Short answer: For personal use, Proton Mail is the strongest Hushmail alternative: end-to-end encryption, a free plan and apps for every platform, and it will sign a HIPAA business associate agreement too. Healthcare practices that already use Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 should look at Paubox, which encrypts every outgoing email without a portal. Tuta is the cheapest encrypted mailbox, and if you'd rather keep your current address, Canary Mail adds PGP and password-protected email to the account you already have.
Disclosure: we make Canary Mail, one of the options below. Prices were checked on each provider's own site on October 16, 2026.
What Hushmail is, and why people switch
Hushmail is a Canadian encrypted email service that has been running since 1999. Today it sells two kinds of plan:
- Hushmail for Personal Use: $59.99 a year, with OpenPGP encryption, 15 GB of storage, unlimited aliases, an iPhone app and IMAP/POP access, plus a 60-day money-back guarantee.
- Hushmail for Healthcare (and Small Business and Law): HIPAA-compliant email and secure forms with a business associate agreement, from $11.99 a month or $131.89 a year for Healthcare Basic, with a 14-day trial.
People usually leave for one of four reasons: there's no free plan; there's no Android app listed, only iPhone; the healthcare plans get expensive once you add forms and more users; or they want encryption that doesn't depend on a single provider's web app. Which alternative fits depends on which of those applies to you.
Hushmail alternatives compared
| Service | Best for | Free plan | Paid from | HIPAA BAA | Android app |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hushmail (for reference) | Encrypted email and forms | No | $59.99/year personal; $11.99/month healthcare | Healthcare plans | No |
| Proton Mail | Personal privacy | Yes, up to 1 GB | $3.99/month billed yearly | Yes, on request | Yes |
| Paubox | Clinics on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 | No (14-day trial) | $32/month billed yearly, up to 5 senders | Yes, all accounts | Uses your existing apps |
| Tuta | Cheapest encrypted mailbox | Yes, 1 GB | €3/month billed yearly | Not stated | Yes |
| Mailfence | OpenPGP like Hushmail | Yes | Yearly plans in euros | Not stated | Yes |
| Canary Mail | Keeping your current address | Yes | Pro+ $100/year for encryption | HIPAA compliant per Canary | Yes |
| StartMail | Password-protected email to anyone | No (7-day trial) | $4.99/month billed yearly | Not stated | Uses IMAP apps |
| Posteo | A private mailbox for 1 euro | No | €1/month | Not stated | Uses IMAP apps |
Not stated means we couldn't find a BAA offer on the provider's own site. If you handle patient data, get the BAA in writing before you move anything.
The 7 best Hushmail alternatives in 2026
1. Proton Mail: Best overall for personal privacy
Proton covers almost everything Hushmail Personal does and adds a free plan. Mail between Proton users is end-to-end encrypted, you can send password-protected emails to anyone else, and stored mail is encrypted so Proton can't read it. It's based in Switzerland, and its apps run on iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows and Linux. For health practices, Proton says it supports HIPAA compliance and will provide a BAA to any Proton user on request.
- Who it's for: individuals and small practices who want encryption without paying Hushmail's prices
- Price: free (up to 1 GB, 150 messages a day); Mail Plus $4.99 a month or $47.88 a year; Unlimited $12.99 a month or $119.88 a year; business plans priced separately
- Platforms: web, iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux
- Downside: no built-in secure intake forms like Hushmail's, other email apps only work through Proton Mail Bridge on a paid plan, and subject lines aren't end-to-end encrypted.
More: Canary Mail vs Proton Mail and Proton Mail alternatives.
2. Paubox: Best for healthcare practices
Paubox is the closest match for Hushmail's healthcare customers who don't want a separate mailbox. It sits on top of Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 and encrypts every outgoing email automatically, and recipients read it without portals or passwords. Every account includes a BAA, and the Standard plan includes HIPAA-compliant forms.
- Who it's for: clinics and therapists who already use Google Workspace or Microsoft 365
- Price: Standard $32 a month billed yearly or $42 monthly for up to 5 senders; Plus $65 a month billed yearly adds inbound protection against phishing and ransomware; 14-day trial
- Platforms: works inside Gmail and Outlook on any device
- Downside: it isn't a mailbox, so you still pay for Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, and it's priced for practices, not individuals.
3. Tuta: Best cheap encrypted mailbox
Tuta (formerly Tutanota) stores your emails, subject lines, attachments, calendar and contacts end-to-end encrypted, which goes further than Hushmail or Proton on subject lines. To write to someone outside Tuta, you share a password with them once. It's based in Germany and has a free plan for private use.
- Who it's for: individuals who want encryption by default for as little as possible
- Price: free (1 GB); Revolutionary €3 a month billed yearly (20 GB, 3 custom domains); Legend €8 a month billed yearly
- Platforms: web, iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux
- Downside: no IMAP, so it doesn't work in Apple Mail or Outlook the way Hushmail does, and there's no BAA offer on its site.
More: Tuta Mail alternatives.
4. Mailfence: Best OpenPGP match
Mailfence uses the same standard Hushmail does, OpenPGP, so you can exchange encrypted mail with anyone who uses PGP. It also sends password-encrypted messages to people without PGP; those are stored on its servers in a zero-access environment. It's based in Belgium and adds calendars, contacts and document storage.
- Who it's for: people who want Hushmail-style PGP encryption with a free starting point
- Price: free plan; paid plans (Base, Entry, Pro, Ultra) are billed in euros and not monthly; check mailfence.com for current prices
- Platforms: web, iPhone, Android; other email apps from the Entry plan up
- Downside: the free and Base plans can't send through other email apps (no SMTP), and there's no BAA offer on its site.
More: what PGP encryption is and how it works.
5. Canary Mail: Best if you want to keep your current address
Disclosure: we make Canary Mail. Canary isn't an email provider; it's an email app that works with Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, Yahoo, Exchange and any IMAP account. That makes it the option for people who like Hushmail's encryption but don't want a new address. On the Pro+ plan you can encrypt with PGP, or use SecureSend for recipients without PGP: they open the message through a secure link with identity verification, an expiry date and the option to revoke it. Canary says it is HIPAA and GDPR compliant. Tracking pixels are blocked by default on every plan, and more than 2 million people use the app.
- Who it's for: professionals who need encrypted email from an existing Gmail, Outlook or work account
- Price: free for unlimited accounts on 2 devices; Pro+ $100 a year for PGP, SecureSend and phishing and impersonation detection; Growth $36 a year for AI writing and summaries; lifetime licenses $100 and $300
- Platforms: Mac, iPhone, iPad, Windows, Android
- Downside: your mail is still stored by your existing provider, so it's only end-to-end encrypted when you choose to encrypt a message, and the encryption features need Pro+.
More: PGP vs SecureSend.
6. StartMail: Best for password-protected email to anyone
StartMail, from the Netherlands, has one-click PGP encryption and lets you set a password so people without encryption can read and reply to your encrypted messages, which is how many Hushmail users work today. It also supports IMAP. Our guide on how to password protect an email covers the other ways to do this.
- Who it's for: individuals who send sensitive files to people who've never heard of PGP
- Price: Personal $4.99 a month billed yearly ($59.88); 7-day trial that asks for payment details
- Platforms: web; any IMAP app
- Downside: no free plan, no apps of its own, and no BAA offer on its site.
7. Posteo: Best budget private mailbox
Posteo is a Berlin email service that costs 1 euro a month, asks for no personal details at sign-up, offers encrypted mailbox storage and works with any app over IMAP or POP3. Storage doubled to 4 GB in 2026.
- Who it's for: individuals who mainly want privacy and no ads, not encrypted forms or compliance
- Price: €1 a month
- Platforms: web; any IMAP or POP3 app
- Downside: no custom domains, no free trial, and it isn't built for healthcare compliance.
Left off this list
CounterMail still appears on many older lists, but its website footer hasn't changed since 2021, so we no longer recommend it. Fastmail is a good service, but it doesn't offer end-to-end encryption in its own apps, so it isn't a like-for-like Hushmail replacement; see Fastmail alternatives instead.
How to choose
- You're an individual who wants encryption and a free plan: Proton Mail, or Tuta if you want subject lines encrypted too.
- You run a practice on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365: Paubox.
- You need secure intake forms as well as email: Hushmail is still strong here; compare its Essentials plan before switching.
- You want to keep your Gmail or Outlook address: Canary Mail with PGP or SecureSend (or Outlook's own tools; see how to encrypt email in Outlook).
- You want a wider view: our guide to the best secure email apps and services , encrypted vs private email and our guide to email security.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free version of Hushmail?
No. Hushmail for Personal Use costs $59.99 a year with a 60-day money-back guarantee, and the healthcare plans start at $11.99 a month with a 14-day free trial. Proton Mail, Tuta and Mailfence all have free encrypted plans.
Is Hushmail legit and safe?
Yes. Hushmail has been running since 1999, uses OpenPGP encryption, keeps its servers in Canada and signs business associate agreements on its healthcare plans. Like any provider, it can be compelled by law in its own country.
What is Hushmail used for?
Mostly by therapists and other health professionals for HIPAA-compliant email and e-signable intake forms, and by individuals who want encrypted email with a familiar web and iPhone app.
What is the most secure free email?
Proton Mail and Tuta both offer end-to-end encryption on their free plans. Tuta also encrypts subject lines; Proton has more apps and lets you use other email clients on paid plans.
What is the least hacked email provider?
No provider publishes comparable breach figures, so no one can honestly rank them. Your own habits matter more: a unique password, two-step verification or a passkey, and caution with phishing emails.
Does Hushmail have an Android app?
Hushmail's plans list an iPhone app but no Android app. On Android you can use it in a browser or connect it to an email app over IMAP.