Mailfence vs StartMail
They are level on Safety. StartMail has the higher Privacy grade, 6.2 against 5.9.
Mailfence
Belgian OpenPGP email suite with a free tier and Bitcoin or Litecoin payment
Privacy
5.9/ 10
Fair
Safety
6.5/ 10
Fair
No ID mentioned KYC 1 Docs reviewed Full review →
StartMail
Paid private email from the Startpage founders; annual plans payable in Bitcoin
Privacy
6.2/ 10
Fair
Safety
6.5/ 10
Fair
No ID mentioned KYC 1 Docs reviewed Full review →
Side by side
| Mailfence | StartMail | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | ||
| KYC policy | No ID mentioned | No ID mentioned |
| Custody | N/A | N/A |
| Sign-up | Email required | No account needed |
| Open source | No | No |
| Tor onion address | No | No |
| Coins | BTC, LTC | BTC |
| Pay with | Card, Crypto, PayPal, Bank transfer | Crypto, Card |
| Fees | Free plan available; paid plans billed in advance (monthly, quarterly or yearly). Subscriptions are not refunded. | $4.99/month billed annually when checked |
| Limits | Free accounts are suspended after 7 months of inactivity and deleted 5 months later. | Not published |
| Founded | 1999 | 2014 |
| Jurisdiction | Belgium | Netherlands |
| Incidents on record | 0 | 0 |
| Published tests (180 days) | 0 | 0 |
Only Mailfence
Requires emailNo phone needed
Both
5+ years operatingLegal entity disclosed
Only StartMail
Nothing distinct
Where they sit among email
Questions
Is Mailfence or StartMail safer?
They have the same Safety grade, 6.5 out of 10.
Does Mailfence or StartMail require KYC?
Mailfence is KYC level 1 (no ID mentioned). StartMail is KYC level 1 (no ID mentioned).
Which has more incidents on record?
Mailfence has 0 and StartMail has 0 documented incidents in the registry.