Hey.com Email
Focus: Productivity and Inbox Management. Shares Email and Privacy with Proton Mail. Paid but Affordable (Proton Mail: Freemium). Rated 4.1 (Proton Mail: 4.6).
Web AppPaid but AffordableWeb, iOS
4.1Visit
Web App
Proton Mail
An encrypted email service with a free plan and apps on every platform.
Rating
4.6 / 5
Pricing
Freemium
Difficulty
Beginner
Works on
Web, iOS, Android
Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani. Building bestproductivityresources.com
What is Proton Mail?
Proton Mail is an encrypted email service from Proton. The free plan gives you one address, 500 MB of mail storage (which can rise to 1 GB by finishing the getting-started checklist), up to 150 messages a day, attachments up to 25 MB, a few folders and labels and one personal calendar. It works in the browser and through apps for iOS and Android, with desktop apps for macOS, Windows and Linux. Mail Plus adds 15 GB of storage, 10 addresses, a custom domain, unlimited folders and filters and Proton Mail Bridge for other email clients.
Pros: what Proton Mail does well
- Encrypted email with a free plan
- Includes a personal calendar
- Web and mobile apps on the free plan
Cons: where it falls short
- Only 500 MB of storage to start on the free plan
- Free plan limits sending to 150 messages a day
Who Proton Mail is for
People who want a private personal email address at no cost.
Who can skip it
Heavy email users who need lots of free storage.
Proton Mail alternatives
Not sold on Proton Mail? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.
Thunderbird
Focus: email client and open source. Shares calendar and privacy with Proton Mail. A desktop app, not a web app. Free (Proton Mail: Freemium). Adds Offline. Rated 4.5 (Proton Mail: 4.6).
Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.5Visit
Sendra
Focus: figma, html and design. Shares email with Proton Mail. Rated 4.4 (Proton Mail: 4.6).
Web AppFree planWeb
4.4Visit
Superhuman
Focus: inbox zero and speed. Shares email with Proton Mail. Expensive (Proton Mail: Freemium). Rated 4.4 (Proton Mail: 4.6).
Web AppExpensiveWeb, iOS
4.4Visit
FairEmail
Focus: email app, android and pgp. Shares privacy with Proton Mail. An Android app, not a web app. Rated 4.5 (Proton Mail: 4.6).
Android AppFree planAndroid
4.5Visit
Shortwave
Focus: inbox zero, ai assistant and gmail. Shares email with Proton Mail. An AI tool, not a web app. Rated 4.5 (Proton Mail: 4.6).
AI ToolFree planWeb, iOS
4.5Visit
Free alternatives to Proton Mail
Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.
listmonk
Focus: newsletter, self-hosted and open source. Also in Email and Communication, like Proton Mail. Free (Proton Mail: Freemium). Same 4.6 rating.
Web AppFreeCross-Platform, Linux
4.6Visit
Proton Mail Bridge Client
Focus: proton mail, mcp and claude desktop. Shares email and privacy with Proton Mail. An AI tool, not a web app. Free (Proton Mail: Freemium). Rated 4.3 (Proton Mail: 4.6).
AI ToolFreemacOS, Windows
4.3Visit
LibreTranslate
Focus: translation, self-hosted and languages. Shares privacy with Proton Mail. Free (Proton Mail: Freemium). Rated 4.5 (Proton Mail: 4.6).
Web AppFreeWeb, Linux
4.5Visit
PrivateBin
Focus: pastebin, encryption and self-hosted. Shares privacy with Proton Mail. Free (Proton Mail: Freemium). Rated 4.5 (Proton Mail: 4.6).
Web AppFreeWeb
4.5Visit
Atomic Mail Agentic
Focus: agent email, jmap and mcp. Also in Email and Communication, like Proton Mail. An AI tool, not a web app. Free (Proton Mail: Freemium). Rated 4.4 (Proton Mail: 4.6).
AI ToolFreeCross-Platform
4.4Visit
Mailvelope
Focus: pgp, email encryption and webmail. Also in Email and Communication, like Proton Mail. A browser extension, not a web app. Free (Proton Mail: Freemium). Adds Chrome and Firefox. Rated 4.4 (Proton Mail: 4.6).
Browser ExtensionFreeChrome, Firefox
4.4Visit
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