Per-Mailbox Pricing: Cost by User Count

Email pricing has a strange economy. For a small user the numbers look small (“only $6 a month”), but as the company grows the total bill grows disproportionately. Why? Because the major providers price linearly — a fixed fee per account × number of users. The advantage of scale isn’t passed on to you.

In this article we compare real costs across 4 scenarios: 1 person, 10 people, 50 people, 200 people.

Scenario 1 — Single user (freelancer)

Minimum needs for professional email: a custom domain (info@mariaphoto.com), 5–10 GB of storage, and reliable deliverability.

Provider	Plan	Monthly USD	Annual USD
Microsoft 365 Personal	Includes Word/Excel	6.99	83.88
Google Workspace Business Starter	Custom domain included	6.00	72.00
Ulakmail Starter	Main plan	3.00	36.00

Savings: 50% ($3 per month, $36 per year).

For a single user the small gap can be misleading. But over 5 years even a single account saves $180. Not coffee money — closer to a nice dinner out.

Scenario 2 — 10-person team (small agency / boutique firm)

10 colleagues, all with professional email. At this scale you already have a custom domain, SPF/DKIM/DMARC configuration is essential, and spam protection needs to be at a professional level.

Provider	Plan	Monthly USD	Annual USD
Microsoft 365 Business Basic	$6 × 10 users	60.00	720.00
Google Workspace Business Starter	$6 × 10 users	60.00	720.00
Ulakmail Pro	$10 flat (up to 25 accounts)	10.00	120.00

Savings: 83% ($600 per year).

The difference is dramatic here. That’s because the Ulakmail Pro plan is a flat fee for up to 25 accounts — adding accounts doesn’t increase the cost. With Microsoft / Google, every new member adds another +$6/month.

Scenario 3 — 50-user mid-size (mature company)

A growing company, 50 employees. What you now need: a centralized admin panel, role-based permissions, daily backups, and priority support.

Provider	Plan	Monthly USD	Annual USD
Microsoft 365 Business Standard	12.50 × 50	625.00	7,500.00
Google Workspace Business Standard	12.00 × 50	600.00	7,200.00
Ulakmail Business	Unlimited accounts, priority support	20.00	240.00

Savings: 96% (~$7,000 per year / ≈ 230,000 TL).

At this level Ulakmail’s “unlimited accounts” model really shows its impact. Whether you open 50 accounts or 100, the business plan is a flat $20/month. With Microsoft and Google, every employee is billed separately on a per-account basis.

Note: The Ulakmail Business plan includes 50 GB of storage, centralized administration and an SLA guarantee. If you need additional capacity (200+ GB archive, custom SSO integration), a custom quote is provided.

Scenario 4 — 200 users (mid-large enterprise)

A large company: 200 employees, probably across several departments and regional offices, with high admin-panel requirements.

Provider	Plan	Monthly USD	Annual USD
Microsoft 365 Business Standard	12.50 × 200	2,500.00	30,000.00
Microsoft 365 Business Premium	22.00 × 200 (Defender/Intune)	4,400.00	52,800.00
Google Workspace Business Plus	18.00 × 200	3,600.00	43,200.00
Ulakmail Business	Custom scale pricing	~40–60	~500–720

Savings: 97–99%.

At this scale, the customer enters a custom pricing arrangement. On the Ulakmail side this typically stays around $40–60 per month — even though 200 accounts are being created.

Don’t forget hidden costs

Beyond the visible price:

Microsoft / Google:

Additional storage (forced upgrade from Starter to Standard once 30 GB is full): +$6/user
Archive / Vault: +$5/user
Advanced security (Defender / Advanced Protection): +$10–15/user
Extra quotas when API limits are exceeded
Setup and configuration consulting: hourly rate

Ulakmail:

All of the above is included in the plan
Setup is free
Migration support is free

TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) — 3-year example

3-year TCO for a 50-user company:

Provider	License	Add-ons	Setup	3-year Total
Microsoft 365	22,500	+7,500 (Vault, Defender)	3,000	$33,000
Google Workspace	21,600	+6,000 (Vault)	2,000	$29,600
Ulakmail	720	0	0	$720

Over 3 years, savings of approximately $29,000 (≈ 980,000 TL).

What else can you do with that money? Hire a software engineer. Take on a new office. Double your marketing budget.

Why is it this affordable?

A few reasons:

Unbundled product: Email only. No Teams, SharePoint or desktop Office bundles — features most users don’t use.
Domestic infrastructure: Data center in Türkiye; dollar-denominated costs are low.
Simple pricing: Flat plan, not per-user. Low management overhead.
Community-focused support: No large sales teams or CXO-level account managers.

Conclusion

Per-mailbox pricing is a much larger line item in the total budget than it appears. For companies of 10 or more, switching to Ulakmail means thousands of dollars staying in your pocket each year — without sacrificing features.

Ask yourself: “What features does my team actually use on MS/Google?” If the answer is “mostly email,” Ulakmail provides the same functionality while protecting your budget.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will I lose my existing emails when I switch to Ulakmail? No. All emails are transferred to the new server via IMAP. Ulakmail manages the migration process free of charge — the average migration time is 2–4 hours, with no downtime.

How does pricing change as the user count grows? The Pro plan is a flat $10/month for up to 25 accounts. The Business plan is unlimited accounts at a flat $20/month. Unlike Microsoft and Google, there’s no extra cost for each new employee.

Are prices in dollars or in Turkish lira? Plans are listed in USD. For payments in Türkiye you can find the current TL equivalent on our contact page.

What happens if my storage runs out? On the Ulakmail Business plan, additional storage requests are handled with a custom quote. Unlike Microsoft and Google, there is no automatic forced upgrade to a higher tier.

Is there an extra charge for KVKK compliance? No. All data is held on servers in Türkiye; KVKK compliance is included with the plan. Learn more about data sovereignty →

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