Mailfence

Mailfence is a Belgian encrypted email and collaboration service. Its distinguishing piece is an OpenPGP keystore built into the webmail: keys are created, imported, published and managed in one place, and encryption and decryption happen in the browser — no plugin or desktop software needed — so messages are end-to-end encrypted and can carry a digital signature that proves the sender. The same account covers Calendars, Documents and Groups for contacts, all sharing that key management.

Access is by web, POP, IMAP, SMTP and ActiveSync, with iOS and Android apps and a PWA. A free tier sits below four paid levels: Base at €2.50 per month (5 GB email, 6 GB documents), Entry at €3.50 (10 GB / 30 GB), Pro at €9.50 (30 GB / 48 GB) and Ultra at €29 (60 GB / 165 GB). Aliases, custom domains, DKIM, SPF, DMARC and user management appear from Entry upward. The company says it manages more than 600,000 accounts, its main business being licensing the email and collaboration application to companies and universities in Europe, and it pledges 15% of Ultra-plan income to the Electronic Frontier Foundation and European Digital Rights. A transparency report and warrant canary are maintained, and the TLS chain deliberately excludes US certificate authorities.

Mailfence was launched in 1999 and is run by ContactOffice Group SA in Brussels. It describes itself as a stable business rather than a high-burn startup with no foreign parent company, and argues that Belgian law — where a local court order is needed to compel data — gives its users protection that the American equivalents do not.