Proton Mail Plus

Encrypted email with aliases, custom domains, and privacy-focused apps

NOT REALLY · consider alternatives
price $4.99/mosubscription / year $59.88estimated build time not a true replacement; consolation build in one to two daysreplaced by 0 people

Do not mistake the interface for the product. Proton Mail Plus's durable value is deliverability, security, integration, which a solo one-shot build cannot reproduce responsibly. The prompt therefore builds only the closest honest personal consolation tool.

Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability

What you give up

  • sender reputation, deliverability, and suppression handling
  • provider-grade deliverability
  • push reliability across devices
  • team routing and shared inbox rules
  • abuse response and security operations

Why people still pay

Proton Mail Plus: Email is infrastructure. Customers pay to avoid lost messages, broken auth, spam problems, and the reputational cost of a flaky inbox.

Your build guide

The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.

Before you start

  • desktop development machine
  • IMAP or Gmail OAuth credentials where supported
  • secure local keychain access
  • Explicit README warning that this is a consolation build, not a production replacement
01
Use exactly this stack: Tauri 2 + React + TypeScript + SQLite.
02
Model mail accounts, message IDs, threads, folders, and pending actions; keep stable source IDs and timestamps.
03
Interface for this encrypted email workflow: a desktop window with source import, a work list, and result export.
engineering roadmap

Implementation plan

1

Phase 1, architecture and data

Use exactly this stack: Tauri 2 + React + TypeScript + SQLite. Model mail accounts, message IDs, threads, folders, and pending actions; keep stable source IDs and timestamps.

2

Phase 2, implement

For encrypted email, connect one user-authorized mailbox or import an exported message set.

3

Phase 3, implement

Index message IDs, threading headers, and folders; apply the one requested compose or triage action.

4

Phase 4, review and output

Show a message list with pending, sent, failed, and synchronized states.

5

Phase 5, recovery and acceptance

Verify this invariant with a saved fixture: A reconnect must not duplicate mail; after an ambiguous send response, retain pending status until the provider confirms it. State the practical limit: sender reputation, deliverability, and suppression handling.

the pro prompt
Build me a focused encrypted email workflow for the personal core of Proton Mail Plus. Requirements:

- Use exactly this stack: Tauri 2 + React + TypeScript + SQLite. Model mail accounts, message IDs, threads, folders, and pending actions; keep stable source IDs and timestamps.
- Paid product context: Encrypted email with aliases, custom domains, and privacy-focused apps. Build only this DIY scope: Build a local email companion for encrypted email that works on exported mail or one user-authorized IMAP account.
- For encrypted email, connect one user-authorized mailbox or import an exported message set.
- Index message IDs, threading headers, and folders; apply the one requested compose or triage action.
- Show a message list with pending, sent, failed, and synchronized states.
- Use a desktop window with source import, a work list, and result export. Required input or access: IMAP or Gmail OAuth credentials where supported; secure local keychain access. Keep credentials in .env.
- Acceptance: with one labelled sample, show the input, saved intermediate state, and exported result; verify this invariant: A reconnect must not duplicate mail; after an ambiguous send response, retain pending status until the provider confirms it.
- Out of scope: sender reputation, deliverability, and suppression handling; provider-grade deliverability. Keep this a personal, inspectable workflow.
- Include a README with setup, a sample input, required keys or permissions, data location, and the supported scope.

$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy AGENTS.md · generated from this app's build plan

prior art · use these instead of building, if you'd ratherMailspringOpen-source desktop mail client and useful IMAP prior art.↗
share on X ↗

Proton Mail Plus pricing

planmonthlyannual (per mo)what you get
proton free$0/user$0/user1 user; 1 email address; 500 MB Mail storage expandable to 1 GB; 150 messages/day; 25 MB attachments.
mail plus$4.99/user$3.99/user1 user; 10 email addresses; 15 GB shared Mail/Drive storage; 1 custom domain; 10 hide-my-email aliases; 25 MB attachments.$47.88/year. The official signup link selects USD; Proton's public support table publishes the same numeric schedule in EUR.
proton unlimited$12.99/user$9.99/user1 user; 15 email addresses; 500 GB shared storage; 3 custom domains; unlimited hide-my-email aliases.$119.88/year; bundle includes Proton's other premium apps.
proton duo$19.99$14.992 users; 30 email addresses; 2 TB shared storage; 3 custom domains.$179.88/year for both users.
proton family$29.99$23.99Up to 6 users; 90 email addresses; 3 TB shared storage; 3 custom domains.$287.88/year.
proton visionary$39.99$29.99Up to 6 users; 100 email addresses; 6 TB shared storage; 10 custom domains.$359.88/year; exclusive early-supporter plan and not generally available to new buyers.

free tier1 user; 1 email address; 500 MB Mail storage expandable to 1 GB; 150 messages/day; 25 MB attachment limit

billingmonthly + annual; auto-renews; 30-day prorated money-back guarantee; some accounts also offer 2-year cycles

hidden costsPaid 'unlimited' sending excludes bulk, promotional and programmatic mail, and each recipient counts separately. Downgrading while above the free storage cap restricts account functions until usage is reduced; custom domains must be bought separately.

price historyProton Unlimited (monthly): $11.99 → $12.99 (2023-07)

pricing sources checked 2026-08-12 · pricing source ↗

Questions about Proton Mail Plus

Can you build your own Proton Mail Plus with AI?

A full replacement is not the recommended project. Do not mistake the interface for the product. Proton Mail Plus's durable value is deliverability, security, integration, which a solo one-shot build cannot reproduce responsibly. The prompt therefore builds only the closest honest personal consolation tool.

What does the Proton Mail Plus build prompt cover?

The prompt starts with this scope: Build a local email companion for encrypted email that works on exported mail or one user-authorized IMAP account. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: sender reputation, deliverability, and suppression handling; provider-grade deliverability; push reliability across devices. Follow the implementation plan and its prerequisites before expanding the build.

How do I use the prompt, AGENTS.md and agent skills?

Start with the Proton Mail Plus prerequisites and stack, then copy the prompt into your coding agent. Save the project rules as AGENTS.md in the project root. Linked skills are optional packages or source instructions for specific tasks; review their current contents and install only those matching the chosen stack. A skill does not supply API credentials or verify the finished app.

How long will this Proton Mail Plus project take?

The catalogue estimate is not a true replacement; consolation build in one to two days for the limited scope. Setup, integration approvals, debugging, deployment and ongoing maintenance can add time. This is an estimate, not a delivery guarantee.

What would I give up by replacing Proton Mail Plus?

sender reputation, deliverability, and suppression handling; provider-grade deliverability; push reliability across devices; team routing and shared inbox rules; abuse response and security operations. Proton Mail Plus: Email is infrastructure. Customers pay to avoid lost messages, broken auth, spam problems, and the reputational cost of a flaky inbox.

What price is this guide comparing against?

The recorded Mail Plus plan is $4.99/mo (monthly individual subscription), checked 2026-07-31. Check the linked pricing source before buying. Building your own also has hosting, API and maintenance costs; the recorded amount is not a guaranteed saving.

What can I use instead of building Proton Mail Plus?

The prior-art section lists Mailspring as starting points. Review their current scope, license and maintenance before adopting one.

Every week, more subscriptions die.

New verdicts, new prompts, the week's most-doomed apps.
One email. Unsubscribe in one click.

last week:100 Questions · KINDA1of10 · KINDA1Password · KINDA+1090 more

free forever · no scanner spam · the prompt stays on the site, the deaths come to you

$weekly: what got a verdict, what died.