Is Migadu's 20-messages-per-day cap a dealbreaker?

Only on the $19/yr Micro tier, and only for sending-heavy use. Receiving is not capped. If you reply to more than a handful of emails daily, budget for Mini at $90/yr — which is the fairer comparison against Fastmail for a working inbox.

Which is better for multiple domains?

Migadu, structurally: every tier includes unlimited domains and addresses, and its admin console is built around that workload. Fastmail supports custom domains from Standard up, but you're still paying per user, not per domain.

Can I switch between them later?

Yes. Both are standard IMAP, so migration tools work in either direction, and your addresses belong to your domain, not the provider. Import first, then flip MX records — done in that order, downtime is effectively zero.

VersusHead-to-head

Fastmail vs Migadu

Fastmail and Migadu solve the same problem — email on your own domain without a Google or Microsoft suite — from opposite directions. Fastmail sells a polished, per-seat product with genuinely fast apps; Migadu sells raw capacity at a price per year that per-seat vendors structurally can't touch. Prices below were verified on both vendors' sites in September 2026.

Last updated: September 16, 2026By: W. Miller, Editor, Digital Hosting — reviewed independently by the Digital Hosting editorial team.

Disclosure: Digital Hosting may earn a commission when you buy through our links. This does not affect our recommendations.

Summary verdict

Short answer

Pick Migadu if you're consolidating several domains under one person and can live with the Micro tier's 20-outgoing-messages-per-day cap — $19/yr is the cheapest credible own-domain email anywhere. Pick Fastmail if you'll actually live in the interface: at $5/user/mo (Standard, the tier where custom domains start) you get the best mail apps outside Gmail, masked email, and calendars — you're paying roughly 3× Migadu's Micro for software quality, not capacity.

Top pick

Fastmail

from $3/user/moVerified September 2026

Check current pricing

At a glance

Comparison table

Fastmail

Independent business email

Premium Pick

Starting price: from $3/user/moBasic, billed annuallyVerified September 2026
Ease
Performance
Support
Migration: Included
Email: Included

See current pricing

Migadu

Flat-rate unlimited mailboxes

Starting price: from $19/yrMicro — 5 GB, unlimited domains/addressesrenews at same price at renewalVerified September 2026
Ease
Performance
Support
Migration: Included
Email: Included

See current pricing

Provider	Best for	Starting price	Ease	Performance	Support	Migration	Email	Get it
FastmailSolo operators and small teams that want a great IMAP/JMAP client	Independent business email	from $3/user/moBasic, billed annuallyVerified September 2026				Included	Included	See current pricingNon-affiliate recommendation
MigaduPower users who want unlimited domains/mailboxes at a flat rate	Flat-rate unlimited mailboxes	from $19/yrMicro — 5 GB, unlimited domains/addressesrenews at same price at renewalVerified September 2026				Included	Included	See current pricingNon-affiliate recommendation

Providers in this guide

The two contenders

Best indie business email

Fastmail

Solo operators and small teams that want a great IMAP/JMAP client

4.7

Editor score

Pricing: from $3/user/moVerified September 2026

Pros

+Excellent web and mobile clients
+Custom domains from the Standard plan up
+Independent and privacy-focused

Cons

−Entry Basic plan excludes custom domains and third-party IMAP clients
−No bundled office suite
−Calendar and contacts thinner than the giants

Confirm current pricing on the provider's site.

Visit Fastmail

Migadu

Power users who want unlimited domains/mailboxes at a flat rate

4.5

Editor score

Pricing: from $19/yrrenews at same price at renewalVerified September 2026

Pros

+Flat pricing, no per-mailbox costs
+Unlimited domains on all plans
+Privacy-respecting Swiss operator

Cons

−Volume-based limits instead of seats can surprise you
−Self-serve support style

Confirm current pricing on the provider's site.

Visit Migadu

Pricing, decoded (verified September 2026)

Fastmail's headline $3/user/mo Basic tier does not include custom domains or third-party IMAP clients — for email on your own domain the real entry point is Standard at $5/user/mo, billed annually, with no intro-vs-renewal split and cheaper 24/36-month terms. One user is $60/yr; each additional seat adds the same again.

Migadu doesn't sell seats at all: Micro is $19/yr for 5 GB of pooled storage with unlimited domains and unlimited addresses, capped at 20 outbound messages per day; Mini is $90/yr for 30 GB with substantially higher limits. Renewal equals the entry price on every tier.

The math: a single user with light sending pays $19/yr at Migadu versus $60/yr at Fastmail — Migadu wins on cost by 3×. A two-person working setup is $120/yr at Fastmail versus $90/yr at Migadu Mini — closer than the headline prices suggest, and at that point you're choosing on product, not price.

What Fastmail's premium actually buys

Fastmail's webmail and mobile apps are the closest thing to Gmail-grade software you can get from an independent: fast search, snooze, scheduled send, and a built-in importer that pulls mail, contacts, and calendars straight from Google. Masked email — unique throwaway addresses generated per signup — is the standout feature Migadu has no equivalent for.

Migadu's webmail is functional, not delightful, and that's a deliberate trade: it assumes you'll connect your own IMAP client. Its admin console, though, is excellent for multi-domain setups — per-domain mailboxes, aliases, and rewrites are all first-class, which is exactly the workload its capacity pricing attracts.

Both support proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC configuration. We have not independently measured deliverability for either provider, and anecdotal forum reports run in both directions.

Who should pick which

Choose Migadu Micro for multi-domain personal setups, side projects, and receiving-heavy archival domains — the sending cap is the honest cost of the $19 price. Step up to Mini ($90/yr) when daily sending volume becomes real.

Choose Fastmail when the interface is the product: you check email dozens of times a day, you want masked email for signups, and calendars and contacts should sync without a second vendor. At one or two seats the total cost difference is a few dollars a month for meaningfully better software.

If you're weighing Fastmail against a full suite instead, that's a different comparison — see our Fastmail vs Google Workspace piece for the three-year math.

Best fit for

+One person deciding between paying for polish (Fastmail) or capacity (Migadu)
+Owners with several personal or side-project domains weighing cost against apps
+Anyone leaving Gmail who wants their addresses on a domain they control

Consider another option if

−Your team needs shared documents or video calls — both are email-first; that's suite territory
−You send bulk or marketing email — both prohibit it; use a transactional service
−You want Fastmail's $3/user/mo Basic tier for a custom domain — own-domain email starts at Standard, $5/user/mo

Questions readers ask

FAQ

No. Basic excludes custom domains and third-party IMAP clients (verified September 2026). For your own domain, Fastmail starts at Standard, $5/user/mo billed annually — that's the tier every price in this comparison uses.

Ready to move forward?

Fastmail is our top pick for this category.

Check current pricing on the provider's site — promos and renewal rates change frequently.

Check current pricing

Keep reading

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Written and reviewed by

W. Miller — Editor, Digital Hosting

W. Miller is the editor of Digital Hosting and oversees TetraCore's review sites. Every price on this site is verified against the vendor's public pricing page and dated; nothing is scored on marketing claims.

See our affiliate disclosure and how we test and score providers.