CraneMail vs. MXRoute

bikegremlin · 9:03AM

@gabaweb said:
My advice is to try both, as they’re both excellent, and then make your decision based on your experience.

My experience so far has been quite bad (edit "bad" is a broad term, what pains me may be a no problem for others) practically weekly service down with no heads up or acknowledgement at 9:30 AM in my time zone (that is the particularly painful point that is a no-go if it can't be solved) now that the client's been migrated.

Will see how this plays out.

All the details and notes - keeping it up-to-date:

https://io.bikegremlin.com/39308/namecranes-cranemail-notes-review/

Fritz · 9:39AM

Here is what my AI Friend told me:

CraneMail and MXroute are both popular "unlimited mailbox" email providers that charge based on storage rather than per-user fees. While they share a similar business model, they cater to very different types of users.

Quick Comparison at a Glance

Feature	CraneMail	MXroute
Primary Focus	"Complete Business Suite" (Google Workspace alternative)	Pure, "No-frills" email deliverability
Storage Pricing	High storage at low cost (e.g., 100GB for ~$10/year)	Lower storage, higher price (e.g., 50GB–100GB for ~$50–$100/year)
Ecosystem	Calendar, Tasks, Meetings, File Storage, OnlyOffice	Focus on IMAP/SMTP/POP; minimalist groupware
Control Panel	Custom SmarterMail-based interface	Custom DirectAdmin panel
Spam Filter	SpamExperts (Premium 3rd-party)	Custom in-house filtering (very strict)
Mobile Sync	Full ActiveSync / EWS support (iOS push)	Standard IMAP/SMTP (Push support varies)

Key Differences

1. Features & Ecosystem

CraneMail is designed to be an all-in-one productivity suite. It includes features like file sharing, online meetings, and contact/task management. It even bundles eM Client licenses (up to 3 devices) with its plans.
MXroute is laser-focused on one thing: sending and receiving email. While it supports CalDAV and CardDAV for basic syncing, it avoids the "bloat" of a full office suite to maintain a lean, highly stable infrastructure.

2. Pricing & Value

CraneMail offers significantly more storage for your dollar. It is well-known in the "LowEnd" hosting community for offering massive storage (100GB–1TB+) and attractive Lifetime Deals for a one-time payment.
MXroute is more expensive per gigabyte. You are paying for their IP reputation management. MXroute is obsessed with ensuring your emails hit the inbox, not the spam folder, and their pricing reflects the manual work required to keep their servers "clean."

3. Support & Philosophy

MXroute has a "no-nonsense" philosophy. Their support is technical and documentation-heavy. They expect users to know how to manage DNS and follow strict rules against any form of marketing or "cold" outreach.
CraneMail is generally more approachable for standard business users, with a modern UI and traditional ticket-based support that handles a broader range of "suite" related issues.

4. Deliverability vs. Flexibility

MXroute is often cited as the gold standard for deliverability among budget providers because they are ruthless about banning spammers.
CraneMail uses SpamExperts for filtering, which is a highly regarded enterprise tool, but the service is younger and currently focuses on providing a high-capacity "cloud" feel.

Which one should you choose?

Choose CraneMail if: You want a cheap, high-capacity alternative to Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, you need to share files and calendars with a team, or you want a "Lifetime" email solution.
Choose MXroute if: Your absolute priority is email deliverability (hitting the inbox), you are technically comfortable managing your own mail setup, and you don't care about "bells and whistles" like meetings or cloud storage.

Would you like me to help you compare the specific current pricing plans for your storage needs?