The mailbox Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about mailbox in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
mailbox
The Insider’s Guide
Paid, ad-free email with cloud storage and office tools from Germany
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among email apps, read from mailbox’s own pages.
Made by Heinlein Hosting GmbH · checked Oct 6, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from mailbox’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on mailbox’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 6, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.6
GPA, above 28 of the 51 other email apps we grade
mailbox, long known as mailbox.org, is a paid email service run by Heinlein Hosting in Berlin, with no free tier and no advertising. Every plan includes webmail, a calendar and an address book, and the Standard and Premium plans add Drive cloud storage and a browser-based office suite. Servers are in Germany, PGP and S/MIME encryption are built into the webmail client, and prices are set in euros.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about mailbox, taken from its own pages and our grades.
- 1
Best for paid, ad-free email hosted in Germany
mailbox is paid email from Berlin, with no ads and no free tier.
- 2
Paid plans start at about $1.12 a month
As its pricing page puts it: €1 per month, annual payment only (€12 a year, Light).
- 3
You can try it first
30-day free trial of any plan
- 4
It runs on Web
Web.
- 5
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.
- 6
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.
- 7
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.
- 8
A 2.6 GPA, above 28 of 51
That is against the other email apps we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace mailbox you would be making an email client: sending, receiving, threading and searching years of mail. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
mailbox at a glance
- Pricing
- Free trial, from €1 per month, annual payment only (€12 a year, Light)
- Free plan
- No
- Free trial
- 30-day free trial of any plan
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- Heinlein Hosting GmbH, since 2014
- Category
- Email Apps
- Our grade
- 2.6 GPA, good
The report card
Best for paid, ad-free email hosted in Germany
mailbox is paid email from Berlin, with no ads and no free tier. Light is €1 a month paid yearly, and Standard at €3 adds 20 GB of mail, cloud storage, your own domain and an office suite in the browser, with PGP and S/MIME in the webmail. There are no mailbox apps for mail, Light has 2 GB and contract-only support, and business plans add a service package from €25 a month.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A | Light is €1 a month, paid as €12 a year, and Standard with 20 GB, custom domains, Drive storage and the office suite is €3 a month paid annually. Against an $8 middle for this category, that's under almost everything here. Prices are in euros, and Light is 2 GB with support for contract questions only. |
| Free plan and trial | C | No free plan, since the service carries no advertising. Any plan can be tried free for 30 days, and nothing on record says whether the trial asks for payment details. |
| Features | B | Webmail over IMAP, POP3 and SMTP, PGP and S/MIME handled inside the webmail, aliases, and calendar, contacts and tasks on every plan, with Drive storage, a browser office suite and video meetings on the higher ones. The mail job is covered. |
| Ease of use | C | No rating on record. Webmail opens in any browser, but there's no app to install, so using your own mail app means setting up IMAP yourself, and on Light support only answers contract, credit balance and password questions. |
| Platforms and integrations | C | The browser is the only place mailbox has an app of its own. It speaks IMAP, POP3, SMTP, CalDAV and CardDAV, so other mail apps can connect, but the integrations on record are just Mailvelope and OX Drive, which is what phones use for files. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who mailbox is for
- 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
Who it is not for
- 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
Good to know
Good for
- 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
Worth knowing
- 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.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
~$1.12
A month to start
mailbox is a paid product with a free trial, starting at €1 per month, annual payment only (€12 a year, Light).
No free plan, since the service carries no advertising.
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.
Enterprise
Custom
For large companies with advanced requirements, quoted on request.
Trying it first
30-day free trial of any plan
Read from mailbox.org on Oct 6, 2026.
Ways to pay less
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.
Stated on mailbox.org
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Web
Paid, ad-free email with cloud storage and office tools from Germany. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: end-to-end encrypted, tasks, calendar, email client, documents, video calls, file sync.
The browser is the only place mailbox has an app of its own.
- 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.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
- Mailvelope
- OX Drive
mailbox is made by Heinlein Hosting GmbH, and has been around since 2014.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
28/51
Other email apps it is graded above
mailbox's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 28 of the 51 other email apps we grade, and level with 7.
It stands best on value for money (A, above 41 of 51) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at about $1.12 a month, against a middle price of $4.99 for the category: 3 of the 45 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 4 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 52 email apps we grade, cut by the letter each got. mailbox’s own letter is outlined.
- AValue for moneyAbove 41 of 51
- CFree plan and trialAbove 4 of 51
- BFeaturesAbove 30 of 51
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 51
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 4 of 51
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 50 email apps. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. mailbox is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace mailbox you would be making an email client: sending, receiving, threading and searching years of mail. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It costs $13.45 a year.
What you could make
- Calendar, tasks and documents: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- An email client: sending, receiving, threading and searching years of mail.
- Files kept in step across devices without losing one.
- Video calls.
- End-to-end encryption done properly.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. mailbox’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Posteo, Tuta Mail, Proton Mail, Fastmail and StartMail
The 5 tools mailbox is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.0GPA
Posteo
From €1/mo
Ad-free, green-powered email from Berlin for €1 a month.
- Posteo is open source, according to its own site.
- mailbox also covers tasks, documents, video calls and file sync.
- Posteo also covers notes.
- 2.8GPA
Tuta Mail
Free plan · from €3/mo
End-to-end encrypted email and calendar from Germany.
- Tuta Mail has a free plan. mailbox does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Tuta Mail lists Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android apps.
- Tuta Mail is open source, according to its own site.
- 3.0GPA
Proton Mail
Free plan · from $3.99/mo
End-to-end encrypted email service based in Switzerland.
- 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.
- 2.8GPA
Fastmail
Free trial · from $3/mo
Paid, ad-free email with calendar, contacts and custom domains.
- Only Fastmail lists Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android apps.
- mailbox is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- mailbox also covers tasks, documents, video calls and file sync.
- 1.8GPA
StartMail
Free trial · from $4.99/mo
Paid private email from the Netherlands with unlimited aliases.
- Only StartMail lists an Android app.
- mailbox is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- mailbox also covers tasks, calendar, documents, video calls and file sync.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
14
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is mailbox free?
No, mailbox is a paid product, but you can try it first. 30-day free trial of any plan.
How much does mailbox cost?
mailbox lists 5 plans. Light: €1 per month, annual payment only (€12 a year).
What platforms does mailbox work on?
mailbox is available on Web.
Does mailbox offer any discounts?
mailbox publicly lists the following: Save 25% when paying annually.
Does mailbox have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 6, 2026. mailbox is listed for Web.
Does mailbox have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 6, 2026. mailbox is listed for Web.
Is mailbox open source?
mailbox is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 6, 2026.
Is mailbox end-to-end encrypted?
mailbox describes itself as end-to-end encrypted on its own site. Nobody here has audited that.
What does mailbox integrate with?
mailbox's listing names Mailvelope and OX Drive. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Who makes mailbox?
mailbox is made by Heinlein Hosting GmbH. It dates from 2014.
What are the alternatives to mailbox?
The closest alternatives to mailbox in our directory are Posteo, Tuta Mail, Proton Mail, Fastmail and StartMail.
How does mailbox compare with other email apps?
mailbox's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 28 of the 51 other email apps we grade, and level with 7.
Is mailbox good value for money?
ToolGPA grades mailbox A for value for money. Its paid plans start at about $1.12 a month, against a middle price of $4.99 for the category: 3 of the 45 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of mailbox?
To replace mailbox you would be making an email client: sending, receiving, threading and searching years of mail.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from mailbox’s own pages on Oct 6, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from mailbox's own pages on 6 October 2026. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-06-12.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Heinlein Hosting GmbH. Prices change, so check mailbox.org before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
3,189
Tools graded, in 94 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- mailbox, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/mailbox-org
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "mailbox: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 6, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/mailbox-org
Know someone choosing between email apps?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/mailbox-org/guide
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See our other guides
The best-graded email apps after mailbox, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Email Apps Insider's GuideEvery one of the 52 email apps we grade, compared
- Microsoft Outlook Insider's GuideMicrosoft's email and calendar app for desktop, mobile and web3.6 GPA
- BlueMail Insider's GuideCross-platform email client with a unified inbox and built-in AI3.2 GPA
- Thunderbird Insider's GuideFree, open-source email app for Windows, macOS, Linux and Android3.2 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what mailbox’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. mailbox is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Heinlein Hosting GmbH. Prices and plans change: check mailbox.org before you buy.