mailbox vs Proton Mail
We give mailbox and Proton Mail the same GPA: 3.2 out of 4.0. mailbox grades higher on value for money and features. Proton Mail grades higher on the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on platforms.
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
Proton Mail
End-to-end encrypted email service based in Switzerland
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAmailboxVery good | 3.2GPAProton MailVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | ALight is €1 a month, paid as €12 a year, where the middle for email tools here is about $9 a month. Standard is €3 a month paid annually and adds 20 GB of mail, 10 GB of Drive storage, custom domains and online document editing. Hard to argue with. Prices are in euros. | BMail Plus is $3.99 a month on the yearly plan, for 15 GB, 10 addresses and your own domain. Fair for private email, but Gmail and Outlook give you 15 GB for nothing. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, which is the deal with a service that carries no advertising. Any plan can be tried free for 30 days. Our listing doesn't say whether the trial asks for payment details. | BFree for good with no ads, which is rare. But it's tight: one address, up to 1 GB and 150 sent messages a day. The desktop app is for paying customers. |
| Features | AWebmail with IMAP, POP3 and SMTP, PGP and S/MIME handled inside the webmail, aliases, and calendar, contacts and tasks on every plan. Standard and Premium add custom domains, Drive storage and an office suite in the browser. There's even video conferencing with breakout rooms. That's email and then some. | BEncryption you never have to think about, tracker blocking, throwaway aliases, a calendar and snooze. But other mail apps only connect through Bridge, on a paid plan. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record, so a B is our ceiling. The webmail runs in any browser. Beyond that you set up another mail app over IMAP yourself, and on Light, support only covers contract, credit balance and password reset questions. | 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 | BIt runs in the browser, and mailbox has no mail apps of its own. But it speaks IMAP, POP3 and SMTP, so other mail apps can connect, and calendars and contacts sync over CalDAV and CardDAV. File sync on phones uses the separate OX Drive app. | BWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, so every device is covered. But the desktop apps need a paid plan, and the Linux one is still a beta. |
| Best for | cheap, ad-free email hosted in Germany | 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: mailbox and Proton Mail. How we grade
Where they differ
- mailbox starts at €1 per month, annual payment only (€12 a year, Light). Proton Mail starts at $3.99 per month, billed every 12 months ($47.88); $4.99 billed monthly.
- Proton Mail has a free plan. mailbox does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Proton Mail lists macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android apps.
- Proton Mail is open source, according to its own site.
- mailbox also covers tasks, documents, video calls and file sync.
At a glance
| mailbox | Proton Mail | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | €1 per month, annual payment only (€12 a year, Light) | $3.99 per month, billed every 12 months ($47.88); $4.99 billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | 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 | 30-day free trial of any plan | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Heinlein Hosting GmbH | Proton AG |
| Price read from | mailbox.org | proton.me |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 |
Who each one suits
mailbox
- People who want paid, ad-free email hosted in Germany
- PGP or S/MIME users who want encryption inside webmail
- Families: up to 10 mailboxes can share calendars, contacts and Drive storage
- Small businesses wanting mail, files and video calls from one European provider
Proton Mail
- People who want an email provider that cannot read their messages
- Anyone moving off Gmail, Outlook or Yahoo who needs to import old mail
- Users who want email, VPN, passwords and storage from one vendor
Worth knowing
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
