Zoho vs Proton Mail reddit / selfhosted ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MITstudent · 2023-12-21 20:01 Sorry, I know this is not about self-hosting, but as far back as I have been lurking this subreddit, overwhelmingly folks recommend NOT self-hosting email. And recently, I saw Zoho mail pop up a couple of times. I'm thinking about switching away from Gmail and I have an old Proton Mail account from when they first launched. So, if I just want to have an email backend to use with my custom domain, how do they compare? I mean, why don't people recommend Proton Mail? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- jakesomething · 2023-12-21 20:16 Not sure what's not to like about proton. I leverage their email with a custom domain and use their VPN service, been very happy . Their support helped me configure their VPN on pfSense too! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- gryd3 · 2023-12-21 20:17 I've been watching Proton, but generally have a distaste for companies providing 'free' services. If you aren't paying for the product, you 'are' the product. I've used Zoho for business with decent results. It lacked in business due to the growing needs of our business... we started storing large files in our email (instead of using the provided NAS...) and we wanted to start sharing large files with 3rd parties... When we started adding services to Zoho, it became comparible in cost to use Google/MS365. I'm currently using Zoho for personal use for myself and family. No complaints. Inexpensive and accessible. (I subscribe to Mail Lite) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Otherwise_Table · 2023-12-21 20:41 I have never used proton mail. But I have my family on Zoho mail and I love it and it's at a great price as well. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- quinyd · 2023-12-21 20:44 I actually switched off Proton after 3 years because of three things: - iOS app was slow and didn’t support offline mails. I need to be able to read my downloaded mails offline. - getting my wife an account on my custom domain was same price as my full account. - my current plan didn’t offer SimpleLogin without additional cost. Ended up switching to Fastmail because of imap support, cheaper secondary account and 1Password integration. Proton is by no means bad, but I don’t need all the extra (proton pass, drive, vpn, etc) so their ‘bigger’ accounts started to be too expensive for my usage. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thecoffeebin · 2023-12-21 20:53 Another vote for Zoho(Mail lite) from me. I switched from Tutanota and FastMail to Zoho. To me Zoho mobile app is still lacking (using FairEmail now) but their webUI is as amazing as FastMail's. Also they're inexpensive. I'm impressed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Simplixt · 2023-12-21 21:00 ProtonMail has a great price value if you want: \- Mails with End-to-End encryption \- But without Lockin-effect, as you can use any client via IMAP bridge (you can also host the bridge via VM and do port forward. I use this, so that I can use a normal IMAP client even with my mobile apps, but of course connected via VPN) \- Get with SimpleMail and ProtonVPN two usefull services on top However, I'm not a fan of ProtonDrive (storage too expensive, no Linux client), ProtonPass (Bitwarden is better) or Proton Calendar (no desktop sync). Also the number of custom domains (3) and Alias (10) is too low in the Proton Unlimited account. And sadly, their Visionary account was decreased from 20$ to 30$ and is now too pricey for a single user. But overall, I'm quite happy with the Unlimited account. However not with Proton's prioritization of new features, speed of development or pricing models ;) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ich_hab_deine_Nase · 2023-12-21 21:01 * Proton's mobile apps are garbage * Proton's Android app relies on Google's FCM for notifications, exposing valuable metadata to Google and three letter agencies, as was recently exposed (providers like Tuta, for example, have their own push notification systems) * Proton is full of shit with their promises of features that never get released * Proton's forced bundle upselling policy is utter shit * Proton's cult-like userbase is unbearable I'm back to selfhosting my mailserver. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- layer4andbelow · 2023-12-21 21:02 I'm using Zoho now. If I was doing it over again I'd probably pony up for Exchange Plan 2. I'm only hosting 2 boxes though. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Stetsed · 2023-12-21 21:07 No offense but this feels like you haven’t looked into proton at all, they are specifically into privacy and you are correct you are the product, but in this case it’s not data it’s future possible revenue and/or word of mouth marketing that is obtained by having more users. They use the revenue from there paying users to subsidize the free users they have. So while I do use proton unlimited because I like the products as used some of the services either way so it was worth it for me, even the free tier is good enough for most people. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- AnApexBread · 2023-12-21 21:09 I don't recommend Proton for 2 reasons. * First is they're simply too expensive for what they offer. * Second their whole gimmick is just that, a gimmick. Proton's big claim is encrypted email, but that only works with other Proton users. If you're emailing outside of the Proton domain then it's still going over plain old unencrypted SMTP. And the vast majority of people are not using Proton. So maybe you'll get one email sent with encryption in a year, more likely none. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Bill_Buttersr · 2023-12-21 21:23 I use proton, and I'll tell you why. First, email. I like the encrypted email, I like how this feels premium. I like the catch all support, which allows me to use a new email for each service. Second, I don't have another cloud storage. I've tried hosting my own, it's too heavy and slow on my server, which is already pushing so many apps. I do have a lifetime from pcloud, but that's my standing backups and stuff. This is more like when I need to send a large file to a friend, or move something over the Internet. Third, VPN. It's considered the best VPN, even if it's expensive. I run one on my server always-on, with Gluetun. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Silver_Swim_8572 · 2023-12-21 21:32 what alternatives to proton do you suggest? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DIYSRE · 2023-12-21 22:52 I absolutely concur on the pricing model. I co-incidentally evaluated them for a new business yesterday and was a little peeved about that. Respectively, I disagree with your second point though. Just because other people aren't attempting to be secure, doesn't mean that you should forego attempts at security. Lead by example and advocate the benefits, imo. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- HecklerThrob · 2023-12-21 22:55 Second point : You do realize it's the same for ALL others ? Juste saying.... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- gryd3 · 2023-12-21 22:56 You made that connection on your own. I said I generally have a distaste for free services, not that Proton collects/sells personal information. I've been following them for a while. I'm not yet convinced to use them for a primary email account. It's a personal preference and experience I'm sharing. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- AnApexBread · 2023-12-21 22:59 I do. But it's not a main marketing point for the others. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- HecklerThrob · 2023-12-21 23:33 Ok, so your second point is irrelevant..... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- siranysparechange · 2023-12-22 02:55 End to end encryption means nothing unless every email you send is to other proton mail users ---------------------------------------------------------------------- stoploafing · 2023-12-22 04:05 I looked at both, tried proton for a while, ended up with Fastmail. I’m likely going to move my business to it, from office365, next week ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Simplixt · 2023-12-22 04:35 Encryption in rest and no company side analysis of email content means something ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Woke_killa · 2023-12-22 08:50 you need to pay for proton to link domain. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- KillerTic · 2023-12-22 09:29 I have just switched from self hosted (mailcow) to Zoho and am happy with is. I can add as many domains as I want, have catch all support, can create specific aliases and all of it for 12€ a year (per User). Only downside I can see at the moment, that you only have one inbox. Means all mails (doesn't matter which domain) go into one inbox. But for this I use rules to set tags or move the mails to a specific folder. Fine for me. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- jakesomething · 2023-12-22 15:45 True statement. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- kmisterk · 2023-12-22 17:00 ## Post Removed Hey, MITstudent! Thanks for your submission on selfhosted. Your post has been removed due to a violation of the purpose of the subreddit: **Self Hosting** ## Not Self-Hosted When it comes to posts regarding applications in this subreddit, they must feature a self-hosted tool, or a tool that *can be* self-hosted, or some kind of related information, help request, or otherwise related to a tool that is something that one can self-host. If you believe this post *is in fact* relevant to /r/selfhosted, feel free to [message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to= /r/selfhosted&subject=Removed For Not Being Self- Hosted&message=[Removed Post](https://www.reddit.com/r/selfhosted/comments/18nvu3a/-/\)) with your concerns.