End-to-end encrypted email from Switzerland.
About Proton Mail
Proton Mail is an end-to-end encrypted email service founded in 2014 by scientists who met at CERN. It is operated by Proton AG, based in Geneva, Switzerland, and grew out of a crowdfunding campaign that became one of the most successful in software history at the time.
Messages between Proton Mail users are encrypted on the client before they ever reach Proton's servers, meaning the company itself cannot read them. The service supports custom domains, aliases and password-protected messages to external recipients, and has expanded into a full suite including a calendar, cloud storage and a VPN.
Proton AG is majority-owned by the non-profit Proton Foundation, which the company argues shields it from acquisition pressure and venture-capital incentives. Operating under Swiss jurisdiction places user data outside both EU and US legal frameworks, though Swiss courts can still compel the company to log metadata in criminal cases.
What critics say
-
9/10
The Verge
Tom Warren
“The gold standard for private email, and it keeps getting more polished.”
-
Editors' Choice
PCMag
Max Eddy
“Our top pick for secure email, year after year.”
-
8.8/10
Wired
Lily Hay Newman
“Encryption done right, without making you work for it.”
-
8.6/10
Ars Technica
Ron Amadeo
“A credible, independent alternative to Big Tech mail.”
-
4/5
TechRadar
Mike Williams
“Polished apps and a genuinely usable free tier.”
-
4/5
Tom's Guide
Anthony Spadafora
“Privacy-first without the usual rough edges.”
Instead of Proton Mail, try these
Make it yours
BasedPick ranks every alternative by the values you choose - privacy, European, independent and more. Pick once, and the best match is always first.
No based pick here yet
We add alternatives all the time, but none are listed here yet. Browse the catalog to find value-aligned picks in the meantime.
Browse the catalog