Comparison

iPGMail vs PGPony

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

PGPony

This app simplifies PGP encryption for users on their iPhone. It allows for key generation, secure message and file encryption/decryption, digital signing, and hardware security key integration. All features are available for free.

Highlights
  • Generate PGP keys
  • Encrypt/decrypt messages and files
  • Sign and verify digital documents
  • Hardware security key integration (YubiKey, Token2)
  • Password-only encryption
  • Key management and revocation
  • Share sheet extension for app integration
Features
Read full description

PGPony makes PGP encryption easy, private, and powerful, and every feature is free. Generate keys, encrypt to people or to a password, sign and verify, back up your whole keyring, and revoke compromised keys, all from your iPhone and iPad, in seven languages. New in 8.1.0: iPad support and large files. Encrypt, sign, and decrypt files of any size, including with an RSA hardware key over NFC or USB-C, with progress and cancel. Signing with a passphrase-protected RSA key is fixed. Post-quantum encryption pairs Ed25519 with ML-KEM-768, in RFC 9580 (v6) and LibrePGP versions, private even against future quantum computers. HARDWARE SECURITY KEYS Keep your private key on dedicated hardware, not your phone. Generate a key pair on the card over NFC, or add an existing card with a tap. Sign, decrypt, and encrypt-and-sign in one step, with RSA and ECC (Ed25519/Curve25519) keys, on YubiKey, Token2, and others. Full card admin: change or unblock PINs, factory-reset, and view Card Details. ENCRYPT, DECRYPT & SIGN Encrypt messages and files of any size to any public key, or to a password with no keys at all, readable by gpg -c and back. Decrypt with a private key, a hardware key, or a passphrase, now close to instant even with a large keyring. Sign without encrypting, including detached signatures and large files, and verify a downloaded file against its signature. A signature banner shows who signed on every decrypt, for every key type including RSA. AEAD (OCB) encryption. GENERATE & MANAGE KEYS Create keys on a card or in-app: post-quantum Ed25519 + ML-KEM-768 in v6 and LibrePGP, v6 Ed25519, classic Ed25519 + Cv25519, or RSA 2048/4096. Full OpenPGP v6 (RFC 9580), bit-for-bit interoperable with Sequoia PGP and GnuPG. A built-in helper helps you pick the right type. Import from files, clipboard, QR codes, or keyservers, including GnuPG v4 and v6 keys. Make revocation certificates and export private keys (GnuPG-compatible). BACK UP & RESTORE Save your whole keyring, secret keys included, as one encrypted file. A single backup code opens it, and the same file restores onto another iPhone or Android. The file stays with you, never on anyone's server. KEYSERVERS Look up a recipient by email through Web Key Directory, then keys.openpgp.org. Publish to several servers at once, and choose which PGPony searches and publishes to. Route lookups through Tor or a SOCKS proxy, and let background refresh catch revocations. PGPony warns when a server may not accept a newer key type. PASSWORD STORE Open a pass (password-store) folder and browse its entries. Decrypt with a software or hardware key, then copy the password through an auto-clearing clipboard. otpauth URIs are shown, and plaintext is dropped the moment you leave the entry. SHARE SHEET EXTENSION Encrypt or decrypt text, encrypt a file, or sign a file in any app: Safari, Files, Notes, Mail. Messages for your hardware key hand off to the app. SECURITY FIRST Face ID / Touch ID lock with auto-lock. Software keys live in the iOS Keychain (hardware-backed), or on an NFC card instead. iCloud Keychain sync, key expiration reminders, and Contacts auto-matching by email. No analytics, tracking, accounts, or sign-up. Your private keys never leave your device, and with a hardware key they never leave the card. SEVEN LANGUAGES English, German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, and Simplified Chinese. ALL FEATURES INCLUDED Everything is free with no restrictions: Post-quantum keys, on-card generation, and hardware keys (RSA and ECC) Cross-platform encrypted backup and restore, verified signatures including RSA Full OpenPGP v6 (RFC 9580), password encryption (gpg -c), multi-keyserver publishing with Tor Detached signing, Password Store, QR exchange, GnuPG import, open-source core, dark mode Built by an indie developer who cares about your privacy. Your keys, your messages, your data, always yours. Terms of Use (EULA): https://pgpony.app/eula.html Privacy Policy: https://pgpony.app/privacy.html

Screenshots

iPGMail4 screens
PGPony4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: PGPony at Free against iPGMail's $3.99. PGPony also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.3). iPGMail's advantage is review sentiment (66% vs 50%) and ratings volume (235 vs 12). 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

PGPony 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

PGPony holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: iPGMail has 235 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 66% of iPGMail's written reviews are positive against 50% of PGPony's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iPGMail ships an update every 10 days, PGPony weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
iPGMail versus PGPony: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriPGMailPGPony
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (235 ratings)4.7 (12 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.3% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings235 — better12
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#113 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWyllys IngersollKevin Stewart

Customer experience

iPGMail

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

PGPony

All ratings12 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%

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

PGPony

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

iPGMail

No in-app purchases

None

PGPony

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is iPGMail free?
iPGMail costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is PGPony free?
PGPony is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, iPGMail or PGPony?
PGPony is rated higher. iPGMail averages 4.3 out of 5 from 235 ratings, while PGPony averages 4.7 from 12 ratings.
Do iPGMail or PGPony have ads?
Neither iPGMail nor PGPony shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iPGMail or PGPony?
iPGMail ships an update every 10 days, and PGPony weekly. Most recently, iPGMail was updated on September 23, 2026 and PGPony on September 16, 2026.

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