TechRadar Verdict
Mailfence is a popular Belgian-based secure email service provider that does a good job without being excellent. It's certainly not a bad option, but there are more powerful services on the market.
Pros
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Impressive range of extra tools
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Great free plan
Cons
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Some security features are lacking
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User interface is a little plain
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Mailfence is a secure email service provider based in Belgium, a country famous for its strict data protection legislation. It’s a great alternative to more popular but less secure email providers such as Gmail, although Mailfence certainly isn’t perfect.
We’ve spent countless hours reviewing the best secure email providers, and Mailfence has stood out time and time again. In the rest of this Mailfence review, we explore everything you need to know about this company, analyzing its prices, main features, user interface, customer service, and more.
Mailfence: Plans and pricing
Mailfence has four different subscription options, including one free and three paid plans. The free plan is quite limited, with just 500MB of email and 500MB of cloud document storage. It only lets you create one Mailfence group, and only email support is available.
The Entry plan costs €2.50 per month and comes with 5GB of email storage, 12GB of document storage, and up to 10 alias email addresses. You will also be able to create three secure groups and access telephone support, along with a selection of messaging tools and other advanced features.
For more storage, upgrade to the Pro plan (€7.50 per month), which comes with 20GB of email storage, 24GB of document storage, 50 alias email addresses, and priority support. And finally, the Ultra plan (€25.00 per month) adds 50GB of email storage, 70GB of document storage, and 100 alias email addresses.
It’s also worth noting that cryptocurrency payments are supported for added security, which is something not all secure email providers offer. What’s more, custom business solutions can be developed on request.
Mailfence: Features
Along with the expected email privacy and security features, Mailfence comes with a range of extra tools to streamline your work life. For one, all paying customers will have access to a selection of messaging tools to ensure secure transmission and receival across the board.
You will also be able to use Mailfence’s secure calendar to remind yourself of important events or actions that need to be taken. The document storage module is great, and you can even create contact groups to share important files and data with when required.
Mailfence: Interface and in use
Unfortunately, the Mailfence user interface is far from the most attractive we’ve used. It’s a little outdated and clunky, although it certainly does everything it needs to.
On your main dashboard, you will find a calendar on the left of screen, basic information on the right, and access to your inbox, calendar, and more at the top. The inbox itself is simple but intuitive, while the rest of the tools work as expected.
Mailfence: Support
Mailfence offers email support to all users, including those on a free plan, but those with a Pro or Ultra plan will be prioritized. Phone support is also available with all paid plans.
On top of this, Mailfence comes with a great support center that contains a range of tutorials, step-by-step guides, and more. There is also comprehensive documentation available to help you familiarize yourself with the program and its main features.
Mailfence: Security
Mailfence is backed by a selection of advanced security features, but there are a few notable omissions. To begin with, it uses full end-to-end encryption to ensure your communications are protected. It also uses powerful digital signatures to prevent mail tampering or forgery and boasts an integrated keystore, which means you won’t have to rely on third-party add-ons or plugins.
On top of this, Mailfence uses locally hosted servers based in Belgium. This means that all of the company’s services are regulated by both European and Belgian data protection laws. All access to the data center is heavily monitored, and third-party access is strictly forbidden.
In addition, Mailfence ensures all transmissions are highly secure with TLS and SSL security. Perfect forwarding secrecy (PFS) is used to make sure old messages are protected if a data breach does occur, and a number of inbound message validation methods are used to identify potential scams or spoofed messages.
In saying that, we did have a couple of concerns about Mailfence’s security. It logs IP addresses and a small amount of other data, the platform’s code isn’t open source, and your inbox isn’t encrypted when resting. Overall, though, there’s not too much to worry about.
The competition
Mailfence is an extremely popular secure email service provider, but there are plenty of alternatives on the market, including ProtonMail and Mailbox.org.
ProtonMail is a very affordable option with a powerful free plan and seriously impressive security integrations. It comes with a very attractive user interface and is backed by a suite of advanced features.
Mailbox.org is a German-based secure email service provider with a very strong track record. And like Mailfence, it comes with a suite of extra tools, including a calendar, word processor, and secure cloud storage.
Final verdict
At the end of the day, Mailfence offers good secure email services, but it’s certainly not great. Its prices are a little on the high side, it lacks a few important security features, and its user interface is quite basic.
But, if you can overlook these relatively minor issues, Mailfence is easy to use, powerful, and backed by a suite of additional tools. If you’re interested in this company’s services, we’d recommend signing up for a free plan and giving it a go before committing to a long-term subscription.
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