Proton Mail vs Riseup (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Proton Mail: it is third in our ranking of email apps, and it grades higher too, 3.0 against 2.4.
Checked Oct 4, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Proton Mail grades higher on ease of use and platforms. Riseup grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Proton Mail
End-to-end encrypted email service based in Switzerland
Which one is for you
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
Pick Riseup if
- Fits if you do organising work and want an account that doesn't log your IP
- Works for people who already have an invite and want to skip ads and scanning
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to sign up without an invite, as you can't
- Tight if you hold lots of mail, with 1 GB, Trash emptied after 21 days and Spam after 7
- Not for you if you need end-to-end encryption by default, as you must add Mailvelope or OpenPGP
- Watch out: lose your password and your recovery code and the mail can't come back
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAProton MailVery good | 2.4GPARiseupFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | BAccounts are free and the donate page asks $5 to $15 a month from those who can afford it. A donation isn't required. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | BA free account with 1 GB of storage that one person can live on, though you need an invite code to get one. |
| Features | 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. | CWebmail, IMAP and POP, mailing lists, a VPN and Tor services. No custom domains or calendars in the listing, and 1 GB is small. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CNo store rating on record. You need an invite code to sign up and you set up your own mail client. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | CA web service with IMAP and POP, plus Thunderbird, Mailvelope and Tor. No apps of its own. |
| Best for | email your provider can't read | free email for activists and organisers |
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: Proton Mail and Riseup. How we grade
Price against what you get
Proton Mail starts at $3.99 a month and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Riseup has no paid plan and scores 2.0.
Proton Mail scores higher, and starts $3.99 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other email apps on the chart, 1 scores higher than Proton Mail for less, and none scores higher than Riseup 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.
- Proton Mail also covers calendar.
- Riseup also covers vPN.
At a glance
| Proton Mail | Riseup | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $3.99 per month, billed every 12 months ($47.88); $4.99 billed monthly | Free |
| Free plan | 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. | Accounts are free; Riseup asks for voluntary donations and suggests $5 to $15 a month for people who can afford it. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Proton AG | Riseup |
| Price read from | proton.me | riseup.net |
| Checked | Oct 4, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Riseup
- Accounts need an invite code, so you cannot simply sign up.
- Email storage is capped at 1 GB, and Trash and Spam folders are emptied after 21 and 7 days.
- Mail is not end-to-end encrypted unless you add Mailvelope or your own OpenPGP; a stolen password exposes all mail.
- A lost password with no recovery code means the account and its mail cannot be recovered.
Key features
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.
Riseup
- Individually encrypted mail storage
- Stored messages are encrypted and can only be unlocked with the user's password, so Riseup says it cannot read them.
- Hidden user ID and no IP logging
- The sender's account ID is hidden in outgoing mail, IP addresses are not put in headers, and the service says it does not log them.
- Webmail, IMAP and POP
- Read mail at mail.riseup.net or in a client such as Thunderbird over IMAP; POP lets you download and delete messages from the server.
- Tor onion services
- Every service has a Tor onion address, and mail to other activist providers can be delivered over Tor.
- Account tools
- Email aliases, filters, per-service passwords, a quota setting and a one-click data purge in the account system.
- Mailing lists and VPN
- The same group runs mailing lists, a VPN, a pad, file sharing and group wikis.
Plans
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.
Riseup
Riseup account$0
Free email with 1 GB of storage, funded by donations; the donate page suggests $5 to $15 a month for individuals who can.
Ways to pay less
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.
Riseup
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Proton Mail or Riseup?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Riseup is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $3.99 a month for Proton Mail. Proton Mail starts at $3.99 per month, billed every 12 months ($47.88); $4.99 billed monthly, and Riseup is free.
Which has a free plan, Proton Mail or Riseup?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Proton Mail and Riseup have a free plan.
Which platforms do Proton Mail and Riseup run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Proton Mail lists macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android apps. 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.