With its 3TB cloud storage space, support for up to 6 users, access to all Proton premium features and apps, and Proton scribe writing assistance, Proton Family has a STRONG EDGE over ProtonMail Unlimited and ProtonMail Plus.
If you’re okay with 500GB storage space, 15 extra email addresses for you, 1 user account, midrange VPN features, unlimited hide email aliases, password manager, 3 custom email domains, and other advanced features, Proton Unlimited, which costs $9.99 monthly, is suitable for you.
And if you’re comfortable with 15GB storage space, support for 1 custom email domain and user, 10 extra email addresses, access to Proton Calendar, then ProtonMail Plus, which costs $3.99 monthly, will serve you.
I have previously reviewed Proton VPN plans, now I’ve taken time to research and collect data on ProtonMail paid plans and their features.
So in this ProtonMail Plus vs Unlimited vs Family comparison, I shared my findings to help you choose the best.
ProtonMail Plus vs Unlimited vs Family at a Glance
| ProtonMail Plus | ProtonMail Unlimited | ProtonMail Family | |
| Cloud storage space | 15GB | 500GB | 3TB |
| End-to-end email encryption | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| User supported | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Custom email domain | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Encrypted password manager | No | Yes | Yes |
| Fast & private VPN | No | Yes | Yes |
| Hide my email aliases | 10 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Proton scribe writing assistant | No | Yes | Yes |
| Folders and Labels | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Added premium proton products | Proton Calendar | Proton Calendar, VPN, Drive, Pass, and Wallet | Proton Calendar, VPN, Drive Pass, Wallet, and Doc |
| Pricing | $3.99 monthly | $9.99 monthly | $23.99 monthly |
Try ProtonMail Plus and Get your 20% Discount
Try ProtonMail Unlimited and Get your 23% Discount
Try ProtonMail Family and Get your 20% Discount
What is the difference between ProtonMail Plus, Unlimited, and Family? Which should you choose?
Proton Unlimited is better than Mail Plus.
It offers 500GB storage space for emails, while Mail Plus offers 15 GB.
While Mail Plus allows for the creation of 5 email addresses only, Proton Unlimited supports the creation of 15 email addresses.
On Proton Unlimited plan, you can create 3 custom email addresses, while on Mail Plus, it is only 1.
Premium features like Proton VPN, Proton Pass, Drive, and Calendar are available on Proton Unlimited, while on Mail Plus, they are absent.
When it comes to ProtonMail Family vs Unlimited, the former is better than the latter.
Proton Family offers 3 terabytes while Proton Unlimited offers 500 GB.
Proton Unlimited allows you to create only 15 email addresses, while Proton Family is more generous and allows you to create up to 60 email addresses.
When it comes to the number of users you can create, Proton Family allows up to 6, while Proton Unlimited allows for only 1.
ProtonMail Plus Review
This is the least expensive plan ProtonMail offers, and it’s suitable for individuals like journalists, lawyers, content creators, activists, and anyone who runs a solo online business that requires less storage for emails. I recommend it to beginners and solo online business owners because it’s pocket-friendly.
ProtonMail Plus pricing plans are as follows:
- $4.99/month for monthly billing
- $3.99/month for 12-month billing
You save $12 or get a 20% discount when you subscribe to the 12-month billing.
There is a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Major Features Of ProtonMail Plus
- You get 15GB of storage to send and store emails
- Only one user has access to the account
- You can create up to 10 email addresses
- You can create 1 custom email address, example is (you@yourname.com)
- Supports unlimited labels, filters, and folders
ProtonMail Unlimited
This is the advanced plan of ProtonMail and offers bigger storage than Mail Plus. It’s suitable for small media houses, law firms and businesses to deal more via email communication.
And the interesting thing is that you get additional premium features like Proton VPN, Pass, Drive, and Calendar.
The pricing plans are as follows:
$12.99/month for monthly billing
$9.99/month for 12-month billing
You save $36 or get a 23% discount when you subscribe to the 12-month billing. There is also a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Major Features Of ProtonMail Unlimited
- You enjoy 500GB storage, which is 33x what you get on Mail Plus
- Only one user can access your email accounts
- You can create 15 email addresses, which is 1.5X what Mail Plus offers you.
- Supports 3 custom email domains (3x what you get on Mail Plus)
- Unlimited filters, labels, and folders
- You get additional premium features like Proton VPN Unlimited, Proton Pass, Calendar, and Drive.
ProtonVPN Mail vs Unlimited: Which is better?
Proton Unlimited is better than Mail Plus from the features I listed above.
For example, Proton Unlimited offers 500GB of storage for emails while Mail Plus offers 15 GB.
While Mail Plus allows for the creation of 5 email addresses only, Proton Unlimited allows for the creation of 15.
On Proton Unlimited, you can create 3 custom email addresses, while on Mail Plus, it is only 1.
Premium features like Proton VPN, Proton Pass, Drive, and Calendar are available on Proton Unlimited, while Mail Plus doesn’t.
ProtonMail Family
This is the highest plan Proton has for its email-encrypted services. It has sophisticated features suitable for large businesses and enterprises that deal heavily with emails and require large storage space. Imagine having up to 3 terabytes of storage, which is 8X more than the storage of ProtonMail Plus and Unlimited combined.
Proton Family pricing plans are as follows:
$29.99/month for monthly billing
$23.99/month for 12-month billing
You save $72 or get a 20% discount for the 12-month plan. Plus, there is a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Major Features Of ProtonMail Family
- 3 terabytes of storage (8X the storage of Mail Plus and Unlimited combined)
- Up to 6 users can have an account and access emails to this plan (6X the number of users Unlimited plan supports)
- Create up to 90 email addresses (6X the number of email addresses Unlimited offers)
- You can create up to 3 custom email domains
- Unlimited folders, filters, and labels
- Just like Proton Unlimited, Proton Family gives you access to other products like Proton VPN, Proton Pass, Proton Calendar, and Drive.
- It offers Proton scribe writing
Proton Unlimited vs Proton Family: Which is better?
Proton Family is better than Proton Unlimited.
To begin with, Proton Family offers 3 terabytes while Proton Unlimited offers 500 GB.
Proton Unlimited allows you to create only 15 email addresses, while Proton Family allows you to create up to 60 email addresses.
When it comes to the number of users you can create, Proton Unlimited allows only 1, while Proton Family allows up to 6.
ProtonMail Features Explained
Even though you are only interested in learning about the pricing plans of ProtonMail and making comparisons to know which suits you most, it’s important you also know about the overall features of ProtonMail and how they help protect your emails.
Email Tracker Blocker
Email trackers spy on you and tell advertisers what you click on. This happens on Gmail, and that’s why advertisers follow you around the web to show you ads based on your past behavior online.
Such a thing doesn’t happen on ProtonMail as it has a sophisticated Email Tracker Blocker that stops advertisers from monitoring your email behavior.
Ad Free
On Google or Yahoo, once I open my inbox, I see ads, and sometimes don’t know when I click on them. This isn’t so with ProtonMail as it’s ad-free. You can’t see any ads in your inbox, sent box, or outbox, even if you are on the free plan.
Strict Privacy
ProtonMail has its headquarters in Switzerland, and Switzerland has one of the strictest data privacy laws. So you can have peace of mind that any data you send or receive via email is protected. It’s also important to note that Switzerland isn’t part of any surveillance alliance, be it the 5/9/14 surveillance alliance.
Open Source and Independently Audited
All Proton products are open source and have been independently audited to confirm their privacy and security standards. Just like its VPN services have been independently audited by Securitium, a well-known cybersecurity company, its end-to-end email encrypted services have also undergone the same scrutiny, which is why international organizations, journalists, newsrooms, activists, and academics trust it for secure and private communication.
Password Protection
I like the password protection feature because it allows you to set passwords and expiration dates for all your confidential emails. This ensures they are safely sent to your contacts even if they don’t have a ProtonMail account.
Hide My Email Aliases
When you sign up for gated content on websites, chances are you will be spammed or attacked with malware. To stop this, hide-my-email aliases support you to create aliases. With that, your real email address is hidden, and you are safe from spam or phishing attacks.
Schedule, Undo, and Snooze Emails
Just like on Gmail and Yahoo Mail, you can schedule emails on Proton and have them sent at a specific time. Even if you mistakenly sent an email, you can undo it within minutes.
You can also snooze incoming emails so you can read them at your convenience.
Compatible With Devices
You can operate ProtonMail on all devices and use their open-source app for iPhone, Android, Web, and desktop.
1-Click Unsubscribe
If you no longer enjoy the newsletter you signed up for using ProtonMail, you can unsubscribe in one click. Nothing like taking those annoying exit surveys that want to know why you are exiting an email list.
Strong & Automatic Encryption
Proton does not see or read your emails, and they can never give third party access to them. Thanks to its automatic end-to-end encryption, which ensures that your data and information are known to you alone.
This is the opposite of what you get on Gmail and Yahoo, where there are cases of your data given to third-party advertisers for marketing goals.
Proton Sentinel
This is a more sophisticated feature that places ProtonMail above other end-to-end email encryption services. It works further beyond the default security protection.
For example, email accounts added to Proton Sentinel are monitored 24/ by Proton’s advanced security team, whose duty is to detect actions aimed at taking over an account. If you are an intelligence agency or company that deals with sensitive data, enrolling in Proton Sentinel is recommended.
2FA With Hard Security Keys
If you mistakenly expose your password, you can still stay safe with 2FA (2-factor authentication) enabled by hard security keys. This saves you the stress of reaching your phone to open your authenticator app.
ProtonMail Pricing Plans: Alternatives
If you think ProtonMail pricing plans are expensive, let’s look at its alternatives and what they offer.
ZohoMail
ZohoMail is another end-to-end encryption email service that is a competitor to ProtonMail, although ProtonMail has a strong edge over it. One of its striking features is the ability to recall emails. I also like the contact portal and the ability to migrate without issues.
It has 3 pricing plans:
Mail Lite: $1/month for 5GB storage
Mail Premium: $4/month for 50GB storage
Workspace: A custom pricing that requires you to contact the sales team.
Yes, ZohoMail might be cheaper compared to ProtonMail, but its security features are limited. To start with, ZohoMail is located in India, which is not a country well known for strict privacy laws. You can’t compare it with ProtonMail, which is located in Switzerland, one of the countries with the strictest privacy laws.
Another is that Proton offers more storage space than Zoho. The least storage space on ProtonMail plans is 15Gb while on ZohoMail, it’s just 5 GB.
Tuta
This is another end-to-end encryption email service that takes privacy seriously. Thanks to its server located in Germany, a country known for strict privacy laws. Tuta is open source and has also been independently audited to confirm its strict privacy policy. I used the free plan, which offered me 1GB of storage, to test some of its security features like image blocking and header stripping.
It has 2 paid plans:
Revolutionary Plan: €3/month (20GB storage, 1 user)
Legend Plan: €8/month (500GB, and multiple users)
Tuta is cheaper and generous with storage space, but it lacks some features like email aliases and VPN service, which ProtonMail offers as additional features on its Unlimited and Family plans.
Mailfence
Mailfence is not new when it comes to encrypted email services. It has been around since 1999 and manages over 600,000 accounts. Its headquarters is in Belgium, a location with strict privacy laws. Just like Tuta and Proton, it uses AES-256 to encrypt your data. This means your private keys, even though they are stored on their server, are known to you alone and nobody, even they as the provider, can read them.
Mailfence has two paid plans:
Base Plan: $2.5/month (11GB storage, 10 email aliases)
Entry Plan: $3.50/month (40GB storage, 50 email aliases)
When you compare these plans to ProtonMail, you will see that ProtonMail charges more but offers more features.
For example, ProtonMail offers up to 500 GB storage and, in addition, premium features like ProtonVPN, Proton Pass, Drive, and Calendar, which are available on Proton Unlimited and Family plans.
ProtonMail Plans – What Reddit Users Say
I jumped on Reddit to get a feel of what other users say about ProtonMail Plus, Unlimited, and Family.
Many of the users agree to the strictest privacy policies of ProtonMail, even on the free plan. They also agree that the 500GB storage and the ProtonVPN, which users on Proton Unlimited and Family enjoy, are great value.
Brief Overview Of ProtonMail
ProtonMail is an end-to-end encryption email service that is based in Switzerland, a country with the strictest privacy laws around the world. Many businesses, media organizations, academics, activists, law firms, and journalists prefer it to keep their email communication safe from phishing eyes and third-party advertisers.
When did it come on board?
ProtonMail came on board in 1991 at Central European Nuclear Research (CERN) by Physicist Max Schrems after he read a memoir on spying. The aim was to protect journalists and activists who had sensitive details, and for them to share them via email without anyone spying on them.
Today, it has grown into the most trusted end-to-end email encryption service used by over 100 million people around the world who believe that their privacy and email communication should be known to them only.
ProtonMail has continued to be transparent on their business model, which is that they make money only from the subscription fee users pay. Even the free plan is made possible by this fee. They NEVER sell your details to billion-dollar companies who are hungry to have them for marketing purposes.
This is what separates it from Gmail, Yahoo, and other email service providers that many suspect sell user data to third-party advertisers.
The team is made up of engineers, scientists, and researchers from various backgrounds around the world, with 400 employees working from 20 different countries.
What is ProtonMail Plus?
Proton Mail Plus is the least expensive ProtonMail paid service that offers you 15GB storage, 10 email addresses, unlimited folders, labels, and filters in addition to one custom email domain.
It’s suitable for individuals like journalists, activists, lawyers, and any person who wants to secure their email communication using end-to-end encryption at an affordable price.
What does ProtonMail Unlimited offer?
Proton Unlimited offers 500GB storage, Proton VPN, Proton Pass, 15 email addresses, 3 custom email domains, one user access calendar, and a drive. It’s suitable for media houses, law firms, large corporations, and other establishments that require large storage space for emails.
Why would someone use ProtonMail?
Privacy and online security are extremely important in our present world. You can get your sensitive details exposed via email communication that isn’t protected. This can cost you irreparable damage. I have heard of businesses losing huge amounts because sensitive information about a business deal was exposed to phishing eyes. Also, it’s annoying for advertisers to monitor and target you with ads just because they have your data, read your emails, and track your behavior. All these are what ProtonMail blocks and reasons to be on any of its paid plans.
What is the difference between ProtonMail and Gmail?
The difference between ProtonMail and Gmail is much.
On Gmail, advertisers have your data, that’s why they target you with ads based on your previous online activities. ProtonMail doesn’t sell your data to advertisers, no ads on emails, all thanks to its end-to-end encryption and strict privacy laws in Switzerland, where its headquarters is located.
On ProtonMail, scammers can’t hack your email account and get access to sensitive details. Business email compromise is a common type of email scam in America and around the world, and ProtonMail fights it using advanced security features like Proton Sentinel, 2FA With Hardware keys, and zero access encryption.
Your email account can be vulnerable on Gmail, especially if you are on the free plan, since there are no sophisticated security features to stop fraudulent attacks.
What do people use ProtonMail for?
People who are concerned about their privacy and online security use ProtonMail to ensure their email communication is safe and that their data isn’t being sold to third-party advertisers or even handed over to the government.
Can I trust ProtonMail?
You can trust ProtonMail because it’s an end-to-end email encryption service provider. This means nobody, even ProtonMail, doesn’t see or read your emails, and your data can’t be sold to anyone.
Is ProtonMail free plan good?
Yes, ProtonMail free plan is good for a beginner with no budget. You enjoy up to 1GB of storage and have access to basic security features. However, the paid plan will give you more access to sophisticated tools like Proton Pass, Proton Drive, more storage, plus other features you need to reliably protect your email communication. You can easily upgrade to any of the paid plans of ProtonMail when you are ready.
Final thoughts
All the paid plans of ProtonMail offer end-to-end email encryption and can keep your email communication private and safe from phishing eyes. They vary in price, so choose the one within your budget. The higher the price, the more features you have access to. The interesting thing is you can always upgrade to a higher plan.
For any of the plans you settle for, you enjoy up to a 20% discount using this special link.
