Is there an alternative to Microsoft 365?
Yes, and the right one depends on what you use Microsoft 365 for. If it’s Word, Excel and Teams, you need another office suite. The usual pick is Google Workspace, which has cost the same per user since July 1, 2026. If it’s mostly Outlook, you don’t need a suite at all. A Microsoft 365 alternative for email only, like Digismak, gives you an address on your project’s domain plus shared addresses like support@. You pay for one Cloudflare plan instead of a license per person.
Why makers look for an alternative to Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 charges per person, and on July 1, 2026 the price went up. Business Basic rose from $6 to $7 per user per month on a yearly subscription, and Business Standard from $12.50 to $14. Monthly subscriptions cost 20% more than yearly ones. Existing customers move to the new prices at their first renewal after July 1, 2026.
| Plan | Before July 1, 2026 | Yearly subscription now | Monthly subscription now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Basic | $6 | $7 | $8.40 |
| Business Standard | $12.50 | $14 | $16.80 |
| Business Premium | $22 | $22 | $26.40 |
On Business Basic, the rise adds $12 a year for each person, so $36 if a cofounder and a contractor have licenses too. The bigger cost is what the plan bundles. If you open Outlook every day and rarely touch Word, Excel, Teams or OneDrive, you’re paying for a suite to use its email.
What Microsoft 365 costs one to five people, next to Digismak
Microsoft bills every person. Digismak runs on one Cloudflare plan, $5 a month paid to Cloudflare, and Digismak itself is free during early access:
| People | Google Workspace Business Starter | Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Digismak |
|---|---|---|---|
| Just you | $7 | $7 | $5 |
| 2 people | $14 | $14 | $5 |
| 3 people | $21 | $21 | $5 |
| 5 people | $35 | $35 | $5 |
On a monthly subscription, Microsoft costs 20% more: $25.20 a month for 3 people on Business Basic. Microsoft also sells its plans without Teams, for less. On the Digismak side, Cloudflare’s plan includes 3,000 sent emails a month for the whole account, then $0.35 per 1,000, and receiving is unlimited.
Over a year on your own, Business Basic costs $84 and the Cloudflare plan $60. With 3 people, Microsoft is $252 a year and Cloudflare is still $60. A fourth person adds another Microsoft license, and Digismak stays at $5 a month.
A second project doesn’t change the price either. Domains in the same Cloudflare account share one Workers Paid plan, and each gets its own inbox under the same login. If you already pay for Workers Paid, sending costs you nothing more.
What you keep, and what you give up
Read this part before you move anything. Digismak replaces the email in Microsoft 365. It doesn’t replace the rest.
You keep
- An address on your own domain, like you@yourproject.com, for you and anyone you add
- Shared addresses like support@ and hello@ that everyone on the domain can read and answer, at no extra cost
- An inbox in any browser, on a computer or a phone, with conversations, reply all, forwarding, attachments and search
- Sign-in without passwords: you get a 6-digit code at the address you already use
- SPF, DKIM and DMARC records for your domain, set up for you
You give up
- Word, Excel and the other Office apps
- Teams chat and meetings
- OneDrive file storage
- A calendar
- Desktop Outlook, Apple Mail and Thunderbird: Digismak has no IMAP, POP or SMTP access, so it works in the browser only
- Your old mail, for now: Digismak can’t import it from Microsoft yet
When Microsoft 365 is the better choice
Stay with Microsoft 365 if you work in Word and Excel every week, meet in Teams, keep your files in OneDrive or depend on desktop Outlook. Digismak does none of those things.
Microsoft is also generous with shared mailboxes. An Exchange Online shared mailbox needs no license of its own up to 50 GB. So support@ costs nothing extra, as long as the people who open it have licensed mailboxes. Each shared mailbox takes up to 25 users, and going past 50 GB needs a license on the mailbox. If everyone who answers your mail needs a Microsoft license anyway, shared mailboxes aren’t a reason to leave.
The difference in Digismak is that there are no per-person licenses at all, so adding a contractor to answer support@ doesn’t change the price. See how shared inboxes work in Digismak.
What changes day to day
Most of the work looks the same: conversations, reply, reply all, forward and attachments, in a browser tab instead of Outlook. A few things are different, and it’s better to know them before you switch:
- You sign in with a 6-digit code sent to the email address you already use. There’s no password to reset.
- Shared addresses like support@ appear in the inbox of everyone on the domain, each conversation labeled with the address it came to.
- Each project’s domain has its own inbox. You switch between them from the top of the inbox, with one login.
- Outgoing attachments can be up to 3.5 MB per email.
- Each email can go to up to 50 recipients, and each person can email up to 200 people in 24 hours. Cloudflare says its sending service isn’t for marketing email, so send newsletters from a newsletter tool.
- You see a live preview of your email as you write it, and an admin can keep images in incoming mail blocked until the sender is allowed.
How switching from Microsoft 365 works
Your domain’s DNS has to be on Cloudflare. If it’s somewhere else today, moving it is free, and Cloudflare copies your existing DNS records when you add the domain. Check your website’s records are listed before you switch nameservers. Then:
Check your domain
Enter it on Digismak. We read its mail records, tell you that Microsoft receives its mail today, and change nothing until you confirm the switch.
Connect Cloudflare
Digismak opens Cloudflare’s token page with the permissions already filled in. Limit the token to that one domain, create it and paste it in. You can delete the token on Cloudflare at any time.
Let setup run
Digismak turns on Email Routing and adds the MX and SPF records. It turns on Email Sending with DKIM and adds a DMARC record at p=none if the domain has none. Then it sends a real test email through the whole path. It usually takes a few minutes, most of it Cloudflare verifying the domain.
Pick your addresses
Choose your own address and add shared ones like support@. A cofounder or contractor can be added the same way. Everyone signs in with a code sent to the email they already use.
New mail starts arriving in Digismak once your MX records point to Cloudflare. Your old mail stays in Microsoft 365. Digismak can’t import it yet, so keep access to those mailboxes or save a copy before you cancel your licenses. Everything runs on your own Cloudflare account; here’s how the Cloudflare side works.
Other Microsoft 365 alternatives, and who each suits
Digismak is one answer. Depending on what you use, one of these may fit better:
| Option | Suits | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Google Workspace | People who want a full suite and prefer Gmail, Docs, Drive and Meet | From $7 per user a month on a yearly plan, the same as Microsoft since July 1, 2026 |
| Cloudflare Email Routing on its own | One person who only needs mail to the domain forwarded to an inbox they already have. Replies go out from that inbox’s address, not your domain | Free |
| Digismak | Makers who want addresses and shared inboxes on each project’s domain, and no office apps | $5 a month to Cloudflare for every domain in the account; Digismak is free during early access |
Our Google Workspace pricing page lines the two suites up plan by plan, with a calculator for any number of people.
Questions
Is there an alternative to Microsoft 365?
Yes. Google Workspace is the other full suite, at the same per-user prices since July 1, 2026. If you only need email, Digismak gives you addresses on your own domain for one $5 a month Cloudflare plan, without Office apps.
What’s a cheaper alternative to Microsoft 365 for email?
If email is all you use, Digismak costs $5 a month in total, paid to Cloudflare, whether it’s just you or you and a few collaborators. Digismak itself is free during early access. Microsoft 365 Business Basic costs $7 per user per month on a yearly subscription, so 3 people pay $21 (US list prices, September 2026).
How much does Microsoft 365 Business Basic cost now?
$7 per user per month on a yearly subscription, up from $6 before July 1, 2026, or $8.40 on a monthly subscription. Existing customers move to the new price at their first renewal after July 1, 2026 (US list prices, September 2026).
Can I keep using Outlook with Digismak?
No. Digismak has no IMAP, POP or SMTP access, so desktop Outlook, Apple Mail and Thunderbird can’t connect to it. It’s a browser inbox that works on computers and phones.
Do shared mailboxes cost extra in Microsoft 365?
Not up to 50 GB. An Exchange Online shared mailbox needs no license of its own below that size. Everyone who opens it needs their own licensed mailbox, and it supports up to 25 users. Going past 50 GB needs an Exchange Online Plan 2 license on the mailbox.
What happens to my old Microsoft 365 email?
It stays in your Microsoft 365 mailboxes. Digismak can’t import old mail yet, so keep access to Microsoft or save a copy before you cancel. New mail moves to Digismak only when setup switches your MX records, which it does after you confirm.
Do I have to move my domain to Cloudflare?
Its DNS has to be on Cloudflare, but the domain can stay registered where it is. Moving DNS to Cloudflare is free, and Cloudflare copies your existing records when you add the domain.
Does Digismak include a calendar or file storage?
No. Digismak is email only: no calendar, documents, file storage, video calls or office apps. If you need those, Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace is the better buy.