It is no surprise that Apple products and services cannot be called “affordable” easily. It is kind of an established fact to throw around 😉
However, I was shocked to find out that Apple actually has an outstanding service offering, which is not just competitive, but cheaper than all the other options available out there.
I still do not believe that I could say something like that about a service by Apple. But, it is what it is.
And, that is iCloud+ and its bundled iCloud Mail offering, particularly.
A direct alternative to iCloud+ is Google’s One subscription. However, one thing that makes Apple stand out (apart from its ecosystem) is the ability to add 5 custom domains for email.
If You Are a Website Owner, You Are Saving Big!
Considering you have a domain of your own, and want to use custom email for your blog or business, there are plenty of options out there.
Some affordable and privacy-friendly options like Mailbox or Tuta would cost you around $3/month. Of course, you have Zoho Mail as well, but it does not have good standards for privacy.
Furthermore, if you are opting for something like Proton Mail, that would also set you back at least $4/month (including just one custom domain).
And, note that, all of those are email-oriented solutions. So, you do not get anything else out of it.
But, when you opt for iCloud+ to access iCloud Mail with up to 5 custom domains, you also get to utilize 50 GB of storage, Hide My Email service, Private Relay, iCloud Drive, iCloud Photos, and family sharing option as well 🤯
💡 If you do not have access to Apple devices, you can purchase the subscription to iCloud+ using the iTunes app on Windows.
And, all of that for just 75 INR/month or $0.89/month.
Sounds too good to be true, right? Fortunately, you can check it for yourself, and you should get it around the same price, depending on your region.
Of course, iCloud Mail is not a website-owner focused solution. So, you might miss the ability to sync your emails using IMAP/POP clients.
However, mail clients like Outlook support it, and you can access it on the web browser as well. Not to forget, if you have an Apple device, it is a no-brainer for you to have easy access.
In my case, I do not have access to any Apple device, yet, I can perfectly access it via the web browser, and have it synced with Outlook.
Oh, and yes! It features Cloudflare DNS integration to help you easily add DNS records to set up the custom email. And, it took me minutes to verify my domain using that.
Overall, my experience is top-notch, minus the inabilities to interact with Apple’s features without having access to an Apple device.
If You Are An Apple User, Do Not Look Elsewhere!
Unless you already have a Google Photos subscription (or like the user experience), the iCloud+ subscription is a sweet deal for you.
Of course, it can be anti-competitive in nature. But, for convenience, having email aliases, private relay, and 50 GB storage is a good packaged deal.
Fret not, if you would rather not support anti-competitive behavior from Apple, you can try DuckDuckGo’s privacy protection for email aliases, and a VPN like Proton / IVPN. It will cost you more for the VPN, but you get a lot more extras to start with.
My Impressions With iCloud Mail So Far…
I have been using iCloud Mail to send and receive emails for more than three months now. I can say that the experience is satisfactory for what I am paying.
And, it is not bad at all on the privacy-side. Yes, it may not be the most privacy-friendly solution (or open source). But, it does the job for me, and should do the same for most webmasters.
Obviously, Apple can improve a lot more when it comes to cross-platform support for its services. But, I do not think me saying that would change Apple’s approach to keeping everything in a walled garden.
That being said, having the novelty to access such a service in 2024 without needing access to an Apple device is refreshing 😃
