Your email provider sees everything. Most are ad-supported and scan your inbox. These don't. Vetted for privacy, reliability, and usability.
Fastmail is the email provider we actually use and recommend without hesitation. Australian-based, no ad scanning, JMAP protocol (faster than IMAP), excellent custom domain support, and a mobile app that doesn't make you want to throw your phone. The pricing is transparent — no freemium data-for-service model.
Proton Mail is the pick when end-to-end encryption matters — it's the default for anyone handling sensitive client or health data. Swiss privacy law, zero-access encryption (even Proton can't read your mail), and a solid free tier that's genuinely usable. The web app and mobile apps are mature now. The main trade-off vs Fastmail: less flexible IMAP/SMTP integration on the free tier, and slightly slower sync. If your threat model includes the mail provider itself, this is the answer.
Gmail (free) and Yahoo Mail scan your email for ad targeting. Outlook.com (free) does the same. If you're running a business, using these for client communications is a reputational and privacy risk. Google Workspace is acceptable for larger orgs with proper admin controls — but for a 1-10 person team, Fastmail is cheaper and better.