Using free email services like Gmail means you might be compromising your security and privacy. Instead, we recommend choosing encrypted and secure email services, especially if you send or receive sensitive information online.
From our extensive tests of 30+ email services, here are the 20 best private email providers in 2024:
- Proton Mail: The best private email service for ordinary users and top-level executives
- Mailfence: Excellent private email service with strong encryption and aliases
- StartMail: Secure email service with unlimited aliases
- Tutanota: Green private email service with a generous free plan
- Librem Mail: Useful private email if you want a security suite
- Thexyz: Secure email service with a robust spam filter
- CounterMail: Private email to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks
- Soverin: An easy-to-use and secure mailbox
- Zoho Mail: Secure email provider for businesses
- RMail: AI-based private email for thwarting cyberattacks
- Hushmail: The most secure email service for healthcare and law professionals
- Kolab Now: Useful private email for teams and families
- Posteo: Green private email service at an affordable price
- Mailbox.org: Browser-based email service with extra productivity tools
- ServerMX: Reliable encrypted mail hosting with multiple custom domains
- Private-Mail: Excellent mail and file synchronization options
- Runbox: Sustainable email service from Norway
- Skiff: Excellent secure Gmail alternative
- Disroot: Private email provider for different languages
- Neo: Good cloud storage for entrepreneurs and growing businesses
In addition to using any of the private email services listed above, you should always use a VPN when dealing with sensitive information. A VPN encrypts your activity and keeps your identity and personal data away from prying eyes.
We recommend NordVPN because it offers strong encryption, a strict no-logs policy, a vast number of servers and fast speeds. You can try it out using its 30-day money-back guarantee.
NordVPN
We’ve fleshed out the benefits of each of the providers in the full article. Continue reading to discover more.
If you’ve been using Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and Outlook, it’s likely your emails are not as confidential as you think. These free email services often scan your emails and gather data to send to advertisers. Even worse, they give permission to other third-party apps to also look through your emails. This practice can leave your information at the mercy of cybercriminals.
Fortunately, there are secure email service providers that encrypt your emails to ensure no one can intercept and read them. Our cybersecurity experts have been testing and keeping an eye on more than 30 secure email providers for years. We’ve compiled the 20 best private email providers to protect your online communications.
The 20 Most Secure Email Providers in 2024
We considered several factors, such as encryption standards, ease of use, price, and location, to determine the most secure and private email services. Here’s our list of the top 20.
1. Proton Mail: The best private email service for ordinary users and top-level executives
What We Like
- No one can see or read your emails, thanks to its end-to-end encryption
- You can send password-protected emails to non-Proton Mail users
- Free option available if you're short on money or want to test it out first
- Apps are clean and easy to navigate, making it a great option for beginners
- Ideal for mobile users since it has mobile apps
- Based in Switzerland, which has excellent data protection laws
What We Don't Like
- Expensive when compared to competitors
- Aliases are available only with paid plans
Pricing:
- Proton Mail Plus: $4.99 for the monthly plan, $3.99/month for 12 months, and $3.49/month for 24 months. (15GB of storage, 10 email addresses, and one custom email domain)
- Proton Unlimited: $12.99 for a month, $9.99/month for 12 months, and $7.99/month for 24 months. (500GB of file storage, 15 email addresses, and three custom email domains).
Proton Mail is currently the world’s largest secure email service provider, and it’s easy to see why. Its robust end-to-end encryption and password protection features mean that only you and the recipient of your mail can view its content. Proton Mail’s apps are clutter-free and well-organized, ideal for beginners.
Our cybersecurity experts have used Proton Mail for several years, and we’ve always been able to easily send encrypted messages without looking over our shoulders. We’ve also never experienced any email breaches with Proton Mail.
We recommend Proton Mail to journalists, business executives who handle sensitive data, and activists who want to stay out of the reach of governments. If you’re a high-profile public figure, you can take advantage of Proton Mail’s Proton Sentinel program (on Proton Unlimited), which provides advanced monitoring of accounts and faster technical support.
2. Mailfence: Secure email provider with strong encryption and aliases
What We Like
- Email protection with the hard-to-decipher OpenPGP encryption
- Digital signatures feature to reduce the chances of scams
- Option to set up multiple aliases to organize your inbox and prevent spam
- Compliant with GDPR
What We Don't Like
- No mobile or desktop apps
Pricing:
- Entry: $3.80/month (6GB emails, 20 Aliases, and 30GB worth of documents)
- Pro: $10.30/month (30GB emails, 70 Aliases, and 48GB documents)
- Ultra: $31.30/month (60GB emails, 150 Aliases, and 165GB documents)
Mailfence allows you to generate OpenGPG security keys for each email you send. This is a more complex and difficult-to-hack password for each email. Plus, you can easily find your way around Mailfence’s web app. However, the email service doesn’t have mobile or desktop apps. Nevertheless, it offers up to 150 aliases, which can help keep your inbox organized and free of phishing and spam emails.
In our tests, we found that Mailfence’s digital signatures feature is exceptionally intuitive and easy to use. This adds an extra layer of protection to your emails.
We recommend Mailfence as one of the best private email services for small businesses and business executives because of its digital signature feature. You can sign each email to add extra verification and avoid phishing scams. The ability to create aliases to keep your inbox in order also makes it a handy option if you receive lots of emails each day.
3. StartMail: Private email service with unlimited aliases
What We Like
- Secure PGP encryption and password protection for your emails to keep intruders at bay
- Unlimited aliases to prevent spam and keep your inbox organized
- Works with all kinds of email services, including AppleMail, Outlook, and Thunderbird
- Numerous privacy features, including tracker blocking, malicious link protection, and spam filters
What We Don't Like
- No free plan
- Capped at 20 GB of storage
Pricing:
- Personal: $3.60 for the monthly plan, $35.97 for the annual plan (free seven-day free trial, Bitcoin payments accepted, 20GB of storage).
- Custom domain: $4.20 for the monthly plan, $41.97 for the annual plan (custom domains, unlimited email aliases, 20GB of storage).
Just like Mailfence, StartMail offers PGP encryption and password protection for your emails. It’s compatible with various mobile and desktop email clients, including AppleMail, Outlook, and Thunderbird. The service is also good for privacy because it blocks trackers and has built-in malware protection.
StartMail’s unlimited aliases feature makes it a strong contender in our most secure email providers list. During our tests, we created lots of temporary email addresses using StartMail’s alias feature. Through these addresses, we could send emails completely anonymously, and we were able to delete them at any time.
We recommend StartMail for privacy-minded users who want to ensure hackers can’t access their data. Most regular emails have the sender’s IP address in their headers. StartMail removes your IP from emails to keep your identity hidden.
4. Tutanota: Green private email service with a generous free plan
What We Like
- All emails are end-to-end encrypted and enjoy phishing protection
- Intuitive apps for all the major operating systems: Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android
- The free plan offers a generous 1GB of free storage
- Its servers and offices are powered by green energy
What We Don't Like
- Based in Germany, a member of 14 Eyes
- Importing existing emails is complicated
Pricing:
- Revolutionary: $3.24 per month for a year (20GB of storage, 15 extra email addresses, three custom domains)
- Legend: $8.64 (500GB of storage, 30 extra email addresses, 10 custom domains, priority support)
Tutanota encrypts not only your mail but your entire inbox. The only unencrypted information is the email addresses of users and senders. Tutanota is a secure email provider that offers a great suite of apps across different operating systems, including macOS, Linux, Android, and Windows. Tutanota has a great free plan that comes with 1 GB of cloud storage and access to an encrypted calendar.
Overall, we found Tutanota an intuitive and easy-to-use secure email provider. Of note is its full-text search function. Unlike many providers, it allows you to easily search your encrypted mailbox and find records or files.
Tutanota can be one of the best private email services for journalists, human rights activists, and anyone who wants to remain anonymous. It doesn’t require your name or phone number to create an email account. Plus, you can pay anonymously with Bitcoin, Monero, and cash. Also, choose Tutanota if you are sustainability-conscious. Its servers and offices are powered solely by renewable energy.
5. Librem Mail: Useful private email if you want a security suite
What We Like
- Open-source PGP end-to-end encryption to keep your email safe
- Offers a suite of encrypted apps, including a chat app, a social network, and a VPN tunnel
What We Don't Like
- Windows app can be slow and crashes sometimes
- You can't purchase the Librem Mail alone; it comes bundled with other privacy apps
- Located in the US, a 5 Eyes Alliance country
Pricing:
- Complete bundle: $7.99 monthly and $71.91 yearly (Includes Libre’s chat app, social media network, and VPN).
- Family pack: $14.99 monthly and $134.91 yearly (Share the complete bundle with five devices)
Librem uses the best OpenPGP end-to-end encryption standard to secure your emails. Librem’s apps are entirely open-source, which means you can see exactly how its code works and which user data is being retained.
In our tests, we found that Librem encrypts your traffic with OpenPGP encryption, ensuring that no third party, like a hacker, can access your traffic. Our main gripe is that the service can be slow.
We recommend Librem Mail if you want a suite of encrypted privacy options from one provider. As part of the subscription, you get Librem Chat for encrypted chats and VoIP calls. There’s also Librem Social, a social media platform with around two million users, and Librem Tunnel (a secure VPN).
6. Thexyz: Secure email provider with a robust spam filter
What We Like
- 25GB of storage
- Vital security features such as OpenPGP encryption, two-factor authentication and biometric authentication
- Advanced spam filter to keep spam emails at bay
- Unlimited aliases and plus email addresses
What We Don't Like
- No free tier
- Located in Canada, a 5 Eyes nation
Pricing:
- Monthly plan: $2.95/month
- Yearly plan: $29.95/month
Thexyz is considered one of the best private email services, as it is feature-rich and protects your email account using OpenPGP encryption, two-factor authentication, biometric authentication, and advanced spam filtering. Thexyz allows you to easily migrate emails from Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and Outlook. This makes it a breeze to switch to a private email service provider.
In our experience with Thexyz, we were impressed with its powerful spam filter. We tested the filter with various spam emails, and it could flag all of them. In addition, Thexyz offers spam quarantine reports, which let you control and tweak the algorithm to be even more effective at flagging emails.
We recommend Thexyz if you receive lots of emails daily. You can create unlimited aliases, allowing you to organize your email accounts. It also offers plus email addressing, which enables you to customize your email account by adding “+anytext” to it.
7. CounterMail: Secure email to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks
What We Like
- OpenPGP end-to-end encryption
- Great security features like diskless servers and USB keys
- Simple user interface, ideal for beginners
What We Don't Like
- No free plan
- 14 Eyes nation
- Additional cloud storage is expensive
Pricing:
- Six-month plan: $4.83/month
- Yearly plan: $4/month
- Two-year plan: $3.29/month
Countermail is one of the few secure email services that protect against man-in-the-middle attacks. You can even use a USB key to encrypt emails, adding another layer of security.
Their web servers are diskless, which means whatever data the service has on you is wiped each time the servers reboot. This is vital for privacy since there’ll be nothing to see even if hackers gain access. It doesn’t have native apps for Android or iOS. However, you can set it up on Android using the K9 app and IMAP.
We tested Countermail while using a dummy Wi-Fi network, and we ran simulated man-in-the-middle attacks. Countermail delivered on its promise, making it impossible for third parties to intercept and compromise our emails.
We recommend Countermail if you use public Wi-Fi often, thanks to its robust AES-CBC and RSA encryption. Most man-in-the-middle attacks occur when hackers gain access to Wi-Fi networks or create an unencrypted Wi-Fi network.
8. Soverin: An easy-to-use and secure mailbox
What We Like
- Visually pleasing website
- Unlimited encrypted emails and virtual addresses
- 25GB of storage
- Easy to use on different devices since it syncs with IMAP/POP
- Each subscription includes your own domain name and personal webpage
What We Don't Like
- Cloud storage capacity cannot be increased
- Based in the Netherlands, a member of 14 Eyes
- No free tier
Pricing:
- Monthly plan: $3.5/month
We consider Soverin one of the best private email clients. We found it easy to set up, and each subscription gives you your own domain name and personal webpage.
Soverin’s website states that it uses A+ grade SSL/TSL connections to secure your emails in transit. It also removes personal information, such as your IP address, from the headers of your email. Soverin has one of the most visually pleasing websites among the secure email providers on this list. We found the site easy to navigate, and important information was readily available.
We recommend Soverin to users who are new to private email services. Although it doesn’t have mobile apps, you can easily integrate it with the native mail apps on iOS and Android. Their customer support is also top-notch, with a resourceful knowledge base and responsive email support.
9. Zoho Mail: Secure email provider for businesses
What We Like
- The workplace plan includes collaborative apps, which are great for productivity
- Has apps for Android and iOS, so you can use the service on mobile devices
- Data centers across different countries, which adds an extra layer of privacy
- The basic plan is affordable compared to most private emails
What We Don't Like
- Limited free tier
Pricing:
- Mail Lite: Starting at $1/month for a year (5GB)
- Mail Premium: $4/month for a year (50GB)
- Workplace: Starts from $3/month for a year
Zoho Mail is a secure email service provider that caters primarily to businesses. However, the Lite and Premium plan is great for individual users. It uses SSL for transport-level encryption between the device and the server. Zoho also offers some nifty security features, such as spam filtering, two-factor authentication, and malware detection.
We tried Zoho on Android and iOS, and we were impressed with its range of features and usability. We were able to send and receive secure emails with our business partners. Plus, the collaboration tools, such as the online meeting app, were easy to use.
We recommend Zoho for small businesses. The Workplace plan, which is designed for businesses, includes a secure business email, an online file manager, a word processor, a spreadsheet, chat software, and an online meeting app.
10. RMail: AI-based secure email for thwarting cyberattacks
What We Like
- Complete mail tracking and auditing solutions for businesses
- AI-based mail protection
- Follows HIPAA and GDPR, making it great for businesses that often undergo compliance audits
- Integrates with popular email clients like Gmail and Outlook
- Each email has a court-accepted receipt, which is useful if you land in court
What We Don't Like
- Phone-based customer support is limited to the most expensive plans
- Limit of five emails on the free tier
- Based in the US, a 5 Eyes country
Pricing:
- Personal: $7/user
- Standard: $15/user
- Shared Volume: Get a quote for five users or more
Taken by AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Bard? Then, you’ll be excited about RMail, an AI-based email solution. RMail’s AI engine examines each email and encrypts it based on content and structure. This makes it an excellent tool for reducing human errors that might lead to business email compromise (BEC) scams and ransomware attacks.
One of the things we love about RMail is that each email has a court-approved receipt record. This record is handy in case you end up in court over a transaction. You can produce the timestamped email receipt, and it would be admissible as evidence.
We recommend RMail for businesses that often conduct business over email and require logs and audits of mail delivery. These online trails are also helpful in showing compliance under the HIPAA and GDPR.
11. Hushmail: Best private email service for healthcare and law professionals
What We Like
- Unique plans for small businesses, healthcare, and legal professionals
- App for iOS, ideal for iPhone users
- Secure web forms and digital signatures, ideal for professionals that need to comply with HIPAA
- 60-day money-back guarantee
What We Don't Like
- Storage on the personal plan is limited
- Located in Canada, a 5 Eyes nation
Pricing:
- Healthcare: From $11.99/month
- Small Businesses: From $5.99/month
- Law: From $9.99/month
- Personal: From $49.98/year
Hushmail is the most secure email service for healthcare professionals like dentists, optometrists, psychologists, therapists, pharmacists, chiropractors, and physical therapists. Its encrypted forms are easy to build and customize. Plus, the Android app is neat and intuitive.
Hushmail provides end-to-end encryption for all emails and web forms. It’s a great option if you want to move from paper forms to web forms since it has a drag-and-drop form builder with templates. Available templates include intake forms, client surveys, and business associate agreements.
It also allows you to add e-signatures to forms, and clients can sign from any device. Its e-signatures are ESIGN and UETA compliant.
We recommend Hushmail for healthcare and legal professionals and small businesses. It is configured to be HIPAA-compliant out of the box. Plus, it offers unlimited aliases to help you organize your inbox based on your workflow. And the best part is you can try Hushmail for two months through its money-back guarantee.
12. Kolab Now: Useful private email for teams and families
What We Like
- Excellent suite of integrated apps, including Calendar, Files, Tasks, and Notes
- Based in privacy-friendly Switzerland
- Completely open-source
What We Don't Like
- End-to-end encryption not enabled by default
- No mobile apps
- Some of the website pages don't open and return a 503 error
Pricing:
- Just email: $5.65/month
- Full Kolab: $11.20/month
Kolab Now is a fully open-source email provider, which adds an element of trust to its operations. It supports PGP encryption and has configured perfect forward secrecy, which ensures that your encryption keys are frequently changed to limit damage in case the system is compromised.
We like that Kolab Now is fully open source, meaning anyone can see the source code and make additions. However, we noticed that the website is barely usable. Some of the pages are unresponsive.
Kolab Now is based in Switzerland, which is a nation known for its stringent privacy laws, and it is not part of the 14 Eyes alliance. Moreover, Kolab Now doesn’t have apps for Android or iOS, but you can use IMAP, SMTP, or ActiveSync.
The ability to share emails and email folders makes Kolab Now a great addition for teams and families that regularly share email content. You can try these features before purchasing a subscription by using Kolab Now’s free trial.
13. Posteo: Green private email service for just about a dollar
What We Like
- Costs only around $1
- Completely anonymous payments
- Powered by sustainable energy
- 14-day free trial to help you check out the service
What We Don't Like
- No free option
- No support for custom domains
Pricing:
Monthly plan: $1.10/month (includes 2 GB of storage, attachments of up to 50 MB, and unlimited filtered addresses)
Posteo provides comprehensive encrypted mail services, ranging from access encryption, hard disk encryption, and transport-level encryption. Posteo is available only as a web client. To use it on your mobile devices, you can either run the web client in a browser or configure your third-party email client with Posteo using IMAP or POP3.
Posteo performs creditably and is one of the best private email services for casual use. We were able to sign up anonymously, which is great for privacy. Plus, we canceled our account within 14 days without having to pay a dime.
We recommend Posteo if you need a private email for personal use since it’s cheap. Plus, it’s a good choice if you’re keen on going green since its servers are powered by green energy, or you’re looking for a secure email provider to try for free.
14. Mailbox.org: Browser-based email service with extra productivity tools
What We Like
- 30-day free trial
- Up to 25GB mail storage and 50GB cloud storage
- Full suite of office apps, including cloud storage and video conferencing
- Custom domains, which allow you to customize your email address
- Anonymized mail headers
What We Don't Like
- No apps for mobile devices
- Located in Germany, a 14 Eyes nation
Pricing:
- Light: $1.10/month/user
- Standard: $3.20/month/user
- Premium: $5.40/month/user
Mailbox prides itself on providing security in a convenient manner. It offers easy-to-use PGP encryption for your emails through its interface or plug-ins like Mailvelope. It also employs perfect-forward secrecy to prevent future decryption of recorded data traffic. Finally, your IP address and other personal information are completely removed from email headers.
We had no issues using the Mailbox.org website, which is currently the only way to access this email provider. While it doesn’t have apps for mobile devices, it does feature some great built-in productivity tools, like an address book, documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Thanks to these services, we consider Mailbox.org to be one of the best Google alternatives.
We recommend Mailbox if you are a small company and need secure cloud storage with custom domains. Plus, the private email provider can allow you to enjoy secure video conferencing without having to watch over your shoulder.
15. ServerMX: Reliable encrypted mail hosting with multiple custom domains
What We Like
- Reliable PGP encryption
- Multiple custom domains
- Anonymized email headers
What We Don't Like
- No free version
- No dedicated apps
- Attachments can be a maximum of 50MB
- Based in Italy, which is part of the 14 Eyes alliance
Pricing:
- SMX ALPHA 3: $1.30
- SMX ALPHA 5: $1.60
- SMX ALPHA 20: $2.20
- SMX ALPHA 50: $4.30
ServerMX utilizes PGP encryption to secure emails at rest. It also provides a dedicated SMTP server to securely send emails. It offers other notable features, including antivirus protection and two-factor authentication. There is no dedicated ServerMX app, though. Instead, you can integrate this provider with email clients like Thunderbird or Outlook.
ServerMX is a reliable pick for creating custom domains, and this is why we have included it in our best private email provider list. We created a wide range of custom domains without any limitations, and they worked perfectly. Moreover, we were also able to create different combinations of emails using aliases.
We recommend ServerMX if you need multiple custom domains and aliases. These two features are included with all of ServerMX’s plans.
16. Private-Mail: Excellent mail and file synchronization options
What We Like
- Great cross-device syncing
- Apps for iOS, Android, and Windows devices
- Seamless PGP encryption, without you having to manually configure it
What We Don't Like
- Based in the US, which is a member of the 5 Eyes countries
- Plans are relatively expensive
Pricing:
- Standard: $8.95/month
- PrivateMail Pro: $15.95/month
- Business Pro: $64.95/month
- Business GroupShare: $64.95/month
Private-Mail uses the latest and most secure open-source encryption standards, like AES and OpenPGP, to safeguard your mail at each stage of the delivery process. This means that no one, including the email provider, can view the content of your emails, as only you hold the private keys. It’s also adept at preventing main-in-the-middle attacks.
In our experience, Private-Mail has well-designed and feature-rich apps for Android, iOS, and Windows. We were able to seamlessly sync files, calendars, and contacts across devices using Private-Mail Files and its Secure-Share feature. We also loved the Keyring Management functionality, which helps you store, organize, and change your private keys.
Private-Mail is a good choice for personal use, with up to 20GB storage and a three-month free subscription to TorGuard VPN. Moreover, the business plans are well-stocked: up to 100GB of storage, custom domains, and a custom logo to help you brand your business.
17. Runbox: Good and sustainable email service from Norway
What We Like
- Free trial: 60-day money-back guarantee
- Create unlimited custom domains and aliases
- Powered by sustainable energy
- Based in Norway, which is a privacy-friendly jurisdiction
What We Don't Like
- Files storage on the basic plan is limited
- No encryption for emails while at rest
- The website doesn't seem to be secure
Pricing:
- Micro: $1.66/month
- Mini: $2.91/month
- Medium: $4.16/month
- Max: $6.66/month
Runbox protects your mail when it’s being transferred between you and their servers, as well as between their servers and other email services. It is considered one of the best private email providers, as it uses a combination of SSL, PGP, perfect forward secrecy, and two-factor authentication. It’s based in the privacy-friendly Norway.
While there are no apps or clients for Runbox, you can easily use it on your desktop or mobile devices with SMTP, POP, or IMAP.
When we visited Runbox’s website, we received notices indicating that the site might not be secure. So be sure to have good antivirus software before using the service.
Go for Runbox if you want a private email service that allows you to have unlimited custom domains and if you’re looking for an email service with robust encryption.
18. Skiff: Excellent secure Gmail alternative
What We Like
- 10 GB of free storage
- Has apps for iOS and Android devices, making it a great choice for mobile users
- Allows you to register for customer domains to brand your business
- Allows you to register e-signatures and set up auto-replies for your email
What We Don't Like
- Email alias system is limited
Pricing:
- Essential: $3/month
- Pro: $8/month
- Business: $12/user/month
Skiff is another secure email service that gets a lot right. It’s open-source and provides end-to-end encryption for all your emails. Plus, you can create custom domains and aliases to help you brand your business and organize your inbox. However, Skiff’s custom domain and aliases offer is much smaller than many of the other secure email providers mentioned in this list.
The first thing that struck us about Skiff is its similarities to Gmail. Since many of our experts are experienced Gmail users, we found Skiff easy to navigate. We were able to send encrypted emails with attachments with a few clicks.
We recommend Skiff to Gmail users who want a similar interface but want their emails encrypted. Moreover, if you want to stop your online communications from being tracked, Skiff is a great choice, as it hides your IP and device data.
19. Disroot: Secure email provider for different languages
What We Like
- Software available in more than 80 languages
- Attachment preview, so you can avoid clicking on phishing links
- Set up filters to manage your inbox
- 1GB of free storage
What We Don't Like
- Paid plans are relatively expensive
Pricing:
5GB plan: Starting from $11.80
Disroot is a little-known but open-source and feature-rich private email service. It offers end-to-end and PGP encryption, which encodes your email in a way hackers can’t break down. The interface is sleek, and you can set up filters to keep your inbox in order.
One interesting aspect of Disroot is that it allowed us to preview email attachments before opening them. This little tweak is crucial because it gives you a sneak peek into what the email contains. That way, you can avoid opening phishing and malware-infected emails, which is one of the reasons we have included it in our best private email provider list.
We recommend Disroot for users who want to use a private email service in a language other than English. Disroot is available in a whopping 80 languages. This gives you more than enough choices to change your language and enjoy encrypted email services.
20. Neo: Good cloud storage for entrepreneurs and growing businesses
What We Like
- Custom email address to brand your business
- Productivity features like email templates, follow-up reminders, and integrations
- 30 days free trial to help you test it out
What We Don't Like
- Doesn't have PGP encryption
Pricing:
- Business Starter: From $1.99/mailbox/month
- Business Plus: From $3.99/mailbox/month
Neo was built to help growing businesses gain and retain more customers. Its feature set includes email templates to help you quickly respond to frequently asked questions. You can also create your own custom email address as well as a one-page site. The site includes mail-integrated forms and WhatsApp integration.
We tested most of Neo’s business features, such as email templates, read receipts, follow-up reminders, and priority inboxes. We can confirm that they work excellently and can make you more productive at your work.
Choose Neo if you want to get more customers for your business. Moreover, Neo Bookings is on the horizon. This is a feature that can help businesses create a personalized booking page that integrates with Neo Mail and Calendar. In addition, Neo offers two-factor authentication, antivirus protection, and spam checks to ensure your inbox is secure and doesn’t flood with potentially harmful emails.
How We Chose the Best Secure Email Providers
When selecting the most secure email provider, you should consider several factors, including encryption features, usability of the platform, and subscription prices.
Out of the tons of private email services out there, we picked the services above using the following criteria:
- Encryption standards: We checked to see if the providers offer end-to-end encryption. Specifically, we took note of the standard of encryption, with OpenPGP being the gold standard.
- Location: The country in which your provider is based is important because domestic privacy laws determine how easily government agencies can access confidential mail in your inbox. Additionally, nations have entered into partnerships, such as the 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, 14 Eyes Alliance, to share data between them.
- Usability: The user interface and cross-device functionality offered are important as they determine how easily and seamlessly you can secure your mail across devices.
- Price and features: Before deciding which secure email provider to use, you should assess the plans they offer and the different features provided in each plan. Be sure to check if the providers offer a free plan or a money-back guarantee so you can try it out before committing.
How These Private Email Providers Work
When you compose an email using your private email provider and hit “Send,” the service encrypts the message. In simple terms, it makes your email unreadable to your email service provider and hackers. Even if they gain access, they’ll only see gibberish. This is one of the few ways you can stay safe online.
The email can only be read by your recipient using decryption keys. That way, your message is kept confidential and away from prying eyes.
Most email service providers employ the following encryption protocols:
- End-to-end encryption: This type of encryption ensures that once an email leaves your device, it will be encrypted until it reaches the recipient. Hence, no third party can access or modify your emails.
- Pretty Good Encryption (PGP): PGP encryption is used for sending encrypted emails and encrypting sensitive files. PGP is the standard for email security because it uses a combination of symmetric key encryption along with public key encryption. Most secure email providers use PGP encryption to keep your identity and personal information hidden and safe when sending and receiving emails.
Tips to Keep Your Emails Secure
Besides using a private email provider, there are several other ways to keep your emails secure, like strong passwords and antivirus software.
Here are a few tips to protect your emails:
- Use secure passwords: Make sure your passwords are 12-14 letters long and include numbers and symbols.
- Turn on two-step verification: This will require an extra code sent through SMS or using an authenticator app.
- Ensure your device is up-to-date: To be on the safe side, set your device to update automatically.
- Don’t open attachments: A lot of spam email these days looks legitimate, so ensure not to open any attached files unless you know who is sending them and what they are.
- Use an antivirus: This will flag and keep out malware like computer viruses.
How to Secure Your Activity on the Internet
To protect your emails and activities while using the internet, apart from using one of the best private email providers, be sure to also use a VPN (virtual private network).
A VPN anonymizes your traffic by hiding your IP address and identity. It also encrypts your traffic, making sure that no third party can access or compromise your email messages.
From years of testing scores of VPNs, we recommend NordVPN. Here’s why:
- NordVPN provides AES-256 encryption, which will take hackers millions of years to crack.
- It’s one of the fastest VPNs, ensuring that there won’t be any lag while composing and sending your emails.
- The provider offers a dark web monitor which scans the dark web and alerts you if your email has been compromised.
- It has a split tunneling feature, which lets you encrypt only your email service and let other apps or URLs run regularly.
- The service comes with a Threat Protection feature, which wards off ads, blockers, and malware.
NordVPN will provide you with the all-around protection you need while you are online. It also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee to test all its premium features for free, has affordable subscriptions, and provides several discounts on its plans.
You can learn more about our No.1 VPN provider in our extensive NordVPN review.
Use the Best Private Email Provider
There are many private email providers on the market which can help you keep your emails and the information they include secure. They provide end-to-end encryption, making it difficult for anyone to compromise your traffic. Based on our extensive testing, we found Proton Mail to be the most secure email provider.
Proton Mail is a beginner-friendly service that enhances your online security when sending emails and allows you to password-protect your messages, too. It is also great for people who are frequently on the go as it offers a mobile app.
If you’re unsure about a private email service, we recommend you test it using its money-back guarantee or free trial.
Check out the articles listed below if you want to learn more about keeping yourself secure on the internet:
- How to Browse the Internet Anonymously
- How to Call and Text Anonymously
- How to Hide or Change Your IP Address
Check out our FAQs below for some short and simple answers to the most pressing questions about secure email providers.
We recommend Proton Mail, whether you’re a regular user or a top-level executive. It offers end-to-end PGP encryption, ensuring that no one can access you emails. It’s also based in privacy-friendly Switzerland, which is a country that does not belong in the 14 Eyes Alliance. Its apps are also clean and easy to use.
Gmail is fairly secure, but doesn’t offer end-to-end encryption. This means that the contents of your mail can be read by prying eyes online. Your activity while using Gmail can also be tracked. If you’re concerned about your online privacy and security, the best option might be to look for Google mail alternatives.
You can take several steps to ensure the security and privacy of your email:
- Use a strong password and change it often.
- Enable two-factor authentication for added security.
- Use a VPN to encrypt your online traffic and keep it safe from prying eyes.
If you’re on the hunt for a good and secure email provider, there are a few features you should look for:
- Encryption standards: Get a service that offers end-to-end encryption with OpenPGP.
- Location: Find a provider that’s based in a country with good privacy laws and no connection to alliances such as “5 Eyes.”
- Usability: A good user interface will make for a good experience.
- Price and features: Free providers are great, but only if they offer good quality and sufficient features.
CTemplar shut down on May 26, 2022. There is an announcement about it on their website.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention! We've updated the article accordingly.
Hi Mohit,
Given my interest in Countermail, I would like to ask you if you can help me with an invitation code, as you know a free registration to Countermail is not possible on this time without a invitation code
We cannot provide an invitation code. However, Countermail opens up registration from time to time if you do not know someone with the service currently. We recommend checking back with Countermail often.
Protonmail "The service doesn’t track user IP addresses as well."
Unless asked by the Swiss government to do so.
Unfortunately, that is true. As mentioned in the article, "ProtonMail will collect and share user data if required by a legally binding order from Swiss authorities." If you want to be extra safe, it's best to use a VPN in combination with ProtonMail. You can try out Proton's own service, ProtonVPN, or give a top contender like NordVPN or ExpressVPN a shot. This way, your IP address will remain hidden.
zoho has a very good free email
It does! Thank you for letting us know. We added both the free version as well as their 15-day free trial to our article.
I think servermx.com (based europe email hosting provider) is missing in your list. I have a bunch of domain names with servermx.com without any issues.
Thank you for sharing this with us! We looked into it and agree with you - so we added it in the 15th spot.