CTemplar vs Tuta Mail (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Tuta Mail grades higher than CTemplar: 2.8 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Tuta Mail grades higher on value for money and ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Tuta Mail
End-to-end encrypted email and calendar from Germany
Which one is for you
Pick CTemplar if
- Fits if you want an encrypted mailbox and will pay for a custom domain
- Works for people who want to sign up without handing over personal details
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want open sign-up on the free plan, since it's invitation only
- Tight if you stay free: no aliases, no custom domains and no self-destructing mail
- Pricey if you need more than one domain, as Knight is $12 a month and Marshal $20
- Watch out: encryption runs in the browser with JavaScript, which the site says is required
- Watch out: desktop builds are only in testing
Pick Tuta Mail if
- Fits if you want mail, calendar and contacts encrypted by default
- Works for non-profits and schools, who can apply for 50% off
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're staying free, with 1 GB, 3 labels and no inbox rules, offline support or schedule send
- Skip it if you'd only check in now and then, as free accounts are deleted after six months without a login
- Pricey if you want old mail moved in, since EML and MBOX import needs Legend at €8 and a desktop app
- Watch out: prices are in euros, and Tuta says the final amount moves with fees and exchange rates
- Skip it if you want other apps to talk to your mail, as no integrations or API are listed
How we grade them
| 2.2GPACTemplarFair | 2.8GPATuta MailGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPrime is $8 a month, about the middle of what email services charge. Higher tiers run to $50. | B€3 a month paid yearly sits inside the cheapest quarter of paid email, which starts around $4 against a middle of $8. For that you get 20 GB, 15 extra addresses and 3 custom domains. Prices are in euros, and Tuta says the final amount moves with fees and exchange rates. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free plan with 1 GB, 200 sent a day and 10 MB attachments, but it's by invitation and has no aliases or custom domains. | CFree includes the same encryption, but the box is 1 GB, one calendar and 3 labels, with no inbox rules, no offline support and no schedule send. A year of attachments will fill that. And the account is deleted if you don't log in for six months. |
| Features | CEncrypted subject, body and attachments, self-destructing mail and aliases. The free plan lacks aliases and self-destruct, and the free tier leaves out the headline extras. | CThe mail basics are covered, and the encryption reaches the calendar and address book too, with password-protected mail to people outside Tuta. But the listing names its own gaps: importing old EML or MBOX mail is Legend and Unlimited only, and desktop only, and inbox rules and offline are paid extras. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You set up a mailbox and decide what to encrypt, and the Monero payment goes through support. | A4.72 from about 3,700 App Store ratings, which is the top end of this category. Encryption is on from the first login and mail between Tuta users encrypts itself, so there's nothing to switch on. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android apps. No desktop app is released, with Linux, macOS and Windows builds only in testing. | BWeb, Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android, with Tuta running its own push service rather than Google's. Every device, then, but the listing has no integrations and no API at all, so nothing else on your computer talks to it. |
| Best for | encrypted email hosted in Iceland | encrypted email and calendar from €3 a month |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: CTemplar and Tuta Mail. How we grade
Price against what you get
CTemplar starts at $8 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Tuta Mail starts at about $3.35 a month and scores 3.0.
Tuta Mail scores higher and starts $4.65 a month lower. Of the other email apps on the chart, 27 score higher than CTemplar for less, and 2 score higher than Tuta Mail for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Tuta Mail also covers calendar.
At a glance
| CTemplar | Tuta Mail | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $8 per month | €3 per month, paid yearly (lowest paid personal plan) |
| Free plan | Free plan, by invitation: 1 GB storage, 200 sent emails a day, 10 MB attachments, no aliases and no custom domains. | 1 GB of storage, one calendar and 3 labels, with end-to-end encryption. Free accounts are deleted after more than six months without a login. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Templar Software Systems | Tutao GmbH |
| Price read from | ctemplar.com | tuta.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
CTemplar
- The free plan is by invitation, so it is not open sign-up, and it has no aliases and no self-destructing email.
- Encryption runs in the browser with JavaScript, which the site says is required.
- Monero payments are handled through support rather than automatically; Bitcoin and card payments are automatic.
- The vendor lists Linux, macOS and Windows desktop builds as being tested, not released, so only web, App Store and Google Play access is confirmed.
Tuta Mail
- The Free plan stops at 1 GB, one calendar and 3 labels, and leaves out inbox rules, offline support and schedule send.
- Free accounts are deleted if you do not log in for more than six months.
- Prices are set in euros. Tuta notes that the final amount can vary with payment platform fees and exchange rates.
- Importing existing mail from EML or MBOX files is limited to Legend and the Unlimited business plan, and works only in the desktop clients.
Key features
CTemplar
- Encrypted subject, body and attachments
- Messages are encrypted with OpenPGP.js in the browser, and the vendor says it does not hold the password to the private keys.
- Anonymous sign-up and IP stripping
- No phone number or credit card is needed to register, and the vendor says it replaces the sender's IP with its own on outgoing mail.
- Self-destructing and delayed messages
- Self-destruct, dead-man timer, delayed delivery and remote encrypted links are on every paid tier but not the free one.
- Aliases and custom domains
- Paid tiers add aliases and your own domains, with catch-all domains included from Prime.
- Published source code
- The vendor says its code is open on GitHub and that it publishes checksums so users can compare it with what the site serves.
Tuta Mail
- End-to-end encryption by default
- All data in the mailbox is encrypted so that Tuta has no access to it, and mail between Tuta users is encrypted automatically. Tuta describes its encryption as quantum-safe.
- Password-protected emails
- Encrypted mail can be exchanged with people who do not use Tuta by agreeing on a shared password with the recipient.
- Encrypted calendar and contacts
- The calendar and address book are encrypted as well, down to contacts' email addresses and event notifications. Paid plans add calendar sharing and event invites.
- Custom domains and extra addresses
- The €3 plan includes 3 custom domains and 15 extra addresses, Legend 10 domains and 30 addresses. Paid plans also get catch-all and unlimited custom-domain addresses.
- Open-source apps on every platform
- The web, Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS clients are published on GitHub under GPLv3, and Tuta runs its own push notification service instead of Google's.
- Inbox rules, offline mode, schedule send
- Paid plans add unlimited inbox rules, search across the whole mailbox through an encrypted index, offline support, an autoresponder and scheduled sending.
Plans
CTemplar
Free$0
Invitation only. 1 GB storage, 200 emails a day, 10 MB attachments, no aliases, no custom domains.
Prime$8
per month
5 GB storage, 2,000 emails a day, 50 MB attachments, 10 aliases and 1 custom domain.
Knight$12
per month
10 GB storage, 30 aliases and 5 custom domains.
Marshal$20
per month
20 GB storage, 60 aliases and 10 custom domains.
Champion$50
per month
50 GB storage, unlimited sending, 200 aliases, 100 custom domains and beta access.
Tuta Mail
Free€0
1 GB of storage, one calendar and 3 labels. No extra addresses, custom domains, inbox rules, offline support or schedule send.
Revolutionary€3
per month, paid yearly (saves €7.20 a year over monthly)
20 GB of storage, 15 extra addresses, 3 custom domains, unlimited calendars and labels, inbox rules, offline support and email support.
Essential€6
per user / month, paid yearly, excluding taxes
Business plan with 50 GB of storage, 15 extra addresses and 3 custom domains per user.
Legend€8
per month, paid yearly (saves €19.20 a year over monthly)
500 GB of storage, 30 extra addresses, 10 custom domains, EML and MBOX email import and priority email support.
Advanced€8
per user / month, paid yearly, excluding taxes
Business plan with 500 GB of storage, 30 extra addresses and 10 custom domains per user, with priority email support.
Unlimited€12
per user / month, paid yearly, excluding taxes
Business plan with 1000 GB of storage, unlimited custom domains, email templates, custom branding and a login on your own website.
Ways to pay less
CTemplar
No public discounts listed.
Tuta Mail
- Annual discount
Lower price when paid yearly
The pricing page lists a yearly saving over monthly billing of €7.20 on the €3 personal plan and €19.20 on Legend. On the business plans the saving is €14.40 to €28.80 per user.
- Nonprofit
50% discount for non-profits
Registered non-profit organizations can apply for a 50% discount by contacting Tuta's sales team from the organization's email address with proof of their status.
- Education
50% discount for schools
Schools for general education can apply for the same 50% discount by sending a short description, a website link and proof of their status.
- Other savings
Free for open source projects
Open source teams can apply for a free version of Tuta by email from an official GitHub address or an address linked to the project's website.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, CTemplar or Tuta Mail?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Tuta Mail is cheaper to start with: about $3.35 a month, against $8 a month for CTemplar. CTemplar starts at $8 per month, and Tuta Mail starts at €3 per month, paid yearly (lowest paid personal plan).
Which has a free plan, CTemplar or Tuta Mail?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both CTemplar and Tuta Mail have a free plan.
Which platforms do CTemplar and Tuta Mail run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Tuta Mail lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps. Both list a web app and iOS and Android apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.