Gmail vs Yahoo vs Fastmail vs Outlook.com

EQ Admin

EQ Forum Admin
Staff member
Hello,

Which service is your favorite? Why?

Which qualities of the service or great features stand out the most to you?

If you could add a 5th service to the mix which do you think deserves to be added?
 

EQ Admin

EQ Forum Admin
Staff member
I have to admit with the speed of Outlook.com I prefer that interface over the latest Yahoo Mail. Yahoo Mail is very slow when moving around pages. Ad blockers and switching to basic help, and this surprises me, but for now I think my preference for my #2 (mostly junk account) is Outlook.com. In addition to catching up on security features, it's an account that I actually use the login for some other services, while my Yahoo is nothing more than an old email address and a messenger login for people that I IM but refuse to move to Skype or use the official chat program at my day job.

Gmail is still my favorite :)
 

foggy

Valued Member
Well, since you included FM in your list, I'll have to put my vote in for that one. ;) It's the fastest interface I have experienced for myself among free or premium email services. It doesn't have 2FA, but at least the customer support is personal (not automated or strictly user-based) in case that's necessary.

Among free services, I suppose I would trust Gmail's security a bit more (they had full-time SSL and 2FA way before Hotmail decided finally to introduce their version of them).

But I probably prefer Outlook's interface for ease of navigation, feature location, etc. Outlook's appearance is okay, but they're following everyone else in getting more monochrome (read: boring) in the interface 'look' department. I'd prefer Gmail ca. 2008 if I had my choice. :)
 

EQ Admin

EQ Forum Admin
Staff member
It's 2015 now and my opinions haven't changed much.

I still prefer Gmail. Outlook is nice as a second account and I use it as a real account now.

Yahoo is solid junk account now. I don't use Fastmail since they became a paid service.

The new Inbox by Gmail gives me a headache. I prefer my stars / labels / filters / and multiple inboxes to that layout.

The thing that I dislike most about Outlook.com is the compose screen. Having the "address" section to the left of the subject and message body is odd.

The biggest pluses in Gmail favor are that it "just works". It's there. It's stable. I don't have send & receive problems. It does a great (not perfect) job of delivering spam to my spam folder.
 
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