Compare
InfraOptimal vs Google and Microsoft mailboxes
Both send cold email. One charges an office licence per mailbox and puts you on a shared IP, the other charges for sending and gives you an IP nobody else touches. Here is the honest comparison, including where Google and Microsoft still win.
$1.00
InfraOptimal, per mailbox a month at volume
$4.00
Google or Microsoft, per mailbox a month
$300
Saved a month on 100 mailboxes
Yours
Who owns the sending reputation
| Line by line | InfraOptimal | Google & Microsoft | Azure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sending IP | Dedicated to your workspace | Shared provider pool | Shared pool |
| Price per mailbox / month | $2.00 down to $1.00 | $4.00 flat | $0.50 at 50 per domain |
| 10 mailboxes | From $15 | $40 plus domains | $25 per domain |
| 100 mailboxes | From $100 | $400 plus domains | $50 |
| 500 mailboxes | From $500 | $2,000 plus domains | $250 |
| Per-seat licence | None | Yes, one per mailbox | None |
| Minimum commitment | 10 mailbox slots | None | 1 domain |
| DNS, SPF, DKIM, DMARC | Written and monitored for you | Written for you | Written for you |
| SSL and domain masking | Included | Included | Included |
| Mailboxes per domain | 5 hard cap, 3 recommended | 3 recommended | 50 |
| Domains | Buy in-app from $8 / yr, or bring your own | $14 / yr, or bring your own | Bring your own |
| Warmup | Unlimited, from day one | Unlimited, from day one | Unlimited, from day one |
| Time to first send | Minutes | Hours to days | Hours |
| Reputation you control | Yours alone | Shared with other senders | Shared with other senders |
| Works outside MailOptimal | Yes, SMTP and IMAP | Yes | Yes |
| Recipient recognises the sender | Your own domain | Your own domain | Your own domain |
| Best for | Owning your sending reputation at any volume | Small estates and named-account mail | Lowest cost per mailbox at very high volume |
The short version
Which one should you buy?
Pick InfraOptimal
- You run 10 mailboxes or more
- You want the reputation to be yours
- Cost per mailbox matters at your volume
- You would rather not touch DNS
Pick Google or Microsoft
- You are running fewer than 10 mailboxes
- You also need calendar, drive and docs
- You mail named accounts, not volume lists
- The $4 per mailbox is not the constraint
Pick Azure
- You need hundreds of mailboxes cheaply
- Cost per mailbox beats every other factor
- You accept a pooled sending IP
- You are comfortable at 50 boxes per domain
FAQ
The questions people actually ask
Are Google and Microsoft mailboxes bad for cold email?
They are fine, and for small estates they are often the right pick, because recipients recognise the sending provider. The trouble is cost and control. You pay an office productivity licence per mailbox and you send from a pool shared with every other customer on that infrastructure.
What exactly do I get with a dedicated IP?
The sending reputation attached to your mail is built entirely by your own sending. Nobody else can burn it, and when you warm it properly the placement you earn stays yours. On a shared pool your placement moves with the behaviour of strangers.
Is a dedicated IP risky at low volume?
It needs warmup, which is why every InfraOptimal mailbox starts warming the day it is created. Below roughly ten mailboxes there is not much volume to warm with, which is the reason for the 10 slot minimum.
Can I run both?
Plenty of teams do. Keep a few Google or Microsoft mailboxes for named accounts and relationship mail, and run the volume through InfraOptimal. Both sit in the same MailOptimal workspace with one inbox and one rotation pool.
What about Azure?
Azure is the cheapest per mailbox at high volume, about $25 per domain a month for 50 mailboxes, but it sends from pooled IPs and gives you far less control of reputation. It suits teams optimising purely for cost per mailbox.
How do I move mailboxes I already have?
You do not have to move anything. Connect the mailboxes you own, add InfraOptimal slots alongside them, and shift volume over as the new IPs warm. Rotation spreads sends across whatever is connected.
10 mailbox minimum
Send from an IP nobody else touches
Dedicated IPs, DNS handled, warmup running, from $1.00 per mailbox a month.