# Private and open-source alternatives to WEB.DE

Also covers WEB.DE FreeMail, WEB.DE Mail.

## What is the best private alternative to WEB.DE?

Our pick is Forward Email. The whole service is published on GitHub, server code included. Each mailbox is a separately encrypted SQLite file, IMAP, POP3, SMTP, CalDAV and CardDAV work with any app, and custom domains are included on low-cost plans. Disclosure. Privacy Ratings is maintained by the team behind Forward Email. This entry is scored by the same criteria as every other email provider, and changes to it are reviewed under the published conflict-of-interest rules.

## The alternatives

1. [Forward Email](https://privacyratings.com/email-providers/forward-email/) (our pick): A (98/100). Open-source email service with encrypted mailboxes, custom domains, and IMAP, POP3, SMTP, CalDAV and CardDAV on every paid plan.
2. [mailbox.org](https://privacyratings.com/email-providers/mailbox-org/): C (70/100). Paid email, calendar and office service from Berlin, Germany, with built-in PGP encryption and support for custom domains.
3. [StartMail](https://privacyratings.com/email-providers/startmail/): C (69/100). Paid email service from the Netherlands with built-in PGP encryption, unlimited aliases and custom domains.
4. [CounterMail](https://privacyratings.com/email-providers/countermail/): C (63/100). Paid email service in Sweden that encrypts mail with OpenPGP and stores it encrypted. New registrations are closed.
5. [Kolab Now](https://privacyratings.com/email-providers/kolab-now/): C (63/100). Paid email and groupware service from Apheleia IT in Switzerland, built on the open-source Kolab platform, with calendars, contacts, files and video calls.
6. [Posteo](https://privacyratings.com/email-providers/posteo/): C (63/100). Paid, ad-free email service from Germany that runs without collecting names or addresses and accepts anonymous payment.
7. [Aster Mail](https://privacyratings.com/email-providers/aster-mail/): C (62/100). Email service from Aster Communications Inc. in the United States, with servers in Germany. Mail between Aster users is end-to-end encrypted with a hybrid post-quantum key exchange. Free and paid plans, no ads in the service.
8. [Tuta](https://privacyratings.com/email-providers/tuta/): C (62/100). End-to-end encrypted email and calendar service from Germany, with open-source apps for web, desktop and mobile.
9. [Proton Mail](https://privacyratings.com/email-providers/protonmail/): C (60/100). End-to-end encrypted email service from Switzerland, with apps for web, Android, iOS and desktop.
10. [Disroot](https://privacyratings.com/email-providers/disroot/): D (59/100). Volunteer-run platform from the Netherlands offering email and other open services.
11. [Infomaniak Mail](https://privacyratings.com/email-providers/infomaniak-mail/): D (56/100). Email service from Swiss company Infomaniak, with free ik.me addresses and paid hosting for custom domains, plus web and mobile apps.
12. [Soverin](https://privacyratings.com/email-providers/soverin/): D (56/100). Paid email service from Soverin B.V. in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with custom domains, unlimited aliases and calendar and contact sync. There is no free plan and no advertising.
13. [Riseup](https://privacyratings.com/email-providers/riseup/): D (55/100). Email, mailing list and VPN service run by an autonomous tech collective in Seattle for activists and social movements. Accounts need an invite, and the service is funded by donations.
14. [Purelymail](https://privacyratings.com/email-providers/purelymail/): D (51/100). Low-cost email hosting from the United States with custom domains, standard protocols and mail stored encrypted with the user's password.
15. [Mailfence](https://privacyratings.com/email-providers/mailfence/): D (50/100). Email service from Belgium with built-in OpenPGP encryption and signing, plus calendar, contacts and document storage.

Source: https://privacyratings.com/alternatives/web-de/