I too would strongly advise you to use Google Workspace (the recent new
name for G Suite, previously known as Google Apps). It's cheap, very
reliable, and has all features you can dream of, including an
autoresponder. It's unrealistic to think that it's possible to beat a
service that costs a mere USD 6 / user / month (and is free for
nonprofits!).
You're advocating
I'm not advocating, I give the OP an advice, which he is (and you are)
free to ignore.
storing confidential business or personal data on the servers of the
world's largest data mining company, and one that is rapidly becoming
quite evil.
That's nonsense. I will give one example: Airbus, the European aerospace
corporation, uses Google Workspace. If there is one single company in the
world that would have every possible reason to not store their
"confidential business data" on the servers of an American company, it's
Airbus. Yet they do it.
