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Proton Mail Reviews 1,693

TrustScore 2.5 out of 5

2.3

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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Considering 281 reviews, most reviewers were unhappy with their experience overall. Many customers expressed significant dissatisfaction with the customer service, citing a lack of responsiveness, unhelpful interactions, and difficulty in reaching actual support for their issues. People frequently encountered problems with account access, including unexpected suspensions, inability to log in, and permanent disabling of accounts without clear explanations, leading to loss of important data. Reviewers also found the service inflexible, particularly regarding subscription plans and recovery methods, which were deemed inconvenient and not user-friendly. However, some customers also noted positive aspects, such as the smooth functionality, clean interface, and ease of setting up family accounts and custom domains. These users often praised the service's commitment to privacy and found the support responsive, especially for those with paid subscriptions.

What people talk about most

Service

People report ambiguous experiences with service, with many expressing significant dissatisfaction, calling... See more

User experience

Customers had ambiguous experiences with user experience, with some reviewers reporting a great experience... See more

Website

Reviewers highlight ambiguous aspects of the website, with many expressing frustration over account access... See more

Customer service

Consumers find customer service to be negative, with many reviewers describing it as poor, unhelpful, and... See more

Subscription

Reviewers mention ambiguous feedback about subscription, with many expressing dissatisfaction and plans to... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

As a sole email user, I find the current and past plans inflexible. My limited use of email and lack of interest in other products or a second account for a family member puts me at a disadvantage.... See more

Company replied

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

On the whole it’s a good product and you kind of rely on the privacy aspect. The apps are slick and work well. The one big thing that lets them down is their support and upselling - often led by p... See more

Company replied

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

I' ve been using Proton Mail for a few weeks now. Importing all history from my 2 Gmail accounts worked like a charm (some emails initially seemed to be missing, but that was just because Proton... See more

Company replied

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Upon first attempt of signing up for something, I got automation flagged. I literally have never used protonmail. Won't be coming back, go to tuta mail. They won't render their email service immediate... See more

Company replied


Company details

  1. Email Service Provider

Written by the company

Keep your conversations private with Proton Mail, an encrypted email service based in Switzerland.


Contact info

2.3

Poor

TrustScore 2.5 out of 5

2K reviews

5-star
4-star
3-star
2-star
1-star

No history of asking for reviews

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Your algorithm is absolutely terrible

Your algorithm is absolutely terrible. I am getting really tired of being signed out, blocked and then forced to change the password. We have a family account and use the services on different profiles and devices. Your system makes the family accounts useless. Very often my family don't even know they have been signed out. I have complained about this before and got back the poor response it is to protect the account. Our usecase is for personal use only, we use strong passwords and need access to each others accounts. So please fix your awful algorithm?

April 6, 2026
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Sorry to hear that John. Can you please share your ticket number with us here so we can look into this?

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I purchased the Proton Workspace to test for my company

I purchased the Proton Workspace to review for my company. I paid the full amount for the premium product. After 6 hours of testing, it was obvious it would not meet our needs. Tried to cancel on their website and there was no way to do so. When I emailed to cancel I got the same instructions, that did not work.
Four days of constant emails to them, I hear nothing but crickets. I quit receiving emails and responses after the first day. They will take your order but won't refund if you cancel on the same day you paid. They supposedly have a 30 day refund policy. I guess it could take 30 days. But I will just have my CC company reverse the charges it they refuse to respond.
Beware!

April 3, 2026
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Hi. If you haven't done so already, please reach out to us at https://proton.me/support/contact so we can help with your refund. If you have, share the ticket number with us here.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

I am quite SHOCKED that I have to pay…

I am quite SHOCKED that I have to pay just to get 'sent from ProtonMail' removed from my emails. A little bit CRAZY if you ask me.

March 31, 2026
Unprompted review
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Reply from Proton Mail

Thank you for your feedback. We can only sustain our business through our community's choice to support us by subscribing to a paid plan, so with that in mind, some features are necessarily available only on our premium plans. This ensures that we are able to keep providing free privacy-first services to those who can't afford a subscription.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

The proton marketing and pop up…

The proton marketing and pop up promotions are confusing and mis leading. They offered me an upgrade to an annual plan and then a better service without explaining that I had to cancel my exsisting plan. It is obvious that if you upgrade with a service, that you do not carry on paying the old subscption. Very mis leading!
I did not receive any renewal email notices in advance.

March 31, 2026
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Hello. Sorry to hear that you feel that way. If you were subscribed to a promotional plan previously, once you subscribe to a different plan, the promotional discount is discarded. If you need further clarification, contact us at https://proton.me/support/contact

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Disgraceful: Ignoring a Financial and Suicide Crisis for Two Weeks.

SECOND EDIT:
It has been three weeks since Proton Mail took unagreed upon funds from my account and are yet to return my money and will still not communicate with me.

EDIT:
Take seven days to reply to an email to customer servies, followed by another seven days and no response to my follow up email, but three hours later from a bad review, Proton Mail replied on here.
​I am writing this in absolute despair and disgust. Proton Mail is a company that hides behind small print while ignoring a customer in a severe mental health and financial crisis. I have told this company repeatedly that I am at the point of suicide due to my financial situation, and they have shown zero humanity.
​I contacted them via email well in advance to state that I no longer wanted my account and requested its deletion. They were unhelpful and ignored me. I tried to use the app to stop the renewal because I am in huge financial difficulty, but the system would not allow it. Then, at 5 PM on a Friday, the moment I finally had a small amount of money in my account, Proton Mail swept in and took the very last of it.
​I have been pleading for a refund for two weeks. It took them seven days to offer me "two months free"—an insulting response to a man telling them he is in a life-or-death crisis. It has now been another seven days with no further response.
​It is an absolute disgrace that a company would steal money from someone who has explicitly stated they do not want to renew and then ignore them for two weeks while they are at suicide. This is not just a matter of terms and conditions; this is about a company's total lack of ethics and responsibility toward a person in a desperate emergency. Proton Mail is an absolute disgrace and a disgusting company.

March 27, 2026
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Hi Thomas. Sorry to hear about your experience. Please share your ticket number with us here so we can look into your case and have a better understanding of the situation.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

ProtonMail never get back to people…

ProtonMail never get back to you or there is a massive delay in responding, especially if you don't pay for it. When they do respond and you point out it isn't helpful, they get funny with you as if you're at fault. Lastly mailbox size is nightmare but I get it, you have to pay to increase it.

March 25, 2026
Unprompted review
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Reply from Proton Mail

Hi. Sorry to hear about your experience. Please share your ticket number with us here so we can follow up on your case.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

A genuine Gmail alternative

honestly proton mail is pretty great, i switched like 6 months ago and havent looked back. Setup was easy, the interface is clean and simple. Only thing is the free storage is a bit limited but for normal use its fine. Would defenitely recomend it if your tired of google reading your emails

July 30, 2025
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Thank you for the 5-star rating and review!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

'better than gmail' turns out to be…

'better than gmail' turns out to be such a low bar that they should not be touting that as something to be proud of. Not only do you have to 'earn' the promised features by completing certain overhauls within a certain amount of time (redirecting all your gmail mail is one- I mean what if you don't even have gmail??) but the advertising for paid plans is all up in your face all the time, and they use scummy advertising tactics like when you click the pop-up away they bring it back with an 'even better' 'temporary' offer... ugh. Do not sign up for this insulting service.

It also didn't let me log in on mobile (another required action to get the promised features) with the password I signed up with on my desktop. When I gave up and reset my password via mobile, not only did it still not let me log in on mobile, it also logged me out on desktop and wouldn't let me log back in with the password I just set. Absolute waste of time. I can't even delete my account now.

March 19, 2026
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

We’re sorry to hear about your experience. Just to clarify, any optional steps like importing emails are not required to use Proton Mail, but may be suggested to help users get started.

If you’d prefer not to see in-app upgrade prompts, you can disable these notifications in your account settings at https://account.proton.me/
→ All settings → Subscription → Notifications.

Regarding the login issues, that’s not expected behavior. Please contact us at https://proton.me/support/contact
so we can help you regain access.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Really shocked by Proton's low rating…

I'm really shocked that Proton's rating isn't 5* as they're such an excellent company. Their email app is beautiful to look at and use and with all the features they offer I feel its a bargain. And I really respect the values they demonstrate as a company - keep up the great work Proton!

October 16, 2025
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Thank you for the review and kind words!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Happy Customer!

Paying for Proton under a pseudo. I've received the order ID of 19638267 for Proton Visionary which I'm proud to be apart of. As for my stance on Proton I'm 100% for the ethical uses of technology and privacy. Personally I believe Proton should hand over information if something is abused. That being said I've believed in the company enough where I was excited enough to pay $39.99 for their software. More and more people are suggesting their software on YouTube even. All things considered I plan on paying for Proton under the Visionary plan for quite a while.

March 17, 2026
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Thank you for your support and feedback!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Works well as safe replacement for mail, calendar, cloud storage, password manager etc.

I transistioned to Proton two months ago and soon bought a paid subscription. Their suite of tools works quite well as drop-in for less privacy safe alternatives like Google, Dropbox etc. Very intuitive to use and with familiar user interfaces. The support has been very responsive (maybe because its a paid subscription?).

Features are still being added, and in particular Proton Drive and Pass appear to recieve new features regularly.

If you are aware to follow the advice saving recovery codes for emergencies and other recovery options, I am convinced your data (and your future access to them) is safe very at Proton.

March 1, 2026
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Thank you for the review and kind words! We're glad you're enjoying our services.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Very impresive solution and trustable!

I was really suprised how good all services are working and designed.

All Proton services and apps are very user friendly already with "free" plan.

I directly bought first abo to extend the space etc. I am happy that i have found proton since i dont want to support the massive data collection of google anymore.

Proton overs the best data privacy soltution from my POV compared to really good and transparent prices! Very trustable company. To all haters: regarding FBI collaboration please read carefully the news. Proton has no insight to your data! It is even open source and the code can be checked.

March 12, 2026
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Thank you for the 5-star review and kind words! We're glad to have you as a part of our community.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Proton Mail Steals Your Privacy and Emails

Proton Mail is no long a valid company or email provider; don't trust it. The email account normal password stopped working, upon prompt, there is a 'forgot password (reset) link' that instantly sends useless garbled support emails - AND No Real Way To Reset Your Password instantly, or within 48 hours. Waited three weeks, sent 5 support messages and zero response besides the same useless robot version of email response from Proton. Since Proton has scooped personal information and emails, my next line of defense is to contact the FCC. Do not use this Euro company, your privacy is being stolen; and not protected.

February 26, 2026
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Sorry to hear about your experience. Please share your ticket number with us here so we can look follow up on your case.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Absolutely Useless

Absolutely Useless
I registered an account and tried to use it as an email on one single site, because today all of them require email. There is no any other reason to use email service.
What did proton do in response?
They blocked my account.
Complete useless garbage.

Take a look at their response. They admit that they are complete garbage.

March 8, 2026
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

If you've tried to register for a third-party service immediately after creating a Free Proton Mail account, it triggers a measure designed to prevent abusive registrations on 3rd party services. Follow the instructions you received in the automated email to lift the restrictions. If any issues contact us at: https://proton.me/support/contact

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Proton free email is pretty solid.

Proton free email is pretty solid.
I use their competitors paid. Tu**.

If you are degoogling Proton will feel intuitive and similar. It appears as if they are trying to be the alternative, by also offering other services.

I have had no problems using the free service.

They are a, want all your eggs in one basket company.
The paid service I have at their competitors is run poorly compared to Proton whom answers emails, even from a free account quickly. They competition doesn't offer any support to free.

They lose a star as the format why familiar is crowded.
I mean it looks good but its not well designed.
When you look at Google Gmail and their services which many come from to Proton, and if Proton is trying to be the next Degoogle source the layout needs improving. Just seems cluttered and messy.

March 6, 2026
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Thank you for your review! We'll share your feedback with the team for future consideration.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Terrible user interface, one of the worst

Terrible user interface and I'm a software designer. I signed up with Protonmail in 2014 and found the UI acceptable and easy to follow. I liked how the buttons were labelled as text, so there was no mistaking them.

Progressively they've turned it into one of the worst UIs around. Take two simple examples :

I add a series of attachments to send with my e-mail and when I look closely, it has rearranged them in reverse of the order in which I've added them. I don't want this because I intend for the recipient to see the most relevant attachment first.

I then click the bin icon right next to the attachments, to delete the attachments and try again, but no, the bin attachment deleted my entire e-mail draft, even though it was adjacent to the files. I have to start again.

I add the attachments in reverse order, thinking I'm being smart and then send the e-mail. When I check it afterwards, I find that it actually sent them in the sequence I added them, but showed me a different sequence while composing the message. It turns out that it sorts the attachment file names alphanumerically, yet sends them chronologically. This is par for the course with Protonmail now — the UI is illogical and poorly planned. All the historic concepts and principles which we came to recognise with leading desktop-application-email programmes and found reasonable design choices — such as showing attachment files in the sequence in which they will be sent — are ignored with Proton.

The worst thing for me is the mistakes I make easily, because the buttons are just icons and not text. I don't want to waste my time hovering over every icon before clicking it. On top of this, support from Protonmail has often been a drain on my time — for small observances and bugs, support staff frequently disputed the bug and asked me to spend time creating videos of the problem. It is clear that many of the support staff have a very incomplete understanding of their own technology and can't even be bothered to verify the customer's simple example steps. Don’t waste your time with Protonmail, just use conventional e-mail applications and popular encryption standards and manage it yourself.

March 2, 2026
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed review, especially from a design perspective on how attachment handling, icon-based controls, and draft behavior can impact workflow, and feedback like this is valuable.

If you’ve reported these specific issues to support, please share your ticket number so we can review how they were handled. If not, we encourage you to open a ticket at https://proton.me/support/contact
so the team can properly investigate the attachment ordering and draft deletion behavior you described.

Your feedback has been noted and will be shared internally.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Absolutely useless. Password reset refuses to work!

Absolutely useless. Do not use this scam.

Used it for several months until suddenly it randomly signed me out. Now my login isn't working and password reset simply DOES NOT WORK!!!!! Its 2026 and these chimps STILL haven't implemented a simple password reset protocol.

I get two options;
Enter your recovery phrase. What on earth is this? You never told me to set one up? What sort of weird company introduces something like this but doesn't let the user actually set their own phrase? Madness. I've had hundreds accounts with all sorts of websites and I've never once been asked to "enter a phrase" as a way to reset my password.

The second option is to enter my recovery email address. I only have one other email address so I entered that and it's not recognising it.

Absolutely useless, amateur operation. Why there is no phone verification nor any other way to recover a password, such as a simple 6 digit pin etc.

Do not trust this company. Absolutely useless.

March 1, 2026
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Thanks for sharing your experience. Proton uses zero-access encryption, which means account recovery works differently from most services. A recovery phrase or recovery email must be set up in advance to reset access. If neither was configured correctly, recovery options can be limited for security reasons.

Please contact us at https://proton.me/support/contact
and include any details available so we can look into your case.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Great products

Great products, with functionality and privacy. Minus one star due to the poor costumer service.

February 23, 2026
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Thank you for your review Jose. Please share your ticket number with us here so we can look into your case.

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