Best email services
The best email service depends on what you need, but privacy and security are easy to compare when every answer links to evidence. This ranking covers every email provider we rate, including mainstream services, scored on the same public criteria.
1. Forward Email Grade A Our pick
Open-source email service with encrypted mailboxes, custom domains, and IMAP, POP3, SMTP, CalDAV and CardDAV on every paid plan.
Why it is our pick: 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.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Score 93/100.
2. mailbox.org Grade C
Paid email, calendar and office service from Berlin, Germany, with built-in PGP encryption and support for custom domains.
Based in Germany (Fourteen Eyes). Score 70/100.
3. StartMail Grade C
Paid email service from the Netherlands with built-in PGP encryption, unlimited aliases and custom domains.
Based in the Netherlands (Nine Eyes). Score 66/100.
4. Kolab Now Grade C
Paid email and groupware service from Apheleia IT in Switzerland, built on the open-source Kolab platform, with calendars, contacts, files and video calls.
Based in Switzerland. Score 64/100.
5. Proton Mail Grade C
End-to-end encrypted email service from Switzerland, with apps for web, Android, iOS and desktop.
Based in Switzerland. Score 64/100.
6. CounterMail Grade C
Paid email service in Sweden that encrypts mail with OpenPGP and stores it encrypted. New registrations are closed.
Based in Sweden (Fourteen Eyes). Score 62/100.
7. Posteo Grade C
Paid, ad-free email service from Germany that runs without collecting names or addresses and accepts anonymous payment.
Based in Germany (Fourteen Eyes). Score 62/100.
8. Tuta Grade C
End-to-end encrypted email and calendar service from Germany, with open-source apps for web, desktop and mobile.
Based in Germany (Fourteen Eyes). Score 61/100.
9. Disroot Grade D
Volunteer-run platform from the Netherlands offering email and other open services.
Based in the Netherlands (Nine Eyes). Score 59/100.
10. Riseup Grade D
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.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Score 59/100.
11. Purelymail Grade D
Low-cost email hosting from the United States with custom domains, standard protocols and mail stored encrypted with the user's password.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Score 55/100.
12. Mailfence Grade D
Email service from Belgium with built-in OpenPGP encryption and signing, plus calendar, contacts and document storage.
Based in Belgium (Fourteen Eyes). Score 54/100.
13. Infomaniak Mail Grade D
Email service from Swiss company Infomaniak, with free ik.me addresses and paid hosting for custom domains, plus web and mobile apps.
Based in Switzerland. Score 53/100.
14. Fastmail Grade D
Paid email service from Australia with custom domains and standard protocols.
Based in Australia (Five Eyes). Score 50/100.
15. Runbox Grade D
Paid email service from Norway with custom domain hosting, standard protocols and an open-source webmail app.
Based in Norway (Nine Eyes). Score 49/100.
16. iCloud Mail Grade D
Email service included with every Apple Account, with @icloud.com addresses and custom domains for iCloud+ subscribers.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Score 47/100.
17. Zoho Mail Grade D
Email service from Zoho for businesses and individuals, with custom domains, calendar and contacts, and an ad-free free plan.
Based in India. Score 45/100.
18. Gmail Grade D
Google's free email service. Mail is stored and processed on Google's servers, and Google Workspace offers it for business domains.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Score 41/100.
19. GoDaddy Email Grade F
Business email for custom domains sold by GoDaddy. It runs on Microsoft 365 (Exchange Online), with Outlook webmail and apps.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Score 39/100.
20. Namecheap Private Email Grade F
Paid email hosting from Namecheap for custom domains, with webmail, calendar and standard protocol access.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Score 36/100.
21. Outlook.com Grade F
Microsoft's free email service, also used for Hotmail and Live addresses.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Score 36/100.
22. Migadu Grade F
Swiss email hosting service for custom domains, priced by usage rather than per mailbox, with standard IMAP, POP3 and SMTP access.
Based in Switzerland. Score 35/100.
23. GandiMail Grade F
Paid email hosting for custom domains from Gandi, a French domain registrar, with SOGo and Roundcube webmail and standard protocol access.
Based in France (Nine Eyes). Score 34/100.
24. HEY Grade F
Paid email service from 37signals with a screening-based inbox and its own apps. Works only through the HEY apps, without IMAP or POP3.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Score 32/100.
25. GMX Grade F
Free, ad-supported email service from 1&1 Mail & Media in Germany, with webmail, mobile apps, calendar and cloud storage.
Based in Germany (Fourteen Eyes). Score 31/100.
26. Titan Grade F
Business email service for custom domains, sold through hosting and domain providers rather than directly. Includes webmail, mobile apps and a free plan with fewer features.
Based in the Cayman Islands. Score 31/100.
27. Yahoo Mail Grade F
Free, ad-supported email service from Yahoo with webmail and mobile apps. A paid Yahoo Mail Plus plan removes ads.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Score 30/100.
28. 123 Reg Email Hosting Grade F
Business email hosting for custom domains from 123 Reg, a UK domain and hosting company owned by GoDaddy. Mailboxes run on GoDaddy mail servers, with webmail and mobile apps.
Based in the United Kingdom (Five Eyes). Score 27/100.
29. Mail.com Grade F
Free, ad-supported email service from 1&1 Mail & Media, part of United Internet, offering addresses on many domains such as mail.com and email.com. A paid Premium plan adds IMAP, POP3 and phone support.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Score 27/100.
30. Yandex Mail Grade F
Free, ad-supported email service from Yandex in Russia, part of Yandex 360 with calendar and cloud storage. Custom domains are available through Yandex 360 for Business.
Based in Russia. Score 26/100.
31. AOL Mail Grade F
Free, ad-supported email service from AOL, owned by Bending Spoons, with webmail and mobile apps. A paid subscription removes ads.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Score 22/100.
How this list is made
Entries are ranked with our picks first, then by score against public criteria. Every answer links to evidence, and hosted services are tested automatically. The list updates when ratings change.
Compare all: email providers. Criteria and scoring.
Questions
Which email service is the best?
Our pick is listed first with the reason. For privacy, look for encrypted storage, open source, no ads and independent audits; for reliability, check the live tests of each service's mail servers.