What is the difference between Tutanota and ProtonMail?


Tutanota and ProtonMail are the market leaders in "secure email" for people in the know and concerned about their privacy. Both have a solid reputation for keeping user emails safe from prying eyes, including their own. If they want to, most email services can decode and read your emails. Even those marketed as safe.' Tutanota and Protonmail are two of the greatest private and secure email services available right now, with both providing end-to-end encryption.

So, which is the best option? Let's compare Tutanota vs ProtonMail to find whether one is superior in general—or for you specifically.

What exactly is Tutanota?

Tutanota is a German-based free and secure email service. Its name is derived from Latin words "Tuta" and "Nota," which mean "secure note" and "safe note," respectively. Tutanota promises to be the most secure and private mailbox on the planet. It's difficult to suppose otherwise, given that quantum cryptography research is currently ongoing.

What is ProtonMail?

ProtonMail is a free and secure email service started in Switzerland. Their security is so strong that not even they can read your emails since they use open-source and zero-knowledge architecture. Their servers are similarly protected by many password levels and concealed behind a kilometer of granite in a disused military bunker. An assault would have to be nuclear in nature.

Privacy: Tutanota vs. ProtonMail

Let's speak about the data rules that these businesses work under.

Tutanota

Tutanota is a German company (one of the Fourteen Eyes). Although Germany is one of the Fourteen Eyes, it is protected by the German Federal Data Protection Act, which is a modified version of the EU GDPR statute. In essence, it forbids the gathering and use of personal data unless the law expressly allows it or you have provided your informed consent.

ProtonMail

ProtonMail takes use of the DPA and DPO acts thanks to its Swiss location. Switzerland is known for being a neutral territory, meaning it is not under the authority of the United States or the European Union. Offering some of the world's most stringent privacy protections, Their Federal Act on Data Protection, enacted in 1993, makes it illegal to process personal data without explicit authorization.

The Swiss authorities, on the other hand, compelled ProtonMail to pass over IP addresses of French activists accused of theft and property destruction on September 5, 2021. In this situation, French officials sought help from the Swiss government.

The next day, ProtonMail noted in their privacy policy statement that logging one's IP address could be lawfully required as part of a Swiss criminal investigation. It did, however, state that the law could not compel it to violate encryption.

Security

Tutanota

Tutanota encrypts the topic, content, and attachments of all emails. An end-to-end encrypted address book and calendar are included as a bonus, ensuring that your contacts and meetings are kept up to date.

It provides end-to-end security by combining the AES 128-bit and RSA 2048-bit protocols. It is potentially more secure than AES 256-bit due to its stronger key scheduling. Non-Tutanota users' emails are secured using AES-128-bit encryption. Connections to the Tutanota servers are encrypted using TLS, and passwords are hashed using bcrypt and SHA256.

Tutanota encrypts more parts of your email and inbox (such as your calendar and address book) than ProtonMail, and it also has a zero-knowledge text search. No one at Tutanota has access to the search terms you use in your emails. Tutanota also makes tracing communications back to the user hard, at least using their IP address.

Tutanota varies from ProtonMail in that it strengthens 2FA with U2F, which adds an extra layer of protection.

ProtonMail

ProtonMail provides virtually identical end-to-end encryption, although it does not encrypt email subject lines. Usability is something they should be praised for: enjoy discussion views, group sending, and Bond-style self-destructing emails for instant security. Your full-text searches, on the other hand, are not encrypted.

ProtonMail, like Tutanota, makes it difficult to track users using their IP addresses. ProtonMail encrypts its emails in the same way as Tutanota does, only it employs AES 256-bit encryption, which is considered the gold standard of cryptography. Non-ProtonMail messages are password-protected and expire after 28 days. There is no need to join up. However, it is up to the user to safely communicate the password.

ProtonMail and Tutanota mails are both encrypted throughout, leaving a minimal chance for an interception. Messages are encrypted in the following ways −

  • They keep it on their servers.

  • Their servers and user devices are in transit.

  • Within their secure networks, in transit.

  • Spam filtering is included in each of these services.

  • Tutanota and ProtonMail are both open source. Tutanota and ProtonMail are both open sources, which is critical for assuring maximum security. Open-source software is available for scrutiny by security professionals all around the world.

Sending emails to people who aren't users

Tutanota

Tutanota does not take any chances. Tutanota users and non-users must safely share a password before end-to-end encryption may be achieved. This guarantees that only the intended and confirmed recipient may read the message.

Do you wish to deal with Tutanota's extra password step for enhanced U2F authentication and a zero-knowledge full-text search? Alternatively, are you prepared to give up your subject line in exchange for ProtonMail's zero-knowledge calendar and end-to-end encrypted address book?

ProtonMail

You may activate end-to-end encryption between ProtonMail users and non-ProtonMail users with the "Encrypt for Outside" option in ProtonMail. Nothing between you and the creators can be read, not even by them.

Otherwise, TLS is used to encrypt communications (all popular email providers support TLS). Because these encrypted messages are not end-to-end encrypted, the provider can read and pass on your messages.

On subject lines or recipient/sender email addresses, ProtonMail does not provide end-to-end encryption. This means that emails sent to well-known providers that don't offer end-to-end encryption are likely to be copied.

Support for devices

Tutanota

Tutanota provides an online version as well as desktop versions for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux, as well as Android and iOS apps.

ProtonMail

ProtonMail may be used on the web in the same way that normal email is. Alternatively, you may use the Android or iOS app. You may also download the ProtonMail Bridge app as a paying user. It works in the background to encrypt any email that comes into and goes out of your computer.

Pricing and storage

Tutanota

Tutanota's free account offers double the storage of ProtonMail's free account, which is useful if you prefer to store a backlog of emails.

You may select between a free account with 1GB of storage (about 300 emails per day) and a premium account for €1.2 per month or €12 annually for personal usage. The free account can only have one user, but premium users can add another for €1.

Premium accounts (€24 per year, excluding tax) and pro accounts (€84 per year, excluding tax) are available to businesses. Ten times more storage, unique branding, and up to 20 aliases are included in the pro account. Custom domains and customer support are included with all business accounts.

Tutanota also allows you to customize your plan with the features that are most important to you. To construct your ideal membership, simply utilize their pricing calculator on their website.

ProtonMail

Even while ProtonMail's free account has half the capacity of Tutanota, it nevertheless allows you to send up to 150 messages per day and supports third-party clients. Both, of course, are completely ad-free.

The 500MB of storage included in the free Protonmail account is for one-time usage only. To keep organized, you may create three unique folders within your mailbox.

Monthly fees for a Professional or Visionary account range from ⋹8 to ⋹30. Extra storage and aliases are available as add-ons for both services, with fees beginning at ⋹1 per GB per month.

Customer service

Tutanota

Tutanota exclusively provides email help to paying subscribers, limiting its availability. Tutanota has significant Reddit discussions and a knowledge library. However, they are not as vast as ProtonMail's.

ProtonMail

ProtonMail offers both paid and free users customer service, as well as substantial Reddit coverage. Its knowledge base is greater than Tutanota's.

Additional characteristics

Tutanota

Tutanota has features such as an autoresponder, configurable domain aliases, and a secure calendar. SecureConnect is one of Tutanota's standout features. It allows you to inject code into your website that produces a secure and private contact form similar to Tutanota's.

ProtonMail

ProtonMail also provides a number of extra features, such as an autoresponder and custom domain aliases, as well as a secure calendar that is still in testing. It also includes ProtonMail Bridge, a background tool that encrypts IMAP and SMTP-compatible application communications. It is, however, only accessible for desktop computers (Windows, macOS, Linux).

Setup and accessibility

Tutanota and ProtonMail both get good marks in this category. They're simple to set up and operate. During the installation and setup procedure, they give explicit directions to the user. Both services are very simple to use, and you may make use of their various features without difficulty. Their user interfaces are pleasant, friendly, and straightforward, ensuring that users have access to all of the tools and capabilities they require.

Which is better: Tutanota or ProtonMail?

So, Tutanota vs ProtonMail: which is more secure? Tutanota or ProtonMail is both incredibly secure in terms of technical security. Both employ the most powerful end-to-end encryption technologies and zero-knowledge infrastructure in the world, and both keep you safe even when there are no users. However, there are a few exceptions.

Keep in mind that encryption is not end-to-end.

Both favor storage above confidentiality, or non-user accessible over security, for example. The decision is mostly based on what you value the most. Tutanota, for example, relies entirely on green power, which will satisfy environmentally sensitive customers.

Updated on: 16-Mar-2022

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