There are three ways to get business email on your domain, such as office@firma-ta.ro: with the mailboxes included in your hosting plan, with an online office suite like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, or a combination of the two. For a company that mainly needs email, the mailboxes included with hosting are usually enough and cost nothing extra. Workspace or Microsoft 365 make sense when your team also uses their documents, shared calendar and video calls, and there you pay for each user.
In short
- The domain is yours, wherever your email lives. You can change providers and keep the same addresses.
- Email included with hosting: you pay for the plan and the addresses come with it. At NBT Host, from 10 addresses to unlimited, depending on the plan.
- Google Workspace / Microsoft 365: email plus team collaboration tools, usually paid per user, per month.
- Combined: the website on hosting, email with Google or Microsoft. It works very well, with the DNS records set correctly.
What “email on your domain” means
When someone writes to office@firma-ta.ro, their server asks the domain's DNS where to deliver messages for firma-ta.ro. The answer comes from the MX records. They point either to the hosting server, to Google or to Microsoft.
This has two practical consequences:
- you can change email providers without changing your addresses: you move the mailboxes and update the MX records;
- if the MX records are wrong or missing, messages don't get delivered anywhere, however well the rest is configured.
If you're still wondering whether an address on your domain is worth it instead of a Gmail one, we wrote about that separately in email on your domain or Gmail. Here we assume you want one and are choosing where it should live.
Option 1: email included with hosting
Most hosting plans also include an email server. At NBT Host, email on your domain is included in every plan:
- Starter: 10 email addresses;
- Store and Multi-site: unlimited addresses;
- cloud hosting and Bulk: also unlimited.
What every address gets, on any plan: Webmail in your browser, encrypted IMAP and SMTP for your phone and Outlook, a spam filter, forwarding, autoresponders and daily backups, with free restores from the last 7 days. SPF, DKIM and DMARC are set up automatically when the domain uses our nameservers.
What it costs: the price of the hosting plan, that is, from €5 per month or €135 for 36 months on Starter (€3.75 per month). You don't pay separately for each address.
What you should know:
- mailboxes share disk space with the website: 10 GB on Starter, 30 GB on Store, 75 GB on Multi-site. A mailbox with a few years' worth of attachments can take up more space than the website;
- each address can send at most 200 emails per hour. That's enough for business correspondence, but not for newsletters to large lists;
- you get email, not an office suite: no shared documents or video calls.
All the details, including the settings for your phone and Outlook, are on the email on your domain page.
Option 2: Google Workspace or Microsoft 365
Both are online office services where email is one part of a package: shared calendar, documents and spreadsheets, storage space, video calls and central management of your team's accounts.
How you pay: usually a subscription per user, per month or per year. The cost grows with your team: ten people means ten licenses. Prices and plans change, so check them directly on the provider's website on the day you decide.
What you should know:
- shared addresses, such as
office@orcomenzi@(orders), are usually set up as aliases or group addresses; check the provider's documentation to see whether they need a separate license; - the domain stays with the registrar, and the email provider gives you the records to add to DNS: MX, SPF, DKIM and a domain verification record;
- accounts are managed in the provider's panel, not in your hosting panel.
Option 3: website on hosting, email with Google or Microsoft
This is a common combination and it works well. The website is hosted at NBT Host, and in the domain's DNS zone you add the MX, SPF and DKIM records you get from Google or Microsoft. The steps are in the guide the DNS zone editor.
A detail that's often missed: your website sends emails too, such as the contact form, order confirmations and password resets. If the domain's SPF record only authorizes Google or Microsoft servers, and the website sends from the hosting server, its messages fail verification and end up in spam. There are two solutions: include the hosting server in SPF as well, or configure the website to send through the provider's email account. The full explanation is in the guide why emails end up in spam.
How to work out the real cost
Put all the costs on a yearly basis:
- the domain: at NBT Host, €10 per year for .ro, €16 for .com;
- hosting: you pay for it anyway if you have a website, and email comes with it;
- a separate email service, if you choose one: number of users × price per user × 12 months.
An example with NBT Host prices: a company with seven people, a website and a .ro domain takes the Store plan, with unlimited addresses. It pays €99 per year for hosting and €10 per year for the domain, however many addresses it creates. If it also chooses an online office service, the seven licenses are added to these amounts.
How to choose
| What matters to you | Email included with hosting | Google Workspace / Microsoft 365 |
|---|---|---|
| Just email, on your phone and in Outlook | Yes | Yes |
| A cost that doesn't grow with each person | Yes | No: you pay per user |
| Shared calendar, documents, video calls | No | Yes |
| Everything in one place with the website | Yes | No: two panels |
| Large mailbox storage | Shared with the website | Depends on the plan |
If your team already works in Google or Microsoft documents, keep your email there and host only the website. If you just need addresses on your domain that work, the included option is simpler and cheaper.
Your first address in a few steps
With an NBT Host plan, you create your first address in Enhance in 2–3 minutes: see the guide creating an email account. Then add it to your phone (iPhone, Android) or to Outlook. If you don't have a domain yet, prices are on the Domains page.
Frequently asked questions
Can I have email on my domain without a website?
Yes. You need the domain and a hosting plan, even if you don't put anything on the website. The smallest plan, Starter, includes 10 addresses.
Can I move my email later from hosting to Google or Microsoft (or the other way around)?
Yes. You create the same addresses with the new provider, copy the old messages over IMAP, then change the MX records. The order of the steps is in the guide moving messages from another provider. If you're moving your website at the same time, see also the migration checklist.
What does “custom email” mean?
An address on your own domain, such as nume@firma-ta.ro, instead of one from a free service. It's the same thing as email on your domain or business email.
Can I read my business email in the Gmail app?
Yes. You add the address to the Gmail app on your phone, over IMAP. The steps are in the guide for Android.
Can I send newsletters from my business address?
Not to large lists. The limit of 200 emails per hour protects the server from spam lists. For newsletters, use an email marketing service, as explained in the guide newsletters that reach the inbox.