Email services like Gmail and Yahoo are notorious for spying and the lack of privacy. While containing some security features, they rely more on collaboration and productivity.
But then, we have Mailfence, an established email provider with outstanding privacy and security and more nifty tools.
The company promises strong encryption, various communication methods, and generous online storage for a top-tier experience.
In today’s Mailfence review, we’ll see if the Belgian company can replace more mainstream email providers and how good it really is.
Mailfence Review: A Quick Verdict
This email provider has ample security and privacy to compete with larger, more popular services.
Our Mailfence review was quite positive and we enjoyed using it for frequent emailing with end-to-end encryption. Here are its pros and cons if you can’t read the entire test:
Pros
End-to-end encryption
Option to use OpenPGP
Based in Belgium with strict privacy laws
Great-looking Calendar feature for business users
It includes a free plan with a premium level of security
Cons
Its interface isn’t the most modern
Greater storage capacity would be welcome for large businesses
Starting this review, we’ll get into the features of Mailfence because it has plenty to offer.
End-to-End Encryption
A part of Mailfence’s greatness is its end-to-end encryption, also known as E2EE. What does this mean?
It means the sent message or file is encrypted before it’s sent but ALSO during the transition process, and only the recipient can decrypt it. In other words, the message can’t be intercepted.
Even if it’s intercepted by, let’s say, your ISP, it’ll be a garbled mess of numbers and random letters.
Its E2EE comes with digital signatures that help against impersonation and tampering, thereby, ensuring your messages’ integrity and that they arrive at their destination safely.
We appreciate Mailfence’s implementation of OpenPGP keys, which allows you to manage them as you wish.
As a result, you can create new OpenPGP keys and use them to encrypt your messages to prevent tracking by your ISP, hackers, and various snoopers.
Let’s not forget 2FA as a bonus, which prevents unauthorized access to your account.
Privacy Protection
Mailfence operates per Belgian stringent privacy laws. This country is revered for its privacy, as the authorities never request their companies to store customers’ sensitive data.
Mailfence won’t track your emails, and because of Belgian privacy laws, it won’t be under government surveillance.
Messaging Features
Being a formidable replacement to Gmail, Mailfence includes a wealth of messaging and collaboration features.
You can send messages as you’d do with any other email client. We love the option to use different encryption – either a password-based or an OpenPGP-based one.
Like always, you can add files, customize the font, and customize your email template if you’re a business owner.
As we tested Mailfence for this review, we liked the option to create Groups, add Contacts, and share data privately with them with the aforementioned encryption.
Mailfence includes the Calendars option too. Its UI is extremely intuitive and allows you to mark important dates.
Moreover, each created calendar can be shared with other users, which is great for businesses that want to ensure every appointment is done on time.
Finally, we’ll mention the Documents feature. It allows you to store your documents and even edit them online with third-party software.
Like in Gmail, documents can be shared with a single click, and with applied encryption, only the recipient can access and alter the document.
Interface & Ease of Use
Mailfence’s interface might not be the best-looking but it’s simplified and user-friendly. The upper portion is reserved for modules such as Messages, Documents, Calendars, and Contacts.
Clicking on one opens that module. If you click on Messages, you can compose a new email and access your inbox.
The Documents menu gives you access to your documents and lets you upload new ones.
You can also create new documents, as you would do in Gmail with Google Drive support. Overall, the interface is more than functional and snappy on all devices.
Speaking of which, Mailfence has neat little apps for iOS and Android. After testing them, we were impressed at how smooth and snappy they were.
No wonder its iOS app has a rating of 4.6 stars on the App Store out of thousands of downloads.
Mailfence Review of Pricing
Mailfence offers a free plan with 1 GB of storage, 500 MB for emails, 500 MB for documents, and virtually no support.
However, paying just $2.75 a month for the Base plan gives you 5 GB of storage for emails, 6 GB of storage for documents, and even 10 Alias as a premium feature.
The Base plan includes email support as well, making it a lot more valuable. The Entry plan at $3.85 a month is also great, as it doubles your email storage to 10 GB and offers 30 GB for documents with 50 Alias. This one includes several methods of accessing your email.
They include POP, SMTP, IMAP, ActiveSync, and a lot more. In addition, Mailfence includes three more Business plans seen in the screenshot above.
They offer plenty more storage and telephone support (Pro & Ultra plans). Unfortunately, the storage offers are inferior to Gmail.
Payment methods aren’t abundant, so you’ll be looking at debit/credit cards, Bank Wire and PayPal. We’d like to see anonymous payment vendors such as BitPay that would allow us to use crypto.
Customer Support
Customer support of Mailfence isn’t the best around. Free users have no support, except for the Knowledge Base on the website.
Paid users get email support, which isn’t the fastest around. Business users in more expensive plans are offered telephone support, which is our favorite.
We’d like to see 24/7 live chat support for convenience. This would make getting in touch with Mailfence a tad quicker, especially when phone lines are overcrowded.
Mailfence Review: The Final Verdict
At the end of our Mailfence review for 2025, we must say we’re delighted with the service. Mailfence is incredibly secure, with abundant messaging and business features.
Its storage offers are great for the price but we’d like to see more generous storage options for larger businesses.
Overall, Mailfence doesn’t disappoint. Its bank-grade end-to-end encryption is powerful, coupled with Belgian strong privacy laws.
If you want a secure email provider to avoid tracking and spying you’d get from the likes of Gmail and Yahoo, this is the one to pick.
Marcus is a cybersecurity analyst with a focus on VPN and proxy services. As the founder and driving force behind a prominent VPN and proxy website, Private Proxy Guide, Marcus has emerged as a trusted authority in the digital realm. With a passion for staying ahead of evolving cyber threats, he has played a pivotal role in educating and empowering individuals and businesses to safeguard their online presence.
