The 8 Best Secure Email Providers That Protect Your Privacy

The more connected our world becomes, the more critical it has become to protect your personal information and privacy. Unfortunately, because email isn’t tied to one particular company, it’s often difficult to understand how to implement a secure online email provider.

At Spike, we believe that email should be private. Spike is ad-free and does not rent, sell, distribute, or monetize your data. We store only the minimum data needed to provide the fastest communication and collaboration experience. When using Spike, all message data is encrypted using AES-256 encryption.

The problem for consumers and business customers is that even if your email client isn’t mining your data, do you know what your email provider is doing? For example, some providers mine your data to serve you more personalized advertising. Some might say that ads are part of using a free email service, but we disagree.

Read more about Spike’s security

What to Consider Before Signing Up for a Secure Email Provider

8 Best Secure Email Providers

1. Spike

Spike provides secure custom email domains, Spike is ad-free and does not rent, sell, distribute or monetize any user data. Spike’s secures messages using the highest sensitivity and and AES-256 encryption with a per-message private key. The software is periodically audited by third parties to ensure maximum compliance. The sign-up process is super simple – you can choose to either migrate your current domain or create a new one. The plan includes SSL certification, WHOIS privacy, and easy-to-manage DNS services. 

In addition, users can benefit from the Spike Email App which includes numerous features, such as conversational email, audio and video calls, collaborative Notes and Tasks, AI email writing, and Super Search functionality. Users can also sync multiple email accounts into a single unified inbox. In addition, with Spike Teamspace, you’ll find 100 GB of storage space with the Team plan and 1 TB with the Business plan. In short, the App provides all the tools you need to build your brand and maintain your business operations.

Free Plan

• Free email address
• 60 days of search history
• 15 GB storage space
• Spike Magic AI
• Standard support

Team Plan

• Unlimited access to Magic AI
• Free custom email domain
• Unlimited search history
• 100 GB storage space
• Shared Inbox

Business Plan

• 1 TB storage space
• SAML-SSO across devices
• Large file upload of 500 MB
• VIP support

• Free version: Yes (500MB storage limit)
• Price: Free with paid plans starting at € 5.00 per month.
• OS: Mac, PC, Web, iOS, Android (requires bridge)
• Storage: Up to 20GB with paid plans

ProtonMail prides itself on being the world’s largest secure email service. It offers end-to-end encryption and other robust security features to keep your email private. Even the company hosting your emails has no way of reading them as they are encrypted, so you can rest assured that no one can read them but the person that is supposed to read them.

ProtonMail is designed to focus on security first, then ease of use while offering power-user features like a built-in calendar, open-source code, and a modern design. So for those looking for the highest level of security on a free email solution, consider ProtonMail. You’ll likely find that you need to upgrade to a paid account, though. ProtonMail is based in Switzerland.

Proton’s paid accounts include several excellent features that make it worth upgrading for:

Free Plan

• 500 MB Storage
• No custom domain
• 150 messages per day
• 3 Labels
• Limited Support

Plus Plan

• 5 GB Storage
• Custom domain support
• 1000 messages per day
• 200 Labels
• Support

Professional Plan

• 5 GB storage
• Custom domain support – 2 domains
• Unlimited messages
• Unlimited labels
• Support

Visionary Plan

• Unlimited Storage
• Custom domain support – 10 domains
• Unlimited messages
• Unlimited labels

3. Tutanota

• Free version: Yes (1 GB storage)
• Price: Free with paid plans starting at €1 per month
• OS: Mac, PC, Linux, iOS, Android
• Storage: Up to 1 TB

Tutanota is a great secure email provider with a generous free plan for budget users. Its slick interface is easy to navigate, and its overall security is excellent. In addition, it’s unique in that it claims to be end-to-end encrypted for email, but also your address book, reminders, and calendar as well.

Tutanota is completely open-source and runs on renewable energy. One of its most unique features is how it encrypts your searches as well. When Tutanota added an encrypted search index, it became a standout feature compared to other secure email providers. Many other secure email providers have canceled their search functions altogether and have not implemented a convenient solution that includes encryption. Tutanota is based out of Germany.

Free Plan 

• 1GB storage
• No custom domain
• One calendar
• Limited Search
• Additional storage options with upgrade

Premium Plan 

• 1GB storage
• One custom domain
• Unlimited search
• Unlimited calendars
• Additional storage options with upgrade

4. Zoho Mail

• Free version: Yes (5GB storage limit)
• Price: Free with paid plans starting at $1 per month (annual payment)
• OS: Mac, PC, Web, iOS, Android, Web
• Storage: Up to 10GB with paid plans

Zoho Mail is best known for its enterprise software, but many people don’t realize there is a free email plan as well with strong security. Zoho isn’t nearly as focused on security as providers like Proton Mail and Tutanota, though.

In Zoho’s free email plan, you get 25MB of attachment storage, 5GB of overall storage, and free web and mobile app access using Zoho’s apps. Zoho Mail’s free option does not include IMAP or POP3 access, but it does allow you to connect your own domain, so it makes it one of the only providers to provide this capability.

Free Plan 

• 5GB storage included
• No IMAP sync
• No PGP

Paid Plans 

• Up to 10GB storage
• Includes IMAP sync
• No PGP support
• Custom SMTP routing

5. StartMail

• Free Plan: No – 7-day free trial
• Price: $59.95/year
• OS Support: Mac, PC, Android, iOS
• Storage: 10GB

StartMail is a privacy-focused webmail service, meaning you don’t have to worry about timely installation or downloading of software—you can access your mail directly from any web browser. The webmail focus is convenient if you want secure email on a Chromebook. It doesn’t stop at the web, though. It works with IMAP and SMTP-focused email clients.

SmartMail is based in the Netherlands, so it has strong security. In addition, the EU’s and Dutch privacy laws are among the strictest in the world, so you can rest assured that SmartMail protects your privacy.

Paid Plan (no free options) 

• Includes PGP support
• 10GB Storage
• Can pay with Bitcoin

6. Mailfence

• Free version: Yes (500MB storage limit)
• Price: Free with paid plans 2,50 € per month
• OS: Mac, PC, Web, iOS, Android, ActivSync
• Storage: Up to 50GB with paid plans

As a secure email provider, Mailfence offers some valuable solutions. It’s not as fully featured as ProtonMail or Tutanota, nor does it focus as much on overall security. It strikes a nice balance if you don’t need every single email to be encrypted, though. Unlike other secure email services, you’re not forced to encrypt every email message. Instead, you can send regular messages over an SSL/TLS connection.

Free Plan 

• 500 MB storage
• Includes 2FA
• Includes one email group

Paid Plans  

• 5GB storage with options up to 50GB
• 3+ groups
• Includes 2FA support

7. CounterMail

• Free version: No – 7-day free trial
• Price: Paid plans start around $5 per month paid bi-annually
• OS: Mac, PC, Web, iOS, Android, Web
• Storage: Up to 4GB with paid plans

CounterMail focuses on building a very safe webmail service and supports IMAP. Looking at its website, it focuses more on security over usability, though.

CounterMail is built on top of a custom Squirrel email interface. Customers have the ability to automatically sign and encrypt email messages in your browser within the web interface, including with OpenPGP. CounterMail is based in Sweden.

Paid Plan (no free options)  

• 4GB storage
• Custom domain for $15 one time free
• Option to pay with Bitcoin
• Can sign attachments and email with PGP

8. Hushmail

• Free version: No – starts at $49.98/year
• Price: Starts at $49.98/year
• OS: Mac, PC, Web, iOS, Android, ActivSync
• Storage: 10GB

Hushmail offers multiple business options for healthcare and small businesses. If you want a secure private email for personal use, Hushmail provides a low-cost option for less than $50/year. It gives you the option to use a @hushmail.com email address and encrypt messages on-demand.

When people who aren’t using Hushmail receive an encrypted message, they will receive a link to a secure web page where they can read your email. The first time someone reads a secure email on the web, they create a Hushmail passphrase. They will need this passphrase to access any future emails sent with Hushmail.

Paid Plan (no free options) 

• 10GB Storage
• $49.98/year
• Includes PGP encryption options
• Unlimited use of email aliases

Summary: Most Secure Email Providers

As you search for secure email providers, consult our list of the best options for your privacy-focused solutions. Any provider that works with IMAP will work great with Spike. After you download Spike, start with an easy, quick start guide for connecting your secure/private IMAP-focused email solution.

Spike turns your email into simple chat-like conversations, so you can work and collaborate seamlessly with friends, clients, and team members – in a more natural way. It feels like you’re chatting over a messenger app, but it’s email. In addition, Spike includes several power-user features that pair perfectly with a paid secure email provider. Check out our round-up of the best free email clients to learn more about Spike.