Migrate your Proton data
Privacy-first encrypted productivity suite from Switzerland, bundling email, calendar, drive, VPN, and password management under end-to-end encryption.
In its favor
Why people choose Proton
The signal that keeps Proton on the shortlist. Sourced from G2, Capterra, and customer scoping calls.
End-to-end encryption by default across all apps — Proton Mail encrypts messages client-side before servers ever see plaintext, appealing to security-conscious teams and individuals leaving Google or Microsoft
Swiss jurisdiction and Proton Foundation ownership — the non-profit structure and Switzerland's strong privacy laws reassure users that data is not subject to US or EU mass-surveillance mandates
Bundled suite replaces multiple standalone tools — Workspace Standard bundles Mail, Calendar, Drive, VPN, and Pass at a lower combined cost than buying each service separately
Generous free tier for individual evaluation — the free plan offers 1 GB storage and one encrypted email address, allowing users to test core email encryption before committing to a paid tier
High-volume email migration via Easy Switch — Proton's own migration tool supports importing from Gmail, Outlook, and other providers, though reviews indicate it takes significantly longer than expected
Speed and performance trade-offs from client-side encryption — every read and search operation requires local decryption, making Proton noticeably slower than Gmail or Outlook, especially on large mailboxes
VPN reliability issues reported on macOS — users on Reddit documented that Proton VPN causes complete network loss on Mac after connecting, requiring a restart to recover, suggesting protocol-level incompatibility with some network configurations
High-volume migration blocked by storage limits — reaching a plan's storage quota prevents sending, receiving, uploading, or any storage-consuming action, and downgrading requires deactivating addresses or reducing storage before the new plan applies
External collaboration friction — while link-sharing works for one-off file delivery, external participants must create a free Proton account for ongoing collaboration, adding a gate that complicates workflows with frequent external contacts
Enterprise feature gaps compared to Google Workspace — no native desktop app (requires Proton Bridge for Outlook/Thunderbird), limited third-party integrations, and a smaller ecosystem mean teams with complex automation needs outgrow the platform
Reasons to switch
Why people leave Proton
The recurring reasons buyers give for replacing Proton. Presented as facts, not knocks.
Platform scorecard
Strengths, weaknesses, and where Proton fits
Grades across six dimensions, plus a SWOT-style view of where the platform shines and where it falls short.
SWOT — strengths, weaknesses, and use-case fit
Strengths
Weaknesses
Where it works
Where it struggles
Pricing tiers
Proton pricing overview
Proton uses per-user, per-month pricing with annual and monthly billing options. The Free tier is severely limited to 1 GB and a single address. Mail Plus is the entry paid tier; Workspace Standard bundles the full suite including VPN and Pass at $12.99/user/month annually. Workspace Premium adds unlimited AI and 3 TB storage. Enterprise offers custom contracts with dedicated infrastructure. Downgrading requires matching the new plan's limits before the change takes effect.
Free
Tier 1 of 6
Free
What's included
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What gets migrated
Proton object support
Object-by-object support for Proton migrations. Per-pair details surface during scoping.
Email messages
Fully supportedProton Mail messages are encrypted on the client before transmission. We extract messages via the IMAP bridge export or direct E2E decryption during import, preserving subject, body, sender, recipient, timestamp, read status, and attachments. Folder hierarchy maps to Labels in Proton Mail.
Email addresses (user accounts)
Fully supportedEach paid Proton plan supports multiple encrypted email addresses. We migrate all addresses within the organization's plan scope, mapping each to a corresponding user identity at the destination. Catch-all domain addresses are preserved individually.
Aliases and hide-my-email aliases
Mapping requiredProton Mail supports up to 10 hide-my-email aliases on Mail Plus. We extract these as separate address objects and map them to equivalent alias or forwarding rules at the destination, noting that destination platforms may handle aliases differently.
Calendars and events
Fully supportedProton Calendar events include title, description, location, start/end time, reminders, attendees, and recurrence rules. We extract calendar data via Proton Calendar API and map events into the destination calendar's native object model, preserving all event properties.
Contacts
Fully supportedProton Contacts include name, email addresses, phone numbers, physical addresses, and custom fields. We export contacts in vCard format and map fields to the destination CRM or address book object, preserving all available properties.
Drive files and folders
Fully supportedProton Drive stores files with end-to-end encryption. We extract file binaries and folder structure, decrypting client-side. Version history (up to 365 days on Professional) is included when within scope. Shared links and permissions are mapped to the destination's sharing model.
Custom email domains
Mapping requiredWorkspace Standard supports up to 15 custom domains; Workspace Premium supports up to 20. We extract domain configuration and DNS records, then map them to the destination's domain verification and routing setup. MX and SPF records must be reconfigured at the DNS level after migration.
Labels and folders
Fully supportedProton Mail uses both folders (hierarchical) and labels (tag-style, with color coding). We preserve the full label taxonomy and folder hierarchy and map them to the destination's equivalent organization system, whether that uses folders, tags, or both.
Users and organization members
Fully supportedProton for Business organizes users into teams with role-based access. We extract user accounts, roles, and team membership and map them to the destination's user and permission model. Shared mailboxes on Enterprise require additional scope definition.
VPN configuration profiles
Mapping requiredProton VPN configuration profiles are platform-specific and tied to Proton's infrastructure. We do not migrate VPN tunnel configurations as they cannot be meaningfully mapped to other VPN providers. VPN subscription data is noted for billing reconciliation during account migration.
Password vault entries
Mapping requiredProton Pass stores credentials in an encrypted vault. We extract entries in a structured format and map them to the destination password manager. Because Proton Pass uses E2E encryption, the migration requires the customer's encryption key to be available during extraction.
Shared links and sharing permissions
Mapping requiredProton Drive generates shareable links with optional password protection and expiration. We preserve link URLs and access settings, but links to Proton infrastructure become invalid at the destination. We flag all shared links for customer review before migration to identify which need to be recreated.
| Object | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Email messages | Fully supported | Proton Mail messages are encrypted on the client before transmission. We extract messages via the IMAP bridge export or direct E2E decryption during import, preserving subject, body, sender, recipient, timestamp, read status, and attachments. Folder hierarchy maps to Labels in Proton Mail. |
| Email addresses (user accounts) | Fully supported | Each paid Proton plan supports multiple encrypted email addresses. We migrate all addresses within the organization's plan scope, mapping each to a corresponding user identity at the destination. Catch-all domain addresses are preserved individually. |
| Aliases and hide-my-email aliases | Mapping required | Proton Mail supports up to 10 hide-my-email aliases on Mail Plus. We extract these as separate address objects and map them to equivalent alias or forwarding rules at the destination, noting that destination platforms may handle aliases differently. |
| Calendars and events | Fully supported | Proton Calendar events include title, description, location, start/end time, reminders, attendees, and recurrence rules. We extract calendar data via Proton Calendar API and map events into the destination calendar's native object model, preserving all event properties. |
| Contacts | Fully supported | Proton Contacts include name, email addresses, phone numbers, physical addresses, and custom fields. We export contacts in vCard format and map fields to the destination CRM or address book object, preserving all available properties. |
| Drive files and folders | Fully supported | Proton Drive stores files with end-to-end encryption. We extract file binaries and folder structure, decrypting client-side. Version history (up to 365 days on Professional) is included when within scope. Shared links and permissions are mapped to the destination's sharing model. |
| Custom email domains | Mapping required | Workspace Standard supports up to 15 custom domains; Workspace Premium supports up to 20. We extract domain configuration and DNS records, then map them to the destination's domain verification and routing setup. MX and SPF records must be reconfigured at the DNS level after migration. |
| Labels and folders | Fully supported | Proton Mail uses both folders (hierarchical) and labels (tag-style, with color coding). We preserve the full label taxonomy and folder hierarchy and map them to the destination's equivalent organization system, whether that uses folders, tags, or both. |
| Users and organization members | Fully supported | Proton for Business organizes users into teams with role-based access. We extract user accounts, roles, and team membership and map them to the destination's user and permission model. Shared mailboxes on Enterprise require additional scope definition. |
| VPN configuration profiles | Mapping required | Proton VPN configuration profiles are platform-specific and tied to Proton's infrastructure. We do not migrate VPN tunnel configurations as they cannot be meaningfully mapped to other VPN providers. VPN subscription data is noted for billing reconciliation during account migration. |
| Password vault entries | Mapping required | Proton Pass stores credentials in an encrypted vault. We extract entries in a structured format and map them to the destination password manager. Because Proton Pass uses E2E encryption, the migration requires the customer's encryption key to be available during extraction. |
| Shared links and sharing permissions | Mapping required | Proton Drive generates shareable links with optional password protection and expiration. We preserve link URLs and access settings, but links to Proton infrastructure become invalid at the destination. We flag all shared links for customer review before migration to identify which need to be recreated. |
Gotchas
What to watch for in Proton migrations
Issues we've hit on past Proton migrations, tagged by severity. FlitStack AI handles every one — surfacing them up front because buyer engineering teams want to know.
Storage quota enforcement blocks all write operations at limit
End-to-end encryption keys must be available at extraction time
Mail Professional plan deprecated — no new sign-ups, migration requires plan upgrade
Large mailbox migration via Easy Switch is slow and non-streaming
Custom domain DNS migration requires manual re-verification
| Severity | Issue |
|---|---|
| High | Storage quota enforcement blocks all write operations at limit |
| High | End-to-end encryption keys must be available at extraction time |
| Medium | Mail Professional plan deprecated — no new sign-ups, migration requires plan upgrade |
| Medium | Large mailbox migration via Easy Switch is slow and non-streaming |
| Medium | Custom domain DNS migration requires manual re-verification |
Leaving Proton?
Where Proton customers move next
12 destinations Proton can migrate to.
How a Proton migration works
Four steps, Proton-specific
Connect
OAuth 2.0 into Proton. Scopes limited to read-only on the data we move.
Map
We translate Proton-specific structures (custom fields, objects, value lists) to the destination's model.
Sample
Test with a 50–200 record subset to validate Proton quirks before production.
Migrate
Full migration with Proton rate-limit handling. Rollback available throughout.
FAQ
Proton migration FAQ
Answers to the questions buyers ask most during Proton migration scoping. Not seeing yours? Book a call.
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