Microsoft 365 vs. Proton Mail

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft 365
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) is a Microsoft Cloud subscription service that includes Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, and Access). The software can be installed across multiple devices and ensures that users always have the most up-to-date version of the included Office applications.
$5
Per User Per Month
Proton Mail
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
Proton Mail, from Proton Technologies, boasts being the world’s largest encrypted email provider. An email server, the vendor states their mission is to defend the right to privacy by making end-to-end encrypted email easy enough for anyone to use, and offers free email accounts without ads, and fully encrypted storage wtih servers hosted in Geneva. The ProtonMail high-tier Visionary plan also includes VPN, via the inclusion of Proton Technologies' ProtonVPN service.
$0
Up to 1 GB total storage & 150 messages per day
Pricing
Microsoft 365Proton Mail
Editions & Modules
Business Basic
$5.00
Per User Per Month
Individual
$5.84
*Per Month
Business - Apps
$8.25
Per User Per Month
Enterprise - F3
$10.00
Per User Per Month
Business Standard
$12.50
Per User Per Month
Business Premium
$20.00
Per User Per Month
Enterprise - E3
$32.00
Per User Per Month
Enterprise - E5
$57.00
Per User Per Month
Proton Free
$0
Up to 1 GB total storage & 150 messages per day
Mail Plus
$4.99
per month 15 GB total Storage and 10 email addresses
Proton Unlimited
$12.99
per month Access to all Proton apps and premium features
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft 365Proton Mail
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details*When billed annually.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft 365Proton Mail
Best Alternatives
Microsoft 365Proton Mail
Small Businesses
Google Workspace
Google Workspace
Score 9.1 out of 10
Paubox Email Suite
Paubox Email Suite
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Google Workspace
Google Workspace
Score 9.1 out of 10
Webroot Advanced Email Encryption powered by Zix
Webroot Advanced Email Encryption powered by Zix
Score 9.6 out of 10
Enterprises
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Score 8.8 out of 10
DataMotion
DataMotion
Score 9.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Microsoft 365Proton Mail
Likelihood to Recommend
7.8
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.5
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.2
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.9
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft 365Proton Mail
Likelihood to Recommend
I usually recommend Microsoft 365 to my clients to keep them away from the Exchange server (sorry!) Our business has a lot of issues with exchange email functions and copy machines. I always recommend they download the desktop version and use the online version as needed. You never know when you will be without an internet connection, but you can usually trust your laptop will have a decent charge, and you can still be productive! Let it sync when the powers are back on - or your connection is alive.
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Good if you like privacy and not having your data mined for advertizing and AI training.
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Pros
  • keeps me extremely organized. It is so easy to link calendars, emails, and documents.
  • keeps me well connected. It is so easy to send a quick message on teams or send an email to a group (for example, my particular team within the company).
  • easy to use. Everything is straightforward, making it easy to find an answer to a question. There is even a search option to figure out how to do something within Microsoft.
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  • Secure encrypted email hosting
  • Connection with Outlook works well
  • Works well on all platforms: web, Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS
  • Low monthly cost for email plus all the associated apps
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Cons
  • I wish it was a little simpler to integrate things from one Microsoft Feature into another one. Perhaps I just don't know the tricks for that yet...after all these years of using it.
  • I didn't like how it defaulted to saving the document automatically with changes, like Google Docs, but it seems that has now changed, and is better now.
  • Generally, I really like how the suite works as is.
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  • Exporting email (which I like to do for archiving) is awkward and slow.
  • Proton Mail Bridge (which allows access from other email readers like Outlook) sometimes has synchronization issues. Lately these just resolve themselves.
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Likelihood to Renew
I am completely satisfied with the product, and helps me on a daily basis. I do not the exact cost (it is not a cheap suite) but on the medium and long term the return on investment is guaranteed.
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No answers on this topic
Usability
It being the default office suite means it's user experience and idioms are things that everyone is generally very used to and fluent with.
The sharing is relatively simple, being directly hooked into Entra AD, and expiry being a first class concern.
It's usability decreases at scale, with multiple people simultaneously making edits can make documents unusable.
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Mostly intuitive and easy to use. A bit harder if you stick with two passwords (one for the account and one for the encryption).
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Support Rating
Over the past 8 years of using Microsoft 365, I have noticed that they change vendors often. This always leads to a poor experience in the beginning, then levels out after some time for the company to get things worked out. As a customer, it is really frustrating because I don't have time when something isn't working to have them "look into my issue" and get back with me. They have even closed a ticket I specifically told them to keep open. Your applications are only as good as the support.
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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Everything works and I use it all the time.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
BTE, this search bar is not the best; I couldn't find Google Suite. In any case, it's challenging to find a suite with advanced tools that serves as an office. Google comes close, no one uses OpenOffice (hyperbole), and there isn't much else to use. If you add to that the recent collaborative functionalities, nothing really stacks up or compares; this has everything a person in an office (oversimplifying) needs to get work done.
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Proton had a wider offering of products like vpn and drive. I ended up paying for a yearly subscription, I liked it so much.
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Return on Investment
  • Microsoft 365 has really been effective and cost saving option for our organization in terms of managing the mailboxes, collaboration and messaging.
  • There is multiple must have features which comes all together in one package and therefore is cost effective.
  • The only negative impact according to me is its inability to protect the environment or domain from external attacks effectively.
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  • Easy to link with my business domain and email.
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ScreenShots