Kolab Now vs mailbox (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Kolab Now if

• Fits if you want hosted email and calendars for a group, kept in Switzerland
• Works for people who'd rather not run a server for a small team

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want a single-user plan, as only Group Account appeared in the signup data
• Pricey if you count in dollars, since it's billed in Swiss francs and depends on user count
• Skip it if you want apps of its own, as none are listed
• Watch out: the pricing page would not render, so the price comes from the signup page data

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

Kolab Now

• The pricing page did not render readable text; the price comes from the plan data the signup page loads.
• Pricing is in Swiss francs, and the page says it depends on user count; other price steps were not found.
• It is a hosted service only, with no apps of its own listed beyond sync to phones and desktop clients.
• Only the Group Account plan appeared in the signup data, so no cheaper individual plan was found.

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.

Kolab Now

Email with security features

Aliases and identities, full-text search and tagging, spam and virus filtering, and PGP for end-to-end encryption.

Calendar and tasks

Schedule meetings with internal and external users, create recurring series, assign tasks and track their progress.

Standard-protocol sync

Uses IMAP, SMTP, Sieve, CalDAV, CardDAV and ActiveSync, so Thunderbird, Outlook, eM Client and Apple apps can connect.

Sharing within an account

Share mail folders, calendars and task lists with other users in your account, with granular access control.

Documents and video room

Attach files from online storage, edit office documents together and use a personal video conferencing room.

Swiss hosting

Data is hosted in Switzerland on dedicated hardware, and the company says it is not used for machine learning.

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.

Kolab Now

• Group AccountCHF 9.90

  per month; the page says pricing is flexible by user count

  Recommended for 1 to 100 users, with your own domains and an admin area to add users. Billed in Swiss francs.

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.

Kolab Now

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.