How to Cancel Proton Mail Plus (2026 Guide) — The Privacy Email Dilemma
Updated 2026-02-24 · 5 min read
Proton Mail Plus costs $3.99/month (billed annually at $47.88) or $9.99/month billed monthly. Proton Unlimited (mail + VPN + drive + calendar) is $12.99/month. If you signed up for privacy but find yourself back in Gmail most of the time, here's how to cancel — and what to consider before you do.
Review what you'll lose (storage, aliases, custom domains)
Confirm downgrade
⚠️ Before You Downgrade:
Free plan: 500MB storage only (vs 15GB+ on paid). If you're over 500MB, you must delete emails to fit
Custom domain email addresses stop working on free plan
Extra email aliases beyond 1 are disabled
If using Proton VPN as part of Unlimited bundle — that cancels too
Export Your Emails First
Download the Proton Mail Bridge app (desktop)
Bridge creates a local IMAP connection to your Proton inbox
Use Thunderbird or Apple Mail to connect via Bridge
Select all emails → export/save locally
You can also use the Proton Mail Export Tool for bulk download
Proton Free vs Paid: What Stays
✅ Free plan includes:
End-to-end encrypted email (the core feature)
1 email address
500MB storage
150 messages/day limit
Web + mobile apps
Proton Calendar (basic)
The Privacy vs Convenience Trade-off
The honest truth about privacy email in 2026:
End-to-end encryption only works Proton-to-Proton. Emailing a Gmail user? Not encrypted on their end
Most people's threat model doesn't require E2EE email. If you're not a journalist, activist, or someone with specific security needs, Gmail's encryption-in-transit is sufficient
Proton's apps are slower than Gmail. Search is particularly limited compared to Gmail's powerful search
The ecosystem lock-in is real. Moving from @proton.me back to Gmail means updating hundreds of accounts
Privacy-Respecting Alternatives
Tuta (Tutanota) (free/€3/mo) — Similar to Proton, slightly cheaper. German-based, E2EE by default
Fastmail ($5/mo) — Not E2EE but privacy-focused (Australia), excellent interface, fast search. No ads, no data mining
iCloud Mail (free with Apple) — Apple doesn't sell ad data. Hide My Email generates disposable addresses
Gmail + privacy settings (free) — Turn off ad personalization, use Google's "confidential mode," use a password manager. Not private but practical
Refund Policy
Monthly plans: no refund, access until end of period
Annual/2-year plans: 30-day money-back guarantee from purchase date
After 30 days: no refund on remaining months
Contact support@proton.me for refund requests
🔍 Email & Privacy Tool Audit: Proton Mail + VPN + password manager + identity monitoring — privacy and security subscriptions add up. Upload your bank statement to JustCancel to find every recurring charge.