Comparison

iPGMail vs Tessercube

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

iPGMail

This app simplifies PGP encryption for iOS users, allowing easy sending and receiving of encrypted emails and files. It supports the OpenPGP standard, key management, and various import methods for keys and messages.

Highlights
  • PGP encryption and decryption
  • Send and receive encrypted emails
  • Encrypt and decrypt files
  • Create and manage PGP keys
  • Import keys from various sources
  • Supports OpenPGP standard
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

iPGMail is a complete OpenPGP client for iPhone and iPad. Encrypt, decrypt, and digitally sign email and files using the same RFC 9580 / RFC 4880 standard you already use with GnuPG, Mailvelope, Thunderbird, ProtonMail's PGP exports, and any other OpenPGP-compatible tool. Bring your existing PGP identity to iOS or generate a new one in the app. Your private keys are stored in a private local database with the highest data-protection class and are unlocked only by Touch ID or Face ID. All cryptography runs locally — your keys and message content never leave your device. CRYPTO & INTEROPERABILITY • OpenPGP v4 and v6 (RFC 9580 / RFC 4880, RFC 6637) — fully interoperable with GnuPG, Mailvelope, Thunderbird, ProtonMail PGP exports, and any other compliant tool • Public-key algorithms: RSA, DSA, ECDSA, EdDSA (Ed25519, Ed448), ECDH (Curve25519, X448) • Symmetric ciphers including AES-256, with modern AEAD encryption on PGP v6 (SEIPDv2) messages • PGP/MIME for encrypted email; standard ASCII-armored output for any plain-text channel • Detached and inline signatures; sign-only mode for authenticated but readable messages • Symmetric (password-based) file encryption • Encrypt to multiple recipients in a single message EMAIL • Send encrypted email directly from the app via SMTP — works with iCloud, Gmail, Outlook / Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL, Fastmail, GMX, Yandex, mail.ru, QQ, Comcast, and any custom SMTP server • Google OAuth2 for password-free Gmail authentication • Reply with quoted plaintext ("> " prefix) so encrypted threads read like normal email • Or hand off to your default mail app via the standard iOS share sheet KEY MANAGEMENT • Generate new keypairs in-app with strong defaults (ECC or RSA) • Import existing public and private keys (ASCII-armored or binary) • Search SKS / hkps key servers and Keybase to find recipient keys • Attach your public key to outgoing messages so recipients can import it directly • Inspect key flags, expiration, signatures, and user IDs FILES • Encrypt and decrypt files up to 100 MB per file (200 MB total per message), with on-screen progress • Quick Look preview of decrypted content in-place • Receive encrypted attachments directly from iOS Mail.app — no copy/paste required • Read .pgp, .gpg, .asc, and .sig files from anywhere via the Files app, AirDrop, iCloud Drive, Dropbox, or the system clipboard • Open URL handler for the x-ipgmail:// scheme so other apps can hand work to iPGMail iPAD-OPTIMIZED • Sidebar navigation and full keyboard shortcut support • Optimized layouts for Split View and Stage Manager PRIVACY POSTURE • Private keys are stored locally in a secured private database and unlocked only by Touch ID / Face ID • All encryption, decryption, signing, and verification happens on-device • No account creation, no cloud middleman, no third-party access to your message content • Open standard — your keys and messages stay portable to any other OpenPGP tool, on any platform WHO IT'S FOR Built for journalists, activists, security professionals, lawyers, developers, and anyone who already uses PGP on the desktop and wants the same workflow on iOS. Bring your existing key, decrypt your inbox, sign and send — without surrendering custody of your keys to anyone.

About

Tessercube

This app allows users to generate, import, and export OpenPGP keypairs for secure communication. It enables encryption, decryption, signing, and verification of messages, with a special keyboard for use in any application. A unified message history log keeps track of all communications.

Highlights
  • OpenPGP key generation and management
  • Encrypt and decrypt messages
  • Sign and verify messages
  • Unified message history
  • System-wide OpenPGP keyboard
Features
Read full description

[ Basic Functionalities ] - Generate, import, and export OpenPGP keypairs (EdDSA supported) - Encrypt and decrypt encrypted messages - Sign and verify signed messages - Unified message history log [ Special Features: Tessercube Keyboard ] Communicate via OpenPGP in any app, as long as all participants of the conversation have installed Tessercube (or any software supporting OpenPGP implementations). [ Feedback & Bug Report ] If you find any problem with Tessercube, you may visit https://github.com/DimensionDev/Tessercube-Talks/issues to open an issue or send an email to info@dimension.im

Screenshots

iPGMail4 screens
Tessercube3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Tessercube at Free against iPGMail's $3.99. Tessercube also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17.0). iPGMail's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 4.1) and ratings volume (235 vs 16). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Tessercube is free to download; iPGMail costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

iPGMail holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: iPGMail has 235 ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 66% of iPGMail's written reviews are positive against 54% of Tessercube's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iPGMail ships an update every 10 days, Tessercube every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and July 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
iPGMail versus Tessercube: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriPGMailTessercube
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (235 ratings) — better4.1 (16 ratings)
Positive reviews66.3% of reviews — better53.8% of reviews
Number of ratings235 — better16
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#105 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB107 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWyllys IngersollSUJITEKU LIMITED LIABILITY CO.

Customer experience

iPGMail

All ratings235 ratings
Positive81.7%
Neutral7.2%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews199 reviews
Positive66.3%
Neutral8.0%
Negative25.6%

Tessercube

All ratings16 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral6.3%
Negative18.8%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive53.8%
Neutral7.7%
Negative38.5%

Bugs and requests

iPGMail

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when importing certain private keys
  • Issues with sending/receiving encrypted attachments
  • Problems with key server integration and key management

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to save password/passphrase
  • Automatic deletion of local decrypted files
  • Better integration with iOS Mail app
  • Support for more encryption algorithms beyond RSA

Tessercube

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

iPGMail

No in-app purchases

None

Tessercube

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is iPGMail free?
iPGMail costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Tessercube free?
Tessercube is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, iPGMail or Tessercube?
iPGMail is rated higher. iPGMail averages 4.3 out of 5 from 235 ratings, while Tessercube averages 4.1 from 16 ratings.
Do iPGMail or Tessercube have ads?
Neither iPGMail nor Tessercube shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iPGMail or Tessercube?
iPGMail ships an update every 10 days, and Tessercube every 2 weeks. Most recently, iPGMail was updated on September 23, 2026 and Tessercube on July 30, 2026.

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