Quick answer
How much does a custom email domain cost?
A custom email domain costs two things: the domain, from $7.99/year to $59.49/year at Postelva depending on the extension, and a mailbox plan. A .com is $12.49/year, the same price every year. Zoho Mail Free adds $0, while Proton Mail Plus adds $47.88 a year after the first year.
Domain cost over time at Postelva (same price every year)
| Extension | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| .com | $12.49 | $37.47 | $62.45 | $124.90 |
| .org | $12.49 | $37.47 | $62.45 | $124.90 |
| .net | $13.49 | $40.47 | $67.45 | $134.90 |
| .page | $11.49 | $34.47 | $57.45 | $114.90 |
| .me | $18.49 | $55.47 | $92.45 | $184.90 |
| $29.49 | $88.47 | $147.45 | $294.90 |
Mailbox plans that accept a custom domain
| Plan | Monthly price | Yearly price | Custom-domain limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proton Mail Plus | $2.49/month billed 12 months (list $4.99) | $29.88 first 12 months, then $47.88/year | 1 domain, 10 addresses |
| Proton Unlimited | $6.49/month billed 12 months (list $12.99) | $77.88 first 12 months, then $119.88/year | 3 domains |
| Mailbox.org Standard | EUR 4 monthly | EUR 36/year (EUR 3/month) | Custom domains, 50 aliases |
| Fastmail Individual | EUR 6 monthly | EUR 60/year | Custom domains, many addresses |
| Zoho Mail Free | $0 | $0 | 1 domain, up to 5 users, no IMAP or POP |
| Purelymail | Not offered monthly | $10/year flat | No hard cap on domains |
| Migadu Micro | Not offered monthly | $19/year | Almost unlimited domains, 200 messages in and 20 out a day |
Last checked on ; older figures carry their own date
What does the domain cost?
The domain is the smaller and more predictable bill: $12.49/year for a .com, $11.49/year for a .page, $29.49/year for a .email. It is also the bill that rises at other registrars when a first-year promotion ends. Postelva charges one price every year, so ten years of .com come to $124.90. The registry sets the floor: Verisign raised the wholesale .com fee from $10.26 to $10.97 on 1 November 2026, plus an ICANN fee of $0.20. See cheap domains for email for the dated comparison with Namecheap and Porkbun.
What does the mailbox cost?
Between $0 and about $120 a year for one person, depending on the provider and the plan. Zoho Mail Free covers one domain and up to five users but has no IMAP, POP or Exchange ActiveSync, and a sixth user forces every account onto a paid plan. Proton Mail Plus has one custom domain and ten addresses; Proton Unlimited has three domains. Purelymail charges $10 a year flat and Migadu Micro $19 a year. Mailbox.org Standard is EUR 36 a year. Fastmail Individual is EUR 60 a year. The free plans of Proton Mail and Tuta do not take a custom domain.
What does a whole setup cost per year?
Add the two bills: the domain price from Postelva plus the plan price of your provider. For example, Proton Mail Plus at $47.88 a year after the first year, plus a .com at $12.49/year, is your steady-state cost. In the first year Proton Mail Plus is $29.88 instead of $47.88, so the domain is the only line that never moves. With Zoho Mail Free the whole cost is the domain, $12.49/year for a .com. With Migadu Micro it is $19 a year plus the domain. The email provider index lists every plan.
Which costs are easy to miss?
Currency, billing period and the renewal step-up. Proton quotes its per-month price for 12-month billing, and its yearly price changes after the first 12 months. Fastmail and Mailbox.org list prices in euros. Business tiers charge per user: Fastmail Basic at EUR 4 per user does not accept custom domains at all. On the domain side, ask whether the renewal differs from the first year, and whether WHOIS privacy is extra. At Postelva privacy is free where the registry allows it, and the Domain protection option is +$29 a year per domain.
Can you pay for both in crypto?
Only partly: the domain can be paid fully in crypto, the mailbox mostly cannot. Postelva accepts BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC from a prepaid balance with a minimum top-up of $25. Proton accepts Bitcoin as account credit, with no autopay. According to Postelva's index of 12 November 2026, 3 of the 14 email services accept Bitcoin directly in some form, and 5 of the 14 have a dollar-priced plan under $5 a month that takes a custom domain: Proton Mail Plus, Zoho Mail Free, Purelymail, Migadu Micro and StartMail Personal. Details: buying a domain for email with crypto.
How much is five years of a typical setup?
Proton Mail Plus costs $221.40 over five years, plus the domain. The first 12 months are $29.88 and the four renewals are $47.88 each, which makes $221.40 for the mailbox. Add a .com at $62.45 for the same five years. Proton Unlimited over five years is $557.40 ($77.88, then four times $119.88), and it takes three domains. The domain share stays the same whatever plan you pick, and it is the part that does not rise after year one at Postelva.
What is the least you can pay?
The least is the least expensive domain plus a free mailbox: a .link at $39.95 over five years and Zoho Mail Free at $0. That combination has limits: Zoho Free has no IMAP, POP or Exchange ActiveSync, one domain and up to five users, and the free plan is offered only in some data centres. If you want a mailbox that works in any mail app, a paid plan such as Purelymail at $10 a year is the next step. Choose the least expensive option that still fits how you read your mail.
In summary
- A custom email domain = a domain (yearly) + a mailbox plan (monthly or yearly).
- Postelva domains run from $7.99/year (.link) to $59.49/year (.io); a .com is $12.49/year.
- Same price every year: a .com is $62.45 over five years.
- Zoho Mail Free costs $0; Proton Mail Plus costs $47.88 a year after the first year.
- Mailbox.org Standard is EUR 36 a year; Fastmail Individual is EUR 60.
- 5 of 14 indexed services have a dollar plan under $5 a month with a custom domain.
Questions about the cost
Is there a free custom email domain?
Not at Postelva: the least expensive domain is $7.99/year for a .link. The mailbox can be free, since Zoho Mail Free takes one domain, but you still pay for the domain itself.
Is a cheap extension a good idea for email?
A cheap extension works the same technically. Pick by recognition and typing length first, then by price; the best domain extension for email page compares six.
Why did .com get more expensive in November 2026?
Verisign's wholesale fee rose 7%, from $10.26 to $10.97 a year, on 1 November 2026. Registrations made before the change keep the old rate for their purchased term.
Do I pay per address?
It depends on the provider. Proton Mail Plus includes 10 addresses; Migadu and Purelymail allow many. Postelva charges only for the domain.
Sources (8)
- Proton Mail pricing — Proton (read 2026-11-12)
- mailbox.org prices — Mailbox.org (read 2026-11-12)
- Fastmail pricing — Fastmail (read 2026-11-12)
- Zoho Mail pricing — Zoho (read 2026-11-12)
- Purelymail pricing — Purelymail (read 2026-11-12)
- Migadu pricing — Migadu (read 2026-11-12)
- StartMail pricing — StartMail (read 2026-11-12)
- Verisign raising wholesale .com prices — Domain Name Wire (read 2026-11-12)