Gmail (Google Workspace) vs Proton Mail
Gmail (Google Workspace) and Proton Mail are both email server software. Gmail (Google Workspace) is a commercial product from Google. Proton Mail is a commercial product from Proton AG.
Which to pick
- Pick Gmail (Google Workspace) when
- A business wants reliable hosted email with strong spam filtering and works mostly in the browser.
- Pick Proton Mail when
- Privacy is your first concern and you want encrypted email, especially between Proton users.
Side by side
Business email on your own domain using Gmail, with spam filtering, shared calendars and admin controls through Google Workspace.
End-to-end encrypted email from Switzerland, bundled with Proton's calendar, drive, VPN and password manager.
Moving away later is a chore, and shared mailboxes and delegation are weaker than in Exchange.
Desktop email clients need the paid Bridge app, and encryption limits server-side search and integrations.
Production-ready (both)
Cloud service and mobile app
Cloud service, desktop app and mobile app
Not published (both)
Closed source, sold by Google
Closed source, sold by Proton AG
Closed source: you use it under the maker's terms and cannot change or resell the code. (both)
90k Wikipedia readers a month on phones
12k Wikipedia readers a month on phones
Other comparisons
More email servers and webmail
Both sides were judged on 2026-11-03 from makers' descriptions, Wikipedia, READMEs and GitHub data. License, age and popularity lines are worked out directly.