Add to Chrome
Add to Edge
Add to Firefox
Add to Opera
Add to Brave
Add to SafariWhen comparing Mozilla Thunderbird vs ProtonMail, the Slant community recommends Mozilla Thunderbird for most people. In the question“What are the best e-mail clients for Windows?” Mozilla Thunderbird is ranked 1st while ProtonMail is ranked 10th.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Free (as in freedom and beer)
Pro Available on Linux, OS X and Windows
Pro Very reliable
Version after version, Mozilla Thunderbird works as expected.
Pro Good filtering system
Mozilla Thunderbird offers a flexible filtering system with the ability to set flags and read/unread, as well as sort/assign to new mail directories. There are also numerous plugins available to assist in the filtering.
Pro Large assortment of plugins available
Mozilla Thunderbird offers a huge amount of extensions to expand the usability and options of the client.
Pro Great flexibility
More options and extended settings than most power users could dream of. Get it working how YOU want.
Pro Tabs for navigation
Pro Lightning Calendar and Address Book integration
Pro Consistent and involving a moderate learning curve
The app design of Mozilla Thunderbird has not changed significantly since its beginning, making its learning curve almost non-existent.
Pro Send large files easy
Install pCloud plugin for Thunderbird and your files (upto 20 GB free storage included) will be received as download links
Pro Built-in end-to-end encryption
Pro No personal information needed
To create an account you don't need to give any personal information, just choose username, domain, and password. Even the recovery email address is optional.
Pro Privacy respecting
User data is protected by strict privacy laws because all servers are located in Switzerland.
Pro Open Source
Pro Mobile apps
Apps for Android and iOS available.
Cons
Con Development slowed to only focus on stability and security
Mozilla Thunderbird has slowed down its development of features to only focus resources on security and stability.
Con Outdated interface
Thunderbird's interface is very outdated and unpleasant. It feels more like a Windows XP application than like a modern MacOS one.
Con Terrible integration with macOS
Simple things - drag/dropping pictures doesn't work, for instance.
Con Subject lines can (temporarily) disappear from the list
This is sporadic behavior.
Con Serious bugs
Clicking on a subject line can bring up the wrong email.
Con Javascript-intensive Webmail
Free accounts are required to use Javascript webmail and encryption is done in the browser. Javascript cryptography is harmful for security and should not be used.
Con Encryption Keys are stored server-side
The keys are generated during account creation. Using your existing keys is prohibited and ProtonMail must store and control the private keys. Encryption cannot be secure unless the user controls the private keys.
Con Still lacks some useful features
At the moment, there is no calendar feature and contact management is quite poor. They will, however, start to work on it.
Con Ties to US Investors
ProtonMail takes money from US Investors
Con No IMAP and SMTP support for basic accounts
Basic accounts are restricted to the Protonmail web client. Support for IMAP and SMTP is available with a paid subscription only, and as such with basic accounts it is not possible to send and receive email with external applications.
Con Overly expensive for desktop support
Con Requires phone number for login
If you sign up over Tor or a VPN, it will require email or phone number verification. Email verification is disabled if you use an email that isn't from Google or Outlook.
Con Not fully Open Source
