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Started the transition from Gmail to FastMail at custom domain yesterday. Presence of an API was definitely important (though I probably should have tested it o

Started the transition from Gmail to FastMail at custom domain yesterday. Presence of an API was definitely important (though I probably should have tested it out during the free trial). Had some initial buyer's regret for no reason in particular (did the 3-year plan for the best price and assuming prices will go up over time), but already feeling really solid. The web client is very snappy, documentation is good, able to import my Gmail messages, contacts, calendars, and even filters in a snap (though imperfectly). Looking forward to seeing how the API compares with my Google API scripts. Definitely seems to be more knobs and buttons for power users (more powerful filters, regex, etc.). While not relevant to FastMail per se, also really glad to finally start the painful process of migrating decades of accounts to my custom domain email, where I hope it will stay forever. Growing concern about the (admittedly slim) possibility of losing access to my Gmail account was a big motivator, as was the recent move to force the Google Apps stuff to a paid plan. So far so good.

girvo 4y ago
I've been a Fastmail customer for nearly a decade at this point. Its the one single subscription service I will never ever balk at: it's been absolutely fantastic.
- chrisweekly 4y ago
  Same. Bulletproof, "it just works", and it has great perf and overall UX to boot. Couldn't be happier.
- jon_adler 4y ago
  This is my 20th year of continuous subscription. They were my first SaaS purchase! I have never once experienced a disruptive issue, and my mailbox is still spam free after all these years.
justicz 4y ago
I know it's a meme that HN loves Fastmail, but it's a good meme. I've been using them for ~5 years and love it. I use their custom email alias feature all the time. The few times I've had to interact with their support it's been prompt + effective!
jjoonathan 4y ago
Fastmail's fast UI brings me joy every day! Setting up a custom domain lets me act on my anger every time I hear a story about google being shit to their customers: I pop open bitwarden, find something still on gmail, and move it over. I'm about half way through the alphabet. Feels good.
- nr2x 4y ago
  “Alphabet” or “alphabet”? Both? ;-)
- P5fRxh5kUvp2th 4y ago
  I'm a staunch desktop guy and fastmails web UI has caused me to stop using desktop email clients slowly over the years. desktop clients are still better than web UI's, but fastmails web UI is the absolute epitome of 'good enough'.
deleted 4y ago
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jakemauer 4y ago
I migrated from Google Workspaces to Fastmail earlier this year and their migration tools made for a smooth transition. My only big complaint is their woeful spam filtering. I get 1-2 spam emails a day, and I mark each and every one as spam. They're all of the same format; The subject line is something like [Symantec Invoice #431343] with the body being empty and a single .jpg attachment of a fake invoice. The company name and design of the invoice changes but it's always the same pattern. I've contacted support but they shrugged their shoulders and suggested I just keep marking them as spam. It's annoying, but I pre-paid for 3 years so I don't quite feel like jumping back to Google. *Oh I just thought of another gripe that I didn't consider before switching: their calendaring system isn't really that useful for shared calendars unless the other people you want to share with are also Fastmail customers. This seems obvious when you think about it but I take for granted that literally everyone in my life has a Gmail account that I can share calendars with.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- hackmiester 4y ago
  For what it's worth, I get the EXACT same format of spam, and I am also on Fastmail. It's a minor nuisance. One day I will write a sieve filter to try to catch them, because basically nobody sends invoices that look anything like this. But, no two of them really look the same...
  - sethherr 4y ago
    Thank you. I now will not consider switching to Fastmail. Also, I don’t trust Australia on encryption.
    - klibertp 4y ago
      Scrolling from the top to this point in comments, Australia+encryption was mentioned 5 times already, and refuted every time... My take: if you want encrypted email, encrypt it yourself. It's less convenient, but at least you know it a) works; and b) will continue to work no matter the jurisdiction and your relationship with the authorities.
jve 4y ago
> possibility of losing access to my Gmail account was a big motivator As a current user of Gmail and HN reader (where users blocked for seemingly no apparent reason and no realistic path of recovery), this possibility bugs my mind too.
innocenat 4y ago
> (did the 3-year plan for the best price and assuming prices will go up over time), While they do go up, users on legacy plan still pay cheaper. I am still paying $45 for the basically same feature as the current $50 plan.
- n8henrie 4y ago
  Wow, good to know.

girvo 4y ago

I've been a Fastmail customer for nearly a decade at this point. Its the one single subscription service I will never ever balk at: it's been absolutely fantastic.

chrisweekly 4y ago
Same. Bulletproof, "it just works", and it has great perf and overall UX to boot. Couldn't be happier.
jon_adler 4y ago
This is my 20th year of continuous subscription. They were my first SaaS purchase! I have never once experienced a disruptive issue, and my mailbox is still spam free after all these years.

justicz 4y ago

I know it's a meme that HN loves Fastmail, but it's a good meme. I've been using them for ~5 years and love it. I use their custom email alias feature all the time. The few times I've had to interact with their support it's been prompt + effective!

jjoonathan 4y ago

Fastmail's fast UI brings me joy every day! Setting up a custom domain lets me act on my anger every time I hear a story about google being shit to their customers: I pop open bitwarden, find something still on gmail, and move it over. I'm about half way through the alphabet. Feels good.

nr2x 4y ago
“Alphabet” or “alphabet”? Both? ;-)
P5fRxh5kUvp2th 4y ago
I'm a staunch desktop guy and fastmails web UI has caused me to stop using desktop email clients slowly over the years. desktop clients are still better than web UI's, but fastmails web UI is the absolute epitome of 'good enough'.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

jakemauer 4y ago

I migrated from Google Workspaces to Fastmail earlier this year and their migration tools made for a smooth transition. My only big complaint is their woeful spam filtering. I get 1-2 spam emails a day, and I mark each and every one as spam. They're all of the same format; The subject line is something like [Symantec Invoice #431343] with the body being empty and a single .jpg attachment of a fake invoice. The company name and design of the invoice changes but it's always the same pattern. I've contacted support but they shrugged their shoulders and suggested I just keep marking them as spam. It's annoying, but I pre-paid for 3 years so I don't quite feel like jumping back to Google. *Oh I just thought of another gripe that I didn't consider before switching: their calendaring system isn't really that useful for shared calendars unless the other people you want to share with are also Fastmail customers. This seems obvious when you think about it but I take for granted that literally everyone in my life has a Gmail account that I can share calendars with.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
hackmiester 4y ago
For what it's worth, I get the EXACT same format of spam, and I am also on Fastmail. It's a minor nuisance. One day I will write a sieve filter to try to catch them, because basically nobody sends invoices that look anything like this. But, no two of them really look the same...
- sethherr 4y ago
  Thank you. I now will not consider switching to Fastmail. Also, I don’t trust Australia on encryption.
  - klibertp 4y ago
    Scrolling from the top to this point in comments, Australia+encryption was mentioned 5 times already, and refuted every time... My take: if you want encrypted email, encrypt it yourself. It's less convenient, but at least you know it a) works; and b) will continue to work no matter the jurisdiction and your relationship with the authorities.

jve 4y ago

> possibility of losing access to my Gmail account was a big motivator As a current user of Gmail and HN reader (where users blocked for seemingly no apparent reason and no realistic path of recovery), this possibility bugs my mind too.

innocenat 4y ago

> (did the 3-year plan for the best price and assuming prices will go up over time), While they do go up, users on legacy plan still pay cheaper. I am still paying $45 for the basically same feature as the current $50 plan.

n8henrie 4y ago
Wow, good to know.