Table of contents
Start for free
Andrew Milich / 8.18.2023Home / Email Security
Ymail vs. Gmail—features, interface, security, and more
Google and Yahoo’s email solutions are widely accepted among personal and business users. Discover the superior option in this Ymail vs. Gmail comparison.
Gmail and Yahoo Mail are among the first platforms that come to mind when you think about email providers. Both have been around for a long time and have amassed large user bases due to being feature-rich and free.If you are debating which platform to use, this Ymail vs. Gmail comparison will help by outlining their key differences. You’ll also learn about the potential risks associated with both solutions and discover an alternative worth considering.
Source: Gmail screenshotYahoo Mail is even more invasive—besides inbox ads, you’ll also see large ads on the right side, which can cause significant distractions. The only way to remove ads with either option is to subscribe to their paid versions.
Source: Yahoo screenshot
If you need Gmail for business, you can upgrade to one of four Google Workspace tiers:
As Google Workspace is a more comprehensive platform, the features vary greatly between plans. Storage-wise, you can get up to 5 TB per user with the Business Plus plan and request more if you opt for the Enterprise tier.Yahoo Mail has a more straightforward pricing structure—the only upgrade option is Yahoo Mail+, which comes at $5 per month. There are no dedicated business tiers or specialized features as you get with Gmail, but the affordable plan gets you 5 TB of storage, which costs much more with Google’s option.
Source: SkiffSkiff also doesn’t store personally identifiable information—you don’t need to provide it to sign up. Thanks to zero-knowledge login, you can get started without leaving your phone number, name, or any other identifier.Encryption keys and critical account data undergo additional encryption through the Secure Remote Password algorithm, so the risk of your credentials falling into the wrong hands is minimal. For an extra layer of security, you can enable two-factor authentication (2FA).
Source: Skiff
Experience a privacy-focused email serviceSkiff gives you control over your data and communication without compromising user experience
Sign up
Which is better—Gmail or Yahoo?
Yahoo and Gmail look similar at first glance and serve largely the same purpose, so you may find it futile to examine their details thoroughly. Still, you don’t want to commit to an email provider only to realize it does not meet your needs later on.To help you avoid this, we’ll compare the two platforms based on five key factors:Gmail vs. Yahoo—user interface and experience
Gmail and Yahoo Mail take a similar approach to UI design. With both options, you get a clean interface without many obstructive elements or unintuitive functions. Email folders are on the left, while connected apps are on the right.A notable user experience (UX) flaw of both options is evident when composing email messages. When you want to write a new email in Gmail, you get a new window in the bottom-right corner that blocks a part of your inbox, so you can’t view emails within that area. Yahoo’s solution is even more inconvenient as the new message interface completely blocks your inbox.This design flaw is most noticeable when you need to reference an email while writing your message, and the best way around this issue is to open your inbox in a new tab.The free version of Gmail has ads in the inbox, which can be frustrating. While they’re only visible in the Promotions tab, they still cause unnecessary distractions.Yahoo vs. Gmail—connected apps and integrations
Gmail and Yahoo help streamline your emailing experience by making additional apps readily available from your inbox. Both providers include the following three apps:- Calendar
- Contacts
- Notes (“Notepad” in Yahoo and ”Keep” in Gmail)
Get a secure workspace with SkiffWith its fully encrypted productivity suite, Skiff offers a safe personal or work environment
Sign up
Yahoo Mail vs. Gmail—storage and sending limits
Yahoo is far more generous in terms of storage than Gmail, offering 1 TB with the free plan compared to Gmail’s 15 GB. It’s also worth mentioning that Gmail’s storage isn’t dedicated to emails but combined with Google Drive and Google Photos, so it might fill up quickly if you use it to back up your devices or files.To get more storage, you’d need to sign up for Google One if you’re a personal user or one of Google’s business tiers if you need work-focused features.As for sending limitations, there are two aspects you should consider:- Maximum number of daily emails
- Attachment limitations
Yahoo Mail vs. Gmail—pricing
As mentioned, Google offers two pricing categories for personal and business users. Google One is suitable for the former, with the main difference between tiers being cloud storage. You can choose from three plans:| Plan | Cost | Storage |
| Basic | $1.99/month | 100 GB |
| Standard | $2.99/month | 200 GB |
| Premium | $9.99/month | 2 TB |
| Plan | Pricing (with annual billing) |
| Business Starter | $6/month |
| Business Standard | $12/month |
| Business Plus | $18/month |
| Enterprise | Custom |
Yahoo Mail vs. Gmail—security and privacy
Security is a common concern with Big Tech email providers, including Gmail and Yahoo. Both platforms have suffered numerous cyberattacks, but Yahoo is particularly infamous for falling victim to one of the largest data breaches in history, affecting three billion accounts.Breaches affecting Google have never reached this scale, though tens of millions of users have had their data exposed, which is far from a small number. Users are rightfully concerned about the safety of their private information, especially when you consider the volume of sensitive data and files sent over email.The main reason Gmail and Yahoo don’t offer sufficient security and privacy is weak email encryption. Both platforms use the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol by default, which only offers modest protection while your email travels to the recipient.Besides, Google and Yahoo store the decryption keys on their servers, and the decryption happens before the message reaches the recipient. This means Yahoo and Google can decipher your messages and read plaintext copies, so you don’t get much privacy.To fully control your data and how it’s managed, you need an email provider offering a more advanced security layer—end-to-end encryption (E2EE).How E2EE keeps your data safe and private
End-to-end encryption protects your correspondence between endpoints (the sender and recipient’s devices). When you send an email, it’s encrypted using a key created and stored on your device, and only the recipient holding the decryption key can decipher the message.Even if an attacker breaches an email provider’s server, E2EE ensures your data stays private as the provider never has access to your key. The hacker would only see unintelligible text and wouldn’t be able to decrypt the email unless they corrupted your device directly.Google, Yahoo, and other Big Tech email services don’t support E2EE by default. Google offers hosted S/MIME with select paid tiers, so you have to pay to have your emails end-to-end encrypted. If you opt for this option, be prepared for additional costs, as you have to buy your S/MIME certificate separately. After purchasing it, you’ll need to configure S/MIME manually, which is time-consuming and complex.Yahoo doesn’t even offer hosted S/MIME, so on top of the above steps, you’d also need a third-party platform to encrypt emails using this standard. All of this is far too complicated for the level of privacy you should have without putting in any effort.This is why privacy-first email providers who build E2EE into their solutions are becoming increasingly popular. If you want to fortify your correspondence without investments or complex setups, Skiff Mail can be an excellent solution.Skiff Mail—cutting-edge security for everyone
Skiff Mail is an end-to-end encrypted email service providing complete security for your correspondence and personal data. The platform uses two separate keys to safeguard your emails:- A public key that encrypts the message and is shared with the recipient
- A private key used for decryption and stored safely on the user’s device
Premium features at no cost
Besides advanced security, Skiff Mail’s free plan gives you access to a rich set of features, many of which other providers reserve for paid solutions:- Lighting-fast email and text search
- 10 GB of end-to-end encrypted storage
- Folders, labels, and filters
- Skiff.com aliases
- Custom domain
- Integration with various crypto wallets
Four E2EE platforms for a secure online workspace
Email is only a part of an average workflow, so Skiff encompasses three additional end-to-end encrypted platforms available at no extra cost:- Skiff Pages—Lets you create, edit, and share docs in a secure environment. The platform features a rich text editor with various charts, code blocks, and other elements, and you can invite others to collaborate on the documents in real-time. Your file’s metadata and contents are end-to-end encrypted for maximum privacy
- Skiff Drive—A secure cloud platform that lets you upload and store files of all types and sizes. Skiff Drive comes with E2EE link sharing and optional integration with the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS)
- Skiff Calendar—A scheduling app that syncs with Skiff Mail to pull data about events and help you stay on top of your activities. Skiff Calendar also has a built-in video conferencing tool and lets you create shared calendars for easier collaboration
Get started with Skiff Mail
You can create your free Skiff account in three steps:- Visit the signup page
- Choose a username and password
- Explore Skiff’s E2EE suite
