Zoho Mail vs Gmail: Features, security, privacy and more compared

Zoho Mail has been around for years, but lately, it has been grabbing the spotlight for good reasons. The email platform by Tamil Nadu-based Zoho Corporation has become the latest symbol of India’s growing Swadeshi tech movement. The buzz started when Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced he was switching to Zoho Mail for official communication.
He’s been joined recently by IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who showcased a project presentation built using Zoho’s tools, and Health Minister JP Nadda has also confirmed his move to Zoho Mail.

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Here, we have compared Zoho Mail and Gmail, helping you to decide whether you should try Zoho Mail or not.

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Zoho Mail vs Gmail: Features

Zoho Mail is a complete productivity suite that includes Calendar, Tasks, Notes, Contacts, and Bookmarks, all seamlessly built into the interface, making it more like a full-fledged workspace than a simple email platform. One of its most impressive features is the 1GB attachment limit per email, whereas Gmail offers a 25MB cap. Additionally, if you exceed that limit, Zoho automatically converts the file into a shareable link. It’s small touches like these that make day-to-day email work smoother.

Zoho also lets users recall sent emails, even after the send window has closed. In Gmail, you only get a few seconds to hit “Undo Send.” While Zoho’s recall feature does alert the recipient that a message has been recalled, it still offers a safety net that Gmail doesn’t.

Collaboration is another key feature. With Zoho Streams, you can tag colleagues, comment on posts, and assign tasks. It’s like having a mini Slack built right into your inbox.

Further, Zoho has integrated its own AI assistant, Zia, into Mail. Powered by OpenAI, Zia can summarise long threads, draft emails, and even adjust the tone based on who you’re writing to, formal for clients, casual for teammates.

Gmail, on the other hand, also has its own AI tools. Google’s Gemini powers smart replies, email summaries, and contextual suggestions that pull from your Drive and past emails. It feels more integrated across Google’s ecosystem, but Zoho’s Zia offers intelligence without compromising on user privacy.

Zoho Mail vs Gmail: Security and privacy

Zoho Mail offers end-to-end encryption, S/MIME support, and Advanced Threat Protection to defend against phishing, impersonation, and data breaches. Every email is encrypted both in transit and at rest, and it also marks messages as “Plain” if TLS isn’t supported, which builds trust.

Gmail, too, has robust security with advanced phishing detection and zero-trust policies. However, Zoho has an ad-free experience and a data privacy stance. Unlike Google, Zoho doesn’t monetise user data for targeted advertising.

Zoho Mail vs Gmail: Pricing

Zoho Mail offers a Forever Free plan for up to 5 users, each with 5GB of storage and one custom domain. Paid plans begin at Rs59 per user per month (billed annually) with features like Zia AI, MFA, and integrations with other Zoho apps.

In comparison, Gmail’s paid version under Google Workspace starts at Rs 160 per user per month, giving access to Gemini, Google Meet, and more cloud storage.

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Himani Jha

Himani Jha is a tech news writer at Digit. Passionate about smartphones and consumer technology, she has contributed to leading publications such as Times Network, Gadgets 360, and Hindustan Times Tech for the past five years. When not immersed in gadgets, she enjoys exploring the vibrant culinary scene, discovering new cafes and restaurants, and indulging in her love for fine literature and timeless music. View Full Profile