Email pricing is often advertised as a simple per-user monthly figure, but the true cost includes security, backups, administration and risk. If email is a critical business system (it is), pricing should reflect more than just mailbox storage.
Core cost components
- Mailbox hosting (storage, uptime, performance).
- Spam & malware filtering (reduces risk and improves productivity).
- Authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to protect deliverability and brand.
- Backup & retention (accidental deletion and recovery scenarios).
- Support & incident response (the part people only value once something breaks).
Reality check: a £2 mailbox without proper authentication, monitoring, and backups can cost far more in downtime,
lost enquiries, and reputation damage than a managed service that “just works”.
Typical UK price ranges
| Type of service | Typical range (per user / month) | What you normally get |
|---|---|---|
| Basic hosted mailbox | £2–£4 | Email only, limited support, often minimal backup/monitoring |
| Managed hosted email | £4–£7 | Mail + security + backup + sensible support |
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic | ~£5–£6 | Exchange Online + web apps (plus add-ons depending on needs) |
| Compliance/archiving add-ons | +£2–£5 | Retention, journaling/archiving, advanced controls (platform-dependent) |
The hidden costs (what the advertised price doesn’t show)
- Downtime from misconfiguration (DNS changes, certificate issues, relay changes).
- Lost mail during migrations (bad cutovers, missed forwards, misaligned authentication).
- Deliverability problems (messages going to spam is a revenue problem, not an IT nuisance).
- Time sink dealing with generic support desks rather than an engineer who can act.
Cost vs risk: how to budget sensibly
If your business depends on email for enquiries, quotes, invoices and supplier coordination, the “right” email service is one that consistently delivers and is recoverable when something goes wrong. That usually means paying for:
- Correct SPF/DKIM/DMARC
- Backups/retention appropriate to your risk
- Monitoring and someone accountable for keeping it working
Want a clear, fixed-price email package?
Turbo Digital prices email as a managed service (security, backup, monitoring and direct support included), so the monthly cost reflects real operational value—not just storage.
Ask for Email Pricing & Options