Amazon Web Services (AWS) WorkMail is a managed business email and calendaring service launched in 2015. The AWS cloud platform offers over 200 fully-featured services, so a business email product fits perfectly in its expansive ecosystem.
WorkMail is a stand-alone product allowing enterprise users to send and receive emails, manage contacts, and share calendars. WorkMail also integrates with other AWS value-added cloud products like Directory Service and Simple Email Service to expand its capabilities.
Amazon WorkMail Compared
Amazon WorkMail made it to our top list of the best email hosting providers because of its seamless integration with other AWS cloud services. Still, DreamHost is the best email hosting provider for most users due to its excellent reputation, low prices, and ease of use. Save 16% on DreamHost when you signup for the annual subscription.
- DreamHost – Best All-Around Email Hosting Provider
- Hostinger – Best Budget-Friendly Provider
- Intermedia – Best for Email Security
- ScalaHosting – Best for Significant Storage
- Google Workspace – Best for Google-Centric Users
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard – Best for Microsoft-Centric Users
- Amazon WorkMail – Best for AWS-Centric Users
Check out our full review of the best email hosting providers for valuable insights into what alternative providers offer.
About Amazon WorkMail
Amazon WorkMail is just one of over 200 cloud solutions from Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS solutions are famous for their affordable pricing and robust security, covering numerous use cases and industries. Amazon WorkMail falls under the provider’s business application products.
AWS offers at least a dozen other business applications for video conferencing, multichannel marketing communication, document storage and sharing, and supply chain management. The platform also offers complementary products to use with WorkMail. For example, you can connect the email service to a directory service, an identity and access management application, or a key management service.
Amazon Web Services Health and Stability
AWS is an Amazon subsidiary offering numerous cloud services spanning remote computing, networking, storage, mobile development, security, and email. AWS has captured up to a third of the cloud computing market share, ahead of competitors like Microsoft Azure and Google. AWS has a presence in more than 245 countries and territories.
AWS has been around since early 2000 and is one of the pioneers of public cloud services. AWS is also immensely profitable, generating $62.2 billion in 2021. In addition, AWS has reported growth every year since its inception.
More than 3 million companies rely on AWS cloud computing services. The platform’s client list includes big brands like Twitter, Tata Motors, General Electric (GE), Unilever, and Netflix. Notably, the U.S. and Canadian federal governments also use AWS services.
AWS has been in business for more than two decades and is expected to continue to grow its products, services, and features in the coming years.
Amazon WorkMail Pricing
Amazon WorkMail has one base product, its email hosting solution. You get all the available features and capabilities in one package. AWS also offers add-on products that you can bundle with the WorkMail solution. The add-on solutions cost extra.
Amazon WorkMail Pricing Structure
WorkMail has one of the most straightforward pricing structures. You don’t have to worry about pricing tiers or bundled services. Instead, the company charges a standard per-inbox rate, meaning you only pay for the number of people that use the service.
However, the pricing structure may differ for any add-on product or service you choose. For example, AWS offers a key management service to create and manage cryptographic keys for data protection. The AWS Key Management Service charges according to your usage, such as $1 per month for each KMS key you create.
Amazon WorkMail Pricing Comparison
Amazon WorkMail costs $4 per user per month. The subscription gives you access to all WorkMail features, including a 50 GB mailbox, spam and virus protection, administrative SDK, web client, and email flow rules. I like the straightforward pricing where I don’t have to consider which features are worth paying for and which ones I can leave out.
But how does WorkMail’s price compare to others in the space?
Google Work Space and Microsoft 365 entry-level prices start at $6 per user per month. So there’s a small saving if you choose WorkMail. The only problem is you may be giving up too much to save just $2 per user per month.
For example, Microsoft 365’s cheapest plan offers 1 TB of cloud storage per user, compared to WorkMail’s 50 GB. It’s a massive difference if you send and receive large attachments regularly. Similarly, Google Workspace offers Docs, team chat messaging, and form and website builders in its entry-level plan.
It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for a basic email hosting service without additional applications and productivity features. DreamHost email hosting starts at $1.67 per user per month, billed annually. It has a smaller inbox than WorkMail at 25 GB, but the low price justifies the limited storage. Unfortunately, WorkMail doesn’t offer the best value for money, whichever way you look at it.
Amazon Trials and Guarantees
Fortunately, Amazon WorkMail has a 30-day free trial for up to 25 users. Other providers like DreamHost don’t have a free trial, so testing the service before committing to a contract is welcome. Amazon WorkMail also has a 99.9% uptime guarantee in its service level agreement (SLA).
AWS applies service credits to future WorkMail payments if you experience downtime or errors during the billing cycle. Of course, the guarantee only covers errors under AWS’s responsibilities and terms of service. The credits can cover anywhere from 10% to 100% of your monthly payment.
Amazon WorkMail Business Email Hosting Review
The email provider supports diverse use cases for small business and enterprise applications. WorkMail is also a managed service, so you don’t have to maintain on-premise servers, complex software or hardware, or update security patches. The AWS ecosystem is also famous for its robust security, which is crucial for businesses bound by data privacy laws and regulations.
Amazon WorkMail is a natural choice for people already in the AWS ecosystem. The business email integrates seamlessly with the AWS service you already use. It’s also a low-cost and scalable solution for small businesses and startups. Check out our review comparing the best email providers to see how WorkMail compares to similar services.
What Makes Amazon WorkMail Great
Integration with other AWS products: The best thing about WorkMail is its effortless integration with other AWS solutions. For example, you can integrate WorkMail with AWS Directory Service so users can access their inbox using their current corporate credentials. Similarly, WorkMail integrates with AWS Key Management Service to get complete control of encryption keys.
Native support for alternative email clients: Microsoft Outlook is a popular business email client. WorkMail offers native support, so you don’t need additional software or plugins to use your favorite email client. The integration extends to Windows and Mac OS X desktop clients. WorkMail also integrates with most other email clients that use the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync protocol, such as Apple Mail.
Enterprise-grade security: Amazon WorkMail lets you choose where to store your data. The platform is available in three regions: U.S. East (North Virginia), U.S. West (Oregon), and Europe (Ireland). This control is important for complying with relevant data protection laws and regulations.
AWS confines your data to your chosen region. WorkMail also lets you set security policies for mobile device access. In addition, AWS encrypts data in transit and applies other enterprise-grade security features to its ecosystem.
Free migration: WorkMail lets you migrate from your current provider with no technical expertise or software required. AWS partners with email migration tools Audriga and Transcend. You can easily transfer emails, contacts, meetings, and notes using Audriga or Transcend. AWS will cover the migration cost in most cases.
Manage resources: WorkMail lets you manage business resources from its console. For example, you can create resources like projectors, cars, and meeting rooms. Then, users can book the needed equipment from the WorkMail console ahead of meetings.
Access control rules: The platform allows you considerable control over what happens in WorkMail. You can set up granular access control rules to limit WorkMail access and bolster security. For example, you can create a rule to block IP addresses outside a predetermined IP range.
The access control rules also cover sufficient criteria to minimize the risk of unauthorized access or data misuse. For example, you can allow or deny access based on IP addresses, protocols, impersonation roles, and Amazon WorkMail users.
Integrated calendaring service: WorkMail lets you easily create and manage meetings and appointments with its built-in calendar. You can make a personal appointment that’s only visible to you. Alternatively, you can create meetings, send invitations, and share your calendar with others.
It’s a flexible tool that’s useful for business users. For example, you can delegate another user to schedule meetings on your behalf. You can also set reminders for meetings planned and move, cancel, or decline meetings.
Where Amazon WorkMail Falls Short
Basic email hosting prices: There’s nothing wrong with providing a barebones email hosting service if that’s what customers want. Competitors like DreamHost do this well. However, Amazon WorkMail prices are slightly lower than Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace for far fewer features.
For example, Google Workspace offers critical productivity apps like Drive Storage, Docs editors, and an App Maker. Likewise, Microsoft 365 Business Standard provides Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Excel, Word, and OneDrive. On the other hand, WorkMail offers little more than managed email hosting and calendaring service at a premium price.
Expensive to scale: WorkMail’s meager base product means spending more money than necessary for extra business applications. For instance, WorkMail offers stand-alone video, chat, meetings, cloud storage, and document editor products. So, it makes sense for AWS to bundle these products into a comprehensive email suite.
However, you’ll need to purchase them separately. It’s expensive and adds more productivity tools to manage and maintain. The upside, AWS is a tightly-knit software ecosystem, so managing these tools together isn’t as difficult as purchasing each solution from a different vendor.
Irregular feature updates: Unlike Google’s Gmail, email hosting isn’t a core AWS service. AWS’s core competency lies in public cloud services like storage and computing. As a result, you’ll notice a significant quality difference between WorkMail and other core products like Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS) and Lightsail.
WorkMail is also slow to update features and functionality. Besides claiming to be an alternative for either platform, the product needs to catch up to Google and Microsoft.
Spam filter needs improving: WorkMail offers a built-in spam filter. However, it’s not as good as Gmail, which claims to block 99.9% of spam. Gmail uses machine learning to identify spam patterns. Given the platform’s enormous user base, it’s no wonder it has the best spam filtering system.
You can work around WorkMail’s poor spam filtering by changing your filtering settings. You can also enable DMARC enforcement. However, WorkMail may not be the best option for organizations that receive bulk mail.
Complex migration from WorkMail: WorkMail makes migrating to a different service difficult. There needs to be more documentation to help you change service providers easily. Given how easy it is to migrate to WorkMail from a different provider, it is strange.
Amazon WorkMail Email Hosting Service Compared
Amazon WorkMail is a good option if you already use other AWS products, but DreamHost is the best email hosting service for most users for its low prices and reliable uptime.
- DreamHost – Best All-Around Email Hosting Provider
- Hostinger – Best Budget-Friendly Provider
- Intermedia – Best for Email Security
- ScalaHosting – Best for Significant Storage
- Google Workspace – Best for Google-Centric Users
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard – Best for Microsoft-Centric Users
- Amazon WorkMail – Best for AWS-Centric Users
Final Verdict
Amazon WorkMail is the go-to email hosting provider for users familiar with AWS services. The provider offers enterprise-grade security, is compatible with Microsoft Outlook, provides a feature-rich web client, and lets you choose where to store your data. WorkMail is also affordable and reliable, with a 99.9% uptime guarantee.
The main downside of WorkMail is it doesn’t offer as much value for money as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. AWS missed a terrific opportunity to create an email suite with integrated office applications like document editing, video conferencing, and presentations. We hope AWS will rethink its strategy for this otherwise commendable email hosting service.
Source: quicksprout
Amazon WorkMail Review