[ In short ]
- Proton is the better pick when privacy is the product: end-to-end encryption between Proton users and zero-access encryption of stored mail, from a Swiss company.
- Skein reads your mail to do its job: its agent spots quiet threads and drafts the follow-up. That is a different trade-off, so the choice depends on what you need most.
- Proton Workspace Standard is €12.99 and Workspace Premium €19.99 per user per month on annual billing, with Drive, Docs, Meet, VPN and Pass included.
- Skein is pre-launch: founders can reserve a spot now and try the demo today.
01Proton Mail or Skein: the short answer
They solve different problems. Proton is built so that even Proton cannot read your mail. Skein is built so that an agent can read your threads and keep them moving. If confidentiality is the first requirement, for a law firm, a newsroom, a health practice or anyone with a strong threat model, choose Proton. If the first requirement is that no customer, investor or candidate is left waiting, Skein is designed for that.
Proton, based in Geneva, makes Proton Mail, Calendar, Drive, VPN and Pass. Its business plans now come as Proton Workspace, a privacy-focused suite with documents, spreadsheets and video meetings.
Skein is business email on your own domain with an agent that follows up on every conversation. Hosted in the EU. The agent notices when a customer, investor or candidate is waiting and drafts the follow-up in your tone. By default nothing is sent without your OK, from the app or, at launch, from Slack or WhatsApp, and every send has a few seconds to undo. For the contacts you choose, you can let it send on its own.
02Proton Mail vs Skein, side by side
| Skein | Proton (Workspace plans) | |
|---|---|---|
| Available | Pre-launch: founders reserve a spot now, teams get access in waves | Available today |
| Price basis | Per person with the agent, plus mailbox-only seats for the rest of the team | Per user per month: Workspace Standard €12.99 on annual billing (€14.99 monthly), Workspace Premium €19.99 annual (€24.99 monthly); Mail Essentials €6.99 for email only |
| Hosting region | EU: mail and agent run in Frankfurt | Proton’s own servers in Switzerland, Germany and Norway |
| Email on your own domain | Yes, with unlimited aliases and shared inboxes | Yes: up to 15 custom domains on Standard, 20 on Premium |
| AI follow-up agent | Yes: spots quiet threads and drafts the follow-up in your tone | Premium includes an email writing assistant and the Lumo AI chat; no agent that chases quiet threads |
| Approval before sending | Every send by default, with a few seconds to undo; auto-send only for contacts you choose | You send every email yourself |
| Approvals in Slack or WhatsApp | Both, at launch | No |
| Calendar and meetings | Proposes times and sends the invite from your Google, Microsoft or iCloud calendar | Proton Calendar with appointment scheduling, and Proton Meet |
| Migration in | Gmail history import; DNS records written for you on supported providers | Easy Switch imports mail, calendars and contacts from Gmail, Outlook and other IMAP providers |
| Apps | Its own web and phone apps, or Apple Mail, Outlook and the Gmail app | Web, desktop and mobile apps |
| Standards and leaving | IMAP and autoconfig; export every mailbox over IMAP at any time | IMAP and SMTP through Proton Mail Bridge on paid plans |
Proton relaunched its business plans as Proton Workspace on 31 March 2026. Workspace Standard includes 1 TB of storage per user; Premium includes 3 TB, retention policies and Lumo, Proton’s AI assistant.
03Where Proton is the better choice
- Encryption. Mail between Proton users is end-to-end encrypted, and stored mail uses zero-access encryption, so Proton cannot read it. Skein does not offer end-to-end encryption: an agent that drafts replies has to read the thread.
- A privacy-first suite. Drive, Docs and Sheets, Meet, a VPN and a password manager with team vaults come with the Workspace plans.
- Swiss jurisdiction and own hardware. Proton runs its own servers in Switzerland, Germany and Norway.
- Available today. Skein is not open yet.
If your clients would be harmed by anyone, including your provider, reading your mail, Proton is the right tool and Skein is not.
04Where Skein is different
Follow-ups drafted for you, sent only with your OK
Proton’s writing assistant helps you write the email in front of you. Skein keeps track of every conversation on your domain. When a thread goes quiet that should not, it drafts the follow-up in your tone, with the document or link the other person asked for, and says why: what it read and who is waiting.
By default nothing is sent without your OK, from the app or, at launch, from Slack or WhatsApp, and every send has a few seconds to undo. For the contacts you choose, you can let it send on its own.
Privacy with a different shape
Skein runs mail and agent on servers in Frankfurt, in the EU. Your mail is never used to train AI models, every action the agent takes is logged with who approved it, and the GDPR data processing agreement is part of the terms. That is a strong default for most B2B teams, but it is not end-to-end encryption, and we would rather say so. Read more in our guide to GDPR and EU email hosting.
Built around follow-ups and meetings
Skein proposes meeting times inside the thread from your Google, Microsoft or iCloud calendar and sends the invite. Pricing is per person with the agent, with mailbox-only seats for the rest of the team: see the pricing section.
05Who should pick which
- Pick Proton if confidentiality comes first: privileged client communication, sources, health data, or a team that wants a private alternative to Google for documents and files too.
- Pick Skein if your mail is ordinary B2B correspondence (quotes, investor updates, candidate threads) and what costs you money is the reply that never got sent.
Comparing more European options? See European email providers and Gmail alternatives for business.
06How to switch from Proton Mail to Skein
Leaving Proton works like any provider switch, with one extra step: to export mail over IMAP you run Proton Mail Bridge on a computer, which needs a paid plan. On supported DNS providers, Skein writes your new records for you.
D − 2
Lower the TTL of your MX records
5 min, then wait one old TTL
Set MX (and the records you will change) to 300 seconds. Resolvers keep the old value until the old TTL runs out, often 1 to 24 hours.
D − 2
Verify the domain and add DKIM, SPF, DMARC
15 min, checks in minutes to hours
Add the new provider’s ownership TXT, its DKIM records and its include in your one SPF record. Outgoing mail can work before incoming moves.
D − 1
Create every mailbox and alias
10–60 min
Include shared addresses (hello@, invoices@) and forwarding rules. A catch-all for the first days catches the ones you forgot.
D − 1
Copy existing mail over IMAP
Hours to days per mailbox
Newest first. Gmail allows about 2.5 GB of IMAP download per user per day, so a 10 GB mailbox needs about four days. Start early.
D
Switch MX to the new provider
5 min, propagation up to 300 s
Replace the old MX records; do not leave them at a higher number. Send a test from an outside account.
D + 1 and D + 3
Run a second sync
10–30 min each
Some senders cached the old MX and delivered there. A delta copy picks up what landed late. Keep the old accounts until it finds nothing.
D + 7
Raise the TTL and close the old accounts
5 min
Set the TTL back to 3,600 seconds or more. Cancel the old provider only after the last sync came back empty.
- Install Proton Mail Bridge, or use Proton’s export tool, to get your mail out.
- Create the mailboxes and shared addresses in Skein.
- Copy the history across; ask about it on the setup call a founder does with each team.
- Point your MX records to the new provider and update SPF, DKIM and DMARC.
- Keep the Proton plan for a short overlap, then downgrade.
If DNS records are new to you, read SPF, DKIM and DMARC explained first.
Skein is not open yet. It opens to its first teams soon, in waves, and founders can reserve a spot now on the founder price. Until then you can try the demo with sample mail, nothing to install.
Questions
- Is Skein end-to-end encrypted like Proton?
- No. Skein's agent reads your threads to notice quiet ones and draft replies, which end-to-end encryption would prevent. Mail is hosted in the EU and never used to train AI models, but if you need end-to-end encryption, use Proton.
- Where are Proton’s servers?
- Proton stores data on its own servers in Switzerland, Germany and Norway.
- Can I use Proton Mail with Outlook or Apple Mail?
- Yes, through Proton Mail Bridge, an app that exposes your mailbox over IMAP and SMTP on your computer. Bridge is available on paid plans.
- How much is Proton for business?
- Proton Workspace Standard is €12.99 per user per month on annual billing (€14.99 monthly) and Workspace Premium €19.99 (€24.99 monthly). Mail Essentials, email only, is €6.99.
See Skein follow up for you
Business email on your own domain with an agent that follows up on every conversation. Hosted in the EU. Try the demo with sample mail, nothing to install.
[ Sources ]
- 01Proton: introducing Proton Workspace (pricing)
- 02Proton for business: plans
- 03Proton Support: Proton for Business plans explained
- 04Proton: Mail privacy policy (server locations)
- 05Proton Support: import emails with Easy Switch
Facts about other products were checked on 5 Oct 2026; prices and plans change.