The Best Email Encryption Services for 2026

Pricing and compatibility: To use Proton Mail, you must switch to a new email address at one of Proton’s domains, unless you bring your own custom domain with you. You can create your account and give it a try at no charge, though the free tier limits your online storage and caps usage at 150 messages per day. If you like the free app but chafe at its limitations, you can upgrade to the Plus edition for $47.88 per year. If you step up to the Unlimited level, you pay $119.99 per year. Don’t faint; that price gets you full access to all of Proton’s products, including calendar, online storage, password management, VPN, and even a bitcoin wallet manager.

Authentication and security: There’s not much point in encrypting your email messages if a hacker can peek at them. Your Proton Mail account is protected by a master password, but you’ll also want to enable multi-factor authentication using Google Authenticator or a compatible authenticator app. Once you’ve enabled the authenticator app, you can take one more step toward impenetrable email security by enabling authentication using a hardware security key.

Encryption type: Some email encryption tools rely on PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) for their encryption, which, in theory, lets them share messages with other apps that use PGP. Setting up PGP can be awkward, though, so other apps trust their own proprietary encryption. Proton Mail uses PGP to protect your conversations with other Proton users. When you want to send secure mail to a non-user, Proton relies on an internal encryption algorithm that assigns a password (and optional hint) to each message. Naturally, you share the password through some other service, perhaps an encrypted messaging app on your phone.

Temporary email aliases: While Proton Mail encrypts the contents of your email conversations, these messages still visibly come from your email address. That means scammers and spammers might obtain that address, to your detriment. Proton Mail subscribers can take advantage of "hide-my-email" aliases supplied with Proton Pass—10 aliases for free users, unlimited for paying customers. At the Ultimate subscription tier, though, you get access to the SimpleLogin temporary email address service. Using Proton Mail and SimpleLogin together means you’re protecting the contents of your messages and also masking your actual email address.

Advanced features: If you spring for the most expensive subscription tier, you get the whole collection of Proton apps, including password management, VPN, and more. Standard and free subscribers also have access to these apps, albeit with limitations. Even on the free tier, you get 500MB of shareable online file storage. That rises to 15GB for paying customers, or 500GB for Ultimate users. You can set an expiry date for messages to non-Proton users. To organize your messages, you can put them in folders, apply labels, or both. Other features include defining message filter rules, setting an out-of-office message, and managing encrypted calendars. With Proton Mail, you get a lot more than just encryption.

Curious newbies: You know that encrypting your email would be smart, but you worry it might be too intrusive. No problem—just start a free Proton Mail account and give it a whirl. By the time you bump up against limits like 150 messages a day, you’ll know if you want to upgrade to a paid account.

Mobile mavens: Sit at a desk, with a desktop computer? Nope. You’re on the go, working from your mobile device. Proton Mail offers full-powered apps for Android and iOS, so you can use it wherever you go.

Feature collectors: When you choose an app, you want the maximum bang for your buck. With Proton Mail’s most expensive tier, you get full access to Proton’s VPN, password manager, cloud storage, and more. Standard and free tiers still get a subset of those features, decidedly more than you get with the competition.

Pricing and compatibility: Getting started with PreVeil could hardly be easier. You don’t have to worry about the price, as it’s free. You don’t have to switch to a new and different email address. And PreVeil integrates with Apple Mail, Gmail, and Outlook. Easy!

Authentication and security: As noted, with PreVeil, you simply continue using your existing email account, and PreVeil assumes you maintain its security. You don’t have to remember a master password or set up an authenticator app for PreVeil. However, if you haven’t set up multi-factor authentication for your email account, now would be a good time to do so.

Encryption type: Different email encryption systems that rely on the same Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) algorithm for encryption can theoretically share messages. In practice, setting up PGP on a single system can be challenging, and sharing the necessary public and private keys may be too complicated for some users. PreVeil eschews that shared technology, relying instead on an elaborate system of “wrapped keys” to thoroughly protect encryption details while keeping the user blissfully unaware.

Temporary email aliases: Some email encryption systems also handle hiding your actual email address behind temporary addresses, one for each correspondent. PreVeil doesn’t attempt that feat. If you want to hide your email address, you can pick up a free temporary email service like Bulc Club or ManyMe.

Advanced features: In line with its high-tech encryption, PreVeil comes with a business-grade account recovery system that uses partial keys held by multiple friends or colleagues. You can securely store important files in your 5GB of cloud storage and securely share those files, with detailed control over the recipient’s access permissions.

Freebie chasers: You didn’t get rich by paying for things you can have for free. When an app is both free and high-powered, like PreVeil, you’re delighted.

Change resisters: Thousands of people know and use your email, so the last thing you want is to ask them all to connect with you using a different address. Since PreVeil works with your existing email, there’s no worry about changing.

Mobile mavens: You’re just as likely to check email on your phone as you are to sit down at a Mac or a Windows PC. Your encryption solution needs to thoroughly support mobile platforms. You’ll find PreVeil available for free on both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.

Pricing and compatibility: With some email encryption services, you may need to switch to a new email account managed by the service. Not SecureMyEmail. You can start with a free installation that protects one existing email account. If you decide to unlock all features by switching to a paid account, you can protect up to eight existing accounts. And all that protection comes at a cost of $29.99 per year.

Authentication and security: SecureMyEmail protects your sensitive, encrypted email with multiple layers of security. First, of course, there’s the security of your email account itself. You’re using a strong password, right? You also lock down your SecureMyEmail account with its own password. A separate passphrase secures the public and private encryption keys that the program generates. Additionally, you can enable multi-factor authentication using Google Authenticator or a compatible authenticator app. If you send a secure message to someone who doesn’t use SecureMyEmail, they get an invitation to sign up for a free account.

Encryption type: The Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) encryption system has been around for more than 30 years and remains secure when developers make informed component choices. SecureMyEmail hides the initial PGP setup process as much as possible. In theory, you can exchange secure messages with users of different encryption apps, as long as they also use PGP. In practice, it’s complicated. For recipients who don’t use PGP, SecureMyEmail can encrypt a message based on the recipient’s email. A more thorough (but less convenient) option is to encrypt the message using a password that you share with the recipient via another channel.

Temporary email aliases: Every time you send an email, there’s a chance your email address might be exposed, either in a breach or because the recipient sold you out. Some email encryption apps incorporate privacy protection by hiding your actual address behind a host of disposable, temporary addresses. SecureMyEmail isn’t in that group, so if you want to conduct your email conversations without actually revealing your true address, you’ll need a separate temporary email app.

Advanced features: In addition to encrypting your messages, SecureMyEmail allows you to digitally sign them, ensuring that the recipient knows that the message originated from you and has not been tampered with. It also maintains a secure contacts list. As with Proton Mail, you can set an expiry date for messages sent to recipients who don’t use SecureMyEmail.

Cautious newbies: Before signing up for a new service, you like to know what you’re getting into. You can use SecureMyEmail for 30 days before paying for it, and you don’t even have to register a credit card.

Change resisters: You’ve considered using email encryption, but were put off by the need to uproot your stability and switch to a completely different email address. SecureMyEmail allays those worries because you use it with your existing email address. No change needed.

Mobile mavens: Sure, a computer with a keyboard is handy when you’re composing a lengthy email screed, but for just checking messages and making quick replies, a smartphone or tablet can be more convenient. SecureMyEmail is fully functional on both Android and iOS, and even features an iPadOS edition that leverages the larger screen.

Pricing and compatibility: You do have to switch to a new email address to use StartMail, but look on the bright side—you’re leaving behind all the spam and detritus associated with your existing account. StartMail doesn’t offer a limited, always-free tier, but you can try it out for seven days before committing to the $59.88 annual subscription.

Authentication and security: When you create a new StartMail account, you set a password to protect all your messages. Make it strong, or StartMail will gripe. To make sure you don’t lose access to your messages, StartMail generates a recovery code that you can use if you forget your password. Of course, a hacker or snooper who obtains your password or recovery code can access all your secrets. To avoid that unwelcome outcome, StartMail supports multi-factor authentication with Google Authenticator (or another app that supports standard time-based one-time password (TOTP)) authentication.

Encryption type: The PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) encryption system operates by generating pairs of keys, one public and one private. A message encrypted with your public key can only be decrypted using the private key. Setting up those key pairs can be a pain, but StartMail automates the process. It’s theoretically possible to export your keys and share them with others, enabling secure email even with those who don’t use StartMail, but it’s a complicated process. Most users will stick to StartMail’s password-based system for securely emailing contacts outside the StartMail network.

Temporary email aliases: Encryption lets you securely exchange messages with trusted correspondents. StartMail also provides a different kind of security for messaging with online merchants and others not in your inner trust circle. It can create an email alias for every such correspondent. The recipient sees that alias and never learns your actual email address. You send and receive messages as usual, but if one of your aliases starts getting spam, you can just trash it.

Advanced features: Messages sent to you are encrypted with your public PGP key, and StartMail decrypts them with your private key. You can also flip that scenario by digitally signing a message with your private key. The fact that your public key decrypts the message proves it came from you without modification. There’s an option to define message filters, primarily for slotting incoming mail into folders. And, as noted above, StartMail includes full email alias support.

Feature collectors: Given two apps that perform their stated task equally well, you’ll always choose the one that has more features beyond that stated task. StartMail’s big bonus is a fully featured temporary email service that hides your actual email when you communicate with merchants and other less-trusted sources.

Pricing and compatibility: Adding encryption to your email account with Virtru is a snap, provided that your account is with Gmail and you access your mail using Chrome. You can keep your existing email address, and you won’t have to pay a penny.

Authentication and security: Virtru integrates seamlessly with Gmail and relies on Gmail's security features. You’ve enabled multi-factor authentication for your Gmail account, right? Anyone who gains access to your Gmail can also see your encrypted messages, so keep that Gmail account tight.

Encryption type: Some email encryption services rely on the venerable PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) algorithm. Virtru bypasses the potential speed bumps associated with setting up PGP by relying on its proprietary encryption system. Messages with other Virtru users are encrypted and decrypted seamlessly. If you send a secure message to a non-user, they receive a link that lets them view and respond to it online. No password is required, but only the owner of the receiving email account can open the message.

Temporary email aliases: Encrypting your mail prevents snooping of message contents, but the fact that you sent the message remains plainly visible. Some of Virtru’s competitors enhance their privacy protection by integrating a temporary email address system, so the recipient never sees your actual email address. That’s not something Virtru does, though you can use it alongside a free temporary email service.

Advanced features: Virtru’s strength lies in its simplicity. Install the extension in Chrome, and it will help secure your Gmail account. It doesn’t add unnecessary features. It does have the handy ability to set an expiry time for any message or even revoke access to messages you’ve already sent. And the clever Rules system gives you special insight into messages that contain sensitive personal information, letting you automatically encrypt such messages, display a warning, or actively prevent sending, say, your SSN.

Freebie chasers: Why pay for something you can get at no cost? You like a bargain price, but you like getting freebies even better. Virtru doesn’t cost a thing, making it the perfect choice for you.

Change resisters: Encrypting your email is smart, but you balk at having to create, remember, and share an entirely new email address. Virtru has you covered—it totally works with your existing Gmail.

Minimalists: You’re willing to invest the effort to secure your email with encryption, but you have no interest in complex setup processes, such as activating PGP encryption keys. With Virtu, you install a Chrome extension and can start using encryption immediately. Now that’s simple.

Pricing and compatibility: You can install Tuta Mail and start using some of its features at no cost, except for the effort required to switch to a new email account. If the free tier does all you need, you’re golden. And if you decide you want more, the subscription price isn’t outrageous, just 36 euros. As of this writing, that’s just a bit over $41.

Authentication and security: Like StartMail, Tuta Mail requires you to define a master password when creating your account. Also, like StartMail, it provides a recovery code that you can use if you forget your password. But that password or recovery code works just as well to let a data thief into your encrypted email store. To eliminate that danger, you should configure Tuta Mail to use multi-factor authentication. As is typical, it supports the Google Authenticator app as well as any compatible authenticator apps. Once you’ve done that, you can configure Tuta Mail to use a hardware security key with the authenticator app as backup in case you lose your key.

Encryption type: The popular Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) algorithm relies on pairs of public and private keys. Anyone can send you a message encrypted with your public key, but only you can decrypt it with your private key. Internally, Tuta Mail uses public and private keys, but not through PGP. That means you can’t hook up private communications with users of other encrypted email systems that rely on PGP, but then, few consumers have the skill to set up that connection. Messaging with non-users relies on password-based encryption, but Tuta Mail cleverly stores a password along with each of your contacts. As always, you transmit the password using an alternative communication path, such as an encrypted mobile messaging app.

Temporary email aliases: By using a temporary email address service, you can communicate via email without revealing your true email address. The service handles managing all those email aliases, so you can read and respond to messages without any additional effort. Tuta Mail does include a feature it calls email aliases, but it’s limited. You can have up to 15 aliases, but you cannot change them once they are selected. And there’s no management of aliases, as a true temporary email service would provide. Tuta Mail’s aliases are better suited as a tool for organizing your messages.

Advanced features: Like Proton Mail and Private-Mail, Tuta Mail includes an encrypted calendar with all the expected features, such as repeating appointments, all-day events, and secure invitations. You can use its inbox rules system to sort incoming mail into folders based on words in the subject or people in the recipients list.

Cautious newbies: You’re willing to consider spinning up a brand-new email account for encrypted messaging, but you’re not entirely sure it will suit you. Tuta Mail’s free subscription is just the thing for you. Now you can enjoy the full experience for as long as you need to decide whether to upgrade to a paid subscription.

Mobile mavens: You use a wide range of devices, including desktop computers running various operating systems and mobile devices that run Android or iOS. Tuta Mail can run entirely within the browser, allowing you to use it on any desktop platform. And its Android and iOS apps include all the same features.

Pricing and compatibility: At $69.99 per year, Private-Mail is more expensive than some competitors and less expensive than others. But you don’t have to shell out for a subscription right away. You can create a free account with the same encryption technology, but it limits the amount of online storage available for your messages and files. As with many similar services, you must create a new, secure email address to make use of Private-Mail’s services.

Authentication and security: When setting up a new Private-Mail account, you select your new email address and provide a recovery email, a credit card number (even for free installations), and a password to secure your account. Even the strongest password can be vulnerable to hacking or shoulder surfing, though. For full protection, you should enable multi-factor authentication. All it takes is the Google Authenticator app on your phone, or any compatible authenticator app.

Encryption type: Over its more than three decades of existence, the PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) encryption algorithm has supported numerous apps. Private-Mail relies on PGP, though its setup process is more awkward than most. You’ll need to figure it out because you can’t use the app without configuring PGP.

Temporary email aliases: Encryption keeps what’s in your email messages private. Using temporary email addresses provides a layer of privacy protection for your email address. The service manages email aliases, typically a different one for each correspondent. Private-Mail has a feature called email identities that’s similar, but limited. You get a fixed number of identities, five by default, so the idea of using a separate one for each correspondent goes out the window.

Advanced features: One surprising absence with Private-Mail is that the OpenPGP protocol strips out all formatting from encrypted messages. All the other apps discussed here fully support rich text messaging. On the plus side, Private-Mail enhances your messaging with an encrypted calendar and the option to define message filter rules. The app offers 10GB of storage for encrypted files, along with secure file sharing. Setting up file encryption is awkward and involves configuring a separate set of PGP keys.

Cautious newbies: Before opening your wallet to buy a new app or service, you like to take it for a test drive first. That’s easy with Private-Mail; you can start with a free account and see how it goes. A free account gets less online storage for files and messages, but by the time you outgrow those limits, you should be clear about whether you want to stick with Private-Mail.

Feature collectors: If you’re going to replace your email address and email client to get the security of encrypted messaging, you want that client to do all the things around email as well. Private-Mail provides an encrypted calendar to complement your encrypted email. Like all the best email clients, it lets you organize messages using message filter rules and set an away message for when you’re out of the office. Private-Mail also provides hosted online storage for encrypted files, allowing you to share them either by using PGP or by setting an encryption password.