✉️ Email Open source Privacy ★★★★★
Proton Mail
Swiss zero-access encrypted email
Overview
Proton Mail from Proton AG (Switzerland) is a privacy-first email service where the inbox is decrypted on your device and stored encrypted on servers.
It forms an ecosystem with Proton Pass, Calendar, Drive, and VPN—useful if you want to replace multiple Google services at once.
Industry-standard E2EE, Swiss privacy law, modern apps, and password-protected mail to non-Proton recipients make it the default encrypted Gmail alternative.
Scores
Privacy 5/5
Ease of use 4/5
Features 4/5
Value 3/5
Gmail — comparison
Smart labels and Google-scale search indexing are weaker, but content is not used for ads or AI training. You get an ID independent of your Google account.
Pros
- ✓ Strong E2EE with transparent security audits
- ✓ Protected by Swiss privacy law
- ✓ Modern web/mobile UI and password-protected external mail
Cons & caveats
- − Free tier limits storage and features
- − Full IMAP requires Business plans
- − Search relies on local decryption and can slow on large mailboxes
Best for
- Journalists, activists, and sensitive personal communication
- Users replacing Google across the Proton ecosystem
- People who may need Tor access
Not ideal for
- Thunderbird/IMAP users who want full compatibility for free
- People who need large free attachment storage long term
Specs
- Pricing
- Free + paid — Free: 1 GB, one address, 150 messages/day. Mail Plus from €3.99/month. Business/Enterprise adds IMAP, custom domains, and teams.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Data location
- Switzerland (Proton data centers; Swiss federal jurisdiction).
- Platforms
- Web · Android · iOS · Windows · macOS · Linux
E2EEProton Calendar/Drive/VPN連携Hide-my-emailTor対応
Migration from Gmail
- 1 Use Easy Switch or Proton Bridge (paid) to import from Gmail
- 2 Move your custom domain to Proton, forward from Gmail, then phase out
- 3 Notify important contacts of your new address and set a Gmail auto-reply
- 4 Update bank, social, and government registrations to the new address
Setup steps
- 1 Create an account at proton.me (recovery email recommended)
- 2 Enable 2FA (TOTP or security key)
- 3 Configure custom domain DNS if needed
- 4 Install mobile apps and configure notifications