Riseup Mail vs StartMail
It is a trade-off. StartMail has the higher Safety grade (6.5 against 6.0), while Riseup Mail has the higher Privacy grade (7.2 against 6.2).
Riseup Mail
Donation-funded activist email collective; accounts by invite code
Privacy
7.2/ 10
Strong
Safety
6.0/ 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
| Riseup Mail | StartMail | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | ||
| KYC policy | No ID mentioned | No ID mentioned |
| Custody | N/A | N/A |
| Sign-up | No account needed | No account needed |
| Open source | No | No |
| Tor onion address | Yes | No |
| Coins | Not published | BTC |
| Pay with | Not published | Crypto, Card |
| Fees | Free; donation-funded | $4.99/month billed annually when checked |
| Limits | Invite code required; 1 GB of mail storage | Not published |
| Founded | 1999 | 2014 |
| Jurisdiction | United States | Netherlands |
| Incidents on record | 0 | 0 |
| Published tests (180 days) | 0 | 0 |
Only Riseup Mail
No email neededNo phone neededTor onion serviceNo-logs policy
Both
5+ years operating
Only StartMail
Legal entity disclosed
Where they sit among email
Questions
Is Riseup Mail or StartMail safer?
StartMail has the higher Safety grade: Riseup Mail 6.0, StartMail 6.5, out of 10.
Does Riseup Mail or StartMail require KYC?
Riseup Mail is KYC level 1 (no ID mentioned). StartMail is KYC level 1 (no ID mentioned).
Which has more incidents on record?
Riseup Mail has 0 and StartMail has 0 documented incidents in the registry.