What is Tuta Mail?
| Category | |
|---|---|
| Company | Tutao GmbH |
| Headquarters | Germany (EU) |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Ownership | Owned by founders Arne Möhle and Matthias Pfau |
| Price | €3 / month (yearly) · free plan: yes |
| Platforms | Web · iOS · Android · Windows · macOS · Linux |
| Open source | Yes |
| Data hosted in | Germany · Tutao GmbH |
| Alternative to | Gmail |
Who is behind Tuta Mail
Tuta Mail (formerly Tutanota) is an encrypted email service from Tutao GmbH in Hanover, Germany. The company was founded in 2011 by Arne Möhle and Matthias Pfau, and Tuta says it is wholly owned by the two founders. There are no outside investors listed, and the service is financed by paid subscriptions, not advertising.
Tuta is built around encryption by default. Your mailbox, calendar and contacts are encrypted on your device before they reach Tuta's servers, so Tuta cannot read them. Since March 2024 Tuta uses its own protocol, TutaCrypt, which combines classic encryption with post-quantum algorithms (X25519 with Kyber-1024/ML-KEM, AES-256 and Argon2). The apps for the web, iPhone, Android, Windows, macOS and Linux are open source on GitHub.
Where Tuta Mail hosts your data
Tuta runs its own servers in ISO 27001-certified data centres in Germany. Both the website and the mail servers are on Tuta's own network (Tutao GmbH, AS210909), not on a US cloud.
| Domain | Used for | Hosting provider | ASN | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| tuta.com | website | Tutao GmbH | AS210909 | Germany |
| mail.tutanota.de | Tutao GmbH | AS210909 | Germany |
Checked 25 Oct 2026. Hosting can change – report a change.
Tuta Mail pricing
Tuta has a free plan and two paid personal plans. Free gives you 1 GB, one calendar and three labels, but no extra addresses or custom domain, and free accounts are deleted after six months without a login. Revolutionary costs €3 a month billed yearly (€36 a year) and gives you 20 GB, 15 extra addresses, 3 custom domains and unlimited calendars. Legend costs €8 a month billed yearly, with 500 GB, 30 extra addresses and 10 custom domains. Monthly billing costs more – Tuta shows a saving of €7.20 a year on Revolutionary when you pay yearly. Prices include VAT.
Compared with Gmail, Tuta's free plan is much smaller (1 GB vs 15 GB), but Revolutionary with your own domain costs less than half of Google Workspace Starter ($7 per user a month).
Security and encryption
Tuta encrypts more than most email services: subject lines, message bodies, attachments, calendar entries and contacts. Sender and recipient addresses and dates are not encrypted, because mail servers need them to deliver your mail. You can send encrypted mail to people on Gmail or Outlook by setting a shared password. Tuta does not support PGP, and it does not offer IMAP – Tuta says IMAP would expose your decrypted mail. No independent external audit is named on Tuta's security pages; Tuta points to its own security reviews and a formal proof of TutaCrypt.
What users say about Tuta Mail
On Trustpilot Tuta has 3.5/5 from 392 reviews (checked 25 October 2026). Reviewers praise the German servers, the privacy focus, the clean app and quick support. The most common complaints are the missing IMAP, SMTP and PGP support, which ties you to Tuta's apps, and accounts locked when signing up over a VPN.
Pros and cons
Pros of Tuta
- Excellent encryption – subject lines, calendar and contacts included
- Future-proof post-quantum encryption with TutaCrypt
- Cheap paid plan from €3 a month with 3 custom domains
- Easy anonymous sign-up – no phone number needed, crypto and cash accepted
- Trustworthy open-source apps on every platform
Cons of Tuta
- No IMAP – no Outlook, Thunderbird or Apple Mail
- No PGP, so it cannot exchange keys with other encrypted services
- Small free plan – 1 GB, deleted after 6 months of inactivity
- No cloud drive yet – Tuta Drive is still in closed beta
Verdict on Tuta Mail
Verdict: Tuta Mail is the most private email you can get in the EU for €3 a month: German, founder-owned, open source, and it encrypts even your subject lines. The price of that privacy is a closed system – no IMAP and no PGP – so it suits people who are happy to use Tuta's apps for everything. Best for: privacy-minded users who are happy with Tuta's own apps. Not for: people who want to keep using Outlook, Thunderbird or Apple Mail.
Tuta is ranked #2 in Best European alternatives to Gmail and in Best European email providers.
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Tuta Mail: FAQ
Is Tuta Mail a German company?
Yes. Tuta Mail is run by Tutao GmbH in Hanover, Germany, and the company is wholly owned by its two founders, Arne Möhle and Matthias Pfau.
Is Tuta Mail free?
Yes, there is a free plan with 1 GB of storage and one calendar. Paid plans start at €3 a month billed yearly and add more storage, extra addresses and custom domains.
Is Tuta better than Proton Mail?
Tuta encrypts more (including subject lines), is cheaper with your own domain and is based in the EU. Proton Mail offers IMAP through Bridge, PGP, a cloud drive and a bigger set of extra apps.
Does Tuta Mail support IMAP?
No. Tuta does not offer IMAP or SMTP, so you use Tuta's own apps for the web, phone and desktop.
Based on public pricing, documentation and user reviews · Changelog · Oct 2026: first version