A lighter Microsoft 365 alternative for team email
Microsoft 365 Business bundles Exchange mail with Office, Teams and device management. Work Inbox covers team mail and shared notes in the browser, at a lower price per person, and can run on your own Cloudflare account.
Start free 14 days, no card. Or self-host for free.
Side by side
Microsoft 365's facts from its own pages, checked 9 November 2026. Prices as Microsoft 365 shows them, before tax.
| Feature |  Work Inbox |  Microsoft 365 |
|---|---|---|
| Price per person | €1 / €2.50 / €5 a month (Starter, Pro, Business), billed monthly; first 5 people free, at least 5 billed; self-hosted free | $7 to $22 a month, annual commitment |
| Free plan or trial | Included: Free for up to 5 people; 14-day trial for teams, no card. Self-hosting free for good | Trial terms not confirmed on Microsoft's page |
| Shared mailboxes | Included: Unlimited on every plan, no licence per mailbox | Included: Shared mailboxes without a licence up to 50 GB, up to 25 users |
| Aliases and catch-all | Included: Unlimited aliases, catch-all per domain, plus addressing | Aliases supported; limits not confirmed |
| Notes or docs edited together | Included: Shared notes with live editing, checklists, tables, @mentions | Included: Word, OneNote and Loop with co-authoring |
| Self-hosting and source code | Included: Open source; runs on your own Cloudflare account | Not available: No (Exchange Server on premises is a separate product) |
| IMAP and mobile mail apps | Not available: Not yet: web app only (installable). IMAP gateway planned | Included: Outlook on desktop and phones |
| Claude / ChatGPT (MCP) | Included: MCP server: search and read mail, notes, contacts and drive files on every plan; replies and changes on Pro and Business | Partly: Work IQ MCP server; Copilot may need a licence per user |
| Calendar, contacts, files | Partly: Calendar, contacts (a team address book) and a shared drive; no office documents or video calls | Included: Outlook calendar and contacts, OneDrive, Teams |
Microsoft 365's plans
- Business Basic: $7 a person a month, annual commitment (was $6 before 1 July 2026)
- Business Standard: $14 (was $12.50)
- Business Premium: $22
Why teams pick Work Inbox
- No annual commitment needed, free for up to 5 people, then from €1 a person.
- Shared mailboxes with no size or member caps to plan around.
- Open source and self-hostable on Cloudflare.
Pick Microsoft 365 if
- You need Outlook, Word and Excel on the desktop, and Teams.
- You manage devices and identities with Intune and Entra.
- You need eDiscovery, litigation hold or archiving today.
Questions
Do shared mailboxes cost extra in Microsoft 365?
Microsoft says a shared mailbox needs no licence up to 50 GB, but everyone who opens it needs a licensed mailbox, and archives or 100 GB need Exchange Online Plan 2. In Work Inbox shared mailboxes are free on every plan.
Sources
Other comparisons
Bring your domain
Your team's mail on it this afternoon.
$ open workinbox.io/signupstart →
$ git clone https://github.com/workinbox-io/inbox.git && cd inbox && pnpm install && pnpm setup