Protonmail

Encryption

Both Proton Mail and Tutanota offer end-to-end encryption for all emails, and both enable users to use a password for encrypting emails sent to recipients that don’t have an address with an encrypted email provider. One major differentiation here is that in Tutanota external recipients can access the entire email thread via the shared password while recipients of encrypted messages from Proton Mail are limited to just seeing one message.

In addition, there are quite important differences in the encryption methods used. ProtonMail uses PGP encryption, which lacks important requirements that Tutanota is able to fix. Tutanota encrypts not just bodies and attachments of emails, but also the subject line, which can contain very sensitive information. Additionally, the encryption protocols used in Tutanota enable us to easily upgrade to new algorithms and add support for Prefect Forward Secrecy.

Instead of using an implementation of PGP itself, Tutanota uses standard algorithms also being used by PGP (AES 128 / RSA 2048) for encrypting not just emails, but also other information that ProtonMail does not encrypt such as the entire address book and calendar metadata like calendar notifications. Tutanota is the only email service that automatically does this. Additionally, we’ve been working on a research project to replace the current algorithms with quantum secure ones and our post-quantum prototype is already able to support Perfect Forward Secrecy.

Security

Tutanota and ProtonMail both prioritize user security and privacy over profits, unlike older generation email services like Gmail and Outlook. People choose to create email addresses with these two services to get rid of Big Tech. Tutanota excels in this regard as it pays more attention to the details, particularly when it comes to privacy-first solutions. For instance, Proton email uses some integrations with closed-source third-party services, including for captcha and push notifications while we’ve developed our own open-source alternative to reCAPTCHA and we’ve published our Android app on F-Droid, making it one of the few email apps available without any ties to Google services. This way, you can be sure that our Android app does not include Google’s Analytics tracking code.

Both Tutanota and Proton Mail offer open source email clients, which means that anyone can inspect the code and ensure there are no backdoors. Tutanota excels in also offering open source desktop clients for Linux, macOS and Windows while Proton has built a so called "bridge" only available to paying users. However, such a bridge is not a solution because at Tutanota we aim for the highest security level:

• By using a bridge all data is stored unencrypted in the third party email client. We aim for a solution where all data is always stored securely encrypted, even on your own devices. Our desktop clients do exactly that and make the data also available when offline.

• IMAP and SMTP are not the most efficient protocols especially when it comes to push notifications or to attachments of emails (which are encoded into the body).

• With improving our desktop clients we serve you much better than by spending time in developing and maintaining three bridges for Linux, Windows and macOS.

ProtonMail and Tutanota use secure servers located in Europe (in Switzerland and Germany, respectively), but Proton have secondary offices in the US, one of the Five Eyes countries.

Business features

Tutanota and ProtonMail both have business-focused plans, with secure business email and calendar, multiple custom email domains, multiple alias addresses and inbox rules. Only Tutanota allows you to create an unlimited number of custom domain email addresses, have an unlimited number of fully encrypted calendars and a plan with a whitelabel version, while only Proton email business plans include a VPN service.

Sustainability

While ProtonMail doesn’t have any sustainability initiative as of yet, Tutanota uses 100% renewable electricity for all its servers as well as its offices. A private, secure and encrypted email service that is also the most sustainable option is a choice you can feel good about!

Pricing

Both Tutanota and Proton Mail operate on a freemium model, offering free and paid versions of their email service. Tutanota paid plans are much more affordable than ProtonMail's and the Tutanota free version includes 1GB of storage, while Proton's free version includes 500MB of storage.

With so many email providers available, choosing the best email service can seem like a daunting task. Tutanota and ProtonMail are known for their privacy and security features and are two of the most popular secure email providers. Both make a great Gmail alternative, whether you’re looking to create an email address for personal or business use, or you’re considering migrating from an existing email account.

If you are looking for a professional email account, both Tutanota and ProtonMail are great options. Both allow users to use their own email domain to create a custom email address, making them a popular choice for businesses. If you value convenience, security, and privacy, both Tutanota and ProtonMail are excellent alternatives to mainstream email providers like Gmail and Outlook.

While both offer end-to-end encrypted email, they differ in terms of encryption methods, security and business features, sustainability, and pricing.

Tutanota stands out for its use of AES and RSA encryption, which encrypts email metadata such as subject lines, and is planning to update its algorithm to achieve post-quantum secure encryption in the near future. In terms of sustainability, Tutanota relies exclusively on sustainable electricity. We offer more features than Proton Mail with our free accounts and have lower prices for our paid accounts.

With Tutanota, you get the biggest bang for you buck! You can enjoy end-to-end encrypted email, fully encrypted calendar and business email features all in one. On top of that Tutanota offers its own open source desktop clients that always keep your data securely encrypted and available locally, even when offline.

All of these make Tutanota the most secure email service on the market. Tutanota is a great alternative to ProtonMail, more sustainable and with better privacy and security features.