encrypted email service · StartMail BV

StartMail

Name: StartMail
Price: 4.99 USD

Paid private mailbox with a 20 GB vault, OpenPGP in webmail, aliases and one custom domain.

44/100

#6 of 9 encrypted email services
Facts checked 8 Oct 2026

In short

The Personal plan costs $59.88 a year, shown as $4.99 a month, with 20 GB of storage¹.
Mail is kept in a per-user vault that opens with your account password³.
You can send an encrypted message to anyone; recipients on other services get a password-protected message^2,6.
Personal allows one custom domain and full IMAP/SMTP access².
The latest transparency report, dated February 2026, lists 3 legal requests in 2025⁵.

StartMail suits people who want 20 GB, unlimited aliases, their own domain and IMAP access, with OpenPGP built into webmail^1,2,3. It publishes a current transparency report⁵. The catch: there is no free plan, only an Android app, no named outside audit, and its webmail code is closed source^1,3,4.

Best for: People who want 20 GB, their own domain and encrypted mail to anyone.

Where the points come from

Encryption16 of 27

Trust and audits4 of 26

Apps and access10 of 18

Mailbox10 of 13

Price4 of 16

Encryption 16 of 27 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Stored mail the provider cannot read	YesMail is stored in a vault, an encrypted volume that opens with your account password³.	10 / 10
Automatic end-to-end encryption between its own users	NoEncryption between users needs both to set up OpenPGP, and the sender chooses to encrypt³.	0 / 8
Encrypted mail to other providers	YesWebmail supports OpenPGP and password-protected messages for recipients elsewhere^2,3.	6 / 6
Encrypted contacts or calendar	Not publishedNot published on the vendor's white paper, which lists what the vault holds without naming contacts or calendar³.	0 / 3

Trust and audits 4 of 26 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Independent audit since 2024	Not publishedNot published on the vendor's white paper, which names no audit firm or report³.	0 / 8
Open-source apps	NoWhite paper says the webmail and vault code is closed source; only some components are open source³.	0 / 6
SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001	Not publishedFeatures page says its data center is ISO 27001 certified; no SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certificate for StartMail itself is named^2,3.	0 / 4
Transparency report	YesTransparency report dated 4 February 2026 covers 2025: 3 requests⁵.	4 / 4
Security key for two-factor sign-in	Not publishedNot published on the vendor's features page, which describes only TOTP two-factor sign-in².	0 / 4

Apps and access 10 of 18 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Official apps	AndroidPricing and download pages list an Android app; the iOS app is coming soon^1,4.	2 / 10
Works in standard mail programs	YesPersonal plan lists full IMAP/SMTP access for mail programs².	8 / 8

Mailbox 10 of 13 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Your own domain	YesPersonal plan includes one custom domain².	5 / 5
Mail storage on the cheapest paid plan	20Personal plan includes 20 GB¹.	5 / 5
Export your whole mailbox	Not publishedNot published on the vendor's features page or white paper, which cover only import and IMAP access^2,3.	0 / 3

Price 4 of 16 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Free plan with an encrypted mailbox	NoPricing page lists only paid Personal and Business plans with a 7-day trial¹.	0 / 6
Cheapest paid plan	$4.99/moPersonal, $59.88 billed annually; the page states no renewal change¹.	4 / 10

The rule behind each line: how we score encrypted email services.

Plans and prices

As the vendor lists them, before tax. Prices are in US dollars unless the plan shows euros; the points use US dollars, with euros converted at the ECB rate.

Plan	Price as listed	Per month	Notes
Personal1 person	$59.88/year¹	$4.99	20 GB, unlimited aliases, one custom domain, 7-day trial

The pricing page shows $4.99 a month with $59.88 billed annually; it states no renewal change¹.

Strengths

Personal includes 20 GB of storage and unlimited aliases¹.
One custom domain and IMAP/SMTP access are included².
Password-protected messages let you reach people who do not use encryption^2,6.
Stored mail sits in an encrypted vault that opens with your password³.
Transparency report for 2025 was published in February 2026⁵.

Limits

No free plan; the trial lasts 7 days and asks for payment details at sign-up¹.
Only an Android app is listed; the iOS app is described as coming soon^1,4.
StartMail says its webmail and vault code is closed source³.
OpenPGP operations run on StartMail's servers, and account recovery can reset the vault password³.
The white paper names no outside audit firm or report³.

What StartMail BV says

Vendor claims. We show them, but they earn no points.

StartMail says its servers are in the Netherlands, under Dutch law and the GDPR⁷.

Other encrypted email services

1
Proton MailPeople who want a free encrypted mailbox that grows into a paid one with custom domains and Outlook or Thunderbird access
85/100
$3.99/mocheapest paid plan
2
Tuta MailPeople who want contacts and calendar encrypted too, and are fine using Tuta's own apps instead of a mail program
73/100
$3.36/mocheapest paid plan
3
Forward EmailPeople with their own domain who want IMAP access and a low price
56/100
$3/mocheapest paid plan
4
mailbox.orgPeople who want to read their mail in Thunderbird or Outlook and switch on encryption themselves
49/100
$1.12/mocheapest paid plan

All 9 encrypted email services

Sources

StartMail pricing, StartMail. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
StartMail features, StartMail. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
StartMail technical white paper, StartMail. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Download StartMail, StartMail. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
StartMail transparency report, StartMail. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
StartMail encrypted email, StartMail. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
StartMail, StartMail. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.

Website: www.startmail.com · Markdown version · We are not affiliated with StartMail BV.