Proton Plans Compared: Prices for Mail Plus, Unlimited, Duo, Family and Visionary
Proton has six personal plans: Proton Free, Mail Plus, Proton Unlimited, Proton Duo, Proton Family and Proton Visionary, plus single-service plans for Pass, Drive and VPN. On yearly billing, Mail Plus costs $3.99 a month, Proton Unlimited $9.99, Duo $14.99 and Family $23.99. Monthly billing costs more: $4.99, $12.99, $19.99 and $29.99.
This guide compares every Proton plan by price, users, storage and email addresses, explains what the Visionary plan is, and shows which plan is the cheapest way to get the Proton services you actually need.
Proton plans and prices compared
Proton plans are priced per month, with a lower monthly rate when you pay for 12 months upfront. Prices below are USD from Proton's pricing page and the Duo and Family page. Proton also offers CHF and EUR at checkout; its plans support article lists the same numbers in euros.
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed every 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| Proton Free | $0 | $0 |
| Mail Plus | $4.99 a month | $47.88 ($3.99 a month) |
| Proton Unlimited | $12.99 a month | $119.88 ($9.99 a month) |
| Proton Duo | $19.99 a month | $179.88 ($14.99 a month) |
| Proton Family | $29.99 a month | $287.88 ($23.99 a month) |
The plans differ mainly in users, shared storage and the number of email addresses:
| Plan | Users and storage | Addresses and custom domains |
|---|---|---|
| Proton Free | 1 user, 1 GB Mail, up to 5 GB Drive | 1 address, no custom domain |
| Mail Plus | 1 user, 15 GB | 10 addresses, 1 domain |
| Proton Unlimited | 1 user, 500 GB | 15 addresses, 3 domains |
| Proton Duo | 2 users, 2 TB | 30 addresses, 3 domains |
| Proton Family | 6 users, 3 TB | 90 addresses, 3 domains |
Proton Free
Proton Free is the no-cost plan that gives one person basic access to every core Proton app. According to Proton's plans article, the free tier includes one email address with 1 GB of Mail storage and a limit of 150 messages a day, up to 5 GB of Drive storage, three calendars, Proton Pass with two vaults and 10 hide-my-email aliases, and Proton VPN on one device at a time.
The free VPN connects to servers in a limited set of countries that Proton picks for you, without the Secure Core, NetShield ad blocking, streaming or P2P features of the paid VPN tiers, as the Proton VPN plans page explains. Free VPN users can also use the browser extensions, which we covered when Proton opened its VPN extension to free accounts.
Free is enough to try Proton Mail or to keep a private address for sign-ups. If you want a short @proton.me address, see how to claim a free proton.me email address.
Proton Mail Plus price and features
Proton Mail Plus costs $4.99 a month on monthly billing or $47.88 a year ($3.99 a month), and it is the cheapest paid plan for email.
Mail Plus includes:
- 15 GB of storage shared between Mail and Drive
- Up to 10 email addresses and 1 custom domain
- 25 calendars in Proton Calendar
- 10 hide-my-email aliases in Proton Pass
The upgrade centers on Mail and Calendar. Proton's plans article lists Proton VPN Free with Mail Plus, so you still get only one VPN connection. If you also want the paid VPN or Pass Plus, compare it with Proton Unlimited below before paying for single-service plans one by one.
Proton Unlimited price and what it includes
Proton Unlimited costs $12.99 a month on monthly billing or $119.88 a year ($9.99 a month), and it bundles the paid tier of every Proton service for one user.
Proton Unlimited includes:
- 500 GB of storage shared between Mail and Drive
- Up to 15 email addresses and 3 custom domains
- Unlimited hide-my-email aliases and 50 vaults in Proton Pass
- Proton VPN Plus features on up to 10 devices at the same time, including Secure Core, NetShield, streaming and P2P
- Drive Plus and premium Proton Calendar features
The value of Unlimited depends on how many Proton services you use. On yearly billing, Mail Plus ($47.88) plus Pass Plus ($35.88) already adds up to $83.76. Adding a paid VPN or extra Drive storage on top of that usually brings you close to, or above, the $119.88 that Unlimited costs, while Unlimited also gives you 500 GB instead of 15 GB.
Proton Duo and Proton Family
Proton Duo and Proton Family are the multi-user versions of Proton Unlimited: Duo covers 2 users for $14.99 a month on yearly billing, and Family covers up to 6 users for $23.99 a month on yearly billing.
Proton Duo costs $179.88 a year or $19.99 a month on monthly billing. It shares 2 TB of storage between two people, includes 30 email addresses and 3 custom domains, and gives each user the Proton VPN, Pass and Drive features of Unlimited, with 10 VPN devices per user. Two separate Unlimited subscriptions would cost $239.76 a year, so Duo saves $59.88 for a couple.
Proton Family costs $287.88 a year or $29.99 a month on monthly billing. It supports up to 6 users, shares 3 TB of storage, and includes 90 email addresses and 3 custom domains. With all six seats filled, Family works out to about $47.98 per person per year, roughly the price of one Mail Plus subscription, but every member gets Unlimited-level features.
Proton Visionary plan
Proton Visionary is Proton's top personal plan, which Proton describes as "our exclusive plan for early supporters". It is not listed on the main pricing page; Proton's plans support article lists it at €39.99 a month, €359.88 a year or €29.99 a month on yearly billing.
According to that article, Visionary includes:
- Up to 6 users and 6 TB of shared storage
- 100 email addresses and 10 custom domains
- 10 VPN devices per user and 50 vaults in Proton Pass
- Lumo Plus for Proton's Lumo AI assistant and Meet Professional
Proton's Family page adds that Visionary holders get the Family plan benefits with twice the storage (6 TB) at the same price as before. For a new household, Proton Family gives the same six seats with 3 TB for less money; Visionary only pays off if you need 6 TB, more than 90 addresses or more than three custom domains.
Single-service plans: Pass, Drive and VPN
Proton also sells plans for individual services, which are cheaper than a bundle if you only need one app. These are the prices on Proton's product pricing pages:
- Pass Plus: $35.88 a year ($2.99 a month), 1 user, 50 vaults and unlimited hide-my-email aliases (Proton Pass pricing).
- Pass Family: $59.88 a year ($4.99 a month) for up to 6 users.
- Drive Plus: $4.99 a month on monthly billing with 200 GB of storage (Proton Drive pricing).
- VPN Plus: up to 10 devices at the same time, Secure Core, NetShield, streaming, P2P and split tunneling. Check the current price in the Proton VPN app or on Proton's site before you buy, as Proton VPN prices change often with promotions.
Pass Plus is the cheapest paid Proton plan, and Pass Family is far cheaper than Proton Family for households that only need shared passwords. Once you need two or more paid services, Proton Unlimited is usually the better deal.
Which Proton plan should you choose?
The right Proton plan depends on how many people need access and how many Proton services you will actually use. This decision framework covers the common cases:
- Only email, one person: Mail Plus at $47.88 a year.
- Only a password manager: Pass Plus at $35.88 a year, or Pass Family for a household.
- Two or more paid services for one person: Proton Unlimited at $119.88 a year.
- A couple: Proton Duo at $179.88 a year, $59.88 less than two Unlimited plans.
- Three to six people: Proton Family at $287.88 a year.
Yearly billing is the main way to save. Twelve months of monthly billing costs $59.88 for Mail Plus, $155.88 for Unlimited, $239.88 for Duo and $359.88 for Family, so the yearly plans save $12, $36, $60 and $72. If you are unsure, the 30-day money-back guarantee that Proton lists on its plan pages lets you test a plan first.
How Proton plans changed since 2022
Proton's current plan lineup goes back to the May 2022 relaunch, when Proton unified its brand and replaced the separate ProtonMail and ProtonVPN plans with bundles such as Mail Plus and Proton Unlimited. At that time, the old Professional plans moved to Proton for Business, Visionary was closed to new customers and the family plan was dropped.
Since then, the lineup has grown: it now also includes Proton Duo, a new Proton Family plan and standalone Pass and Drive plans, and Proton Unlimited includes Pass Plus and Drive Plus. Proton's support article on the plan transition explains how legacy subscriptions were mapped to the new plans.
FAQ
Does Proton offer a money-back guarantee?
Yes. Proton lists a 30-day money-back guarantee on its Duo, Family and Proton Pass pricing pages. Check the terms at checkout for the plan you pick.
Can I pay for Proton in euros or Swiss francs?
Yes. Proton's pricing pages let you switch between USD, EUR and CHF, and its plans support article lists the personal plan prices in euros.
Does Proton have plans for businesses?
Yes. Proton for Business has separate per-user plans with team management features, such as Drive Professional. They are priced separately from the personal plans covered here.
Related: Proton VPN on Android without an account, What happens to inactive Proton accounts
https://restoreprivacy.com/protonmail-logs-users/
As I said in the previous article, no change in price for me to continue using the Plus plan email account that I have had since 2018 ($4 a month with annual billing). I’m happy with the service, it has worked very well using their Proton Bridge application to sync with Outlook where I permanently save items and also the Android app for when I’m away from the computer.
As to the new design I’m only concerned with the long awaited re-designed Android app that is supposed to be rolling out soon. It will finally have a dark mode option which I’ve found to be very helpful for aging eyes.
The new re-designed Proton Mail 3.0 Android app is now available directly from Proton (link below) if you do not use or want Google Play (which still appears to be rolling out in stages to only some users). The install/upgrade was quick and it retained all my existing settings. I really like the re-design, it looks and feels modern now. The fonts are larger and easier to read especially in dark mode. It also now automatically saves a composed email to the drafts folder (and gives an option to move it to trash), a long requested feature.
https://protonapps.com/protonmail-android
Is this a legit link? I can’t find it through the main Proton website.
Yes it is legit. It’s an older link to their apps before the re-design (https://protonapps.com). Below is the link to the new webpage where you can download the same APK file (under “Android app” and “download the app (APK) directly here”).
https://proton.me/mail/download
Thanks, Mothy.
Originally, I didn’t like the old layout with the dull blue colors, but now I actually miss it. The old colors, while dull and hard to read were somewhat more professional. The new purple is not very pleasing at all. It’s looks all childish and posh, like it is aimed at teenagers.
At least the only good thing is they still have theme support and you can choose from a few selected by them and the one I use is Legacy, which is the old colors or I can make my own or copy-paste one from somewhere, which is the only good thing.
Agreed. They have fallen in with numerous other sites that seem to think that adults want to work in an environment designed by children, for children.
Exactly my thoughts. The old Proton Mail worked great. I use Pale Moon and it was perfect on that browser. Now, the new Proton mail does not work on it. My address book will not come up. I have to use Firefox and the mail just is not as professional looking anymore. Like a kid designed it. Ah well, give him a trophy. Now trying Swisscows mail…not bad so far. easy import of addresses.
I have no complaints. I had the VPN+ service, and now get an excellent email deal for 8 bucks. In the link provided by Ashwin leading to Reddit I came across this comment.
” The best is for people to look at what they are getting and what they are paying and if it’s better than it was before then they have come out of the deal on top. Try not to look at what others ended up with because there will always be someone who got off a bit luckier than you. They can’t make exceptions for one person because then they will have to make exceptions for everyone. I am just glad that they have us a heads up that things were going to change.”
It’s easy for me to agree with it, as I came out ahead; but even if I had not, I still had everything I felt I needed. As such, I’d like to think I’d not complain much (if at all). If you get a better deal switching plans, then switch plans.
As for people paranoid about tracking, there is (in my opinion) a serious tradeoff in terms of effort re rewards after a certain point. As for “trusting”; I trust if “they” want to find you, “they” will.
Full disclosure, I live in NYC so where ‘n’ hell do you think I’m gonna hide. :-)
How to trust company who hand clients over to government “services” on their request.
I would like to ask plomiq and Clairvaux, what good would it do for the Swiss Police to get a copy of someones encrypted emails? According to Proton, 1-even they can’t get decrypt someone’s emails. 2-their software is open to 3rd party inspection.
@ Piomiq
That’s exactly why you should trust it. If it did not “hand clients over to government services”, it would be a group of gangsters, not a company. You seem to have a very remote sense of what the law is.
And by the way, Proton does not “hand clients”, and it’s not to “government services”. They transmit the data of customers suspect of crimes, they give it to the Swiss police and Swiss courts, and they only do that when they receive a valid Swiss court order.
A whole category of people seem to think that Proton, and similar companies, are mafia groups devoted to help criminals evade the law. I don’t know where they got that notion, except in their sick, perverted, communist minds. Proton never claimed such a thing, and neither did its competitors.
In fact, they explicitely say the contrary.
You do realize that the “customer suspect of crimes” in this case was a student truanting, right?
A student that illegally occupied a building
https://www.vice.com/en/article/88njdg/protonmail-under-fire-for-sharing-clactivist-data-with-french-authorities
I’m now getting 43 times as much space and far more options for less money. I’m not sure how that works, it’s probably the first time in ten years I’ve gotten more for less from a tech company, but I’m not going to complain. Hope they don’t give too much free stuff away and end up broke.
there’s no better way to make me automatically distrust a company or web service than a soulless corporate redesign that only exists to train talentless graphic design interns and “increase brand recognition” or whatever. granted, protonmail is already part of the cern-cia/nsa apparatus and i already don’t trust them one bit, but still
Come on Ashwin, you can do better than yet another press release disguised as an article.
I’m unsure why you think Proton is worth this attention.
It’s not marked as a promo so why is this considered Ghacks worthy?
This is not a PR or a promo article, I don’t write those.
I’ve just compared the plans, pointed out the price hike in Proton VPN’s starter plan (recommended a rival service), and also mentioned their absurd upgrade for Mail Plus and VPN Plus users.
@Ashwin
I think anyone reading this would consider it very much a promo for Proton.
Where are the criticisms/negatives of using Proton? There’s enough in the comments to at least mention them. And I don’t just mean the pricing structure.
Mail Plus basically gives what a free Google account gives, 15 GB of cloud space etc. I always wondered how it would cost if Google asked money for their free stuff instead of data. I think I got my answer to that, 4 euros per month.
> I always wondered how it would cost if Google asked money for their free stuff instead of data.
They don’t have to, it is financed with your private data being sold to advertisers.
[https://www.ghacks.net/2017/06/23/google-wont-read-gmail-emails-anymore-for-advertisement/]
Do you believe them after this? I would not. Fool me once (shame on you), fool me twice (shame on me).
I know Frankel, but I always wondered how it would cost me to money from my pocket instead of my data. I don’t think Proton is overcharging with these prices, so got my answer…. 4 euros a month.
>We won’t be discussing the free tier because it hasn’t gained much. But, I should mention that free users can claim a free [email protected] email address for free until June 8th. If you missed the previous opportunity, go and get your free alias now.
I’m sorry, but @proton.me is not what an email alias is. An email alias is the portions preceding the @
After the @ its the email domain, so really is get you free email domain, not aliases. KTHX.
If you’re going to nitpick, better get your facts right. An alias is not the part of an email address left of @. It’s a complete email address, which is subordinate to another address, the inbox of which it uses.
Within your email account, you could have several aliases on top of your main email address. You could use them exactly like your main address. All your different addresses would use the same inbox of your email account.
Or, you could subscibe to an alias provider and remailer such as Anonaddy, which allows you to create an infinite number of email addresses called aliases, which all redirect to your main email account at your regular provider. This being an anti-spam measure.
As a longstanding customer, I’m using Proton Unlimited for 11.99 $/month now and in my opinion, the services are worth every penny. ?
be me
broke college student
watch proton start and grow and remove visionary plans
still broke me cant buy anything
cry
@Uwe
Worth every penny if you believe in Tesonet’s business model, I guess.
@Iron Heart
Is Tesonet’s business model worse than that of Google or Microsoft?
@Iron Heart
Don’t know what you mean. I’m not aware of Tesonet or their business models.