Best Email Archiving Software in 2026
Updated
In short: Google Drive is ranked #1 of 26 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of VM Backup and MessageSolution Enterprise Email Archive. The best-ranked option with a free plan is VM Backup. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Intradyn Email Archiving at $0.25/mo.
If you need to keep email records accessible, compare how these products handle journal capture, retention periods, search and export, and eDiscovery or legal holds. Deployment and free-plan availability may also matter, while paid-from pricing gives you a cost point to weigh. The ranked entries begin with Google Drive, VM Backup, and MailArchiva; Proofpoint Email DLP and Encryption and AnyMeeting also appear near the top. Consider which listed controls fit your requirements for preserving messages and finding them again when needed.
26 email archiving software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
26ranked
3free plans on this page
$0.25/molowest paid tier
4 Oct 2026last checked
Input list Email Archiving Software 25 channels on this page · 128 of 200 spec lines stated by the makers
Ch Tool Free planPaid fromRetention periodLegal holdeDiscovery toolsJournal captureDeploymentSearch and export Spec sheet Score
01 Google Drive Free planNoPaid from22/user/moRetention periodunlimitedLegal holdYeseDiscovery toolsYesJournal captureYesDeploymentcloudSearch and exportPST, MBOX, CSV, XML, ZIP, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, PDF, MP4, PNG, ICS, MP3 8/8spec lines stated 7.6
02 VM Backup Free planNoPaid fromnot statedRetention period10 yearsLegal holdnot statedeDiscovery toolsYesJournal capturenot statedDeploymentcloudSearch and exportSearch: full text, date, sender, recipient, subject; export: EML, PST, MBOX 5/8spec lines stated 7.5
03 MessageSolution Enterprise Email Archive Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedRetention periodnot statedLegal holdYeseDiscovery toolsYesJournal captureYesDeploymentnot statedSearch and exportEML; native format 4/8spec lines stated 7.1
04 MailArchiva Free planYesPaid fromnot statedRetention period10 yearsLegal holdYeseDiscovery toolsYesJournal captureYesDeploymentnot statedSearch and exportPST, MSG, PDF, TIFF, CSV, EML, MBOX 6/8spec lines stated 7.0
05 Proofpoint Email DLP and Encryption Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedRetention periodnot statedLegal holdYeseDiscovery toolsYesJournal captureYesDeploymentcloudSearch and exportSearch across email, social media, and collaboration-platform content; export PST, CSV, JSON, EML, EDRM XML, and Relativity load file 5/8spec lines stated 7.0
06 AnyMeeting Free planNoPaid from3.52/user/moRetention periodunlimitedLegal holdYeseDiscovery toolsYesJournal captureYesDeploymentcloudSearch and exportEML, PST, PDF 8/8spec lines stated 6.9
07 OpenText Retain Unified Archiving Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedRetention periodnot statedLegal holdYeseDiscovery toolsYesJournal capturenot statedDeploymentnot statedSearch and exportSearch archived messages; export to PST, PDF, or standalone archive viewer formats 3/8spec lines stated 6.9
08 ArcTitan Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedRetention periodnot statedLegal holdYeseDiscovery toolsYesJournal captureYesDeploymentcloudSearch and exportZip, PDF, PST, CSV, EML 5/8spec lines stated 6.8
09 MailVault Free planNoPaid fromnot statedRetention periodnot statedLegal holdYeseDiscovery toolsYesJournal captureYesDeploymenthybridSearch and exportPST, ZIP, CSV 6/8spec lines stated 6.8
10 Open Archiver Enterprise Free planYesPaid fromnot statedRetention periodnot statedLegal holdYeseDiscovery toolsYesJournal captureYesDeploymentnot statedSearch and exportFull-text search across email and attachments; EML export 5/8spec lines stated 6.8
11 MailStore Server Free planNoPaid fromnot statedRetention periodunlimitedLegal holdYeseDiscovery toolsYesJournal captureYesDeploymenton-premisesSearch and exportEML, MSG, PST 7/8spec lines stated 6.7
12 Jatheon Cloud Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedRetention periodnot statedLegal holdYeseDiscovery toolsYesJournal captureYesDeploymentcloudSearch and exportSearch supports Boolean, wildcard, proximity, and fuzzy operators; exports include PST, EML, PDF, CSV, and HTML. 5/8spec lines stated 6.6
13 Vaultastic Free planNoPaid fromnot statedRetention periodnot statedLegal holdYeseDiscovery toolsYesJournal captureYesDeploymentcloudSearch and exportPST, EML, PST with folders, CSV search summary 6/8spec lines stated 6.6
14 Intradyn Email Archiving Free planNoPaid fromnot statedRetention periodnot statedLegal holdYeseDiscovery toolsYesJournal captureYesDeploymenthybridSearch and exportPDF, EML, ZIP archive 6/8spec lines stated 6.5
15 Mimecast Data Leak Prevention Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedRetention periodnot statedLegal holdYeseDiscovery toolsYesJournal captureYesDeploymentcloudSearch and exportSearch and export are supported; specific export formats are not documented 5/8spec lines stated 6.5
16 Google Vault Free planNoPaid from22/user/moRetention periodunlimitedLegal holdYeseDiscovery toolsYesJournal captureYesDeploymentcloudSearch and exportPST, MBOX, CSV, XML, ZIP, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, PDF, MP4, PNG, ICS, MP3 8/8spec lines stated 5.9
17 DArcMail Free planYesPaid fromnot statedRetention periodnot statedLegal holdnot statedeDiscovery toolsnot statedJournal capturenot statedDeploymenton-premisesSearch and exportSearches by keyword, date, and sender; exports selected email to MBOX; creates EAXS XML preservation files. 3/8spec lines stated 5.8
18 SYNAQ Archive Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedRetention period10 yearsLegal holdYeseDiscovery toolsYesJournal capturenot statedDeploymentcloudSearch and exportMS Office, RTF, PDF, ZIP 5/8spec lines stated 5.8
19 Zoho eProtect Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedRetention periodnot statedLegal holdYeseDiscovery toolsYesJournal captureYesDeploymentcloudSearch and exportSearch: EML download; export: ZIP, PST 5/8spec lines stated 5.8
20 Cryoserver Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedRetention periodnot statedLegal holdYeseDiscovery toolsYesJournal captureYesDeploymentnot statedSearch and exportZIP, PDF, PST, PDF with attachments 4/8spec lines stated 5.7
21 Global Relay Archive Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedRetention periodnot statedLegal holdYeseDiscovery toolsYesJournal captureYesDeploymentcloudSearch and exportnot stated 4/8spec lines stated 5.7
22 NinjaOne Free planNoPaid fromnot statedRetention periodnot statedLegal holdYeseDiscovery toolsYesJournal captureYesDeploymentcloudSearch and exportnot stated 5/8spec lines stated 5.7
23 Smarsh Email Archiving Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedRetention periodnot statedLegal holdYeseDiscovery toolsYesJournal captureYesDeploymentnot statedSearch and exportPST, EML, HTML, XML, optional EDRM 4/8spec lines stated 5.7
24 SOLIXCloud Enterprise Archiving Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedRetention periodnot statedLegal holdYeseDiscovery toolsYesJournal captureYesDeploymentnot statedSearch and exportnot stated 3/8spec lines stated 5.6
25 MailShelf Pro Free planNoPaid fromnot statedRetention periodnot statedLegal holdnot statedeDiscovery toolsnot statedJournal capturenot statedDeploymenton-premisesSearch and exportFull-text search; export to email server or email client; .eml, .msg, .pst, .ost, .dbx, and .mbox formats 3/8spec lines stated 5.5
Is your tool on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which email archiving software is ranked first on Specifiction?
Google Drive is ranked #1 of 26 with a score of 7.6. VM Backup is second and MessageSolution Enterprise Email Archive third.
How many of these have a free plan?
3 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Intradyn Email Archiving has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.25/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, the fullest spec sheet first: how deeply the product is documented, the platforms it runs on, a free tier or trial to test it, and its standing. Paid placements never change a rank.