Softwr

Productivity · head to head

Fastmail vs RowShare

Fastmail logo

Fastmail

Productivity

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

From
$3/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
RowShare logo

RowShare

Productivity

Shared online table where each contributor sees only their own rows

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; RowShare it is a table rather than a spreadsheet, so the formula and analysis capability people expect from Excel is not there, and anything requiring modelling or charting has to be exported and finished elsewhere.
  • They diverge on capability: Fastmail covers Custom domain hosting, RowShare covers Row-level permissions.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fastmail and RowShare actually diverge.

Attributes where Fastmail and RowShare differ
AttributeFastmailRowShare
Starting price$3/monthOn request
Pricing modelPer user per monthsubscription
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, WindowsWeb

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 RowShare

  • Row-level permissions
  • Column-level permissions
  • Typed columns
  • Forms
  • Automatic reminders
  • Microsoft Teams integration
  • Zapier connections
  • Excel import and export

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 RowShare
  • A small business wanting hosted mail on its own domain without running mail server infrastructurenot RowShare
  • A person leaving Gmail specifically to stop an ad-funded provider processing their mailnot RowShare
  • A household migrating several accounts to one paid provider with shared billingnot RowShare

RowShare

  • Collecting a recurring return such as timesheets, budget lines or stock counts where contributors must not see each other's entries.not Fastmail
  • Replacing an emailed spreadsheet that one person consolidates by hand at the end of every month.not Fastmail
  • A shared list where some columns belong to the contributor and others are only for the administrator.not Fastmail
  • A structured departmental table inside Microsoft Teams that does not warrant a full database or a heavier platform licence.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.

RowShare

  • It is a table rather than a spreadsheet, so the formula and analysis capability people expect from Excel is not there, and anything requiring modelling or charting has to be exported and finished elsewhere.
  • It is a small independent product, so putting a recurring business process on it means a single vendor decision can end that process, and unlike the larger alternatives there is no ecosystem or partner network to fall back on.
  • Integration is largely through Zapier rather than deep native connectors, which adds an intermediary service, another subscription and another place for a data flow to fail silently.
  • The niche it occupies is increasingly covered by list tools included in Microsoft 365, so the purchase has to be justified against something the organisation may already be paying for and already administers.
  • Licensing in this category is per user, so if contributors need accounts rather than form links, an occasional contributor costs the same per head as a daily one, and it is worth confirming which model applies before planning a rollout.

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

RowShare

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the RowShare 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 RowShare if

  • You need row-level permissions.
  • You also want column-level permissions.
RowShare review

Questions people ask

Is Fastmail or RowShare better?
Neither clearly leads. Fastmail starts at $3/month and RowShare at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fastmail or RowShare?
Fastmail starts at $3/month and RowShare at On request.
Does Fastmail or RowShare run on more platforms?
Fastmail runs on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows. RowShare runs on Web.
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 RowShare is typically brought in for.
What can Fastmail do that RowShare cannot?
Fastmail covers Custom domain hosting, Masked email, Unlimited aliases, Integrated calendar and contacts. RowShare covers Row-level permissions, Column-level permissions, Typed columns, Forms.

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.

RowShare: How is this different from a shared spreadsheet?

Sharing is per row rather than per file. Everyone works in one table, and each person sees only their own rows, which removes the consolidation step rather than speeding it up.

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.

RowShare: Can I get my data out?

Tables export to Excel and CSV, so the data itself moves. The permission structure, forms and reminders that made the process work do not, so an exit means rebuilding the workflow.

Fastmail: Can I use my own domain?

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

RowShare: Is it a database?

No. It is a permissioned table with typed columns, not a relational store you can query, so it collects structured data rather than modelling it.

RowShare: Who is behind it?

A French vendor with named enterprise customers. It is a small company, so weigh continuity carefully before making it the home of a process you expect to run for years.

Share

Related pages

More on Fastmail

More on RowShare

Keep looking

Other head to heads