StartMail
Netherlands-based encrypted email with PGP support and unlimited aliases
StartMail is a privacy-focused email service with strong options. It helps you keep more control over your data.
Recommended alternatives
Who is this for?
✓ Good for you if:
- • You want PGP support for email
- • You need unlimited email aliases for privacy
- • You prefer Netherlands (outside US surveillance)
- • You want password-protected messages for non-PGP users
- • You need IMAP/POP3 support (unlike some encrypted email services)
⚠ Think twice if:
- • You want free email (StartMail is paid only)
- • You need the cheapest email option
- • You want open-source email service (StartMail is closed source)
- • You need automatic for all emails
- • You want the largest email ecosystem
Overview
StartMail is a privacy-focused email service founded in 2013 in the Netherlands that offers secure, encrypted email services to individuals and businesses. The service operates its own servers located in ISO 27001 certified data centers in the Netherlands, ensuring compliance with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). StartMail uses encrypted data storage within a personal vault, safeguarding sensitive information from unauthorized access, and employs secure TLS connections to encrypt messages during transit. The service supports OpenPGP encryption, allowing users to send encrypted emails to anyone, and offers unlimited disposable email addresses (aliases) to protect the primary email address from spam and phishing attacks. StartMail provides generous storage with personal accounts offering 20GB and business accounts offering 30GB, and is compatible with popular email clients like Thunderbird, Outlook, and Apple Mail through full IMAP/SMTP access. The service adheres to principles like "privacy by design" and "minimal data retention," operating under the stringent privacy laws of the Netherlands.
Privacy highlight
This score will be updated after a full review.
Quick facts
- Country:
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- Pricing:
- Paid
- Platform:
- Web, Android, iOS, Desktop
- Technical:
- Beginner
- :
- Yes
- :
- Minimal telemetry
- :
- No
- Open-source status:
- Closed source
- :
- No
- :
- Yes
Key features
- Standard IMAP/SMTP support for broad client compatibility
- Aliases to reduce email address reuse
- Optional OpenPGP workflows for
Security & encryption Click to expand
- Yes
- Encryption protocols
- OpenPGP,
- Connections use for . For , StartMail supports OpenPGP workflows so you can manage keys and encrypt messages to recipients’ public keys. Key handling depends on your setup (e.g., webmail features vs. external clients and plugins).
- Offline support
- Yes
Telemetry & tracking Click to expand
- Minimal telemetry
- No
- Ip no
- Not ad-funded. May use limited diagnostics and operational ; avoidable is typically minimized.
Jurisdiction & compliance Click to expand
- Data location depends on the provider’s infrastructure and hosting choices.
- Emails remain in the mailbox until you delete them or close the account. Some operational logs may exist for security and abuse prevention; consult policy for details.
- Legal frameworks
- GDPR, CCPA (where applicable).
- Revenue sources
- Subscription
Editorial signals Click to expand
- 70
- Trust score
- 78
- Trust breakdown (0–10)
- Encryption: 78, Audits: 55, Open source: 30, Telemetry: 85, Jurisdiction: 75, Transparency: 60, Trackers: 85
- Editorial notes
- Usability: 8, Performance: 8, Family friendly: 8
User experience Click to expand
- Signup requirements
- Varies by platform; usually some form of account or identifier is needed.
- Onboarding difficulty (1-5)
- 1
- Accessibility features
- Support for modern accessibility features depends on the platform version.
Backup & portability Click to expand
- Yes
- Migration tools
- May offer import or export tools; see official docs.
- Account recovery options depend on the provider.
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