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Productivity · head to head

Fastmail vs Microsoft OneNote

Fastmail logo

Fastmail

Productivity

Paid email hosting with custom domains, calendar and contacts, run without ad-based revenue

From
$3/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Microsoft OneNote logo

Microsoft OneNote

Productivity

Microsoft's free-form notebook, free with a Microsoft account and synced through OneDrive

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Microsoft OneNote has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Fastmail it does not provide end-to-end encryption by default, so users specifically wanting zero-knowledge mail should compare it against Proton Mail or Tuta rather than assume parity.; Microsoft OneNote notes live in a proprietary notebook format on OneDrive or SharePoint and the only exports are a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document, produced section by section, so a large notebook is effectively unmovable to any other tool.
  • They diverge on capability: Fastmail covers Custom domain hosting, Microsoft OneNote covers Free-form page canvas.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fastmail and Microsoft OneNote actually diverge.

Attributes where Fastmail and Microsoft OneNote differ
AttributeFastmailMicrosoft OneNote
Starting price$3/monthFree
Pricing modelPer user per monthfreemium
Free tierNoYes
FoundedUnknown1975

Identical on both: platforms (Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Productivity).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Fastmail

  • Custom domain hosting
  • Masked email
  • Unlimited aliases
  • Integrated calendar and contacts
  • Migration tools
  • JMAP support

Only in Microsoft OneNote

  • Free-form page canvas
  • Notebook hierarchy
  • Indexed handwriting
  • Audio recording
  • Web clipper and Outlook capture
  • Shared notebooks
  • Cross-platform clients
  • Tags and cross-notebook search

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Fastmail

  • Someone who wants their email address tied to a domain they own rather than a free provider they do notnot Microsoft OneNote
  • A small business wanting hosted mail on its own domain without running mail server infrastructurenot Microsoft OneNote
  • A person leaving Gmail specifically to stop an ad-funded provider processing their mailnot Microsoft OneNote
  • A household migrating several accounts to one paid provider with shared billingnot Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft OneNote

  • Handwritten notes on a pen tablet that you still need to find months later by searching for a word you wrote.not Fastmail
  • Lecture or meeting notes where a recording needs to line up with what you were typing at the time.not Fastmail
  • A team already inside Microsoft 365 that needs a shared notebook without buying anything or seeking approval.not Fastmail
  • Collecting mixed material such as screenshots, clippings and sketches on one page, where a document editor would force a linear structure.not Fastmail

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Fastmail

  • It does not provide end-to-end encryption by default, so users specifically wanting zero-knowledge mail should compare it against Proton Mail or Tuta rather than assume parity.
  • Moving to Fastmail is a real migration with DNS changes for a custom domain, unlike installing a client such as Spark or Bluemail over an existing account.
  • There is no free tier at all, so a user just wanting to try it commits to a paid trial rather than a permanently free option.
  • Storage limits on the entry Basic plan are modest next to the free allowance Gmail gives, and heavy attachment users will need Standard or above.
  • Being based in Australia means it falls under Australian data access law, which some privacy-focused buyers weigh differently from Swiss or German jurisdictions used by Proton Mail and Tuta.

Microsoft OneNote

  • Notes live in a proprietary notebook format on OneDrive or SharePoint and the only exports are a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document, produced section by section, so a large notebook is effectively unmovable to any other tool.
  • Personal notebooks consume OneDrive quota, which is 5 GB on a free Microsoft account, so a notebook full of scans, images and recordings quietly exhausts the whole account including the space Outlook needs for mail.
  • Sync happens at section level and conflicts are resolved by placing both versions on the page, so simultaneous edits to a large or media-heavy section produce duplicated content that somebody has to merge by hand.
  • Search behaves differently across clients, so what the Windows desktop app finds inside handwriting, images and attachments is not necessarily what the browser or mobile version finds, and the same query gives different answers on different devices.
  • There is no relational structure, no database and no properties, so anything that needs a table of records with fields has to be maintained by hand or moved elsewhere, and OneNote's own tables cannot be queried or filtered.

Pricing, plan by plan

Fastmail

$3/month
  • Basic$3/month
    • 6GB storage
    • No custom domain support
    • Core mail, calendar and contacts
  • Standard$5/month
    • 60GB storage
    • Custom domain support
    • Masked email and aliases
  • Professional$9/month
    • 150GB storage
    • Multiple custom domains
    • Priority support

Microsoft OneNote

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Microsoft OneNote review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Fastmail if

  • You need custom domain hosting.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want masked email.
Fastmail review

Choose Microsoft OneNote if

  • You need free-form page canvas.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows.
  • You also want notebook hierarchy.
Microsoft OneNote review

Questions people ask

Is Fastmail or Microsoft OneNote better?
Neither clearly leads. Fastmail starts at $3/month and Microsoft OneNote at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fastmail or Microsoft OneNote?
Microsoft OneNote has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $3/month for Fastmail and Free for Microsoft OneNote.
Does Fastmail or Microsoft OneNote run on more platforms?
Fastmail runs on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows. Microsoft OneNote runs on Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows.
Can I use Microsoft OneNote for free?
Yes. Microsoft OneNote has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Fastmail starts at $3/month.
What is Fastmail best used for?
Fastmail is most often used for someone who wants their email address tied to a domain they own rather than a free provider they do not, a small business wanting hosted mail on its own domain without running mail server infrastructure, a person leaving gmail specifically to stop an ad-funded provider processing their mail, a household migrating several accounts to one paid provider with shared billing. Of those, someone who wants their email address tied to a domain they own rather than a free provider they do not and a small business wanting hosted mail on its own domain without running mail server infrastructure are not what Microsoft OneNote is typically brought in for.
What can Fastmail do that Microsoft OneNote cannot?
Fastmail covers Custom domain hosting, Masked email, Unlimited aliases, Integrated calendar and contacts. Microsoft OneNote covers Free-form page canvas, Notebook hierarchy, Indexed handwriting, Audio recording.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Fastmail: Is Fastmail a client like Spark, or does it host my email?

It hosts the mailbox itself; there is no separate provider underneath it the way Spark sits over Gmail.

Microsoft OneNote: Is OneNote really free?

Yes. The application is free with a Microsoft account, with no time limit and no feature gate. What you may end up paying for is the OneDrive storage the notebooks consume.

Fastmail: Does Fastmail offer end-to-end encryption?

Not by default in the way Proton Mail or Tuta do; its privacy position rests on being subscription-funded rather than ad-funded.

Microsoft OneNote: Can I keep notebooks off Microsoft's cloud?

The Windows desktop app can keep local notebooks, but they will not sync to other devices and any shared access requires OneDrive or SharePoint.

Fastmail: Can I use my own domain?

Yes, from the Standard plan up, with full alias and masked email support.

Microsoft OneNote: How do I get my notes out?

Section by section as a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document. A OneNote package preserves a whole notebook but only for another copy of OneNote. Third-party converters exist and the page layout usually does not survive them.

Microsoft OneNote: Which version should I install?

Microsoft consolidated onto a single OneNote application on Windows after retiring the Store version, so install the one distributed with Microsoft 365 rather than looking for an alternative.

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