Best secure email provider of 2024

Best secure email provider: quick menu

A shocked girl sitting on sofa at home looking on laptop screen

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

The best secure email provider of 2024 in full:
1. Best popular
2.
Best overall
3.
Best for business users
4.
Best affordable
5.
Best anonymous
6.
Best US service
FAQs
How we test

If you value the utmost privacy and security in your online communications, whether it’s for personal or professional reasons, then using a secure email provider is a must.

Although you may want to consider going with popular email providers such as Gmail from Google or Outlook from Microsoft, these services don’t necessarily secure your emails with end-to-end encryption - the gold standard for digital privacy. Services that don’t enable this put your communications at risk from interception, either by governments or cybercriminals.

However, secure email providers do offer end-to-end encryption. They also have other privacy and security enhancing features, including protocols that dictate user rights in the event of a data breach or receiving court orders. This makes them an ideal choice for businesses operating in regions where GDPR and similar regulations are in force.

The best secure email providers should also have zero-access guarantees, which go hand-in-hand with end-to-end encryption.

So in this guide, we’ve rounded up the best of the bunch that are currently available, making them perfect for internal communications at your organization and dealing with sensitive information.

We've also featured the best email hosting.

Best popular secure email provider

(Image credit: ProtonMail)
Most popular secure email provider

Reasons to buy

+
Security is top notch
+
Streamlined and modern UI

Reasons to avoid

-
Subject lines lack end-to-end encryption

Founded in 2014 at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Proton Mail is a secure email provider featuring end-to-end encryption and a zero-access guarantee. The service was created in response to leaks from Edward Snowden and has its data centers based in Switzerland in an underground bunker strong enough to survive a nuclear attack. 

One of the defining features of Proton Mail’s service is the “self-destructing” emails, which are automatically removed from the recipient’s inbox after a set time period. Moreover, you are not asked to divulge any sensitive information when signing up for a new account.

The free plan supports a single email address, up to 1GB storage and 150 messages a day, and users looking for more may opt for any of its tiered premium plans.

Read our full Proton Mail review.

Best overall secure email provider

(Image credit: Securemyemail)

2. SecureMyEmail

Best overall secure email service

Reasons to buy

+
Easy to use
+
Top-of-the-range security features

SecureMyEmail provides something that is different from the rest of the other providers on that list. It delivers zero-knowledge end-to-end encryption and encryption-at-rest for ANY email address. You KEEP your email address. Even better is that you can encrypt your personal email for free (Gmail, Yahoo and Microsoft only).

Its advanced security options will appeal to more experienced users. Although most email providers do provide secure email facilities, users particularly concerned with security are catered for - zero-knowledge encryption is as good as it gets. Each SecureMyEmail account includes eight addresses. 

A limited free plan enables encrypting personal emails for a single Gmail, Yahoo or Microsoft email address. If you need to support more email addresses, or your account is with another provider, or you need SecureMyEmail for business use, paid plans start at $2.50 a month paid annually.

Read our full SecureMyEmail review.

Best secure email provider for business users

(Image credit: Mailbox.org)

3. Mailbox.org

Secure email workflow for business users

Reasons to buy

+
Lots of additional tools
+
Friendly UI

Reasons to avoid

-
No metadata encryption

Dedicated to serving business users with a strong requirement for security, Mailbox.org is a secure email provider based in Germany. It has a very user-friendly interface, and, despite being a secure email provider, it is compatible with mobile devices and third-party clients. 

Aside from a secure email service, Mailbox.org also comes with encrypted cloud storage, video conferencing features, a functional address book, a calendar, and a task planner. It is a well-rounded solution for businesses looking for an encrypted workflow alternative to Google or Microsoft. 

There is no free plan available, but the three premium-category plans start at only €1 a month, and even that gets you calendar and contacts tools along with 2GB of mail storage.

Read our full Mailbox.org review.

Best affordable secure email provider

(Image credit: Zoho)

4. Zoho Mail

Affordable email with a focus on security

Reasons to buy

+
User friendly and feature rich
+
End-to-end encryption

Reasons to avoid

-
No zero-knowledge guarantee

With servers located all over the world, Zoho Mail is a secure email hosting solution with a focus on data encryption and user-friendliness. Unlike other secure email providers, it tries to achieve a subtle balance between features and privacy to give users a friendly experience. 

Aside from the usual email service with adequate spam and mail filters, Zoho Mail also offers additional features like a calendar, a task manager, and a contact portal. In terms of security, Zoho offers an encrypted environment in which data is safe whether it is stationary or on the move. The data stored on its servers can still be accessed by the company and subpoenaed by government agencies, although there is a very specific protocol to follow in either case. 

Zoho Mail comes with three paid plans to choose from: Mail Lite features 5GB or 10GB of storage space per user. This is followed by Mail Premium, which offers 50GB of space per user. There is also an additional plan which is suitable for users who would also like access to the company’s other solutions, such as the web-based word processing and presentation software.

Read our full Zoho Mail review.

Best anonymous secure email provider

(Image credit: Posteo)

5. Posteo

Anonymized email for activists

Reasons to buy

+
Trustworthy handling of user data
+
DANE-based authentication system
+
Ad free

Reasons to avoid

-
No end-to-end encryption

With its data centers located in Germany, Posteo is the email provider of choice for digital crusaders and activists. It does not offer end-to-end encryption per se, since emails can be read in plain text by third parties if there is a leak. However, all data on its servers is secured, whether moving or stationary. 

Furthermore, Posteo uses a technology called DNS-based Authentication of Named Entities (DANE), which protects against hackers who try to impersonate the sender or the recipient to gain access to sensitive information. Posteo also doesn’t store any identifying data on its users and fights frequent legal battles to ensure the privacy of its users.

And if this strong focus on privacy and security isn't enough, Posteo has another very unusual plus: it's 100% powered by green energy via Green Planet Energy.

Read our full Posteo review.

Best US secure email provider

(Image credit: PrivateMail)

6. PrivateMail

Secure email with a few hiccups

Reasons to buy

+
Feature-rich cloud storage offering
+
Strong security practices with end-to-end encryption

Reasons to avoid

-
More expensive than rivals

With its servers located in the United States, PrivateMail is subject to certain legal restrictions and doesn’t provide the same amount of privacy from law enforcement or government agencies as an email provider based in Germany or Switzerland. However, it offers end-to-end encryption and secure cloud storage. It also boasts some really strong security practices.

PrivateMail Standard comes with 10GB of email and cloud storage each, whereas Pro offers 20GB of space for email and cloud storage. There are business plans available for enterprise-level users offering 100GB of storage and a custom domain. 

Apart from offering email services, PrivateMail features a very capable cloud storage and file syncing service that’s included in all of its paid plans. There’s also an email calendar that business users will be thankful for. 

Read our full PrivateMail review.


Also see these secure email providers

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

We've recently been testing out the leading secure email providers. Check out reviews below to find out more about each service provider:

We've also listed the best free email services.


Best secure email provider FAQs

What is SPF?

By: Peter Goldstein, chief technology officer and co-founder, Valimail

Email security and SPF have long gone hand in hand. That’s because Sender Policy Framework, also known as SPF, is considered the first and oldest email authentication standard. 

SPF is an IP-based authentication protocol, such that messages are authenticated with SPF based on the IP address of the server that delivers the message to its final destination. To use SPF, a domain owner declares in a specially-formatted DNS TXT record the list of servers and networks authorized to send mail using that domain. Mail receivers, such as Gmail or Yahoo Mail, can then look up that record to determine if an authorized host delivered the incoming messages. 

When SPF made its way onto the security scene in the early 2000s, it was a game-changer. The Internet today though is far more complex. As a result, SPF can prove challenging. 

To start, SPF is a text record, which makes typos and syntax errors all too easy. And while there are nuances to SPF that can trip up even the most seasoned IT person, the biggest challenge is the fact that there are no notification mechanisms in place. If something goes wrong with your implementation, it’s up to you to figure out when, why and how it happened.

What are the limitations of SPF?

Aside from implementation challenges, SPF has a few limitations to keep in mind. 

SPF contains a limit on the number of DNS lookups that mail servers will do when evaluating an SPF record, aka the 10-domain lookup limit. Historically, this limit has not been a challenge as most senders ran their own mail infrastructure. Ten lookups can go pretty quickly though in today’s cloud-first environment.

SPF also uses the domain shown in a message’s Return-Path field for authentication, leaving the “From:” address open to spoofing.

SPF is prone to failure when a message passes through an intermediary, such as a forwarding service or mailing list, on the way to its final destination.

Since SPF is not enough in today’s cloud environment, domain owners should look for a complete email authentication solution that addresses the shortcomings of SPF. Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) is a great place to start.

Valimail 1

(Image credit: Valimail)

Which secure email provider is best for you?

When deciding which secure email provider to download and use, first consider what your actual needs are, as sometimes cheaper options offer more limited security options, so if you need advanced tools and settings you may find the more expensive secure email provider are much more worthwhile. So do ensure you have a good idea of which range of features and security settings you think you may require from your secure email provider.

How we tested the best secure email providers

To test for the best secure email providers we first set up an account with the relevant secure email provider, then we tested the service to see how the provider worked under different conditions, purposes and situations. We wanted to specifically look at security settings, to see just how secure the accounts were, such as encryption rate, but also account recovery options which hackers might try to exploit. The aim was to push each secure email provider to see how useful its basic tools were and also how easy it was to get to grips with any more advanced tools.

Read how we test, rate, and review products on TechRadar.

Get in touch

  • You've reached the end of the page. Jump back up to the top ^
Ritoban Mukherjee

Ritoban Mukherjee is a freelance journalist from West Bengal, India. His work has been published on Tom's Guide, TechRadar, Creative Bloq, IT Pro Portal, Gizmodo, Medium, and Mental Floss. Ritoban is also a member of the National Association of Science Writers.

With contributions from