| Here are the options I see: 1. Pay a reasonable amount for a reputable service like FastMail with a good user interface 2. Use a free, reputable service and make your peace with them selling ads off your email (they have to keep the lights on somehow) 3. Use a super cheap or free service that doesn't work as well as FastMail or Gmail (you get what you pay for) 4. Host your own and risk deliverability issues, and spend time maintaining a server. There is no magic solution here that works great, is free or super cheap, doesn't require lots of time on my part, and doesn't have an ad-based business model. I value my time too much to consider #3 or #4. If I didn't want to pay for FastMail, I would just use Gmail. Realistically, I don't think Google's algorithms reading my email would have a noticeable negative impact on my life, but I would notice bad UI or failed deliveries. |