PGPony vs ProtonMail.
ProtonMail is an encrypted email service. PGPony is an OpenPGP encryption app. They\'re often compared because both involve "PGP" and "privacy", but they solve different problems. Most people end up using both, for different reasons.
ProtonMail replaces your email account. You move to name@proton.me
and encryption happens behind the scenes.
PGPony adds encryption to your existing tools. Keep Gmail or iCloud or whatever
you use; encrypt the contents of specific messages or files when you need to. Not competitors —
complements.
What each one actually is.
ProtonMail is a full email service — addresses, inbox, spam filtering, calendar, Drive integration. The end-to-end encryption is the headline feature: messages between Proton users are encrypted automatically, and Proton themselves can\'t read your mail content. To send encrypted to non-Proton users, you import their PGP public key into your Proton contacts.
PGPony is an encryption tool, not an email service. Your inbox is wherever it already is. PGPony takes plain text or a file, encrypts it to a recipient\'s public key, and gives you the encrypted blob to copy or share through any channel. The receiving side runs in reverse.
The asymmetry: ProtonMail solves "I want my email provider to be unable to read me." PGPony solves "I want this specific message or file to be unreadable to anyone in the channel."
At a glance.
| PGPony | ProtonMail | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | OpenPGP encryption app | Encrypted email service |
| Email address required? | No | Yes (creates one for you) |
| Works with existing email? | Any email provider | Yes, but you typically use Proton\'s |
| Encrypts non-email content? | Anything — files, SMS, paste sites | Email only |
| Mobile apps | iOS, Android | iOS, Android (separate app) |
| Desktop access | Mobile-only | Web app, desktop bridge |
| Where keys live | Your device only | Proton servers (encrypted with your password) |
| Bring your own PGP key | Yes — import any OpenPGP key | Limited; Proton manages account keys |
| Cost | Free | Free tier + paid plans |
| Account required | No | Yes |
| Open source | Proprietary, audited open libs | Clients open source; backend partially |
| Best for | Encrypted blobs across any channel | An encrypted email account |
Honest tradeoffs.
Where ProtonMail wins
- Automatic encryption with other Proton users. If both ends are Proton, encryption is invisible. No "import their public key" step. This is the killer feature and the reason Proton has scale.
- Full email service. Inbox, calendar, contacts, search, spam filtering, mobile push, web client. PGPony does none of this — it\'s not an email app.
- Web access from anywhere. Log in on any browser. PGPony lives on your phone; it doesn\'t have a web version (intentionally).
- Encrypted attachments. Drag a file into a Proton compose window and it\'s encrypted alongside the message. PGPony encrypts files too, but you upload the encrypted blob separately.
- Brand recognition. "I use ProtonMail" is understood by non-technical people. "I use OpenPGP via PGPony" requires more explanation.
Where PGPony wins
- You keep your existing email address. Most people can\'t casually switch to
name@proton.me— work email, accounts tied to current address, contacts trained on it. PGPony works with whatever email you already have. - Encrypts things ProtonMail won\'t. SMS, Slack DMs, code review comments, paste sites, Notion blocks, anything not in an inbox. The whole point of standalone OpenPGP is channel-independence.
- You hold your own keys. PGPony stores your private key on your device, in the OS keystore, never transmitted. ProtonMail stores yours on their servers (encrypted under your password). Both are reasonable; some users strongly prefer local-only.
- No account required. Install PGPony, generate a key, you\'re done. No email verification, no recovery setup, no Proton-the-company in your stack at all.
- Interoperates with the whole OpenPGP world. Anyone using GnuPG, GPG Suite, OpenKeychain, Mailvelope, FlowCrypt, or any other OpenPGP-capable tool can read your messages. ProtonMail-to-non-Proton requires extra setup (importing recipient PGP keys into Proton contacts).
- Free. No tier limits, no storage caps (PGPony has no storage to cap), no upsells.
Using them together.
The most common real-world setup: ProtonMail as the daily email account, PGPony for encryption that needs to leave email.
- Sending a long-term archive of sensitive files to a colleague? Encrypt with PGPony, upload the .pgp blob to any file host, share the link. Even Proton-to-Proton has attachment size limits PGP-then-host bypasses.
- Sending an encrypted note over SMS or Signal-the-channel-doesn\'t-matter? PGPony.
- Daily email with another Proton user? ProtonMail\'s automatic flow.
- Daily email with someone on Gmail who has a PGP key? You can do this through ProtonMail (import their key) or through PGPony + your normal email. Either works.
Note: Proton supports importing third-party PGP keys for external recipients, but Proton\'s key management is tied to your Proton account. If you want a PGP identity that\'s truly portable — same key on a Mac, an iPhone, an Android, with no email service in the path — that\'s the PGPony workflow, not the Proton workflow.
The verdict.
- Choose ProtonMail if You want an encrypted email account. You\'re willing to switch your primary email to a Proton address, or run it alongside your existing one. You value the full email-service experience (inbox, calendar, contacts) over per-message encryption flexibility.
- Choose PGPony if You want to keep your existing email setup and add encryption to specific messages or files. You need encryption that works outside email (SMS, files, paste sites, anything). You want to hold your own keys on your own device. You want PGP that interoperates with the whole OpenPGP ecosystem.
- Use both if You like Proton\'s service for daily mail AND want PGPony for the off-email use cases. The two don\'t conflict — they cover different problems.
Try PGPony
Free. No accounts. No tracking. Works with everything that speaks OpenPGP.