Gmail vs Yahoo Mail

Google and Yahoo are both huge internet companies which compete in a lot of areas, including free webmail service. When Gmail was launched back in 2004, lots of people moved to Google's new, convenient email platform. Yahoo! answered by redesigning their own e-mail system and offering more space and features than they did before.

Both companies offer great free email accounts now, but there still are many differences between the two (Google's labels versus Yahoo! Mail folders, vastly different interfaces and so on). Do you like Gmail or Yahoo! Mail more, or perhaps you need help deciding which one is better? Read the comments from many different people in the discussion below and add yours, or scroll down to read more about the services provided by Google and Yahoo! first.

Is Gmail or Yahoo Mail a better email provider?

Gmail is a free e-mail service provided by Google since April 1, 2004. As of June 2012, it had an impressive 425 million monthly users. Gmail offers 15 GB inbox storage space for free, which is also shared with their Google Drive service. It supports POP3 and IMAP protocols and allows you to use your Gmail account with a desktop email client (such as Windows Mail). You can also create unlimited filters and labels to sort your messages the way you want.

Gmail has a number of innovative features, such as the Conversation View which groups related messages together for more convenient viewing, or the Priority Inbox which puts more important emails at the top. Gmail Labs offer even more experimental features to further tweak the way your email works.

Gmail is currently integrated with all Google services, such as Blogger, Youtube, AdSense, AdWords, Docs,and others - you need an account to be able to use them.

Homepage: http://mail.google.com

Yahoo! has been offering a free webmail service since 1997. It had 281 million registered users as of December 2012, which makes it one of the most popular web mail providers. Y! Mail went through numerous redesigns over the year. The current modern Ajax-based interface allows fast switching between email and Yahoo! Messenger, easy message sorting and quick access to popular applications.

Yahoo Mail is integrated with various Yahoo services, such as Pipes (probably the best RSS tool online), Answers, Groups, Calendar, and others. One of its best features is the ability to create instant, disposable email addresses to avoid spam and easily sort promotional messages.

Yahoo also offers a paid webmail service called Ad Free Mail which currently costs $49.99 a year. It removes all advertisements and your account never goes inactive.

Homepage: http://mail.yahoo.com

I still use both, but I prefer Gmail... And here's why:

1. Unlimited filters: these really help to sort and process incoming emails. Yahoo also offers filters, but only a limited number of them.
2. Better interface: largely a matter of taste, but I prefer the look of Gmail because it's more modern and shows more content compared to Yahoo.
3. Spam filters: I have to admit that Yahoo's spam filters have gotten a lot better lately. However, Gmail still has a lower rate of false positives, and I don't even remember the last time it let a spam message through.