Have you ever thought why many businesses don’t use mail services like Gmail, and Yahoo mail which are available for free? It’s because these email services are not secure enough to handle sensitive information. Businesses that have tons of sensitive information to share need secure email service platforms.
Secure email platforms basically have a higher level of encryption compared to Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc.
Moreover, ordinary email platforms also collect data to show you personalized ads that can be annoying. As a business, you should aim to secure sensitive information. One of the best ways to do so is by using a secure email platform.
In this guide, we’ll be going over the list of the most secure email providers.
Why Does Your Business Need Secure Email?
Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo are very popular email service providers but they’re not secure. To protect sensitive information from outside threats, businesses need secure email solutions.
However that’s not the only reason, here are some more reasons you should consider getting a secure email service:
- Additional Layer of Encryption: A secure email service protects your messages with end-to-end encryption services. It prevents you from hackers and malicious threats as well.
- Enhanced Privacy: The metadata of the email contains the sender’s, and receiver’s email addresses as well as the date and time of the mail. Secure email services hide your metadata and maintain the sender’s and receiver’s privacy.
- Two-Factor Authentication: Almost all secure email service providers offer two-factor authentication to prevent account takeover. Some services even include a VPN service to enhance the overall level of security.
7 Best Email Service Providers to Try Out
Just a quick Google search of “secure email providers” will give you over 3 dozen results. How will you know which one is best for you? You can sort the software based on your team’s size, the functionality you need, and the amount you want to spend. You’ll probably have to choose 1 out of 10-12 tools. So, we’re taking that pressure off your shoulders and we’ve compared some of the best secure email services.
Let’s start comparing.
1. ProtonMail
ProtonMail was founded by CERN scientists in Switzerland in 2013. We can honestly call it one of the best secure email service providers. The highlight of the tool is the no-log policy and end-to-end encryption.
ProtonMail allows your teams to converse with complete security as conversations are encrypted on both ends. That’s not all, the emails you send to other email services will also be protected by end-to-end encryption.
It has a web-based client, that runs on all browsers and is very user-friendly. There are also apps for both Android and iOS. Do keep in mind that the mobile apps offer limited functionality.
If you have a small team, then the Plus Plan would be a great choice. You get 5GB storage and 5 email accounts.
For bigger teams, the Unlimited plan is the better option. You get 500 GB of space and 15 email accounts.
ProtonMail provides you with a free plan and offers 1 GB of storage and 150 daily messages as well. But its free plan provides limited customer support to its users.
| Advantages of ProtonMail | Disadvantages of ProtonMail |
| No-Logs policy. | It does not support POP3. |
| Emails export to CSV files. | If the email suspects suspicious or fraudulent activities from users, the information is sent to security agencies. |
| End-to-end email encryption. | No desktop version. |
| 20+ account languages. | |
| In-built email service. |
2. StartMail
StartMail is another secure email service that businesses should try out. By using its integrated PGP (Pretty good privacy) feature, you can securely communicate with other users who are using the PGP setup.
StartMail enables you to add two-factor authentication to protect your data from hackers.
StartMail even allows businesses to run email marketing campaigns to increase. There are no mobile apps, but the web version is incredible and is feature rich.
It provides complete IMAP and SMTP support, so you can use any email account.
There are multiple plans for different types of users. Before you invest money in StartMail, we recommend you take the 7-day free trial.
| Advantages of StartMail | Disadvantages of StartMail |
| StartMail allows you to add additional email accounts and keep them logged in separately. | No end-to-end encrypted email services. |
| 10 GB of encrypted storage. | Very small trial period. |
| Allows you to run email campaigns. | |
| Completely supports IMAP and SMTP. |
3. Tutanota
Tutanota is a respected secure email provider that offers one of the best end-to-end encryption services. It has more than 2 million subscribers globally.
Tutanota uses AES and RSA encryption to secure emails. The RSA encryption method provides an extra security layer by merging symmetric and asymmetric keys.
It also encrypts the sender’s name, the receiver’s name, and the subject line as well.
Other worth noticing things include TOTP and U2F protocols for 2 Factor Authentication. Plus there’s a strong no-logs policy.
It hides your IP address and email from the headline metadata to increase security levels. Using Tutanota you can log up to 5 emails at the same time. It offers 1 GB of storage as well as amazing email support.
For just $1, you can get 10 GB of storage. If you still want more storage, all you need to pay is $2.36/month. To add more emails you will have to pay $1.18/month.
Tutanota’s free version offers 1GB of storage, a calendar, and other security features. But it doesn’t include customer support.
| Advantages of Tutanota | Disadvantages of Tutanota |
| Affordable secure email service with end-to-end encryption service. | Does not support PGP and IMAP. |
| Strict no-log service. | A lot of features are locked behind paywalls. |
| Spam detection. | |
| Encrypted calendar. | |
| Supports more than 20 languages. |
4. Zoho Mail
Zoho Mail is one of the best B2B security product suites that offers secure email services. This platform is commonly used by businesses to enhance their security standards. Individuals can also use this platform to protect themselves from hackers.
Zoho Mail contains a password manager to keep your passwords safe. Users can choose from authentication methods such as biometric authentication, OTP authentication as well as QR code authentication.
It also offers end-to-end encryption, anti-spam, and anti-malware to protect email data.
The premium plan costs $4/month. It includes features like up to 1 GB of attachments, 50 GB of storage, as well as email backup services. With the 15-day trial period, you can try out the service beforehand.
The free plan of Zoho Mail comes with 5 GB of storage and allows users to attach files up to 100 MB.
| Advantages of Zoho Mail | Disadvantages of Zoho Mail |
| Beautifully designed web interface and mobile app. | All the functionalities are aimed toward B2B businesses. |
| POP/IMAP support. | Majority of data centers are located in the US and China. |
| Secures IP address and saved passwords. | |
| Perfect for large business teams. | |
| Anti-spam and anti-malware features. |
5. Thexyz
Thexyz is primarily a hosting service provider, but their secure email service is something to behold. There are around 40K users globally using the email service.
Its official website presents a chart of how they detect and block threats through sender monitoring and analysis systems. To detect malicious threats it uses Cloudmark and Message Sniffer.
In addition, Thexyz is a private mailbox that offers ads-free services as well as top security norms to protect your IP address and passwords. Thexyz also offers lots of filters to enhance spam protection. The many data centers of Thexyz are situated in the US as well as the UK.
Thexyz offers lots of end-to-end encryption methods including IMAP, POP, and OpenPGP public key as well. It uses SSL/TLS as security measures, thus no one can not make any changes to your email.
It uses two-factor authentication methods to prevent unauthorized access. Using its easy migration tool, you can easily move your data into two different mailboxes. It is one of the best email services with top-class security facilities.
You can buy its subscription for $2.95/month and this plan is available with 25 GB of storage as well 50 MB for attachments.
| Advantages of Thexyz | Disadvantages of Thexyz |
| Reliable service with more than 40K customers. | No free plan available or trial period. |
| Thexyz offers lots of spam filters as well as end-to-end message encryption services. | |
| In-built email migration tool. | |
| Effective two-factor authentication services. | |
| iOS and Android apps. |
6. CounterMail
CounterMail is a secure email provider with some of the strongest security features including PGP encryption, and the man-in-middle (MITM) attack protection. In addition, it includes a USB key or a Time-based password algorithm (TOTP) for two-factor authentication.
Countermail provides a secure payment method and a Safebox to enhance the security of the users. This email provider offers a web application, and you can run it on iPhone and Android as well. Additionally, it offers a number of customization options. It restricts you to send and receive emails from insecure email services.
CounterMail offers a free trial of 7 days and a two-year plan at $3.29/month. Its two-year plan provides 4 GB of storage as well as 3 MB of attachments.
| Advantages of CounterMail | Disadvantages of CounterMail |
| Incognito payment methods | Free version of plans. |
| Safebox storage for increased security. | POP3 support. |
| MITM attack protection. |
7. Posteo
Posteo is an affordable and secure email service for individuals and businesses. Posteo offers TLS with “Perfect Forward Secrecy” as well as” HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS)” to secure your emails.
You can add PGP to protect emails from security threats. Additionally, it supports POP, SMTP, and IMAP protocols. There’s a data recovery software that helps in recovering data as well.
You can enhance the security of your email by encrypting it with a password. Make sure that you keep the password safe as you can’t change it.
There are no desktop, iOS, and Android apps. There’s only a web-based version you can use. Also, the website isn’t user-friendly so you may face some challenges while using it.
Moreover, there’s no free plan, and you can’t customize settings. Despite its drawbacks, it does help you protect your email.
| Advantages of Posteo | Disadvantages of Posteo |
| PGP Support. | No desktop, Android, and iOS apps. |
| Mail encryption with a password. | Clunky and slow website interface. |
| Affordable secure email service. | Customer support needs improvement. |
| POP/IMAP/SMTP support. |
Conclusion – Secure Email Platforms
This concludes our guide on the best secure email platforms. All the platforms on our list do exactly what you’d expect. Some of these services offer strong protection against threats, some a bit weaker.
Choose a service that meets your needs, and secure sensitive information today.