Search that works everywhere
Find any message in an instant, from any device, even inside PDFs and Word documents. No per-browser index to rebuild, no cut-off date on how far back you can look.
Fastmail vs Proton Mail
The privacy you switched for, without the friction. Fast search, real speed, and full open standards support in any app you like.
Try free for 30 days
No obligation, no credit card required.
Everything you expect, without the trade-offs
We don't run ads, we don't sell your data, and when you need help a real person answers. Those aren't features, they're just how we think email should work.
All plans include
Masked Email, built in
Create a unique address for every sign-up, so companies can’t track you across the web, and if spam starts arriving, you know exactly who leaked your address. It works directly with password managers like 1Password and Bitwarden.
A calendar and contacts you'll actually use
A full calendar with real sharing, plus contacts that sync everywhere through CalDAV and CardDAV. No read-only workarounds, no second account open just to run your week.
Open standards, no lock-in
Native IMAP, CalDAV and CardDAV. Use Fastmail in any app you like, with no desktop bridge to install and move your data elsewhere whenever you want.
“I switched from Proton Mail, and I can really tell the difference… it's fast and reliable with no ads, and they don't try to upsell me. I have no regrets at all.”
Fair pricing, no hidden costs
Both are private and ad-free. Here's where they part ways.
Compare our plans
Fastmail vs. Proton Mail
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|---|---|---|
| Search | Instant full-text search, even inside attachments. | Subject and sender only, unless you build a search index in every browser. |
| Speed | Quick to load, even on huge mailboxes. | Heavier app that slows as your mailbox grows. |
| Open standards | Email built by industry experts supporting open standards. Full JMAP, IMAP, CalDAV and CardDAV. | No CalDAV or CardDAV. Calendar and contacts are read-only in other apps, with no two-way sync. |
| Use with third-party apps(e.g. Outlook, Apple Mail) | Apps on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android and web, or any IMAP app like Outlook or Apple Mail. | Proton's own apps. Outlook and Apple Mail need the Bridge app, on desktop and paid plans only. |
| Your data | Yours to move any time, server to server. | No server-to-server export. Manual EML files, or Bridge and an IMAP client on paid plans. |
| Privacy | Ad-free. Your data is never mined or sold. | Ad-free. Your data is never mined or sold. |
| Upsells | You paid for email. We give you email, not a sales pitch. | Upsell prompts for other services, even on paid plans. |
Open standards
Building a better internet
When you pay for Fastmail, you’re not just getting a great email service. We make email better for everyone by advancing open standards and leading industry co-operation. Your support helps keep the internet open, and stops email becoming just another closed messaging service owned by big tech.
Learn more
Moving made easy(ish)
Proton doesn't support open standards, so we can't import your mail directly, server to server. But we've made the manual move about as painless as it gets.
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Export your mail
Download Proton’s Export Tool and export your mail as EML files.
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Drop them into Fastmail
Drag and drop the EML files to import. Batches of under 1,000 work best.
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Bring contacts and calendar
Export contacts as vCard and calendar as ICS. Import both into Fastmail.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Does Fastmail offer free accounts?
No. We offer a free, no-obligation trial so you can be sure, but we charge a fair price for a great service. As a paid-only provider we serve only you, with no ads and no data mining, ever.
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Is my mail encrypted at Fastmail?
Yes. Traffic between our data centers, servers and your devices is always encrypted, including TLS 1.3 and Perfect Forward Secrecy, and your mail is encrypted at rest on our servers. We run our own infrastructure, and we’ve never mined or sold customer data. The difference is privacy without friction: search still works across every message, and there’s no separate app to install just to read your mail.
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Does Fastmail support end-to-end encryption?
Not in our own apps, and that’s deliberate. If you want it, you can use PGP or S/MIME in third-party apps, and we fully support that.
We don’t build it into our own apps because the trade-offs are severe. The server can’t search your mail, can’t show previews, and can’t check for spam. If you lose your private key, you lose your history. And if you trust us with your mail, end-to-end encryption adds nothing, because it’s already encrypted at rest and in transit. For the rare message that truly needs it, don’t use email at all. Use Signal.
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Does Fastmail respond to law enforcement data requests?
As an Australian company, we only act on requests made under Australian law. A request sent straight to us by an overseas agency isn’t valid, and we don’t act on it. Overseas authorities have to go through Australian channels, such as a mutual assistance treaty or the CLOUD Act agreement.
We check that every request is legal before we act, and we only hand over data for the specific account named in a warrant. We never give bulk access to our systems. We also tell you when an authority has asked for your information, so you have a chance to challenge it, unless the law stops us or telling you would put someone at risk.
Our data transparency report shows how many requests we actioned each year.
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What happens to my data if I leave Fastmail?
It’s yours to take, any time. Open standards mean you can export your mail, contacts and calendar and move them to another provider whenever you want. No lock-in, ever.