: read, leave drafts, send or manage.Bring what you already had
From Gmail, Outlook, Zoho or any other IMAP.
When to choose each one
DuoboxChoose Duobox if you want to start free with email that works in any app, your team handles shared inboxes, you want to pay month to month, and you want an agent working in your email with permissions you choose.
Choose Zoho if you already use other Zoho apps and want everything in the same account.
Questions we get
- Is the first inbox free forever?
- Yes, as long as you're one person with one inbox and 10 GB. You only pay when you add someone, a second inbox or more storage.
- Can I move from Zoho to Duobox?
- Yes. Email is imported over IMAP from a paid Zoho plan; the free one has no IMAP, so you'd have to export it first.
- Why don't you have an annual plan?
- Because the price is the same every month, and you add or remove people whenever you want. We prefer that to a small number that ties you down for a year.
DuoboxYour first inbox is free.
1 person, 1 inbox, 1 domain and 10 GB. No card and no time limit. When you add someone, $2 per person a month.
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