3 mailboxes
SHIPMAIL
$4/mo
Microsoft 365
$18/mo
Microsoft 365 costs 4.5x more. The extra spend buys Teams, OneDrive, and Office web apps.
Microsoft 365 vs SHIPMAIL: full office suite versus focused email hosting
If the team uses Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams every day, Microsoft 365 is worth keeping because email hosting is effectively free on top of the suite. If Outlook is the only Microsoft app anyone opens, the team is paying $6/user/month for a productivity bundle it does not use. SHIPMAIL is email hosting with shared inbox, calendar, and contacts. Microsoft 365 is an office suite that includes email.
Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $6/user/mo for Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, and Office web apps
SHIPMAIL Pro: $9/mo flat for 10 mailboxes, shared inbox, calendar, contacts, and API
5 people: $9/mo on SHIPMAIL Pro vs $30/mo on Microsoft 365, before shared inbox add-ons
The shared inbox gap
Microsoft 365 has shared mailboxes. They exist, and they are free to create. But setting one up requires the Exchange admin center, which is built for IT departments, not for a founder creating support@ for a four-person team.
Exchange shared mailboxes lack collaboration features most small teams expect. No assignment, no collision detection, no internal notes. Everyone sees the inbox, but nobody knows who is handling what.
Teams that need proper shared inbox workflow on Microsoft 365 typically add Front ($19/user/mo), Missive ($15/user/mo), or Hiver ($15/user/mo). A five-person team on Microsoft 365 plus Front pays $125/month. SHIPMAIL Pro is $9/month.
The admin complexity gap
Microsoft 365 is configured through the Microsoft 365 admin center and the Exchange admin center. These are separate dashboards. Email authentication setup involves multiple screens and manual DNS record creation.
SHIPMAIL has one dashboard. Domain setup walks through DNS changes step by step and auto-configures email authentication. You do not need an IT department to set it up.
When SHIPMAIL is the better choice
SHIPMAIL fits when the team needs custom domain email with shared inboxes and does not use the rest of the Microsoft stack. Startups, freelancers, agencies, and lean teams that already use Notion for docs, Slack for chat, and Zoom for calls.
Flat pricing means adding a shared address does not increase the bill. On Microsoft 365, every person who needs a mailbox is another $6/month seat.
When Microsoft 365 is still the better choice
Microsoft 365 makes sense when the team uses the Office apps daily. Word with track changes, Excel with shared editing, PowerPoint decks. The $6/user/month buys an integrated ecosystem where email is one piece of a larger workflow.
It also makes sense for organizations that depend on Microsoft Teams. Teams is bundled with Microsoft 365. Switching email providers means also replacing Teams.
Enterprises with existing Active Directory, Intune device management, or compliance requirements tied to the Microsoft ecosystem should stay on Microsoft 365.
| Factor | SHIPMAIL | Microsoft 365 |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat plan pricing | Per-user pricing |
| Entry cost | $4/mo for 3 mailboxes | $6/user/mo |
| Shared inbox | Built in | Available (requires Exchange admin setup) |
| Calendar and contacts | CalDAV / CardDAV (open standards) | Exchange (proprietary) |
| Best fit | Small teams that need email hosting without a productivity suite | Teams that use the full Microsoft Office stack daily |
Pricing breakdown
Last verified March 2026
5-person team
SHIPMAIL
$9/mo
Microsoft 365
$30/mo
SHIPMAIL Pro includes shared inbox for the whole team. Microsoft 365 shared mailboxes require Exchange admin setup.
5-person team + shared inbox tool
SHIPMAIL
$9/mo
Microsoft 365
$125/mo with Microsoft 365 + Front
Teams that need shared inbox collaboration on Microsoft 365 often add Front or Missive on top.
FAQ
Questions worth answering.
Common questions about choosing between SHIPMAIL and Microsoft 365.
- Can I keep using the Outlook desktop app with SHIPMAIL?
- Yes. Outlook connects to any email host that supports standard protocols. You do not need a Microsoft 365 subscription to use the Outlook app.
- Is SHIPMAIL a full Microsoft 365 replacement?
- It replaces email hosting, calendar, and contacts. It does not replace Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, OneDrive, or SharePoint.
- Why is SHIPMAIL cheaper for small teams?
- SHIPMAIL charges per mailbox tier, not per user. A five-person team sharing role inboxes pays $9/mo total on Pro. On Microsoft 365, each person is a separate $6/mo seat.
- What about Teams? We use Outlook and Teams together.
- If the team depends on Microsoft Teams, that is a stronger reason to stay on Microsoft 365 than Outlook itself. Teams requires a Microsoft 365 subscription. Switching email means also replacing Teams with Slack or similar.
Internal links
Related
More on SHIPMAIL pricing, use cases, and how it handles shared inboxes.