What Mailfence actually does
Mailfence bundles encrypted email with calendar, contacts, and document storage into one account, built around an open encryption standard rather than a closed, proprietary one.
The core product
Mailfence is operated by ContactOffice Group, a Brussels-based company that has been building online collaboration software since 1999 and has no outside financial investors. Rather than being just an inbox, a Mailfence account bundles:
- Webmail
- A calendar
- A contacts manager
- Document storage
- Basic group-collaboration tools
All under one login. Its end-to-end encryption is built on the open OpenPGP standard rather than a closed, proprietary scheme, so you can generate a new PGP key pair inside Mailfence or import a key you already use elsewhere, and messages signed or encrypted with it remain compatible with other OpenPGP-based tools outside Mailfence entirely.
That standards-based approach is the core of what makes Mailfence different from encrypted webmail providers that lock your keys into their own ecosystem.
What's new or notable
Mailfence recently added a Base plan as a mid-priced step between its free tier and the longer-standing Entry plan, priced at roughly €2.50/month for a combined 11GB of email and document storage, according to Mailfence's own announcement.
That sits below the Entry plan, which runs about €3.50/month and raises combined storage to roughly 40GB while adding custom-domain support and IMAP/SMTP/POP/EAS access — the connectivity needed to use Mailfence through Outlook, Apple Mail, or another third-party mail client rather than only its own webmail interface. Higher Pro and Ultra tiers exist above Entry with more storage, aliases, and custom-domain capacity, though Mailfence doesn't publish their exact rates in the same announcement.
Who should use Mailfence
Great fit if…
- You already use PGP or want to — Mailfence supports the open OpenPGP standard directly, so keys and encrypted mail stay portable to other OpenPGP-compatible tools instead of being locked to one provider.
- You want one login for email, calendar, and files — an account bundles a calendar, contacts, document storage, and group tools alongside the inbox, functioning like a small collaboration suite.
- You value a long-running, investor-free operator — ContactOffice Group has run collaboration software since 1999 without outside financial investors shaping its direction.
Skip it if…
- You want to use a desktop mail client for free — IMAP/SMTP/POP access isn't available on the free plan, so Outlook or Apple Mail integration requires at least the Entry-level paid tier.
- You need heavy free storage — the free plan caps out at roughly 500MB of email storage, well below most competing free webmail tiers.
- You expect a modern, mobile-first interface — independent reviewers consistently describe Mailfence's webmail as functional but dated next to newer competitors, and a native mobile app only became available relatively recently.
Pricing in detail
Mailfence's personal plans scale from a limited free tier through several paid tiers; the figures below come from Mailfence's own site for the tiers it publishes pricing for.
| Plan | Price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Free | €0 | Roughly 500MB of email storage; no IMAP/SMTP/POP access, so it works only through Mailfence's own webmail |
| Base | ~€2.50/month | About 11GB combined email and document storage, 10 aliases, 50 custom filters; still no custom domain or IMAP/SMTP/POP access |
| Entry | ~€3.50/month | About 40GB combined storage, 50 aliases, custom domain support, IMAP/SMTP/POP/EAS access, and management for up to 5 accounts |
Pro and Ultra tiers sit above Entry with further storage, alias, and custom-domain increases, but Mailfence's public materials we reviewed didn't include their exact prices.
Where it falls short
- Free plan is a narrow on-ramp — roughly 500MB of storage and no IMAP/SMTP/POP access means most people who stay with Mailfence end up on a paid tier.
- Interface feels dated to reviewers — several independent reviews describe the webmail as functional but visually behind newer, mobile-first competitors.
- Mobile support arrived late — a native mobile app has only been available for a relatively short time compared to competitors that launched mobile-first.
- Business hosting is separate — organization/professional email hosting is sold as its own product, distinct from the personal plans covered here.
Privacy & data
Mailfence's core privacy mechanism is standards-based OpenPGP encryption under keys you control — either generated inside Mailfence or imported from elsewhere — rather than a closed encryption scheme only Mailfence can read or export. ContactOffice Group, which operates Mailfence, is based in Brussels, Belgium, so the service operates under GDPR as an EU company, and has run without outside financial investors since 1999.
Beyond the OpenPGP standard itself, we did not independently verify a specific third-party security audit of Mailfence's infrastructure for this listing.
How we checked this
This entry draws on Mailfence's own announcement of its Base plan at blog.mailfence.com/mailfence-base-plan, checked on 2026-09-05, along with its published Entry-tier details and independent reviewer commentary on the webmail interface and mobile app timeline. We did not test Mailfence's OpenPGP implementation or interoperability with other PGP clients ourselves; claims about standards compatibility reflect Mailfence's own documentation.