Proton Mail Review: Free Encrypted Email, and 20% Off Mail Plus With No Promo Code Needed

Proton Mail is the encrypted inbox most people reach for when they decide they would rather not have their email read for advertising. It is free to start, it costs about the same as a sandwich a month to upgrade, and the company behind it has spent a decade building a set of security tools around it. The question for most readers is not whether it is private, but whether it is practical enough to replace Gmail.

Proton Mail deal: 20% off Mail Plus on annual billing

• Offer: Mail Plus at US$3.99 a month (£2.99 / €3.55), billed US$47.88 (£35.93 / €42.64) every 12 months
• Promo Code: No Promo Code needed; the annual discount is shown on Proton’s pricing page
• Who qualifies: anyone buying Mail Plus direct from Proton on a 12-month plan
• Key terms: the monthly plan costs US$4.99 (£3.74 / €4.44). 30-day money-back guarantee. A free plan is available with no card details.

Offer detail	What you get
Promo Code	No Promo Code needed
Welcome offer	20% off Mail Plus on annual billing: US$3.99 a month (£2.99 / €3.55), saving US$12 (£9.00 / €10.69) a year
Who qualifies	New and existing Proton users buying Mail Plus direct from Proton on the 12-month plan
Key terms	Billed US$47.88 (£35.93 / €42.64) every 12 months; monthly plan US$4.99 (£3.74 / €4.44); 30-day money-back guarantee
How to claim	Create a free Proton account, choose Mail Plus on the 12-month plan and pay at checkout

Get the Proton Mail offer

Proton Mail at a glance

• Price from: free; Mail Plus from US$3.99 a month (£2.99 / €3.55) on annual billing
• Free plan: yes, 1GB of mail storage, one address, 150 messages a day, 5GB of Drive storage
• Mail Plus: 15GB storage, 10 addresses, one custom domain
• Bundles: Proton Unlimited, Proton Duo, Proton Family and Proton Visionary
• Money-back guarantee: 30 days
• Jurisdiction: Switzerland (Proton AG, Geneva)
• App rating: 4.8/5 from 49K ratings on the US App Store
• Trustpilot: 2.2/5 from 1,817 reviews

What Proton Mail is, and who owns it

Proton Mail is an end-to-end encrypted email service run by Proton AG, a company based in Plan-les-Ouates, just outside Geneva. It launched in 2014 and has since grown into a suite that includes Proton VPN, Proton Drive, Proton Pass, Proton Calendar and an AI assistant, Lumo. Proton’s main shareholder is the non-profit Proton Foundation, which is unusual in a sector dominated by advertising giants and venture-backed start-ups.

The pitch is simple. Your messages are stored with zero-access encryption, so Proton cannot read them, and there are no adverts in your inbox because there is nothing to sell them against. Emails between Proton users are end-to-end encrypted automatically; for anyone else, you can send a password-protected message that the recipient opens in their browser.

Proton Mail prices: every plan explained

Proton sells Mail on its own and as part of wider bundles. The figures below are the US dollar prices on Proton’s official pages, with sterling and euro conversions. Proton also bills directly in euros and Swiss francs, and its euro prices use the same headline numbers as the dollar ones, so Mail Plus is €4.99 a month when bought in euros. There is no sterling billing, so UK customers pay in dollars or euros.

Plan	Monthly billing	12-month billing	Users	Storage
Proton Free	Free	Free	1	1GB Mail, 5GB Drive
Mail Plus	US$4.99 (£3.74 / €4.44) a month	US$3.99 (£2.99 / €3.55) a month, US$47.88 (£35.93 / €42.64) billed	1	15GB
Proton Unlimited	US$12.99 (£9.75 / €11.57) a month	US$9.99 (£7.50 / €8.90) a month, US$119.88 (£89.96 / €106.77) billed	1	500GB
Proton Duo	US$19.99 (£15.00 / €17.80) a month	US$14.99 (£11.25 / €13.35) a month, US$179.88 (£134.98 / €160.20) billed	2	2TB shared
Proton Family	US$29.99 (£22.50 / €26.71) a month	US$23.99 (£18.00 / €21.37) a month, US$287.88 (£216.03 / €256.39) billed	Up to 6	3TB shared

Mail Plus is the email-only upgrade: 15GB of storage shared with Drive, 10 addresses, one custom domain, unlimited folders, labels and filters, and IMAP/SMTP support through Proton Bridge, so you can use Outlook or Apple Mail. It also adds auto-reply, catch-all addresses, automatic forwarding and a short @pm.me address.

Proton Unlimited is the one most readers end up on. It bundles Mail Plus features with the full Proton VPN (10 devices), Proton Pass for passwords, Drive and Calendar, 500GB of storage, up to 15 addresses, three custom domains and unlimited hide-my-email aliases.

Proton Duo gives two separate accounts everything in Unlimited, plus 2TB of shared storage and Proton Scribe, the writing assistant. Proton Family stretches that to six people and 3TB. Above them sits Proton Visionary, listed on Proton’s plans page at €39.99 a month or €359.88 a year, which adds 6TB, 10 custom domains and Lumo Plus.

Payment is by Visa, Mastercard, American Express or PayPal, and Proton also accepts Bitcoin, cash and bank transfer as account credit. Refunds are not available on cash or bank transfer payments.

The free plan: what you actually get

Proton Free is not a trial. It is a permanent plan with one address, 1GB of mail storage (Proton starts you at 500MB and raises it to 1GB once you complete a short set-up checklist), 150 outgoing messages a day, three folders, three labels and one filter. You also get 5GB of Drive storage, one Proton VPN connection with servers in 10 countries, two Proton Pass vaults, 10 hide-my-email aliases and the free version of Lumo.

The limits that bite are storage and organisation. A graduate in Manchester using Proton for job applications and bank letters will be fine for years. A freelancer who keeps every client thread with attachments will hit 1GB within months, and three folders is not many when you are used to Gmail’s labels. The desktop app is only a 14-day trial on the free plan.

A worked example: what you really save

Take a couple in Bristol who each want a private inbox, a VPN for travel and somewhere to keep holiday photos.

• Paying monthly for two separate Proton Unlimited accounts would cost US$311.76 (£233.95 / €277.65) a year.
• Two Unlimited accounts on annual billing cost US$239.76 (£179.92 / €213.53).
• One Proton Duo plan on annual billing costs US$179.88 (£134.98 / €160.20), with 2TB of storage instead of 500GB each.

Moving from two annual Unlimited plans to Duo saves US$59.88 (£44.93 / €53.33) a year. For a single person who only wants email, Mail Plus on annual billing saves US$12 (£9.00 / €10.69) against paying monthly.

A family of six who fill every Proton Family seat pays the equivalent of US$47.98 (£36.00 / €42.73) per person a year, about US$4 (£3.00 / €3.56) a month each, which is roughly what one person pays for Mail Plus alone.

Black Friday, student and other discounts

Proton does not publish general Promo Codes, and codes on coupon sites are best ignored. Its real savings come in three forms.

Annual and two-year billing. The 12-month plans are always cheaper than monthly, and Proton VPN’s site also sells Proton Unlimited on a 24-month plan at US$7.99 a month (£6.00 / €7.12), billed US$191.76 (£143.90 / €170.78).

Seasonal sales. Proton runs a Black Friday sale most Novembers, usually as a first-year discount on Unlimited, Duo and Family, and it has also run end-of-year sales on Drive. In the 2025 sale, Proton Unlimited was US$6.49 a month (£4.87 / €5.78) for the first 12 months. If you are not in a hurry, waiting for November is a reasonable strategy.

Students. Proton offers student discounts through Student Beans in the UK, US, France and Germany, open to those at university, college, sixth form, high school or on an apprenticeship. Mail Plus is US$1 (£0.75 / €0.89) for the first month, and Proton Unlimited is 50% off at US$4.99 a month (£3.74 / €4.44) for 12 months.

Key features

• Zero-access encryption for stored mail, and end-to-end encryption between Proton users, built on the OpenPGP standard
• Password-protected emails to people on Gmail, Outlook or anywhere else
• Hide-my-email aliases that forward to your inbox, so you can give a shop a throwaway address
• Custom domains from Mail Plus upwards, useful for a small business or a family surname
• Proton Bridge for Outlook, Thunderbird and Apple Mail on paid plans
• Easy Switch, which imports mail, contacts and calendars from Gmail and others
• Proton Sentinel, an advanced account protection programme, on Unlimited and above
• 25MB attachments, and larger files can be shared through Proton Drive

Platforms and availability

Proton Mail works in any browser at mail.proton.me and has apps for iOS and Android, plus desktop apps for Windows and macOS. You can sign up from anywhere with an internet connection. Calendar, Drive and Pass sit behind the same login, so one account covers the lot.

How to sign up and use Proton Mail

1. Go to Proton’s Mail pricing page and choose Free, Mail Plus or a bundle.
2. Pick your address (@proton.me, or @pm.me on paid plans) and set a strong password.
3. Save your recovery phrase somewhere safe. Proton cannot reset encrypted data for you without it.
4. Use Easy Switch to pull in your Gmail or Outlook mail, contacts and calendar.
5. Set up forwarding from your old address so nothing gets lost while friends update their contacts.
6. Download the iOS or Android app, and Proton Bridge if you want to keep using a desktop email client.

The recovery step matters more than it looks. Because Proton cannot read your mailbox, it also cannot rescue it in the way Google can, and a lost password without a recovery method can mean losing access to old messages.

Privacy and security: Switzerland and its limits

Proton’s Swiss base is a large part of its appeal. Swiss data protection law is strict, and Proton argues it gives users stronger protection than they would have with a US company. It is fair to add two caveats.

First, Proton must comply with legally binding Swiss orders. Encryption protects the content of your emails, but metadata such as sender, recipient and timing is harder to hide, which is how email works rather than a Proton failing.

Second, in August 2025 Proton said proposed changes to Switzerland’s surveillance ordinance had pushed it to move some infrastructure elsewhere in Europe, starting with Lumo’s servers in Germany, while stressing that investing in Europe did not mean leaving Switzerland. Readers who choose Proton specifically for Swiss jurisdiction should keep an eye on how that plays out.

App ratings and customer service

Proton Mail scores 4.8 out of 5 from 49K ratings on the US App Store. Support runs through the help centre at proton.me/support and a contact form, with priority support on Mail Plus and dedicated support on Unlimited. Free users get the help centre and community forums but not priority treatment.

What users say

The gap between app store and Trustpilot ratings is striking. On Trustpilot, Proton Mail scores 2.2 out of 5 from 1,817 reviews, with 57% one-star and 27% five-star.

The praise is consistent: people like the privacy, the lack of adverts, aliases and the idea of a European alternative to US tech companies. The complaints cluster around billing and refunds, slow or repetitive support replies, constant upgrade prompts on the free plan, and search that misses older emails. A few reviewers describe losing data after a password reset, which is the flip side of an account Proton cannot open on your behalf.

Pros and cons

Pros

• A genuinely free encrypted inbox with no adverts
• Mail Plus is inexpensive, and annual billing saves 20%
• Duo and Family bundles are good value for households
• Aliases, custom domains and Bridge make it workable as a main inbox
• Swiss company with a non-profit foundation as main shareholder

Cons

• 1GB on the free plan fills quickly
• Search is weaker than Gmail’s, because Proton cannot index your mail on its servers
• Trustpilot score of 2.2/5, with billing and support complaints
• No sterling pricing
• Losing your password without a recovery method can lock you out of old mail

Proton Mail vs Gmail vs Tuta

	Proton Mail	Gmail	Tuta
Free storage	1GB Mail plus 5GB Drive	15GB shared across Google	Free plan available
Entry paid plan	Mail Plus, US$3.99 a month (£2.99 / €3.55) on annual billing	Google One Basic, 100GB, US$1.99 a month (£1.49 / €1.77)	Revolutionary, €3 a month, 20GB
Encryption	Zero-access storage; end-to-end between Proton users	Encrypted in transit and at rest; Google holds the keys	End-to-end encrypted mailbox
Custom domain	From Mail Plus	Through Google Workspace	From Revolutionary
Adverts	None	Shown on free accounts	None
Base	Switzerland	United States	Germany

Gmail is cheaper per gigabyte and has the better search, but it was not designed to keep Google out of your inbox. Tuta, based in Germany, is the closest like-for-like rival: its Revolutionary plan costs €3 a month for 20GB, though Proton’s wider bundle, with a VPN, password manager and Drive, is hard for Tuta to match. If you also want a VPN, Proton Unlimited competes with buying NordVPN with Threat Protection separately.

Proton Mail FAQs

Is there a Proton Mail promo code?
No Promo Code is needed. The best regular saving is annual billing, which takes Mail Plus to US$3.99 a month (£2.99 / €3.55). Proton also runs seasonal sales, usually around Black Friday.

Is Proton Mail free?
Yes. The free plan includes one address, 1GB of mail storage, 5GB of Drive storage and 150 messages a day, with no card details needed.

How much is Proton Mail Plus?
US$4.99 a month (£3.74 / €4.44) on monthly billing, or US$47.88 (£35.93 / €42.64) a year. Proton’s euro price is €4.99 a month.

Does Proton Mail have a student discount?
Yes, through Student Beans in the UK, US, France and Germany. Mail Plus is US$1 for the first month, and Proton Unlimited is 50% off for 12 months.

What is the difference between Proton Duo and Proton Family?
Duo covers two people with 2TB of shared storage. Family covers up to six people with 3TB. Both include everything in Proton Unlimited plus Proton Scribe.

Is Proton Mail safe?
Your stored emails are encrypted so Proton cannot read them, and messages between Proton users are end-to-end encrypted. Proton must still follow binding Swiss legal orders, and email metadata is less protected than content.

Can I use my own domain with Proton Mail?
Yes, from Mail Plus, which allows one custom domain. Unlimited, Duo and Family allow three.

Can I get a refund from Proton?
Proton offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on paid plans. Payments made by cash or bank transfer cannot be refunded.

Is Proton Mail better than Gmail?
For privacy, yes: there is no advertising and Proton cannot read stored mail. For storage, search and price per gigabyte, Gmail is ahead.

Verdict

Proton Mail is the encrypted inbox we would recommend first. The free plan is honest about its limits, Mail Plus is fairly priced, and the Duo and Family bundles make real sense for households that also want a VPN and password manager. It asks you to accept weaker search and more responsibility for your own password in exchange for privacy, and its Trustpilot reviews suggest billing support could be better. For most people who want out of the advertising inbox, it is worth the switch.

Visit Proton Mail

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