Comparison

Proton Mail vs Mail Notes

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

Head to head
About

Proton Mail

This encrypted email service from Switzerland prioritizes user privacy with end-to-end encryption. It offers robust security features to protect your communications from phishing, spam, and tracking, allowing you to manage your inbox with ease.

Highlights
  • End-to-end encryption
  • Password-protected emails
  • Multiple account support
  • Inbox organization (folders, labels)
  • Dark mode
  • Phishing and spam protection
Read full description

Keep your conversations private. Proton Mail is encrypted email from Switzerland. Used by millions worldwide, our all-new email app protects your communications and has everything you need to easily manage your inbox. The Wall Street Journal says: “Proton Mail offers encrypted email, which makes it virtually impossible for anyone to read it except the sender and the recipient.” With the all-new Proton Mail app, you can: • Create a @proton.me or @protonmail.com email address • Send and receive encrypted emails and attachments with ease • Switch between multiple Proton Mail accounts • Easily manage your email with conversations • Keep your inbox tidy and clean with folders, labels and simple swipe-gestures • Receive new email notifications • Send Password-protected Emails to anyone • Keep important emails in focus with automatic, private categories • Enjoy your inbox in dark mode Why use Proton Mail? • Easy to use — Our all-new app has been redesigned to make it easier to read, organize, and write your emails. • Your inbox is yours — We don’t spy on your communications to show you targeted ads. Your inbox, your rules. • Rigorous encryption — Your entire inbox is secured, on all your devices. No one can read your emails but you. Proton is privacy, guaranteed by end-to-end and zero-access encryption. • Unmatched protection — We offer strong phishing, spam, and spying/tracking protection for all your communications. Industry Leading Security Features Messages are stored on Proton Mail servers using end-to-end encryption at all times and are transmitted securely between Proton servers and user devices. This largely eliminates the risk of message interception. Zero Access to Your Email Content Proton Mail's zero access architecture means that your data is encrypted in a way that makes it inaccessible to us. Data is encrypted on the client side using an encryption key that Proton does not have access to. This means we don't have the technical ability to decrypt your messages. Open-Source Cryptography Proton Mail's open-source software has been thoroughly vetted by security experts from around the world to ensure the highest levels of protection. Proton Mail only uses secure implementations of AES, RSA, along with OpenPGP, while all of the cryptographic libraries used are open source. By using open-source libraries, Proton Mail can guarantee that the encryption algorithms used do not have clandestinely built-in back doors. Proton Mail in the press: “Proton Mail is a Gmail-like email system which uses end-to-end encryption, making it impossible for outside parties to monitor.” Forbes “A new email service being developed by a group who met at MIT and CERN promises to bring secure, encrypted email to the masses and keep sensitive information away from prying eyes.” Huffington Post Follow Proton on social media for all the latest news and offers: Facebook: /proton Twitter: @protonprivacy Reddit: /protonmail Instagram: /protonprivacy Our open-source code base: https://github.com/ProtonMail EULA: http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/appstore/dev/stdeula

About

Mail Notes

Quickly send emails to yourself for reminders and notes. This app streamlines the process to under a second, allowing for easy email address switching, direct sharing from browsers, and even sending notes via an Apple Watch app. It offers features like labeling, history, and subject prefixes for efficient organization.

Highlights
  • Email under 1 second
  • Share widget for browser links
  • Apple Watch app for on-the-go emails
  • Label emails with icons
  • Sent email history
  • Optional subject prefix
  • Paste clipboard contents
Features
Read full description

Like to send emails to yourself for reminders, notes and to-do? Mail Notes makes the process 100 times faster. Just launch the app, type, and tap Send. If you have multiple emails to which you would like to send notes, changing the email address is as simple as a tap. • Email under 1 second. • Share widget makes it super easy to email browser links and URLs directly, without opening the Mail Notes app. • The included Apple Watch app allows you to send emails on the go. • Label each email and add an icon for easy identification. • One-time-use email address. • Sent email history. • Add an optional subject prefix for each email address for easy email filtering. • Use single or multi-line mode. • Auto Correct option. • Paste your clipboard contents with a single tap. • Support for Dark mode for those late-night emails. • Haptics give you feedback when the email is sent successfully. Mail Notes is simply the fastest emailing app on the planet!

Screenshots

Proton Mail4 screens
Mail Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Proton Mail at 4.8 against Mail Notes's 4.3. Proton Mail also leads on update cadence (every 11 days vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (47K vs 106). Mail Notes's advantage is review sentiment (75% vs 46%). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Proton Mail sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Mail Notes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Proton Mail holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Proton Mail has 47K ratings behind it against 106, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 46% of Proton Mail's written reviews are positive against 75% of Mail Notes's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Proton Mail ships an update every 11 days, Mail Notes every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Proton Mail versus Mail Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterProton MailMail Notes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (47K ratings) — better4.3 (106 ratings)
Positive reviews46.2% of reviews75.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings47K — better106
Update frequencyEvery 11 days — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#63 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.216.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size272 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperProton AGTech Positive

Customer experience

Proton Mail

All ratings47,046 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral2.2%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews1,621 reviews
Positive46.2%
Neutral13.6%
Negative40.2%

Mail Notes

All ratings106 ratings
Positive83.0%
Neutral5.7%
Negative11.3%
Written reviews32 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

Bugs and requests

Proton Mail

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Login issues and lost email data
  • Unreliable push notifications
  • Inconsistent user experience between app and web

Requested features

4 requests
  • Conversation threading and email previews
  • Customizable notification sounds
  • Offline email access
  • Improved syncing across devices

Mail Notes

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Proton Mail

Subscriptions4
  • Mail Plus 1 month1 Month trial$5.991 Month
  • Unlimited 1 month$14.991 Month
  • Mail Plus 12 months$47.901 Year
Show 1 more
  • Unlimited 1 year$119.001 Year
One-time2
  • Mail Plus (1 year)$59.99
  • Proton Unlimited$149.99
3 purchases

Mail Notes

Subscriptions2
  • All Access$2.991 Month
  • All Access$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Unlock Pro Version$69.99

Questions

Is Proton Mail free?
Proton Mail is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Mail Notes free?
Mail Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Proton Mail or Mail Notes?
Proton Mail is rated higher. Proton Mail averages 4.8 out of 5 from 47K ratings, while Mail Notes averages 4.3 from 106 ratings.
Do Proton Mail or Mail Notes have ads?
Neither Proton Mail nor Mail Notes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Proton Mail or Mail Notes?
Proton Mail ships an update every 11 days, and Mail Notes every 4 months. Most recently, Proton Mail was updated on September 28, 2026 and Mail Notes on September 2, 2026.

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