why.email
An email address, and a good place to read it.
why.email is a mailbox. You get an address, a web app that is quick to use, and the option to read the same mail in whatever app you already like. Nothing reads your messages to sell ads against them.
The mailbox
What you get
The usual things you need from email, without the parts you have to work around.
Works with other mail apps
It speaks SMTP and IMAP, so Apple Mail, Thunderbird, or your phone can connect to it the same way they connect to any other provider. You are not stuck with our web app.
Use your own domain
If you already own a domain, you can send and receive on it. The DNS records you need (DKIM, SPF, DMARC) are generated for you, and checked before you depend on them.
Threads and search
Replies are grouped into conversations, and search covers your whole archive rather than just recent mail.
A calendar that reads invites
Meeting invites show up as events you can accept, not attachments you have to open and figure out.
Your contacts stay yours
Addresses you write to are kept for your own autocomplete, and are not shared, sold, or used to build a profile of you.
Nothing scanning your mail
There is no ad system behind this, so there is nothing that needs to look at what your messages say.
Pricing
What a mailbox costs
A personal @why.email address is free. Business accounts are priced per mailbox per month, and the free tier is not missing features \u2014 only mailboxes, storage, and domains.
Free
one mailbox, no card needed
A personal address on why.email.
- One @why.email address
- 1 GB of mail storage
- The web app, plus IMAP and SMTP in any mail app
- Threads, full-archive search, calendar, and contacts
- Spam filtering, encryption in transit and at rest, and backups
- No ads, and nothing reading your mail
Business Free
up to 5 mailboxes
For a small team getting mail onto its own domain.
- Up to 5 mailboxes
- 1 custom domain, with DKIM, SPF, and DMARC records generated and checked
- 1 GB of storage per mailbox
- Admin dashboard: add people, reset passwords, remove mailboxes
- Everything in the free personal mailbox
- Email support
Business Standard
per mailbox per month
For a business that runs on its email.
- ₦2,000 per mailbox per month when the year is paid upfront
- No cap on the number of mailboxes
- Up to 25 custom domains
- 30 GB of storage per mailbox
- Admin dashboard, shared billing, and one invoice for the whole team
- Priority support
Business plans are billed per mailbox, monthly or a year upfront, and you can move between them at any time. If you cancel Standard you keep it until the end of the period you paid for, then go back to the free limits. Sending email from your own code is priced separately see developer pricing.
How it works
What we take care of
Email is old, and a lot of rules have been added to it over the years. Most of the work in running a mailbox is in parts you should not have to think about.
Your mail arrives
We set up and check the DNS records (DKIM, SPF, DMARC) that tell other mail servers your messages are really from you. That is most of what keeps mail out of spam folders.
One copy of everything
Read your mail in the web app or in a mail app on your phone. It is the same mailbox either way, so nothing gets out of sync.
Spam stopped before you see it
We check who a message is really from and filter the junk. You do not have to write rules or maintain filters.
Encrypted in transit and at rest
Mail is encrypted while it moves and while it is stored, so it is never sitting in plain text.
Backed up, and easy to leave with
Your mail is backed up. And because it is normal IMAP, any mail app can copy the whole archive somewhere else if you want to go.
Watched so it keeps working
We monitor delivery and uptime, so problems get fixed before you notice a message is missing.
Questions
Common questions
Can I move an address I already have?
Yes, if you control the domain. Point its MX records at why.email and add the DKIM and SPF records, then verify the domain before you switch over.
Do I have to use the web app?
No. IMAP and SMTP work fully, so you can keep using whatever mail app you already like.
Can I take my mail with me?
Yes. Because it is plain IMAP, any mail client can copy your whole archive somewhere else if you decide to leave.
What does a mailbox cost?
A personal @why.email address is free. Business accounts are ₦0 for up to 5 mailboxes, or ₦3,000 per mailbox per month (₦2,000 paid yearly) with no cap on mailboxes. See pricing.