Want Proton-level privacy with AI and native apps?
Managing multiple email accounts while keeping your messages private can be challenging. Even with Proton Mail’s strong security, users often want more flexibility from their email client without moving all their email to a new provider.
AI email clients offer a solution by combining smart features like drafting replies, summarizing threads, and prioritizing your inbox across multiple accounts.
Canary Mail is one such client. It works with Proton, Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, and IMAP, giving you:
- The ability to keep your current accounts like Gmail, Outlook, or Proton
- A native email client experience on macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android
- AI Copilot features for drafting replies, summarizing threads, and prioritizing your inbox
- PGP, end-to-end encryption, and SecureSend to protect sensitive emails across all accounts
In short:
- Proton Mail = secure email provider
- Canary Mail = secure, AI-powered email client for multiple accounts
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Proton Mail vs a Secure AI Email Client: PGP and Unified Inbox
Proton Mail focuses on providing a privacy-first hosted mailbox with its own web and mobile apps. It is ideal for users who want a fully secure, provider-managed email account.
Canary Mail, on the other hand, is a secure AI-powered email client that connects to your existing providers - including Proton, Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, and any IMAP account - without requiring you to change your email address. It adds AI capabilities, a unified inbox, and PGP encryption, giving you a centralized, productive, and secure email experience.
Proton Mail vs Canary Mail: High level differences
Real-world scenarios:
- A marketing manager uses Gmail for daily work, Outlook for client communications, and Proton Mail for sensitive company messages. Switching between apps is time-consuming, and it’s hard to track all conversations in one place. Canary Mail consolidates all accounts into a single unified inbox while adding AI to summarize threads and draft replies, saving hours each week.
- A freelance consultant works across multiple clients who use Gmail, iCloud, and Outlook. They want AI assistance to prioritize urgent emails and summarize long threads. Using Canary Mail, they can manage multiple accounts, let AI highlight critical messages, and maintain encryption for confidential client emails, all without leaving their preferred mailbox.
Summary:
Proton Mail remains an excellent choice for users ready to adopt a fully hosted, privacy-first mailbox. Canary Mail is the better alternative for those who want AI-powered productivity, a unified inbox across accounts, and strong client-side encryption, all while keeping their existing email addresses.
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When an Alternative to Proton Mail Email Client with AI and PGP Fits Your Workflow
Even if you use Proton Mail or another provider, Canary Mail can boost productivity, security, and organization by unifying accounts, adding AI tools, and supporting advanced encryption.
- Keep existing accounts while adding AI and privacy
- Users who already use Gmail, Outlook, or iCloud but want AI-powered tools, a unified inbox, and encryption without migrating their mailbox.
- Combine multiple email providers in one place
- Professionals managing multiple accounts don’t want to switch apps constantly. Canary Mail allows viewing all accounts in a single unified inbox.
- Need AI productivity features
- Draft replies quickly, summarize long email threads, or prioritize messages.
- Ideal for busy professionals, teams, and freelancers who receive dozens or hundreds of emails daily.
- Work with teams and shared addresses
- Support@, info@, or legal@ accounts can be turned into shared inboxes.
- Assign messages, leave internal notes, and track replies securely without switching tools.
- Send sensitive messages across providers
- Use PGP encryption and SecureSend to protect emails even when the recipient uses Gmail, Outlook, or iCloud.
- Prefer native apps across platforms
- macOS, Windows, iOS, iPadOS, and Android apps offer a consistent, fast experience compared to switching between web apps.
What You Gain with a Proton Mail Alternative Email Client
Even if you keep Proton Mail (or any other provider), adding Canary Mail as your primary email client gives you productivity, AI features, and advanced security in one place. Here’s what you can gain:
1 Unified inbox across Proton, Gmail, Outlook, and more
- Connect all your accounts - Proton, Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, and IMAP - into a single app.
- See one unified inbox while filtering by account or domain when needed.
- Avoid constantly switching between apps or browser tabs, and focus on your real workload.
2 AI Copilot for smarter email management
- Turn bullet points into fully drafted replies ready to send.
- Summarize long email threads so you can quickly decide what needs attention.
- Prioritize messages with AI assistance, helping you focus on urgent emails first.
3 PGP and SecureSend for sensitive messages
- Protect confidential conversations with PGP encryption, even when recipients use a different email provider.
- Use SecureSend to send password-protected, expiring messages to recipients without PGP.
- Combine these tools with Proton or apply them across any other accounts for enhanced security.
4 Shared inboxes and team collaboration
- Turn shared addresses like support@, legal@, or founders@ into collaborative inboxes.
- Assign messages, add internal notes, and track who replied last.
- Keep sensitive team communication within a secure client instead of scattering it across tools.
Why it matters:
By using Canary Mail on top of your existing Proton or other email accounts, you gain AI-powered productivity, a unified inbox, end-to-end encryption, and collaboration tools, all without changing your email address.
Alternative to Proton Mail with AI - Pricing Overview
Canary Mail is priced separately from Proton Mail or any other email provider. You continue paying Proton (or your existing provider) for mailbox hosting, while Canary Mail covers the email client, AI features, encryption tools, and collaboration capabilities.
At a high level, Canary Mail offers:
- Free or trial plan to test the client with your existing email accounts
- Pro plan for individuals who want AI-powered email drafting, encryption, and multi-device support
- Team plan for organizations that need shared inboxes, team collaboration, and admin controls
For the most up-to-date pricing and plan details, visit the Canary Mail pricing page.
How to test this Proton Mail alternative without changing your setup
You can try Canary Mail without changing your email address, migrating data, or cancelling Proton Mail.
Getting started is simple:
- Download Canary Mail on macOS, Windows, iOS, or Android from the official downloads page.
- Connect your existing accounts, including Proton Mail (using Proton’s supported Bridge, where available), Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, and other IMAP providers.
- Let Canary sync your inbox and folders securely in the background.
- Enable AI Copilot features to draft replies, summarize long threads, and prioritize messages.
- Configure privacy and security tools such as PGP encryption, SecureSend, and tracker blocking.
- Use Canary alongside Proton Mail or webmail for a few days to see how it fits your workflow.
- When you’re comfortable, set Canary as your default email client on desktop and your primary inbox on mobile.
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Proton Mail alternative with AI and encryption - FAQ
Does this Proton Mail alternative replace Proton as my email provider?
No. Canary Mail is an email client. You can keep Proton Mail or any other provider and use Canary to add AI, a unified inbox, and encryption features.
Can I use Canary Mail with Proton Mail accounts?
Yes. Proton Mail accounts can be connected using Proton’s supported Bridge, where available, allowing you to use Canary’s AI Copilot and PGP tools.
How is Canary Mail different from Proton Scribe?
Proton Scribe works only inside Proton Mail. Canary Mail’s AI Copilot works across all connected accounts to help draft replies, summarize threads, and prioritize email.
Is Canary Mail as private as Proton Mail?
They focus on different areas. Proton Mail secures email hosting, while Canary Mail adds client-side privacy with PGP, SecureSend, and tracker blocking. Many users combine both.
Will I lose email if I stop using Canary Mail?
No. Your email stays with your provider. You can stop using Canary Mail at any time without losing access to your messages.