Proton Mail vs Tuta (Tutanota)
Both are alternatives to Gmail. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as Tuta (Tutanota) vs Proton Mail — same comparison, one verdict.
Proton Mail and Tuta (Tutanota) are closely matched on ownership (84 vs 80) — this one comes down to pricing and to which trade-offs below you can live with.
Proton Mail
TOP PICKEnd-to-end encrypted, open-source, Swiss — the privacy default.
Proton Mail is the most mature encrypted email provider, with over 100 million users and open-source apps on every platform. Mail is end-to-end and zero-access encrypted, it's based in Switzerland under strong privacy law, and it supports OpenPGP so mail with other PGP users is automatically end-to-end encrypted. It has grown into a genuine Gmail replacement with Calendar, Drive, Pass, and VPN in one account, plus a functional free tier.
Tuta (Tutanota)
The cheapest end-to-end encrypted mail — quantum-safe by default.
Tuta (formerly Tutanota) is an open-source, end-to-end encrypted email provider based in Germany under GDPR. It's the budget privacy pick: a free tier with full E2E encryption, and it uniquely encrypts the subject line too. In 2026 it became the first major provider to ship quantum-safe encryption (TutaCrypt, Kyber-1024) to all users by default. The trade-off versus Proton is that it doesn't support OpenPGP, so encrypted mail to outside contacts uses password-protected messages instead.
Side by side
6 points of comparison, every one read from a verified field. Green marks the side that wins a row outright. A dash means we do not hold that fact — never that it is zero.
| Proton Mail | Tuta (Tutanota) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty ScoreOur transparent 0–100 composite for data ownership and exit cost. | 84 | 80 |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | No | No |
| Local-first data | No | No |
| License | GPL-3.0 (apps) | GPL-3.0 |
| Pricing | Free (1GB); paid Mail Plus ~$4/mo; bundled Proton Unlimited adds Drive, VPN, and Pass | Free (1GB, E2E encrypted); Revolutionary ~€3/mo; Legend ~€8/mo |
Proton Mail is Macrostack's recommended Gmail alternative, so it's our pick here.
Weighing both against staying on Gmail? Is Gmail free? What it actually costs →
Proton Mail
Strengths
- +End-to-end, zero-access encryption with OpenPGP support
- +Open-source apps, independently audited, Swiss jurisdiction
- +Free tier; custom domains on paid plans
- +Part of a full privacy suite (Calendar, Drive, VPN, Pass)
Trade-offs
- −Encryption to non-Proton, non-PGP contacts needs password-protected mode
- −A hosted service you don't self-host
- −Free-tier storage is modest (1GB)
Tuta (Tutanota)
Strengths
- +Open-source, E2E encrypted — including subject lines
- +Quantum-safe encryption for all users by default
- +Cheapest encrypted-mail paid tiers; German/EU privacy law
- +Free tier includes an encrypted calendar
Trade-offs
- −No OpenPGP or IMAP (uses its own encrypted protocol)
- −Fewer ecosystem extras than Proton
- −Search is client-side by design — an encryption trade-off
Which one fits you
The trade-offs above, turned into a decision. Find the line that describes your team.
Choose Proton Mail
if a lower exit cost matters more to you than any single feature, and end-to-end, zero-access encryption with OpenPGP support.
Choose Tuta (Tutanota)
if open-source, E2E encrypted — including subject lines.
Neither, yet
if both carry a real cost you should weigh first — encryption to non-Proton, non-PGP contacts needs password-protected mode, and no OpenPGP or IMAP (uses its own encrypted protocol). If either of those is a dealbreaker for your team, the shortlist is wrong rather than the choice.
Proton Mail vs Tuta (Tutanota) — common questions
Is Proton Mail a better fit than Tuta (Tutanota) for email & secure mail?
It depends on what you are optimising for, and the honest split is this: Proton Mail scores 84 to Tuta (Tutanota)'s 80 on data ownership and exit cost, so it is the safer choice if you care about being able to leave. Tuta (Tutanota) earns its place on a different axis — open-source, E2E encrypted — including subject lines. Neither is a wrong answer for every team; the table above is the actual comparison.
What happens if we want to switch later?
Neither of these is local-first by default, so plan the exit at the point you adopt rather than later. Export what matters on a schedule instead of trusting you can retrieve it on demand — that is the most common way a email & secure mail migration turns into a project instead of an afternoon.
Are Proton Mail and Tuta (Tutanota) both alternatives to Gmail?
Yes — both appear in our Gmail comparison, which is why they are worth putting side by side. People usually arrive here already having decided to move off Gmail and now choosing between the two replacements, which is a narrower and much easier question.
Related alternative guides
Facts verified 2026-07-14. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.