If you are interested in the protection and privacy of your emails, and you’ve done your research into the top contenders, it’s no surprise that you want to see which one is better – Tutanota or ProtonMail.
They both have exceptional reputations whose foundations are built on protecting their users’ emails. So which one is better suited to your needs?
Tutanota and ProtonMail are among the most secure email alternatives that pride themselves on your privacy. Both offer end-to-end encryption making interception near impossible. Tutanota encrypts more spaces, yet ProtonMail has a spam filter and RSA encryption of 256-bit while Tutanota has a 128-bit protocol.
Most email services available today can, if they so please, decrypt and read your emails.
This can be seen even with those who advertise themselves as secure options. A key component to secure email services is keeping your personal data private.
So let us take a look at the differences between these two providers.
Tutanota And ProtonMail Head To Head
Below, we take a look at some basic information about each provider and dissect what makes them unique. Following that, we shall examine what sort of encryption and privacy each provides.
Tutanota
Tutanota is a secure email provider that is based in Germany, and it offers a free package as well as purchasable ones.
It contains impressive features such as its outstanding end-to-end encryption, SHA256, and U2F password hashing, and they boast research into Quantum Cryptography.
Its encryption is robust with RSA 2048-bit, and AES 128-bit; unfortunately, there is no PGP. However, it has encrypted subject lines, address books, calendars, and perfect forward secrecy.
Your IP address is stored; however, it’s hidden. As far as privacy, you are protected by German law, and their spam filtering is restrictive.
ProtonMail
ProtonMail also offers a secure email service that can be obtained for free. They are a Swiss provider who is proud to say that their security is so exemplary that even they cannot access your email content due to their Open Source and zero-knowledge architecture.
ProtonMail has RSA 2048-bit, AES 256-bit, and OpenPGP in terms of their encryption.
They ensure your anonymity as your IP address is not stored, and in terms of privacy, you are protected by Swiss law and the company’s commitment. However, their spam filtering is permissive, which may be a pro or con for some.
The Encryption Used By Tutanota And ProtonMail
Both of these services ensure that your email messages are encrypted every step of the way, thus preventing any interceptions along the way.
The emails are encrypted while stored within the servers, in transit from the servers to the user’s device, and while in their secure networks.
Tutanota
Tutanota uses RSA 2048-bit end-to-end symmetrical encryption for user-to-user emails, and for user-to-non-user, it uses AES 128-bit.
Although they do not use PGP, they use algorithms that are the same, and the subject line and the body of the email are encrypted. Also, your address book and calendar are encrypted.
The encryption is so good that even Tutanota themselves cannot decrypt your emails.
With their perfect forward secrecy, it means that even if somehow a cybercriminal was able to access past sessions, they will not have access to future sessions.
ProtonMail
ProtonMail also makes use of RSA 2048-bit end-to-end symmetrical encryption for their user-to-user emails; however, for user-to-non-user, they make use of AES 256-bit.
They use OpenPGP, an industry-standard algorithm for email encryption; however, it does have several weaknesses.
Two of these are that the subject lines of emails are not encrypted, and there is also no perfect forward secrecy.
As with Tutanota, the encryptions that ProtonMail uses prevents even them from being able to decrypt and read your emails.
Supported Devices For Tutanota And ProtonMail
Tutanota has a web-based version that you can access online, but it also offers a desktop option for Windows, Mac, OS, and Linux, and there are apps available for Android and iOS.
So you’ll likely find a solution for yourself, regardless of which device you are using.
ProtonMail offers a web-based version, just like Tutanota and many other ‘regular’ email providers.
Other than this, you can download the apps for either Android or iOS. If you are a paid user, you can install the ProtonMail Bridge app that runs in the background and encrypts all emails coming and going from your computer.
The Spam Filtering For Tutanota And ProtonMail
Tutanota has an intelligent spam filter, which offers parameters that users can utilize to identify and filter any unwanted emails.
Although they are continuously working to improve this tool, some feel that the filter is actually too restrictive.
ProtonMail, on the other hand, has a smart spam detection system that places incoming emails either into your spam folder or inbox.
It is not perfect, unfortunately, and therefore there are times when it may misfile your messages. To help combat this, there is a whitelister you can use to bypass this problem.
The Pricing And Offers Available From Each Provider
If you are looking to acquire an account for personal use and want to opt for the free account, then we must note that Tutanota offers double the amount of storage of ProtonMail’s.
However, that still means that you can have up to 150 messages per day. Additionally, what is great about both of them, is that they are ad-free.
Both providers offer add-ons that allow for additional storage and aliases. The pricing for these extras starts at €1 per GB per month.
One distinct difference is that if you are hoping for a tailored package, Tutanota is the provider you are more likely to look at. Also, they have packages for personal and business use.
To see what each of them has to offer, a breakdown of the packages, and the pricing, be sure to visit both Tutanota and ProtonMail.
Tutanota
- If you are looking for an account for personal use, the free account, which offers 1 GB of storage (approximately 300 emails daily), is a viable option. Or you can go with the premium account for €1.20 per month, or you can take the yearly package for €1 per month. There is also the Teams option.
- If you are a business, there are three options: Premium, Teams, and Pro. The prices vary from €2 to €8.40 per month depending on the plan and whether you are taking a monthly or annual payment plan. The Pro account offers 10 GB of storage, custom domains, and up to 20 aliases.
ProtonMail
- ProtonMail’s free account is for single use only, and it comes with half the storage of Tutanota (500MB, which is 150 emails per day). It allows you to create up to three separate folders in the mailbox to organize your messages.
- There are three paid versions available to their customers: Plus, Visionary, and Professional. The prices range from €4 to €30, depending on whether you opt for monthly or yearly payments. Although the prices are higher, the storage, number of aliases, and other factors are far greater than Tutanota.
Customer Support For Tutanota And ProtonMail
Tutanota offers a fair knowledge base and has a big Subreddit, so you should be able to find the solutions to any issues you are having.
Unfortunately, one of the main downsides is that their email support is exclusively for paying customers.
ProtonMail has a great knowledge base, and their Subreddit is substantially larger than Tutanota.
On top of this, their commitment to supporting their clients via email support extends to their free users.
Sure, paid plans are escalated, but at least you know you will be helped in time, even though you are not a paying customer.
Conclusion
Tutanota and ProtonMail are both noteworthy contenders when it comes to mail applications.
And although Tutanota offers its users feature selection and is a cheaper option, overall, ProtonMail seems to deliver more in terms of security, storage, ease of use, and customer support.
In the end, both of them will offer you what you are looking for, and that is peace of mind that the information contained in your emails is secure and private.
It’s a close call, but if you have the extra money to spend, I would recommend opting for ProtonMail for the reasons we have seen above.
