How to Cancel Proton Mail in 2026 — Migrate Email + Keep Your Privacy

Updated February 2026 • 5 min read

Downgrade to Free Plan

1. Go to account.proton.me → Subscription
2. Click Downgrade account
3. Walk through the retention flow — they'll offer discounts
4. Confirm downgrade
5. Your paid features deactivate at the end of your billing period

Note: Proton doesn't offer "cancel" — you downgrade to Free. Your account and emails stay, just with free tier limits.

Before Downgrading: Prepare for Free Tier Limits

• Storage: Free = 500MB (paid gives 15-500GB). If you have 2GB+ of emails, you'll need to delete or export
• Email addresses: Free = 1 address. Extra addresses on paid plans become inactive
• Custom domain: Free doesn't support custom domains — emails to your-domain.com stop working
• Folders/Labels: Free = 3 folders, 3 labels (paid = unlimited)
• Proton VPN: If bundled, VPN downgrades to free tier (1 server location, 1 device)

Export Your Emails

1. Download the Proton Mail Bridge (paid plan required)
2. Connect Bridge to Thunderbird, Outlook, or Apple Mail via IMAP
3. Select all emails → Export as .eml or .mbox files
4. Save locally — this is your backup
5. To migrate to Gmail/Outlook: import the exported files into the new provider

Proton Pricing

• Free: 500MB storage, 1 address, 150 messages/day
• Mail Plus ($3.99/mo annual): 15GB, 10 addresses, custom domain, Bridge
• Proton Unlimited ($9.99/mo annual): 500GB, Mail + VPN + Drive + Calendar + Pass
• Proton Family ($29.99/mo annual): 6 users, 3TB total

Privacy Without Paying

If you subscribed for privacy specifically, you can stay private for free:

• Proton Mail Free: Still end-to-end encrypted, still zero-access encryption — privacy is the same on free
• Tuta (free): Encrypted email, 1GB free storage, based in Germany
• Disroot (free): Privacy-focused email, 1GB storage, Netherlands-based
• SimpleLogin (free tier): Email aliasing (owned by Proton) — hide your real email from services

Delete Your Account Entirely

If you want to leave Proton completely (not just downgrade):

1. Settings → Account → Delete account
2. This permanently deletes all emails, contacts, and calendars
3. Your @protonmail.com address becomes unavailable (no one else can claim it)
4. This is irreversible

Get a Refund

• Proton offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on new subscriptions
• Contact support@proton.me within 30 days of initial purchase
• Renewals: no automatic refund, but contact support — they sometimes make exceptions
• Crypto payments: non-refundable