Hushmail vs StartMail (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Hushmail grades higher than StartMail: 2.2 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 6, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Hushmail 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.
Hushmail
Encrypted email and e-signable forms for healthcare practices
StartMail
Paid private email from the Netherlands with unlimited aliases
Which one is for you
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 StartMail if
- Fits if you want a paid, ad-free mailbox hosted in the Netherlands
- Works for people who want a separate alias for every sign-up
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you won't give payment details for a trial, as it asks for a card or PayPal up front
- Skip it if you want an iPhone app today, because the iOS app is still listed as coming soon
- Too light for anyone who wants a calendar or file storage along with their email
- Tight if you need more than one custom domain on Personal, as unlimited domains need Business at $6.99
- Watch out: there's no desktop app, so outside Android you use the browser or set up IMAP yourself
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAHushmailFair | 1.8GPAStartMailWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CHealthcare Basic is $11.99 an account a month, between the category's middle of $7 and its dearer quarter at $14. Forms sit on dearer plans at $14.99 and $17.99. | CPersonal is $4.99 a month billed annually ($59.88), or $6.99 monthly, for 20 GB, unlimited aliases and one custom domain. That's the ordinary band for this category, and dearer than other private mailboxes: Posteo and mailbox both start at €1 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 14-day free trial on each plan, and no free plan. The listing doesn't say whether a card is needed. | DNo free plan. There's a 7-day free trial, but a credit card or PayPal account is required at sign-up, so you hand over payment details before you've sent a single email. |
| Features | CEncrypted email, secure forms, e-signatures, your own domain and aliases, and done-for-you forms. Gaps: forms aren't in Healthcare Basic and Essentials has only 3. | CUnlimited aliases, with burners that vanish after an hour, one-click PGP, password-protected mail for people without it, hidden external images and full IMAP with a migration tool. But its own feature list covers mail and contacts only, with no calendar and no file storage. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. A web service where you set up your domain, forms and templates. | CNo rating on record. Encrypting is one click and a migration tool brings your old mail and contacts over, but on anything but Android you're in the browser or setting up IMAP in another mail app yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb and an iOS app, with Outlook and Squarespace connections. No desktop app is listed. | CThe browser and an Android app, and that's the lot: no desktop app, and the iPhone app is still listed as coming soon. Full IMAP and SMTP access means Thunderbird, Outlook, Apple Mail or K-9 Mail can fill the gap. |
| Best for | encrypted email for healthcare and law offices | private email with an alias for every sign-up |
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: Hushmail and StartMail. How we grade
Price against what you get
Hushmail starts at $11.99 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. StartMail starts at $4.99 a month and scores 2.0.
Hushmail scores higher, and starts $7 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other email apps on the chart, 25 score higher than Hushmail for less, and 29 score higher than StartMail 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
- Hushmail also covers templates and forms.
- StartMail also covers inbox filtering.
At a glance
| Hushmail | StartMail | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $11.99 per account / month | $4.99 per month, billed annually ($59.88) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial on each plan | 7-day free trial; a credit card or PayPal account is required at sign-up |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Hushmail | StartMail B.V. |
| Price read from | hushmail.com | startmail.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
StartMail
- There is no free plan, and the 7-day trial asks for a credit card or PayPal account at sign-up.
- The only app is for Android; the iOS app is listed as coming soon. Elsewhere it runs in the browser or in other mail apps over IMAP.
- Personal accounts are limited to one custom domain; unlimited domains and shared aliases need the Business plan.
- The feature list covers email and contacts only and does not mention a calendar or file storage.
Key features
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.
StartMail
- Unlimited aliases
- Extra addresses can be created and deleted at any time, on the StartMail domain or your own, and one-click burner aliases disappear on their own after an hour.
- PGP encryption
- One click encrypts a message with PGP or adds a PGP signature, and an IMAP mail client can be set up for end-to-end encryption with OpenPGP.
- Password-protected email
- Encrypted messages can be sent to people who do not use encryption: the recipient reads and answers them with a password you set.
- Tracking and phishing protection
- External images are hidden by default to block tracking pixels, a warning shows the full address before an external link opens, and your IP address is kept out of sent mail.
- Custom domains and group subscriptions
- Personal accounts can use one custom domain and Business accounts any number. Extra accounts for family or team members are 25% off, and Business groups can share aliases.
- IMAP access and migration
- Full IMAP and SMTP access for Thunderbird, Outlook, Apple Mail and similar apps, plus a migration tool that imports email and contacts from other providers.
Plans
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.
StartMail
Personal$4.99
per month, billed annually ($59.88); $6.99 billed monthly
An address on the StartMail domain or one custom domain, unlimited aliases and 20 GB of storage. Annual plans can be paid in Bitcoin.
Business$6.99
per month, billed annually ($83.88); $8.99 billed monthly
An address on your own domain, unlimited domains, 30 GB of storage and shared aliases on a custom domain within a group subscription.
Ways to pay less
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.
StartMail
- Annual discount
Save $24 a year with annual billing
Personal costs $59.88 a year ($4.99 a month) against $6.99 a month when billed monthly, and Business $83.88 a year against $8.99 a month. The pricing page puts the saving at $24.
- Other savings
25% off additional accounts
Any number of extra accounts for family members or colleagues can be added to a subscription as a group, each at 25% off the regular rate.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Hushmail or StartMail?
As of Nov 12, 2026, StartMail is cheaper to start with: $4.99 a month, against $11.99 a month for Hushmail. Hushmail starts at $11.99 per account / month, and StartMail starts at $4.99 per month, billed annually ($59.88).
Which has a free plan, Hushmail or StartMail?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Hushmail nor StartMail has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Hushmail and StartMail run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Hushmail lists an iOS app and only StartMail lists an Android app. 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.