So instead of having to do myproject@gmail.com
Be able to do hello@myproject.com
Google workspace is at least $6/mo which feels like too much if I have a few side projects.
One popular free solution for having a custom email domain for side projects is to use "Zoho Mail." Zoho Mail offers free email hosting for up to five users with a custom domain
If you don't want additional mailbox. Try Cloudflare email routing. Basically you'll route all emails incoming at hello@example.com to your gmail id. Then you can continue the conversation with just clicking reply all. Though not good in perspective of branding but best option for getting started.