Yahoo Mail Vs Gmail - Which One is better for you ?

The question of which e-mail service is better, Yahoo mail or Gmail is a rather hotly debated one. In this article the strengths and weaknesses of the individual services will be examined in order to try and determine which one is best for a person’s needs.

Integration of IM and Email

One strong advantage that Gmail has over Yahoo mail is that it allows you to send instant messages to your contacts that are online quickly and easily. While Yahoo has IM as well, it is not nearly as accessible as the one found within Gmail. This is because Yahoo’s IM is separate from its e-mail service. This means that one cannot send quick chat messages in the form of e-mail to contacts and friends on Yahoo, but would instead have to open an entirely new chat bar. This, undoubtedly, would be annoying to most people.

Flexibility with Attachments

Another way in which Gmail shines is in the use of attachments. A person, once done with their e-mail message, is able to quickly and easily put up as many attachments as needed. Yahoo mail requires you to go to a separate screen in order to put up attachments, and you can only put up 5 without being required to add more boxes. Thus, Gmail seems much less of a hassle if one has to send a large amount of attachments.

Folder Organization

One area in which Yahoo mail actually does shine is in the fact that it allows better folder creation and organization. Gmail, while it allows you to label folders, keeps all your folders in approximately the same area, making organization with a large amount of folders difficult. Yahoo mail allows you to label and organize your folders how you like making the mail system better for those who require large amounts of folders that can be easily accessed.

Size of Attachments

One big advantage that Gmail has over Yahoo mail is that Gmail allows for a bigger attachment size. Yahoo mail only allows attachments up to 10 mb on its free version, while Gmail allows up to 20mb on its free version. Thus, if you need to put large attachments on your e-mail, whether due to school or work, Gmail has a clear advantage over Yahoo mail.

Brand Impact

Probably one of the more important aspects of Gmail is the fact that it is considered the more “professional” of the e-mail services. People seem to have the strong belief that Gmail is the more credible of the two e-mail services and, due to first impressions being so important, Gmail is a clear winner in professional credibility.

So who’s the winner ?

Overall it seems that Gmail is a clear winner. It’s easily accessible which is very important for people who have large amounts of experience with e-mail as well as for those who are just stepping into the digital world. Gmail also allows larger attachments then Yahoo mail, which is critical for those like students or business people that need to get large amounts of material to the proper place. Another, and quite possibly the biggest, advantage that Gmail offers is that it is seen as the more professional email service. For those in the business world, such a reputation is very important.