Runbox compared
to other privacy-focused alternatives
Your data stays in Norway
We own all our email servers in Norway, where we operate under Norwegian privacy law and the GDPR. We require a Norwegian court order before we hand over any data, no matter who is asking.
Never bundled or locked in
Full IMAP, POP, and SMTP support means you can use any email client you like, with no proprietary app required. Not all providers support these standards and you are stuck inside their own app.
Encryption
Encryption only works when both sides use it, so no provider can fully guarantee it alone. You can use PGP or S/MIME with your Runbox account with popular and standardized browser plugins.
Norwegian Hydropower
Our servers run on 100% renewable energy and our data center is ISO 14001 certified with a LOS Energy AS 100% Renewable Energy Guarantee. We proudly are an Ethical Consumer Best Buy.
No AI in your inbox
We don’t use AI to read or draft your mail. The one AI tool we do use, our support chatbot Boxy, is fully disclosed and has zero access to your account or email. Boxy also powers our free DNS checker.
Real support, real people
We’ve spent the last 25+ years operating on the principle that technology should serve humanity, not exploit it. Our support team are co-owners of the company, and are veritable email experts.
Runbox vs. Proton, Tuta, Fastmail, Posteo, and Mailbox
| Comparison | Runbox | Proton | Tuta | Fastmail | Posteo | Mailbox |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Norway (EEA) | Switzerland | Germany | Australia | Germany | Germany |
| Server ownership | Own servers in Oslo, Norway | Own servers in Switzerland | Own servers in Germany | Own servers in US, Netherlands | Own servers in Germany | Own servers in Germany |
| Company structure | Independent, employee-owned, 25+ years | Proton AG majority owned by Proton Foundation | Independent | Independent | Independent | Independent |
| Renewable-energy infrastructure | 100% Norwegian hydropower, Eco-Lighthouse certified, carbon-negative | Renewable-powered | Renewable-powered | Not a stated focus | Renewable-powered (Green Planet Energy) | Renewable-powered |
| Legal disclosure standard | Norwegian court order | Swiss court order | German court order | Australian law | German court order | German court order |
| Ad-funded / data as product | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Account level encryption | TLS in transit + full-disk encryption at rest, not yet account-level | Zero-access & E2EE | Zero-access & E2EE | TLS, full-disk encryption at rest | TLS, DANE/TLSA, optional Crypto Mail Storage | TLS, DANE/TLSA, PGP/S/MIME optional |
| Encryption standards (PGP/S-MIME) | PGP and S/MIME supported, via Mailvelope or email client, account-level encryption in active development | OpenPGP, interoperable; doesn't cover subject lines | Proprietary TutaCrypt, not interoperable with PGP users | PGP and S/MIME supported, via Mailvelope or email client | PGP via Mailvelope, paid S/MIME certificate for clients | Native PGP ("Guard") + S/MIME support |
| Account security | 2FA (TOTP), OTP, app passwords, trusted browsers, unlock code, per-protocol toggles, IP-based control, session monitoring | MFA, 2FA (TOTP + U2F hardware keys), passkeys, Sentinel & session monitoring, recovery phrase | 2FA (TOTP + U2F hardware keys), recovery code, password hashing, session handling | 2FA (TOTP + U2F hardware keys), passkeys, app passwords, session/device management | 2FA (TOTP + hardware keys), passkeys, app-specific passwords, account recovery, client toggle | 2FA (TOTP + hardware keys), OTP, app-specific passwords, SSO across services |
| IMAP/POP/SMTP support | Yes, standard IMAP/POP/SMTP support on all plans | Paid tier only, requires Bridge app | Not supported | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CalDAV / CardDAV | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AI capabilities | Boxy chat assistant, standalone with no account access. | Lumo AI encrypted chat assistant, opt-in Scribe assistant | None | None by default, optional MCP integration | None | None |
| Features | Email, calendar, contacts, basic file storage, domain & web hosting | Email, calendar, contacts, Drive, VPN, Pass, Meet, Docs, Wallet, Scribe | Email, Drive, calendar, contacts | Email, calendar, contacts, basic file storage, static website hosting & photo gallery | Email, calendar, contacts, notes | Email, Drive, Meet, Office, calendar, contacts |
| Email aliases | 100 on all main and sub-accounts, unlimited on your own domain, unlimited plus-addressing | 10 on Proton and custom domains, unlimited on Pass Plus and Unlimited plans, unlimited plus-addressing | 15-30 on paid plans, unlimited on custom domains | Up to 600 per account and unlimited plus-addressing | 2 aliases, expandable up to 25, unlimited plus-addressing | 3 (Light); 25 plus up to 250 on custom domain, unlimited plus-addressing |
| Plan tiers | 6 plans, Micro, Mini, Medium, Max, Max100, Max250 2GB–250GB mail storage | 3 plans 1GB-500GB mail storage | 3 plans 1-500GB mail storage | 3 plans 60-360GB mail storage | 1 plan, à la carte storage add-ons | 3 plans 2GB–50GB mail storage |
The differences that matter
Sustainable by design
Runbox runs on 100% certified renewable energy, mainly Norwegian hydropower, in a maximum-security data center in Oslo. Norway’s cold climate helps with cooling, and waste heat warms local homes in winter
Proton, Tuta, and Mailbox also run on renewable energy, but none publishes the same detail, such as a heat-reuse system or a documented carbon-negative offset. Fastmail doesn’t appear to make sustainability part of its marketing.
Norwegian jurisdiction
Runbox owns and controls our email servers in Oslo, the capital of Norway. Norway is part of the EEA (European Economic Area) and fully implements the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) through the Norwegian Personal Data Act. The GDPR also affects Tuta, Posteo and Mailbox users in Germany, and is broadly comparable to the FADP (Federal Act on Data Protection) that governs Proton in Switzerland.
Runbox’ principle is to never disclose any data to the authorities without a valid Norwegian court order, but no jurisdiction offers full immunity. In order to protect our company, our services, and our customers we comply with legally valid requests in cases of clear violations of Norwegian law, or our Terms of Service. Read more about Norwegian privacy.
None of the companies are immune. In 2021, Germany’s Federal Court of Justice upheld an order requiring Tuta to monitor the unencrypted messages of two accounts in a blackmail case. Since January 2024, a US-Australia agreement lets Australian authorities send orders directly to providers with US-hosted data, including Fastmail. And Proton has, in documented cases, provided IP address data (2021) and billing information (2024) to Swiss authorities once compelled.
Decentralized email
The bigger and more centralized a service gets, the bigger the target. Bundle email, a VPN, a password manager, and cloud storage under one login, and a single breach or policy change affects everything at once.
Runbox provides email, calendar, contacts, and the hosting features that sit naturally alongside them, and every connected service works independently and can be switched off.
Proton bundles a VPN, Pass, Drive, Meet, and the Lumo AI assistant into one account, and Mailbox bundles a drive, an office suite, and video conferencing. Tuta, Fastmail, and Posteo focus on email like we do, but none pairs it with domain registration and hosting.
Read more about the benefits of decentralizing your online life.
Read more about how to add encryption to your Runbox account.
Security and encryption
Every connection to our servers is encrypted with TLS using Perfect Forward Secrecy, and our servers use full-disk encryption at rest. We don’t offer account-level or end-to-end encryption by default yet, and we’re working on platform upgrades to pave the way for it.
You can add end-to-end encryption to your Runbox account today with the Mailvelope PGP extension in webmail, or with clients like Thunderbird (OpenPGP) and Apple Mail (S/MIME). End-to-end encryption also only fully applies between users of the same system — as soon as you email someone outside of it, that message is no longer encrypted.
Proton and Tuta encrypt by default, but mail to a Gmail or Outlook address isn’t end-to-end encrypted unless you’ve exchanged PGP keys. Fastmail has no native PGP support, Posteo supports it through a browser extension, and Mailbox offers native PGP.
Your inbox, your rules
Full IMAP, POP, and SMTP support means you can use Thunderbird, Apple Mail, Outlook, or any client you like, with no proprietary app or bridge software. Our Progressive Web App works the same on an iPhone, an Android phone, or a privacy-hardened device like GrapheneOS or Fairphone.
Tuta doesn’t support IMAP, POP, or SMTP at all, so you’re limited to its own apps. Fastmail, Posteo, and mailbox support IMAP too, but none combines it with our range of plan sizes and optional domain and web hosting. There’s no proprietary format holding your mail hostage: connect any IMAP client, let it sync, and your mail lives locally or moves with you.
Read more about all the Runbox features with details on every part of our service.
What’s included
A Runbox account includes calendar and contacts (over standard CalDAV and CardDAV), file storage via FTP, and domain and web hosting (registration, DNS, and email on your own domain) without needing a separate provider.
Six storage tiers from 2GB to 250GB let you pay for what you need, where Proton’s paid plans jump from 15GB to 500GB, Tuta and Fastmail offer three plans, Posteo offers one flat plan with storage add-ons, and Mailbox offers three plans from 2GB to 50GB.
Fastmail offers up to 600 aliases account-wide and Tuta unlimited on custom domains. Proton offers roughly 10–15 on custom domains, and Mailbox offers 3 to 25 built-in plus up to 250 on custom domains.
Account security
Security isn’t just what happens to your data on our servers, it’s also what protects your account day to day. Runbox includes TOTP (Time-based One-time Password) based Two-Factor Authentication and per-device App Passwords, Trusted Browsers settings, an Unlock Code as a 2FA backup, per-protocol service toggles, and active session monitoring so you can inspect and revoke access at any time.
Every provider here offers some form of Two-Factor Authentication, so that alone isn’t a differentiator. Proton adds hardware keys and Sentinel monitoring, Tuta supports TOTP and U2F keys, and Fastmail offers hardware keys and Passkeys with comparable depth to ours. Posteo and Mailbox support TOTP. Runbox’s combination of App Passwords, Trusted Browsers, an Unlock Code, and per-protocol toggles is thorough, though not every piece is unique to us alone.
Read more about Account Security.
Read our Generative AI policy.
Ask Boxy anything Runbox related, or try our DNS Compliance Checker,
Read more about our approach to sustainability.
No AI in your inbox
Runbox does not intrude on your Inbox with invasive AI functionality. The AI based feature we do use is currently limited to our well-documented support assistant Boxy, which also powers our DNS Compliance Checker. Boxy is voluntary, and has no access to your account, email, or personal data, and doesn’t retain data between sessions (responses are logged for 10 days in Norway, then deleted).
Proton offers Scribe and Lumo, a zero-access encrypted assistant. Tuta, Posteo, and Mailbox build no AI into their email. Fastmail has none by default, but offers an optional MCP integration. However, as with all AI tools, the energy consumption behind them raises real environmental questions of its own, separate from privacy or security.
Proudly operating since 2000
Runbox is built for people who value sustainability, digital autonomy, and real privacy protections. We’re not attempting to be your VPN, password manager, and cloud drive — we offer email you can use any way you want – whether it’s our webmail and mobile app, or your favorite email client with open IMAP/POP/SMTP protocols.
We are employee-owned and independent since 2000, and we’re not answerable to outside shareholders. Our company and our employees are products of a free and liberal democracy, and we will promote and defend these values through every action we take on behalf of our company and our customers.
Runbox is built on a strong ethical foundation that puts our planet first in everything we do. Our data center runs on renewable power, we offset more than we emit, so every email you send has zero carbon footprint. If you value the environment like we do, Runbox should be at the top of your list.
More reasons to choose Runbox
Email, done well — plus the features that naturally go alongside it
Calendar & Contacts
Standard CalDAV and CardDAV, not a proprietary format — works with Apple Calendar, Thunderbird, and any other client that already have these open standards, no plugin required.
File Storage
Included storage for your files, alongside your inbox — no separate cloud subscription needed. Access files through the web interface or FTP, with storage that scales as your plan grows.
Domain & Web Hosting
Registration, DNS, and email on your own domain, plus full cPanel hosting with PHP and MySQL. SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and DNSSEC keep your mail out of spam folders.
100 Aliases & Plus-Addressing
100 aliases per account, unlimited on your own domain, and unlimited plus-addressing for organizing signups. Once an address is yours, it’s yours for life, we never recycle them.
Added Account Security
2FA (TOTP), per-device App Passwords, Trusted Browsers, an Unlock Code backup, per-protocol service toggles, IP-based access control, and session monitoring.
Independent & Employee-Owned
Operating independently since 2000, employee-owned, with no venture capital and no outside investors — just one company staying true to our values for 26 years.
6 Tiers, 2GB to 250GB
Pay for the storage you actually need, not a one-size-fits-all jump — six tiers from 2GB up to 250GB, so you can scale up gradually instead of overpaying for space you won’t use.
Custom Configurations
Set up your favorite email client with full control and custom setups. Whether you prefer IMAP, SMTP, or msmtp, iPhone, Android or Fairphone, our platform stays fully compatible.
Spam & Virus Filtering
Automatic scanning blocks harmful attachments and malware before they reach your inbox — plus unlimited custom filters to sort, forward, or block by your own rules.