GMX Mail vs mailbox (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, GMX Mail grades higher than mailbox: 3.2 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 6, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
GMX Mail grades higher on the free plan and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
mailbox
Paid, ad-free email with cloud storage and office tools from Germany
Which one is for you
Pick GMX Mail if
- Fits if you want a free second mailbox with lots of storage
- Works for people who want aliases and PGP encryption without paying
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: signup asks for your gender, date of birth and a recovery phone or email, and ends with a captcha
- Skip it if you want a custom domain, as the pages read don't mention one
- Not for you if you want a desktop email app, as only Android, iOS and iPadOS apps are listed
- Watch out: the pages read list no paid plan or support tier
Pick mailbox if
- Fits if you want paid, ad-free email with servers in Germany
- Works for families, as up to 10 mailboxes can share calendars, contacts and Drive storage
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free mailbox, because all you get free is a 30-day trial
- Tight if you pick Light, with 2 GB of mail storage, no Drive storage and support for contract questions only
- Not for you if you want the provider's own phone app, as mail runs in the browser or in other mail apps
- Watch out: Light must be paid a year in advance, and prices are in euros
- Pricey if you're a business, as the calculator adds a service package from €25 a month on top of each user
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAGMX MailVery good | 2.6GPAmailboxGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree, with 65GB of storage, 50MB attachments and up to 10 aliases. The pages read list no paid plan. | ALight is €1 a month, paid as €12 a year, and Standard with 20 GB, custom domains, Drive storage and the office suite is €3 a month paid annually. Against an $8 middle for this category, that's under almost everything here. Prices are in euros, and Light is 2 GB with support for contract questions only. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright, with no paid plan on the pages read. | CNo free plan, since the service carries no advertising. Any plan can be tried free for 30 days, and nothing on record says whether the trial asks for payment details. |
| Features | BMailbox and attachments, aliases, a Mail Collector, filters, spam protection, PGP encryption, an organiser, contacts and office tools. The pages show no gap in the core email work. | BWebmail over IMAP, POP3 and SMTP, PGP and S/MIME handled inside the webmail, aliases, and calendar, contacts and tasks on every plan, with Drive storage, a browser office suite and video meetings on the higher ones. The mail job is covered. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You sign up with personal details, then set up filters and the Mail Collector yourself. | CNo rating on record. Webmail opens in any browser, but there's no app to install, so using your own mail app means setting up IMAP yourself, and on Light support only answers contract, credit balance and password questions. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iOS, Android and browser extensions. No desktop email app is mentioned and no API is listed. | CThe browser is the only place mailbox has an app of its own. It speaks IMAP, POP3, SMTP, CalDAV and CardDAV, so other mail apps can connect, but the integrations on record are just Mailvelope and OX Drive, which is what phones use for files. |
| Best for | a free mailbox with 65GB | paid, ad-free email hosted in Germany |
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: GMX Mail and mailbox. How we grade
Price against what you get
GMX Mail has no paid plan and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. mailbox starts at about $1.12 a month and scores 2.3.
GMX Mail scores higher and starts $1.12 a month lower. Of the other email apps on the chart, none scores higher than GMX Mail for less, and 5 score higher than mailbox 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
- mailbox is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- GMX Mail also covers inbox filtering.
- mailbox also covers tasks, documents, video calls and file sync.
At a glance
| GMX Mail | mailbox | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free trial |
| Starts at | Free | €1 per month, annual payment only (€12 a year, Light) |
| Free plan | Free email account with 65GB of mailbox storage, 50MB attachments and up to 10 alias addresses. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day free trial of any plan |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | 1&1 Mail & Media GmbH | Heinlein Hosting GmbH |
| Price read from | gmx.com | mailbox.org |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Worth knowing
GMX Mail
- Signup asks for gender, date of birth and a recovery phone or email, and ends with a captcha.
- The pages read list no paid plan, so features such as a custom domain are not mentioned.
- Apps are listed for Android, iOS and iPadOS only; no desktop email app is mentioned.
mailbox
- There is no free plan; any plan can be tried free for 30 days.
- The €1 Light plan is paid a year in advance and has 2 GB of mail storage, no Drive storage and support limited to contract questions.
- There are no mailbox apps of its own for mail: it runs in the browser or in other mail apps, and file sync on phones uses the separate OX Drive app.
- Prices are in euros. Private prices include VAT, business prices are net, and the business calculator adds a service package from €25 a month.
Key features
GMX Mail
- Mailbox and attachments
- 65GB of mailbox space, which the site equates to about 500,000 emails, and attachments of up to 50MB.
- Alias addresses
- Create up to 10 alias addresses and manage them from one central mailbox.
- Mail Collector
- Pull mail from accounts at other providers into one GMX inbox.
- Filters and spam protection
- Folders and filter rules, with templates provided, a spam filter and virus scanning.
- PGP encryption
- Emails can be encrypted with PGP so only the people holding the decryption key can read them.
- Organizer, contacts and office
- A calendar with reminders, an address book and an online office for Word, Excel and PowerPoint files.
mailbox
- Webmail with IMAP, POP3 and SMTP
- Mail is read in the browser or in any mail app over IMAP, POP3 and SMTP. Standard and Premium add a tabbed inbox, email statistics and collection from external POP3 accounts.
- PGP and S/MIME encryption
- The Guard feature handles PGP and S/MIME inside webmail, and incoming mail can be kept in a PGP-encrypted inbox. Mailvelope and mailbox's own PGP key server are supported on every plan.
- Aliases and custom domains
- Light includes 3 @mailbox.org aliases, Standard and Premium 25. The two higher plans add custom domains with 50 or 250 aliases and 25 or 50 disposable addresses.
- Drive cloud storage
- 10 GB on Standard and 100 GB on Premium, expandable for a fee, with password-protected download links that expire, WebDAV access and optional encryption with your own PGP key.
- Office, calendar and contacts
- Text documents, spreadsheets and presentations are edited in the browser on Standard and Premium. Calendar, contacts and tasks are on every plan and sync over CalDAV and CardDAV.
- Meet video conferencing
- Browser-based video meetings with breakout rooms, screen sharing, chat and surveys. Guests join from an invitation link without an account or an install.
Plans
GMX Mail
Free$0
65GB of email storage, 50MB attachments, up to 10 aliases, spam filter and virus protection.
mailbox
Light€1
per month, annual payment only (€12 a year)
2 GB of mail storage, 3 @mailbox.org aliases, calendar and address book. Support covers contract, credit balance and password reset questions only.
Standard€3
per month, paid annually (€36); €4 paid monthly
20 GB of mail and 10 GB of Drive storage, 25 aliases, custom domains with 50 aliases, online document editing and family accounts.
Premium€9
per month, paid annually (€108); €12 paid monthly
50 GB of mail and 100 GB of Drive storage, custom domains with 250 aliases, replies within 24 hours on business days and a phone callback service.
Business€1 to €12
per user / month, net, plus a service package
Business Light, Standard and Premium accounts at €1, €4 and €12 a user, with a service package: Silver €25, Gold €75 or Platinum €250 a month.
EnterpriseCustom
For large companies with advanced requirements, quoted on request.
Ways to pay less
GMX Mail
No public discounts listed.
mailbox
- Annual discount
Save 25% when paying annually
Standard costs €3 a month when paid annually (€36) against €4 paid monthly, and Premium €9 a month (€108) against €12. The prices page labels both as a 25% saving.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, GMX Mail or mailbox?
As of Nov 12, 2026, GMX Mail is cheaper to start with: it is free, against about $1.12 a month for mailbox. GMX Mail is free, and mailbox starts at €1 per month, annual payment only (€12 a year, Light).
Which has a free plan, GMX Mail or mailbox?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only GMX Mail has a free plan. mailbox does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do GMX Mail and mailbox run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only GMX Mail lists iOS and Android apps and a browser extension. Both list a web app. 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.