Alternatives to Runbox
A paid, ad-free email service hosted in Norway and powered by renewable energy. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Runbox
A paid, ad-free email service hosted in Norway and powered by renewable energy.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Runbox.
Fastmail
A paid, privacy-focused email, calendar and contacts service with web and mobile apps.
Fastmail is a paid private host with calendar, contacts, Android and iOS apps and a choice of EU or USA data residency.
Proton Mail
Official Proton Mail apps for reading and sending end-to-end encrypted email on phones, desktops and the web.
Proton Mail adds end-to-end encryption by default and apps for every major platform, with a free tier but Proton-account-only access.
mailbox.org
A German email and workspace service with mail, cloud storage, video meetings and office tools.
mailbox.org moves hosting to Germany and adds cloud storage, video meetings and office tools, with ISO 27001 certification.
Posteo
German ad-free email provider with calendar, address book and notes, run on green energy.
Posteo is a low-cost German provider on green energy, with signup without personal details and optional stored-data encryption.
Tuta Desktop
The desktop client for Tuta's encrypted mail service, with end-to-end encrypted mail, calendar and contacts.
Tuta end-to-end encrypts mail, subject lines, calendar and contacts, has a free tier, but offers no IMAP or SMTP for other clients.
Mailfence
Encrypted email service from Belgium with OpenPGP support, calendars, contacts and document storage.
Mailfence is a Belgian service with OpenPGP encryption, a freemium plan, and Android and iOS apps alongside IMAP access.
StartMail
Paid private email service from the Netherlands with unlimited aliases and one-click encryption.
StartMail is a paid Dutch service with unlimited disposable aliases and password-based encryption for recipients without encryption.
Migadu
Email hosting for custom domains, priced by usage rather than by mailbox, with webmail.
Migadu focuses on custom domain hosting priced by usage, with unlimited addresses per domain, but requires your own domain.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Runbox as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Disroot
Donation-funded platform offering free email, cloud storage, XMPP chat and other privacy-focused online services.
Runbox is a paid, ad-free Norwegian provider running on renewable hydropower, trading Disroot's free donation model for a subscription after a 30-day trial.
HEY
An email and calendar service from 37signals that screens senders before they reach your inbox.
Runbox is a paid, ad-free service hosted in Norway on renewable hydropower, with a traditional mailbox rather than HEY's screening of first-time senders.
Purelymail
Low-cost email hosting for your own domains, with IMAP, POP3, SMTP and optional webmail.
Runbox is a paid, ad-free Norwegian service running on renewable hydropower, with a fully functional 30-day trial.
Riseup
An activist-run collective providing email, VPN, mailing lists and collaboration tools for social movements.
Runbox is a paid, ad-free email service hosted in Norway on renewable power, open to anyone without an account request, but offering email only, without VPN or lists.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Thunderbird
Mozilla’s desktop mail client, with calendar, contacts and a unified inbox, funded by donations rather than ads.
Hushmail
An encrypted email service with secure forms and e-signatures, aimed at healthcare and small practices.
