Email · Last reviewed 21 September 2026

ProtonvsGmail

Proton AG is domiciled in Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, and says Swiss law governs the service. Gmail is a Google LLC product from Mountain View. Pick Proton if Swiss jurisdiction is the point; stay with Gmail if you need Google Workspace.

At a glance

Criterion	Proton	Gmail
Headquarters	Switzerland	United States
Data location	Switzerland	United States
Best for	People who want Swiss-jurisdiction email	People who want mail inside Google Workspace

Choose Proton if

You want a Swiss company under Swiss law for mail.
End-to-end encryption and a small data footprint matter more than Gmail’s features.
You are leaving Google Workspace on principle, not only on price.

Stay with Gmail if

You need Gmail, Calendar, Drive, and Meet as one Workspace.
Search, labels, and the Google ecosystem outweigh HQ.
Your organisation already has Google as a processor.

Listed here

Proton

Over 100 million people use Proton to stay private and secure online. Get a free Proton account and take back your privacy.

Proton AG, Route de la Galaise 32, 1228 Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva. Privacy policy: the company is domiciled in Geneva and governed by Swiss law. Content Proton cannot decrypt is out of scope for this comparison.

Made in Switzerland

Hosted in Europe

View listing

The tool they replace

Gmail

Google LLC, Mountain View, California. Gmail is a Google product. Google’s HQ is in Mountain View. Workspace customers should read Google’s current data-region options; they are not the same as a Swiss company. We do not list Gmail itself.

Local Gmail alternatives Official site

Other Gmail alternatives

Mailfence

Alternative to

Gmail

Made and hosted in Belgium

Sources

Origin and hosting only when an official page states them. We do not scrape review sites. Last reviewed 21 September 2026.

Questions

Is Proton a Gmail alternative?

For encrypted email, yes. It does not replace every Google Workspace app. Proton also lists Drive, Calendar, VPN, and Pass as separate products.

Where is Proton based?

Proton AG, Route de la Galaise 32, 1228 Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, Switzerland, per its privacy policy. An EU representative sits in Luxembourg.

Does Proton share data with Google?

Proton’s policy is Swiss-law disclosure to competent Swiss authorities, not to Google. Gmail is operated by Google. Read both policies; this page does not grade encryption.

Proton

Gmail

Headquarters

Switzerland

United States

Data location

Switzerland

United States

Best for

People who want Swiss-jurisdiction email

People who want mail inside Google Workspace

Questions

Is Proton a Gmail alternative?

For encrypted email, yes. It does not replace every Google Workspace app. Proton also lists Drive, Calendar, VPN, and Pass as separate products.

Where is Proton based?

Proton AG, Route de la Galaise 32, 1228 Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, Switzerland, per its privacy policy. An EU representative sits in Luxembourg.

Does Proton share data with Google?

Proton’s policy is Swiss-law disclosure to competent Swiss authorities, not to Google. Gmail is operated by Google. Read both policies; this page does not grade encryption.