Gmail is one of Google’s seven products with more than 2 billion users, and it’s usually the hardest one to leave. Your mail can move in an afternoon. The slow part is the hundreds of accounts tied to your Gmail address. This page helps you pick a provider. Our Gmail migration guide covers the full move.
If AI is part of why you’re leaving, Gmail’s “smart features”, which let Google’s systems process your email content, are on by default in many accounts. Google says it does not use Gmail content to train Gemini. You can switch smart features off today while you plan the move (how).
Quick Comparison
| Provider | Best for | Free plan | Paid from (Oct 2026) | Encryption | Based in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proton Mail | Most people | 1 GB, 1 address | About $3.99/month billed yearly | Zero-access storage; end-to-end between Proton users | Switzerland |
| Tuta | Most encryption per dollar | 1 GB, no custom domain | About €3/month billed yearly | Also encrypts subjects and attachments; post-quantum | Germany |
| Fastmail | A Gmail-like experience | 30-day trial only | About $5/month billed yearly | Not end-to-end encrypted | Australia |
| mailbox.org | Cheap all-rounder with extras | 30-day trial (Standard, Premium) | About €1/month (Light, yearly only) | Optional PGP | Germany |
| Posteo | Anonymous, minimal email | None | About €1/month | Optional encrypted storage and PGP | Germany |
The Alternatives, One by One
Proton Mail
The most complete replacement. You get apps on every platform, built-in hide-my-email aliases, and one account for Mail, Calendar, Drive, Pass, VPN and Meet. Proton is majority-owned by the non-profit Proton Foundation.
- Choose it if you want to replace Gmail, Google Calendar and Drive with one account and the least effort.
- Skip it if you want to use Thunderbird or Apple Mail for free, because IMAP needs the Bridge app and a paid plan. Some privacy users also dislike putting everything with one company. And in 2025, when Switzerland proposed wider surveillance rules, Proton threatened to leave and began investing outside the country.
- Price. The free plan gives you 1 GB (it starts at 500 MB and grows after a setup checklist), 1 address and 150 messages a day. Mail Plus costs about $4.99 monthly or $3.99/month billed yearly ($47.88) for 15 GB, 10 addresses and 1 custom domain. Proton Unlimited costs about $12.99 monthly or $9.99/month billed yearly for 500 GB and every Proton app.
- Moving over. Our Gmail to Proton Mail guide takes you from Easy Switch to labels, filters and Bridge.
- Side by side. Our Proton Mail vs Gmail comparison sets the two against each other on storage, search, encryption and AI.
Tuta
A German provider, open source since 2014, that encrypts more than Proton does, including subject lines. It has used post-quantum encryption (TutaCrypt) since 2024.
- Choose it if you want the most encryption for the least money and you’re happy with Tuta’s own apps.
- Skip it if you need IMAP or SMTP. Tuta has neither, so Thunderbird, Apple Mail and Outlook are out. Importing old mail needs the Legend plan or higher and the desktop app. Search is limited on the free plan, and free accounts are deleted after 6 months without a login.
- Price. The free plan gives you 1 GB, 1 calendar and 3 labels, with no extra addresses or custom domain. Revolutionary costs about €3/month billed yearly (€36/year) for 20 GB, 15 addresses and 3 custom domains. Legend costs about €8/month billed yearly (€96/year) for 500 GB, 30 addresses and 10 domains. Tuta says yearly billing saves 50% over monthly.
- Moving over. Our Gmail to Tuta guide shows which plan imports mail and how to bring contacts and calendars.
Fastmail
The nicest Gmail-like experience. It’s fast and standards-based (IMAP, JMAP, CalDAV, CardDAV), with a labels mode that works like Gmail’s, masked email addresses, and a built-in Gmail import for mail, calendars and contacts. It’s the provider most often recommended on Hacker News.
- Choose it if you want to use any mail app and care more about a great inbox than end-to-end encryption.
- Skip it if encryption is the point. Fastmail isn’t end-to-end encrypted, and some users find its search weak.
- Price. No free plan, just a 30-day trial. Individual about $6 monthly or $5/month billed yearly ($60). Duo about $10 monthly or $8/month yearly, and Family about $14 monthly or $11/month yearly.
mailbox.org and Posteo
Two small German providers for people who want cheap, standards-based email under EU law.
mailbox.org includes an office suite, video meetings, and calendar and contact sync (CalDAV, CardDAV). End-to-end encryption is opt-in PGP, and the interface feels dated.
- Choose it if you want your own domain on a budget. Custom domains start on the Standard plan.
- Price. Light about €1/month (yearly only, 2 GB). Standard about €3/month billed yearly or €4 monthly (20 GB of mail plus 10 GB of drive). Premium about €9/month billed yearly or €12 monthly.
Posteo costs about €1/month for 4 GB, with calendar and contact sync, green energy and encrypted storage. You can sign up and pay anonymously.
- Choose it if you want to give a provider as little information as possible.
- Skip it if you want a free plan or polished apps. If you need a custom domain, confirm on Posteo’s site that it’s supported before you pay.
Custom Domains, Aliases and Signing up Without a Phone Number
Use a custom domain if you can. With your own domain (for example, you@yourname.com), the address belongs to you. If you ever change provider again, you update a DNS record instead of hundreds of accounts. Proton Mail Plus includes 1 custom domain. Tuta Revolutionary includes 3 and Legend 10, and mailbox.org offers them from its Standard plan up. The free plans at Proton and Tuta don’t include one.
Add aliases. An alias is a separate forwarding address for each site. When one leaks or fills with spam, you turn it off. SimpleLogin and addy.io work with any provider, and DuckDuckGo offers forwarding addresses too. Proton Pass includes 10 hide-my-email aliases on its free plan, and Fastmail has masked email built in.
No phone number. Posteo is the clearest option, with anonymous sign-up and payment. Other providers may add checks to free sign-ups to stop spam accounts, so read the sign-up page if a phone number is a deal-breaker.
How to Switch From Gmail
Here is the short version. The Gmail migration guide covers finding every account tied to your address, the forwarding period, and when it’s safe to let Gmail go. For provider-specific steps, see Gmail to Proton Mail or Gmail to Tuta.
- Create your new account. If your Gmail uses more than about 1 GB, start on a paid plan.
- Import your mail. In Proton Mail, open Settings, then All settings, then Import via Easy Switch, then Google, and click Connect to Gmail. On Google’s consent screen, tick Select all, then Continue. Setup fails if you leave a permission out.
- On Fastmail, go to Settings, Migration, Import, then Gmail / Google Workspace instead. For Tuta, download your mail as an MBOX file with Google Takeout and import it in Tuta’s desktop app.
- Forward new Gmail mail. Proton’s Gmail connection does this for you. Otherwise, in Gmail open Settings, then See all settings, then Forwarding and POP/IMAP. Click Add a forwarding address, confirm the link sent to your new inbox, select Forward a copy of incoming mail to, and click Save Changes.
- Change your address on your accounts in order of importance. Start with your bank, government and tax, and health, then move on to account-recovery emails for other services, then shopping, then newsletters (or just unsubscribe).
- Replace “Sign in with Google” logins with an email and password (how).
- Keep forwarding on for at least 12 months, so yearly senders such as tax offices and insurers write once. Each week, update whoever still writes to your Gmail address.
Not sure which accounts use your Gmail address? Our free scan builds the list from your Chrome password export and your “Sign in with Google” connections, right in your browser.