Proton Mail vs Spark Mail

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

Spark Mail

• People juggling several email accounts across desktop and phone
• Individuals who want a free client with a unified inbox and send later
• Small teams that want to comment on emails and draft replies together

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.

Spark Mail

• The vendor lists apps for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android only; there is no web or Linux version.
• Gatekeeper, Priority, Spark +AI and third-party integrations require Plus or higher.
• Shared inboxes, read statuses and the HubSpot integration are limited to Pro and Enterprise.
• The free plan's AI is a limited preview: 5 meeting notes in total and 1 month of email history for the AI Assistant.

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.

Spark Mail

Smart Inbox and unified inbox

Brings every connected account into one inbox and separates priority mail from newsletters and notifications. Included in the free plan.

Gatekeeper and Priority

Gatekeeper lets you accept or block new senders before they land in the inbox, and Priority highlights chosen senders. Both are part of Plus and above.

Spark +AI and AI Assistant

+AI drafts, proofreads, summarizes and translates email. The AI Assistant answers questions about your mail, reaching back 1 month on Free, 1 year on Plus and without limit on Pro.

Snooze, Send Later and reminders

Snooze a message, set it aside, schedule a send or get a follow-up reminder. These scheduling tools are in the free plan.

Team collaboration

Share a thread with teammates, discuss it in private comments and write drafts together in real time. Shared inboxes for addresses such as support@ need Pro.

Calendar and AI meeting notes

A built-in calendar can add Zoom, GoTo or Microsoft Teams call links. AI meeting notes are capped at 5 in total on Free and 40 a month on Plus, and unlimited on Pro.

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.

Spark Mail

• Free$0

  Unlimited accounts, Smart Inbox, unified inbox, snooze, send later, reminders, calendar and 5 lifetime AI meeting notes.

• Plus$8.25

  per user / month, billed annually ($99); $10 billed monthly

  Adds Gatekeeper, Priority, Spark +AI, the AI Assistant with 1 year of history, 40 AI meeting notes a month, integrations and team collaboration.

• Pro$16.58

  per user / month, billed annually ($199); $20 billed monthly

  Everything in Plus, plus shared inboxes, read statuses, unlimited AI meeting notes, HubSpot integration and Spark CLI triage access.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Everything in Pro, plus security and controls, a dedicated success manager and 1:1 productivity coaching.

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.

Spark Mail

• Annual discount

  Save 17% with annual billing

  The pricing page shows Plus at $99 a year instead of $120 and Pro at $199 a year instead of $240 when billed annually, a 17% saving over paying monthly.