How to Create an Outlook Email Account (Free)

To create a free Outlook email account, go to outlook.com in a web browser and select Create free account. Choose a username, which becomes your address (such as yourname@outlook.com), create a password, enter your name, country, and birthdate, and complete the verification step. Your inbox opens when you finish.

The new address is also a Microsoft account. That is the single sign-in Microsoft uses for Outlook, OneDrive, Windows, Xbox, and the free web versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. This guide covers personal Outlook.com accounts, not work or school mailboxes that an employer or school sets up for you.

Before you start

• A web browser or the Outlook mobile app. Any current browser on a computer, phone, or tablet works for the website method.
• A username idea, plus a backup. The part before the @ sign has to be unique. Common names are often taken, so have a second choice ready.
• A strong password. Microsoft asks for at least eight characters with a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
• Your real birthdate and country. Microsoft asks for both during sign-up. A child’s account also needs a parent or guardian to sign in to finish the setup.
• No payment details. The account is free. If a page asks for a card, you have wandered onto a Microsoft 365 subscription offer, which is optional.

Important: Microsoft does not let an address be used twice. If an address belonged to a Microsoft account that was closed, even long ago, nobody can sign up with it again. Pick an address you are happy to keep.

Choose an address you can live with

You will type and say this address for years, so keep it simple. A form of your name, such as firstname.lastname, is easy to remember and looks fine on a job application. Avoid long strings of numbers, spellings people will get wrong, and anything tied to a job or hobby you may leave behind. If your first choice is taken, a middle initial usually reads better than a random number.

How to create an Outlook.com email address on the web

This is the method Microsoft documents on its own sign-up guide, and it works the same on Windows, Mac, and Chromebook.

1. Open a browser, go to outlook.com, and select Create free account. Microsoft’s sign-up page opens.
2. Type the username you want. This is the part of the address before the @ sign. If a menu next to the box offers more than one ending, such as outlook.com or hotmail.com, choose the one you want. If the name is taken, Microsoft asks you to choose another one.
3. Select Next, then create a password with at least eight characters, mixing uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
4. Enter the details Microsoft asks for: your name, your country, and your birthdate.
5. Complete the verification step. Microsoft uses it to confirm a real person is signing up, and it may be a short puzzle or a code.
6. If Microsoft offers to create a passkey, you can accept or skip it. A passkey lets you sign in with your face, fingerprint, or device PIN instead of typing a password.
7. Wait for your inbox to open. The account is ready to send and receive mail.

These steps follow Microsoft’s Create an Outlook email account page. The exact wording and order of the sign-up screens can change, so follow the prompts you see if they differ slightly.

How to create the account in the Outlook app on iPhone or Android

You do not need a computer. Microsoft’s Outlook app for iPhone, iPad, and Android can create the account during its first-time setup.

1. Install Microsoft Outlook from the App Store or Google Play, then open it.
2. On the first screen, select Create New Account. The other choice, Add Account, is for an address you already have.
3. Follow the prompts to pick an address, set a password, and enter your details. They ask for the same information as the website.
4. When setup finishes, the app opens your new inbox.

If Outlook is already set up with another account, open the app’s Settings, select Account, and choose Create New Account from there. Microsoft describes both routes in Set up the Outlook app for iOS and in its matching Android article.

How to confirm the account works

• Sign out and back in. Go to outlook.com, select Sign in, and enter the full address and password. If your inbox opens, the sign-in details are correct.
• Send a test message. Send an email from another address to the new one, or send one to yourself, and check that it arrives.
• Write the address down exactly. A missing letter or the wrong ending (outlook.com versus hotmail.com) is a common reason a sign-in fails later.

Protect the account right after you create it

A brand-new account often has only a password. If you forget it, Microsoft needs another way to confirm the account is yours. Its support agents are not allowed to send password reset links or change account details for you, so set up a backup now.

1. Go to account.microsoft.com/security and sign in with the new address.
2. Select Manage how I sign in.
3. Select Add a new way to sign in or verify, then choose a method. Microsoft lists a recovery email address, an authenticator app such as Microsoft Authenticator, and a passkey. A phone number may not be offered on every account.
4. Enter the security code Microsoft sends to confirm the new method.

The recovery email does not have to be your own. Microsoft says it can belong to a partner or family member you trust, as long as you can reach it when you need a code. The details are in Microsoft’s security info and verification codes article.

What the free account includes

Microsoft lists these for a free Outlook account:

• 15 GB of mailbox storage for email, attachments, calendar items, and contacts.
• 5 GB of cloud storage, shared across OneDrive files and photos and Outlook.com attachments. It is separate from the 15 GB mailbox.
• Email and calendar on the web, on the desktop, and on mobile.
• Free web and mobile versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.
• Spam filtering and protection against phishing and malware. You can also block attachments, pictures, and links from unknown senders in Outlook.com.

Free email accounts show ads. A paid Microsoft 365 subscription removes ads from the inbox, raises the mailbox to 100 GB, and adds 1 TB of cloud storage per person along with the desktop Office apps. You do not need a subscription to keep using the free account.

Both limits matter. Microsoft’s storage limits page says that if either the mailbox or the cloud storage fills up, you cannot send or receive email until you free up space. To check your usage in Outlook.com, open Settings, select Account, then select Storage.

Add the new address to Outlook on your computer

You can keep using the account in a browser. To read the mail in the Outlook app on Windows instead, add it there. These steps are for the new Outlook for Windows:

1. On the View tab, select View settings.
2. Select Accounts, then Your accounts.
3. Under Email accounts, select Add Account, type your new address, and select Continue.
4. Enter your password if asked, then select Done.

Classic Outlook and Outlook for Mac use different menus. Microsoft covers each version in Add an email account to Outlook for Windows. If you later remove the account from the app, that only takes it out of Outlook on that device. It does not delete the email account.

If you can’t create the account

• The username is taken. Try adding a middle initial, a full middle name, or a word that describes what the address is for. If a second ending such as hotmail.com is offered, the same name may be free there.
• The address was used before. An address from a closed Microsoft account cannot be reused by anyone. Choose a different one.
• Sign-up will not finish. Microsoft suggests two things: use a different sign-up method, such as an email address instead of a phone number, or try from another device.
• You are setting up a new Windows PC. If the new account cannot be created during PC setup, Microsoft suggests starting with an existing Microsoft account and adding the new one later, or setting up the PC with a local account and switching to a Microsoft account afterward.
• The account is for a child. A parent or guardian has to sign in to complete it. This is expected, not an error.
• You already have a Microsoft account. You may not need a second account at all. Microsoft lets you add a new Outlook.com address to an existing account as an extra username, called an alias, so your contacts, storage, and subscriptions stay in one place.

Microsoft’s own troubleshooting list is in How to create a new Microsoft account.

Frequently asked questions

Is an Outlook email account free?

Yes. Outlook.com is free and does not need a credit card. Microsoft says the free account includes 15 GB of mailbox storage, 5 GB of cloud storage, and the web and mobile versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Paid Microsoft 365 plans are optional and add more storage, an ad-free inbox, and the desktop apps.

Is an Outlook account the same as a Microsoft account?

For a personal address, yes. When you create an Outlook.com address, that address and password become a Microsoft account. You use the same sign-in for OneDrive, Windows, Xbox, and other Microsoft services. A work or school Outlook mailbox is different, because your organization creates and manages it.

Can I reuse an old Outlook address I closed?

No. Microsoft does not let anyone reuse an address from a closed Microsoft account, even one closed a long time ago, so pick a new username. If you add the new address to Outlook next to an existing account, turn on the From field to choose which one sends each message.

Can I still get a hotmail.com address?

Microsoft’s support pages still treat Hotmail.com addresses as Outlook.com accounts, and the sign-up page has offered hotmail.com as an alternative ending. Whether you see it can depend on your region and on the current sign-up page. If only outlook.com appears, that is the ending available to you.

Will Microsoft close the account if I stop using it?

It can. Microsoft’s account activity policy says you must sign in at least once in a two-year period to keep a Microsoft account active, and that it may close inactive accounts. There are exceptions, such as an active Microsoft subscription. If you create an address as a spare, sign in to it now and then.

Can I create more than one Outlook email account?

Yes, each account just needs its own unique address. Some people keep one for personal mail and one for sign-ups or a side project. If all you want is a second address that delivers to the same inbox, an alias on your existing Microsoft account is simpler than a separate account.

Next steps

Set up a few basics so the new inbox is ready to use: add an email signature, learn how to set an out-of-office reply, and create a rule to filter email so incoming messages sort themselves. If you would rather see every reply on its own line, you can also turn off conversation grouping in Outlook.com.