Proton Mail

Freemium

Proton Mail is the world’s largest secure email service with over 100 million users. Available…

Limited Free Tierfrom $4.99/mo

Free plan checked against Proton Mail's pricing page on 2 September 2026. Re-checked monthly.

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About Proton Mail

Proton Mail is an end-to-end encrypted email service based in Switzerland, with over 100 million accounts. Journalists, privacy-minded individuals and small businesses use it as a Gmail replacement that cannot read their mail. Proton Free is a permanent plan with 1 GB of storage.

What the free plan gives you

1 GB of storage across mail, and the same encryption as paid plans
1 email address on a proton.me domain
Unlimited messages per day and unlimited folders and labels, per the pricing table
Apps for web, iOS, Android and desktop, plus Proton Calendar and Proton Drive at the free tier
Swiss privacy jurisdiction and no ads

Where the free plan stops

The 1 GB limit is the main pressure point, and a single address with no custom domain rules it out for business use. Mail Plus lifts you to 15 GB, 10 addresses, 1 custom domain and 10 hide-my-email aliases. Proton's own pricing page loads the figures dynamically, but Proton has published the Mail Plus price as EUR 4.99 a month on monthly billing, with US pricing of $4.99/mo or $3.99/mo billed yearly. Proton Unlimited bundles 500 GB, 15 addresses, 3 custom domains, unlimited aliases and the VPN, Pass and Drive products.

Who it suits

Proton Free is enough for a private secondary address, signups and sensitive correspondence. If you plan to make it your main inbox, the storage will run out within a year or two of normal use and you will want Mail Plus. Businesses need a custom domain, so the paid tier is the starting point rather than an upgrade.

Key Features

Say hello to privacy

Highest standards of privacy

Use password protection

Pros & Cons

Free plan verified against the vendor's pricing page

Free plan is bounded: free plan with 1gb storage

Hosted only — no self-hosting escape hatch

Vendor does not publish a clear free-plan breakdown

The free plan in practice

What you can actually do on Proton Mail's free plan (Free plan with 1GB storage), where it stops, and when it's worth paying.

What you can do free

1 GB encrypted storage
1 proton.me address
Unlimited messages per day
Unlimited folders and labels
Web, iOS, Android and desktop apps

Where it stops

1 GB fills fast as a primary inbox
No custom domain and only 1 address
No hide-my-email aliases (Mail Plus from $4.99/mo)

When to upgrade to a paid plan

Stay on the free plan while you're comfortably under the free plan's limit (Free plan with 1GB storage). It's worth moving to a paid plan once you consistently bump into that ceiling, need to remove branding, or want features the free tier holds back. Paid plans start at $4.99/mo.