Comparing Skiff Mail vs Tutanota

Encryption: Both Skiff and Tutanota use end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for their email services as well as their calendars. Tutanota as well as Skiff Mail always store incoming and outgoing emails encrypted, even is sent unencrypted.

Tutanota uses an innovative encryption method to secure your data easily. Tutanota is the only email service that automatically encrypts all emails, all calendars and also all of your contacts by default. Key generation, key handling, key exchange – all of this happens automatically in the background while the private key is still only accessible by the user.

Security: In addition to encryption, both Tutanota and Skiff have solid security measures, including two-factor authentication (2FA), secure password reset and identity verification. Neither Tutanota nor Skiff Mail use PGP or Open PGP, because the PGP standard does not encrypt the subject of your messages.

At Tutanota, we own our servers and network infrastructure ourselves. This causes effort, but is important so that we can protect our users' data to the maximum. As a result, no third party can know IP addresses of our users. Skiff, on the other hand, uses AWS as its mail server, so Amazon has access to all incoming and outgoing emails.

In addition, Skiff uses Cloudflare as DDoS protection. Cloudflare DDoS protection usually works in such a way that the TLS endpoint is Cloudflare. If that's the case, the TLS encryption ends at Cloudflare and Cloudflare would have access to UserIDs, IP addresses and SessionIds of Skiff users.

According to Skiff’s whitepaper regarding their security practices, "The Skiff Mail client has been completely open source since day one. All Skiff cryptography libraries are open-source and usable by other developers. ... The remainder of Skiff’s products are being open-sourced throughout 2023."

Tutanota’s email apps and browser version as well as the calendar have been open source since the launch. Subsequently we’ve built our own open-source captcha, push notifications and desktop clients to make sure that we do not depend on third-party closed-source services. Skiff is based in the US while Tutanota is based in Germany, a country known for its strong privacy protections. At Tutanota, we own our own servers and our service is GDPR-compliant.

Business features: In terms of complimentary business features in addition to email, Skiff currently has the advantage of also including cloud storage, shared documents and files, offering a comprehensive privacy solution for teams and organizations. Skiff allows users to create encrypted documents, collaborate in real-time, and manage access permissions for team members. It integrates with popular tools like Slack, Google Drive, and GitHub, making it seamless to work within existing workflows – though one must note that files stored in Google Drive are not encrypted end-to-end.

Tutanota is also planning to launch an end-to-end encrypted cloud storage solution in the near future. Our focus in this regard is more on security than on third-party integrations. We launched the PQ Mail project in 2020 and we have a working prototype that lets us encrypt emails with a hybrid protocol combining our proven encryption algorithms with post quantum secure algorithms. We will stay ahead of the quantum computing "arms race" and make sure that your data stays secure, even when quantum computers will be able to break currently used encryption algorithms, by upgrading all Tutanota email accounts to the PQMail algorithms. Additionally, when our cloud storage solution will be ready to launch, it will benefit from the same post-quantum security.

Skiff Mail includes some functionalities not included in Tutanota Mail, but potentially useful to business users, like the ability to unsend an email. On the other hand, Skiff has very limited customization options, whereas Tutanota has a fully customizable whitelabel version, which is often a must-have for business users. This feature in Tutanota gives you the unique option to customize the look and feel of Tutanota, place the login on your website and let's you even adapt the notification message to external recipients of end-to-end encrypted messages.

Sustainability: While Skiff doesn’t have any sustainability initiative as of yet, Tutanota uses 100% renewable electricity for all its servers as well as its offices. We believe tech companies can and should help advance sustainability actions. 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 Skiff both operate on a freemium model. Tutanota’s plans for private users cost the same as their Skiff counterparts, but the features in Tutanota are more extensive with more storage, more email alias addresses and more custom domains included in each plan.

For business users, Tutanota has three options, two plans that are cheaper than their Skiff counterpart and one at the same price level as Skiff’s Business plan but with different features. Ultimately, you can always experiment by creating free accounts on both platforms and see which workflows and products best suit your needs. Tutanota also has a 14-day money-back guarantee in case you are not happy with any of our personal or business plans.

Tutanota and Skiff are two secure communication platforms that provide alternatives to mainstream email providers. While Tutanota focuses on encrypted email services, Skiff takes a broader approach by offering secure collaboration and file sharing solutions. While both services share similar goals, there are some differences in their features and approaches.

Both Tutanota and Skiff Mail offer robust privacy and security features. Plus, it's great that both have a free version that let's you test the basic features. However, Tutanota definitely has an advantage in terms of security, as we own our servers and infrastructure. Contrary to our focus on security and privacy, Skiff makes use of third-party services like Amazon and Cloudflare, leaking personal information about their users to these tech giants.

Skiff may have a steeper learning curve due to its wider range of collaboration features. Skiff's interface is optimized for teamwork, allowing users to share and collaborate on encrypted files securely. Tutanota excels as an encrypted email provider with its user-friendly interface and strong emphasis on easy-to-use encryption. Skiff, on the other hand, offers a more comprehensive solution for secure collaboration, extending its encryption beyond emails to include files and documents. When choosing between Tutanota and Skiff, consider whether you require primarily encrypted emails or a broader collaboration platform for your specific use case.

Tutanota is the best email service for those who value security and want to create a new email address, especially if they need to use their custom domains and their own custom branding.

With Tutanota you can have end-to-end encrypted email, calendar, and business email features all in one place, making it easy to stay organized and productive.