Mailfence
Mailfence is a Belgium-based secure email service with end-to-end encryption, digital signatures, an integrated suite (calendar, documents, contacts), and strong legal protection under Belgian law.
Our take
Mailfence is the Swiss army knife of the European privacy email market: it bundles email, calendar, contacts, documents, and video conferencing under Belgian legal protection at a price that undercuts Google Workspace. The OpenPGP implementation is a key technical differentiator — it uses the standard OpenPGP protocol, which means messages can be decrypted by any GPG-compatible software, not just Mailfence’s own interface.
The honest positioning: Mailfence is not as polished as Proton Mail in terms of UI or brand recognition, and not as cheap as Mailbox.org at the entry tier. But the OpenPGP interoperability story is stronger than Proton’s proprietary protocol, and the Belgian GDPR protections are robust.
What stands out
Standard OpenPGP, not a proprietary protocol. Proton Mail uses its own protocol (which requires Proton Bridge for desktop interoperability). Mailfence implements OpenPGP natively — any message you send with Mailfence encryption can be decrypted by GPG, Thunderbird + Enigmail, Canary Pro+, or any other OpenPGP client. No vendor lock-in on the encryption layer.
Digital signatures. You can sign emails without encrypting them — proving authenticity to the recipient without requiring them to have a PGP key. Useful for business correspondence where tamper evidence matters.
Belgian jurisdiction. Belgium is an EU member with strong GDPR enforcement and specific laws against arbitrary data sharing with foreign intelligence services. Mailfence’s legal team has a stated policy of fighting judicial orders they consider unjustified.
Where it falls short
The free plan’s 500 MB storage limit is the smallest in the segment. The web interface has not received a significant design refresh in several years. For users who judge email services partly by their UI quality, Proton Mail or Tutanota present better.
Who should pick Mailfence
Pick Mailfence if you want standard OpenPGP encryption (not a proprietary protocol), EU/Belgian legal protection, and an integrated suite at low cost. It is particularly strong for privacy advocates who value encryption interoperability above all. Skip it if polished UI is important, or if free plan storage (500 MB) will not cover your needs.
References
- Mailfence product: mailfence.com
- Pricing: mailfence.com/pricing
- Security blog: blog.mailfence.com
Pros
- OpenPGP interoperability: unlike Proton Mail which has its own protocol, Mailfence uses standard OpenPGP — compatible with GPG, Thunderbird, and any other OpenPGP client
- Belgian jurisdiction (EU) with legal protection against non-EU surveillance requests
- The Entry plan at EUR3.50/month is affordable for a full privacy-respecting email suite with calendar and documents
- Digital signatures without encryption: useful for email authentication without the overhead of a full E2EE setup
- Free tier is a functional permanent option for light personal use
Cons
- The web interface is functional but less polished than Proton Mail or Tutanota's UI
- Free plan storage (500 MB) is very limited — the smallest in the category
- Mobile apps are usable but receive less design attention than the web version
- Less well known than Proton Mail, which can complicate recommendations and peer-to-peer encrypted email
- WebRTC video is basic and not a substitute for a dedicated video tool
Features
- End-to-end encryption via OpenPGP — fully interoperable with any other OpenPGP service
- Digital signatures for email authentication without encryption
- Free tier: 500 MB email storage, web access, and basic features
- Integrated calendar with CalDAV sync and event collaboration
- Integrated contacts manager with CardDAV sync
- Integrated documents storage (cloud files alongside email)
- Custom domain support on paid plans
- IMAP, POP3, and SMTP access for third-party clients
- WebRTC video conferencing built in
- Belgian jurisdiction: protected by Belgian and EU privacy law
- iOS and Android apps for mobile access
- No advertising, no data mining for commercial purposes