Proton Mail Pricing Plans

For free, Proton provides a service called Proton Free, which has no cost. The key here is a long-term commitment to providing an email service with advanced encryption to anyone, at any time.

The next level is the individual plans, beginning with Mail Plus. Mail Plus is the first step into a professionally supported email service that increases your mail storage significantly and unlocks additional features such as custom domain support and multiple email aliases.

The third level is Proton Unlimited. Proton Unlimited is their "all-in-one" package. In Proton Unlimited, you receive the entire suite of applications including Mail, Drive, VPN, Calendar, and Pass, for one discounted price per month. To us, this represents the best value if you use two or three of these services on a regular basis.

Finally, Proton offers Proton Duo and Proton Family. Duo is the "best bang for the buck," for two premium users that wish to share a common mailbox, with the ability to increase storage. Family is similar but allows up to six users to be added to the account, with a large amount of shared storage. As well, Proton offers Proton for Business, which includes administrative tools and scalability for any type of business. It's easy to add or remove users from Proton Business accounts and their pricing structure is very flexible.

Three reasons why Proton Mail will be your first choice for start-up companies; security, integration, and control:

1. Security is #1. Most new start-ups have very important proprietary information and use a default encryption mail platform eliminates the risk of I.P. theft and also complies with Data Regulations such as GDPR from day one. Additionally, we feel that a Swiss based provider offers a tremendous competitive advantage for any company looking to secure its data, especially compared to U.S. based providers.

2. Proton Mail’s Business Suite is an amazing consolidation tool. As everyone knows, new start-ups are usually cash strapped so if they can purchase premium end-to-end encrypted Mail, Drive (Cloud Storage) Pass (Password Manager) and VPN under one per user license it greatly reduces vendor management and cost savings. Why buy four separate SaaS products when you can get all of them from one super secure provider?

3. Finally, the Admin Control Panel is what gives start-ups the ability to scale and gain control. A small team still has to manage users, manage user storage, and on-board/off-board employees quickly and efficiently. All of the Business Plans provide this central control, while the individual plans do not. In our professional opinion, a new start-up should sign up for the Proton Business Suite on Day One. This sets a great security foundation for the entire team and provides the ability to add or remove user licenses at will without having to move your core data.

Any user whose email content represents some form of high-risk data; financial, political, or personal. Therefore, all users who require inbox privacy as a professional necessity and not just a nice-to-have will be the ones who utilize ProtonMail the most.

Right off the bat, we can see that many of these users are journalists & activists who use un-logged communication as a means of protecting their sources & their own safety. Because of the end-to-end encryption, if someone were to access a ProtonMail user's account, the encrypted emails would still remain unreadable. Additionally, legal professionals, medical professionals, etc., who have access to highly sensitive client information (HIPAA or lawyer-client privilege, etc.) find the Swiss-based privacy laws & zero-access encryption to be completely necessary for regulatory compliance.

While those aforementioned users represent high-risk users, the growing number of privacy-conscious individuals and small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) who are tired of being monetized by big tech platforms also represent large segments of Proton Mail's user base. We've seen significant growth in industries such as finance & tech consultancies utilizing the Proton Business Suite. For example, Proton states that they secure over 100,000 businesses globally, including growing start-ups & non-profit organizations like Open Briefing. Based on our expert opinion, any organization with a threat model (any organization who needs to ensure that their data will not be scanned or easily handed over) should be utilizing Proton Mail.

What differentiates Proton Mail from other “free” Big Tech offerings is that when you pay for Proton Mail you are purchasing an anti-surveillance business model. They do not scan your emails to sell ads. This business model is ethically superior to that of their free competitors and alone makes the cost worthwhile for some people because this service is aligned with your interests and not those of advertisers’.

When you evaluate the Proton Unlimited plan, the value equation becomes even stronger. You are receiving a high-quality, premium, end-to-end encrypted VPN, a secure cloud storage solution (Proton Drive), a password manager (Proton Pass) and an enhanced version of the Mail Service all within one package. If you were to purchase the best-in-class privacy focused versions of each of these services individually, we believe the total monthly cost would almost definitely be greater than the price of the Unlimited bundle.

The price for what you receive is very competitive. When you invest in Proton Mail you are investing in a consolidated, end-to-end encrypted digital life protected by the strong Swiss privacy laws. Therefore, for users that require the level of guaranteed security and simplicity offered by Proton Mail, the price is not only fair but it is also a required investment.

Proton Unlimited is, without question, the paid subscription tier that is the most widely subscribed to by all users with full integration into the entire Proton ecosystem. While the Proton Free tier is technically the most subscribed to due to its role as an entry point to simple security, Unlimited stands out above the rest as the best-valued flagship bundle of paid subscriptions. In fact, Unlimited represents the "no-brainer" option for a total privacy-focused experience for a power-user.

Why? Unlimited provides a way to stop purchasing simple emails, and purchase a complete digital privacy suite. When using Unlimited, you receive the same Mail Plus features you would receive from purchasing each feature individually; you will also have the ability to use your own custom domain, additional aliases beyond those allowed on the free version, and most importantly, you will be able to unlock the premium versions of Proton VPN, Proton Drive (with large amounts of storage) and Proton Pass. The consolidation of these four critical tools into one single subscription makes it the ultimate choice for most premium users. Many users are tired of having multiple separate billing accounts for their VPN, their cloud storage and their secure email. With the Unlimited plan, you can consolidate your security and maximize your dollar by having four critical privacy tools in one package. As such, it is the most frequently discussed and recommended option by the privacy community as the most comprehensive option available.

Unlocking the full value of your Proton Mail subscription, especially for organizations, goes far beyond just using the secure email service; it’s about strategic financial planning and feature adoption across the entire ecosystem. Here's how companies can maximize their return on investment (ROI):

1. Go annual for significant savings: Proton, like most SaaS providers, rewards commitment. If your organization pays annually instead of month-to-month, you typically secure a 15% to 20% discount on your subscription. For a growing team, this quickly translates into hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars saved per year that can be reinvested elsewhere.

1. Leverage the full business suite: The greatest value isn't just in the Mail, but in the bundle. Ensure your team utilizes the premium versions of Proton Drive for secure file sharing, Proton VPN for encrypted remote work connections, and Proton Pass for centralized credential management. The true saving comes from eliminating separate vendor costs for these essential security tools.

1. Optimize your pricing plan based on usage: We recommend regularly auditing your team's feature usage. If you find that certain teams or individuals are consistently not using key premium features of the current pricing plan, it might be financially prudent to shift them to a less expensive tier (if available) or adjust the plan's overall scope to prevent paying for unused capacity.

1. Check for promotional codes: We suggest checking Proton Mail’s promo code on this page or subscribing to our newsletter to find introductory discounts or seasonal promotions that can significantly reduce the initial cost of adoption.

1. Limit unnecessary add-ons: Review any extra user licenses or extensions purchased. If you have seats allocated to former employees or unused storage increments, take the time to de-provision those to keep your monthly overhead lean.

The inclusion of other Proton products varies heavily depending on the subscription level, but here’s a breakdown of what you get access to:

1. Proton Mail (always included): Naturally, the core service is always there, providing end-to-end encrypted email and Proton's zero-access encryption.

1. Proton Calendar (always included): Every single Proton Mail user, even on the Free plan, automatically gets access to a secure, encrypted calendar to manage appointments privately.

1. Proton Drive (always included in some form): You get secure cloud storage for your files. The amount of storage scales dramatically across the plans, but the basic functionality is present even on the Free tier.

1. Proton Pass (included in paid bundles): Their encrypted password manager is a massive benefit. With the Proton Unlimited and Duo/Family plans, you unlock the premium, full-featured version of Pass, allowing you to secure all your online credentials.

1. Proton VPN (included in paid bundles): This is the game-changer. The Unlimited and Duo/Family plans fully integrate the premium Proton VPN service, allowing you to encrypt your internet connection, bypass censorship, and hide your IP address.

Essentially, once you move to the Unlimited tier, you're not just paying for Mail; you're subscribing to a unified, top-tier privacy solution covering email, files, passwords, and internet access, all under one account. We think that bundling is truly where the value of the platform lies.