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

Pick Hushmail if

• Fits if you're a clinic or practice that needs a signed BAA and encrypted forms
• Works for a small office that wants email and forms in one place

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you need forms, as Basic has none and Essentials includes 3
• Watch out: the figures are for the Healthcare plans, and Small Business, Law and Personal plans have their own prices
• Watch out: done-for-you form building costs $25 per form
• Watch out: the page offers monthly, yearly and 2-year terms, and the listing's billing term isn't shown

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

Hushmail

• The plans shown are the Healthcare ones; Small Business, Law and Personal plans have their own prices on the same page.
• The page offers monthly, yearly (1 month free) and 2-year (3 months free) terms; the figures read above were the default view.
• Forms are not in Healthcare Basic, and Essentials includes only 3.
• Done-for-you form building costs $25 per form.

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.

Hushmail

Encrypted email

A toggle encrypts a message, and recipients can open it with a Google, Apple or Microsoft account and send secure replies.

Secure forms and e-signatures

Essentials and Growth include encrypted web forms, questionnaires such as the PHQ-9, and single-party e-signatures.

Compliance claims

The vendor says every healthcare plan covers HIPAA with a signed Business Associate Agreement, and lists Canadian and GDPR terms.

Own domain and aliases

Accounts can use a @hushmail.com address or your own domain, with unlimited aliases and use in mail apps like Outlook.

Done-for-you forms

Customer care builds a secure web form on request for $25 per form.

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.

Hushmail

• Healthcare Basic$11.99

  per account / month, billing term not shown

  HIPAA-compliant encrypted email, a signed BAA and email archive. Does not include forms.

• Healthcare Essentials$14.99

  per account / month, billing term not shown

  Adds 3 forms, e-signatures, email templates and scheduling.

• Healthcare Growth$17.99

  per account / month, billing term not shown

  25 forms, custom branding, an additional security package and priority email support.

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.

Hushmail

• Annual discount

  1 month free on yearly billing

  The pricing page tags yearly billing with 1 month free and billing every 2 years with 3 months free.

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.