Riseup Email vs VibeMail

Riseup Email is a free email account available through webmail or a mail client. Riseup describes the service as part of movement-run communications infrastructure for activists and allies. New accounts require an invite code from someone who trusts the applicant, and each account has 1 GB of storage. Riseup recommends Thunderbird and lists mail-client options for Linux, Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS. Clients connect using IMAP or POP, with SMTP for outgoing mail. Riseup says messages are individually encrypted on its servers and can be unlocked with the account password, but the service is not end-to-end or client encrypted unless users add Mailvelope or another OpenPGP solution. It says it does not log users’ internet addresses or include the sender’s IP address in outgoing email. Riseup services have Tor onion services, and email to certain activist providers is delivered over them. Trash messages are deleted after 21 days and Spam after 7 days. Riseup does not back up all old messages, so users are responsible for keeping their own copies. The service is funded entirely by small user donations.

VibeMail provides encrypted private email with multiple addresses, custom domains, and a transactional email API. It runs on Android, iOS, web, and through an API. Message bodies are encrypted at rest and in transit; the maker says it cannot read mail sealed with a password-derived key. Each alias has its own encryption identity. VibeMail says it shows no ads, does not profile users, and does not train models on customer mail. Incoming mail is scanned for spam and malware before encryption. The API supports templates, webhooks, delivery tracking, and suppression handling, with SDKs for TypeScript, Python, Go, and Rust, plus MCP and REST access. IMAPS, submission, and POP3S are supported, and the maker says Apple Mail, Gmail, and Outlook on mobile can connect through IMAP and SMTP. The free plan costs nothing forever with one encrypted address, 500 MB storage, and web access. Paid plans start at $2.99 a month; overage sends cost $0.60 per 1,000.