Mail.com vs Proton Mail (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Proton Mail: it is third in our ranking of email apps, and they share a 3.0 GPA.
Checked Oct 4, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Mail.com grades higher on value for money and the free plan. Proton Mail grades higher on ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Mail.com
Free webmail with 100+ domain names and optional ad-free Premium
Proton Mail
End-to-end encrypted email service based in Switzerland
Which one is for you
Pick Mail.com if
- Fits if you want a free address on a more interesting domain
- Works for people who read mail in a browser or the phone app
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to read mail in another app, as POP3/IMAP is Premium only
- Tight if you hate ads, because the free inbox shows them
- Watch out: Premium and cloud upgrades are in-app purchases on phones
- Not for you if you want a desktop app, as none is listed
Pick Proton Mail if
- Fits if you want email that the company running it can't read
- Works for leaving Gmail, Outlook or Yahoo, as Easy Switch imports old mail on the free plan
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay on Free: 1 address, up to 1 GB (500 MB until setup is done) and 150 sent messages a day
- Not for you if you want Apple Mail, Outlook or the desktop apps without paying, as Bridge and the apps are paid
- Pricey if you subscribe inside the iPhone app, where Mail Plus is $5.99 a month against $4.99 on Proton's site
- Skip it if you forget passwords and won't write down a recovery phrase, as old mail can stay locked
- Watch out: some banks and shops refuse Proton addresses, the Linux app is beta, and there were outages in mid-2026
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAMail.comVery good | 3.0GPAProton MailVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree with 65 GB of email storage, and Premium is $29.99 a year, below the category's $3 a month cheaper-quarter mark. | BMail Plus is $3.99 a month on the yearly plan, inside the lowest-priced quarter of a category whose middle is $8, for 15 GB, 10 addresses and your own domain. Gmail and Outlook do give you 15 GB for nothing, mind, and in the iPhone app it's $5.99. |
| Free plan and trial | BA free account with 2 GB of cloud storage and the phone apps, which one person could live on. It shows ads. | CFree for good with no ads. The caps are ones you'll meet, though: one address, up to 1 GB of mail and 150 sent messages a day, and the desktop apps are for paying customers after a 14-day trial. |
| Features | CMail, calendar, contacts, an online office and cloud storage. The gap is in the listing: POP3/IMAP access is Premium only. | CThe basics, with encryption that runs without any setup: tracker blocking, throwaway aliases, a calendar, snooze, send later and Easy Switch to import your old mail. The gap Proton names itself: there's no IMAP or SMTP at all without Bridge, and Bridge needs a paid plan. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record, but you sign up and open the inbox with nothing to set up. | A4.8 from about 48,500 App Store ratings, a touch above Gmail's own app. It works like any inbox, and Easy Switch brings your old mail over for you. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb plus iPhone and Android apps. No desktop app is listed. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, plus Outlook, Thunderbird and Apple Mail through Bridge and the rest of Proton's suite. The desktop apps do need a paid plan, and the Linux one is still beta. |
| Best for | free webmail with a choice of 100-plus domains | email your provider can't read |
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: Mail.com and Proton Mail. How we grade
Price against what you get
Mail.com starts at $3.33 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Proton Mail starts at $3.99 a month and scores 3.3.
Proton Mail scores higher, and starts $0.66 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other email apps on the chart, 4 score higher than Mail.com for less, and 1 scores higher than Proton 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
- Proton Mail is open source and end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Mail.com also covers documents and file sharing.
At a glance
| Mail.com | Proton Mail | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9.99 per 3 months (Premium) | $3.99 per month, billed every 12 months ($47.88); $4.99 billed monthly |
| Free plan | Free account with ads, 65 GB of email storage, 2 GB of cloud storage, web access and the iOS and Android apps. | Proton Free: 1 email address, up to 1 GB of mail storage (500 MB until the setup steps are completed), a limit of 150 sent messages a day and 3 personal calendars. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | 1&1 Mail & Media Inc. | Proton AG |
| Price read from | mail.com | proton.me |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Mail.com
- The free inbox shows ads; removing them needs Premium.
- POP3/IMAP access is listed as a Premium feature, so third-party mail apps need a paid account.
- Premium upgrades and Cloud upgrades are offered as in-app purchases in the mobile apps.
- No desktop apps are listed; use is through the browser or the iOS and Android apps.
Proton Mail
- The free plan is limited to 1 address, up to 1 GB of mail storage and 150 sent messages a day.
- Custom domains and IMAP/SMTP access through Bridge need a paid plan.
- The desktop apps need a paid plan; free accounts get a 14-day trial of them, and the Linux app is labeled beta.
- Buying in the iOS app costs more: the US App Store lists Mail Plus at $5.99 monthly, against $4.99 on Proton's site.
Key features
Mail.com
- More than 100 domain names
- Free accounts can choose an address on mail.com or one of over 100 other domains, including usa.com, europe.com, consultant.com and techie.com.
- Mail Collector
- Messages sent to addresses at other providers can be pulled into a mail.com inbox and the mobile app, set up from the web version.
- Mobile apps
- Free Android and iOS apps support push notifications, a PIN lock and several accounts; the iOS app can also scan documents into email or the Cloud.
- Calendar, contacts and online office
- The webmail includes a calendar with invitations and reminders, and a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation tool.
- Cloud storage
- Every account gets 2 GB of cloud storage with file sharing by link; paid upgrades of 25, 150 or 250 GB are sold as in-app purchases.
Proton Mail
- End-to-end and zero-access encryption
- Messages are encrypted so that only you can read them. Proton states that not even it can read your email.
- Tracker blocking and aliases
- Blocks the email trackers that report what you open and click. Hide-my-email aliases keep your real address off sign-up forms: 10 on Free and Mail Plus, unlimited on Proton Unlimited.
- Custom domains and extra addresses
- Mail Plus supports 1 custom email domain and up to 10 addresses. Proton Unlimited raises that to 3 domains and 15 addresses.
- Easy Switch import
- Imports existing mail from Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo or Apple accounts. The import assistant is included on the free plan.
- Proton Mail Bridge
- Paid accounts can use the Bridge app to read and send encrypted mail in Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird or Apple Mail over IMAP and SMTP.
- Calendar and scheduling tools
- Proton Calendar is included, with 3 personal calendars on Free and up to 25 on Mail Plus. Mail also supports scheduled sending, undo send and snooze.
Plans
Mail.com
Free$0
Ad-supported webmail with 65 GB of email storage, 2 GB of cloud storage and the mobile apps.
Premium 3 months$9.99
per 3 months, taxes extra
Ad-free inbox, 12 GB cloud storage, 100 MB attachments, POP3/IMAP access and forwarding.
Premium 12 months$29.99
per 12 months, taxes extra
Same Premium features as the 3-month plan, billed once a year.
Premium + 110 GB Cloud$47.87
per 12 months, taxes extra
Premium with 110 GB of cloud storage; the page says it saves $30 a year over buying the parts separately.
Proton Mail
Proton Free$0
1 address, up to 1 GB of mail storage, 150 sent messages a day, the Easy Switch import tool and 3 calendars.
Mail Plus$3.99
per month, billed every 12 months ($47.88); $4.99 billed monthly
1 user with 10 addresses, 15 GB of storage, 1 custom domain, unlimited folders, labels and filters, and Bridge for IMAP/SMTP clients.
Proton Unlimited$9.99
per month, billed every 12 months ($119.88)
500 GB of storage, 15 addresses and 3 custom domains, bundled with Proton's VPN, password manager and cloud storage.
Ways to pay less
Mail.com
- Annual discount
12-month Premium costs less than four 3-month terms
Premium is $29.99 for 12 months against $9.99 for 3 months, which would be $39.96 over a year.
Proton Mail
- Annual discount
20% off Mail Plus on the 12-month plan
Proton's pricing page lists Mail Plus at $3.99 a month when billed every 12 months ($47.88), against $4.99 billed monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Mail.com or Proton Mail?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Mail.com is cheaper to start with: $3.33 a month, against $3.99 a month for Proton Mail. Mail.com starts at $9.99 per 3 months (Premium), and Proton Mail starts at $3.99 per month, billed every 12 months ($47.88); $4.99 billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Mail.com or Proton Mail?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Mail.com and Proton Mail have a free plan.
Which platforms do Mail.com and Proton Mail run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Proton 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.