AtomicMail vs Mailfence (2026): which should you pick?

Pick AtomicMail if

• Fits if you want an encrypted mailbox with no phone number
• Works for small teams that want custom-domain mail at $3 or $6 a user

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you pay monthly, as Plus is $7 against $5 on annual billing
• Tight if you stay free: 10 aliases and no custom domain
• Watch out: the business prices don't say whether they assume annual billing
• Watch out: Atomic GPT and Atomic VPN limits on Plus and Business aren't stated
• Watch out: teams of 100 or more are sent to a contact form

Pick Mailfence if

• Fits if you want OpenPGP encryption in the browser without installing a plug-in
• Works for people who already have PGP keys and want to import and manage them themselves

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you stay free, with 1 GB in all, 500 MB of it for email, and knowledge-base support only
• Skip it if you want every email encrypted without thinking, as you choose message by message
• Not for you if you're on Base and want your own domain or IMAP, which start at Entry
• Watch out: subscriptions aren't refunded, and billing is in euros
• Watch out: free accounts idle for 7 months are suspended and then deleted 5 months later

AtomicMail

• Plus is $7 a month when billed monthly; the $5 price is for annual billing ($60 a year).
• Business Starter and Standard prices do not say whether they assume annual billing.
• Teams of 100 or more seats are sent to a contact form for an Enterprise plan.
• Atomic GPT and Atomic VPN are listed as included on Plus and Business plans; their limits are not stated.

Mailfence

• The free plan stops at 1 GB, and free accounts are suspended after 7 months of inactivity and deleted 5 months later.
• Custom domains and POP, IMAP, SMTP and ActiveSync access start at the Entry plan; the Base plan has neither.
• End-to-end encryption is applied message by message: you choose which emails to encrypt.
• Mailfence bills in euros, the dollar figures its pricing table can show are a conversion, and subscriptions are not refunded.

AtomicMail

Encryption

Messages between Atomic users use ECIES encryption; mail to other providers can be encrypted with a password or as a file. The vendor says it cannot read encrypted content.

Aliases and Hide My Email

Free accounts get 10 aliases. Plus and the Business plans add Hide My Email addresses for sign-ups and newsletters.

Private sign-up and recovery

Accounts can be created without a phone number or a secondary email, and recovery uses a seed phrase.

AI writing suite on Plus

Plus includes a writing assistant, grammar checker, summarizer, translator, security helper and read-aloud.

Custom-domain team email

Business plans give each user an address on the company's own domain, with end-to-end encryption and per-user storage.

Mailfence

OpenPGP end-to-end encryption

Messages are encrypted in the browser with OpenPGP, so they work with any other OpenPGP service and need no plug-in or add-on. You choose which emails to encrypt.

Integrated keystore

Generate, import, publish and export OpenPGP keys inside the account, including several key pairs, and take your keys with you if you move to another service.

Password-encrypted messages

A password agreed with the recipient encrypts the message, so people who do not use PGP keys can still read it through a link to Mailfence's servers.

Digital signatures

Emails can be signed digitally so the recipient can check that a message really came from you and was not altered on the way.

Calendar, documents and groups

The suite adds a calendar that can be shared, document storage with online editing and one-click sharing, and groups for sharing contacts and data.

Aliases, domains and mail apps

Paid plans include 10 to 200 aliases. Custom domains with DKIM, SPF and DMARC, and POP, IMAP, SMTP and ActiveSync access, start at the Entry plan.

AtomicMail

• Free$0

  Encrypted mailbox with unlimited storage, 10 aliases and sign-up without a phone number.

• Plus$5

  per month, billed annually ($7 billed monthly)

  15 aliases, Hide My Email, custom signature, AI writing tools and premium support.

• Business Starter$3

  per user / month, billing basis not stated

  Your own domain, 15 GB per user, 5 aliases per user and Hide My Email.

• Business Standard$6

  per user / month, billing basis not stated

  Your own domain, 50 GB per user, 10 aliases per user and 50 Hide My Email addresses.

Mailfence

• Free€0

  1 GB: 500 MB of email and 500 MB of documents, with encryption and the mobile apps. Support through the knowledge base only.

• Base€2.50

  per month, billed yearly

  11 GB: 5 GB of email and 6 GB of documents, 10 aliases and support by email.

• Entry€3.50

  per month, billed yearly

  40 GB: 10 GB of email and 30 GB of documents, 50 aliases, 2 custom domains, POP, IMAP, SMTP and ActiveSync access, and user management.

• Pro€9.50

  per month, billed half-yearly

  78 GB: 30 GB of email and 48 GB of documents, 100 aliases, 7 custom domains and priority support by email and phone.

• Ultra€29

  per month, billed monthly

  225 GB: 60 GB of email and 165 GB of documents, 200 aliases, 10 custom domains and priority support by email and phone.

• Mailfence for BusinessCustom

  A customized version with your own domains and branding, a control panel and API, and single sign-on, hosted by Mailfence or on your own servers.

AtomicMail

• Annual discount

  20% off Plus with annual billing

  The pricing page shows Plus at $5 a month on annual billing against $7 billed monthly, saving $24 a year.

Mailfence

• Other savings

  Discounts for multi-year subscriptions

  The knowledge base lists 15% off for a 3-year subscription, 20% for 5 years and 35% for 10 years, arranged by emailing support after upgrading for a single period.

• Nonprofit

  Discount for non-profit organizations

  Non-profits and organizations that fight for a cause can ask support for a discount. Its size depends on the number of accounts requested and is not published.