Free and paid services for encryption of email: a comparison of differences

The protocols and encryption methods are not fundamentally different between the free and paid versions of the services. The situation is like that when we study the text of any popular book. Publishers can decorate it with different illustrations, make a dust cover, or publish the book in a mini format. But the content of the Bible or Homer’s Odyssey will remain the same. It is the same with encryption of email, which applies the same standards and canons. However, the design of the application program interface or the functionality of the application or service used may differ significantly.

Comfortable use of the address

Switching to encrypted email may require you to switch to a new address. This is extremely inconvenient – you need to incur additional costs. You could lose some customers who don’t switch to the new address. Many encryption services and applications integrate with popular email services:

• Gmail;
• Outlook;
• Apple Mail;
• The default apps on mobile devices.

So, there is no need to change the address. And encryption will not cause any additional problems with addresses or “dropping out” of clients.

Advanced data storage and processing features

Forwarding messages is also forwarding attachments. And most services make the transmission of both the email itself and its attachments secure. The convenience of using paid versions is that they usually provide an additional service for managing data and attachments. In addition, such services usually offer a wide range of additional useful and convenient options. Such options are usually not available in free services:

• additional storage capacity for data in the cloud;
• compatibility with popular services for creating and designing documents;
• message management;
• ability to send data to recipients the sender doesn’t know, with the sender’s email address closed.

Free versions also typically limit the amount of information or number of emails transmitted. Each developer is looking for their own version of improved and basic options.

What’s better – free or paid email encryptor?

Let’s summarize. If you look closely at the functionality of encryption services, the main difference between the free and business versions is in the comfort of use. Paid versions are dynamic – they help to process more emails with minimal time consumption. There are almost no differences in the level of encryption and the quality of the process itself.