Gmail Vs. Comcast

i Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Both Comcast and Gmail provide more than just a way to send and receive email, particularly for businesses. Comcast, a company that was once primarily a cable television provider, now also offers phone and Internet service. Gmail is a product of Google, a company that invites businesses to benefit from a range of productivity tools including email, cloud storage and calendar organizing.

Cost

To get a Comcast email account you must subscribe to and pay for at least one of Comcast's other services: Internet, phone or cable service. Comcast makes each service available independently or bundled with other services. Gmail, however, is free, requiring only access to the Internet from any service provider. Businesses who already subscribe to Comcast services might simply opt to use Comcast email to keep costs consolidated.

Tools

If your business is also a subscriber to Comcast phone service, you can access your Comcast Web mail and voice mails online from your Comcast account. A Comcast email account also comes with 1.75 gigabytes of storage space, as of the publication date. Gmail, though, offers 10 gigabytes for each Gmail account. Beyond that, Gmail integrates with other Google services, including text and video chat, phone calling and cloud storage space.

Specialties

Both Gmail and Comcast offer email service dedicated to businesses. The Comcast Business Class service offers a Microsoft Outlook account (link in Resources,) an email service that is accessible on the Web or through Microsoft's email network platform. If you get a Gmail account through Google's business services, you'll receive more storage space (25 gigabytes, as of publication date) and the option of creating a customized email domain (i.e. [email protected] instead of [email protected]) powered by Gmail. Both companies charge additional fees for their business service.

Accounts

If you get a Comcast Web mail account you'll have a primary email address and six secondary addresses at your disposal, which you could assign to colleagues. A Gmail account, however, gives you only one email address unless you've paid for additional business services. Still, with a Gmail account you also get a free account on Google+, Google's social network. Google advertises a Google+ account as a way to share private information and have video meetings with your coworkers, or as another way to communicate with your clients.