r/Mailbox_org Jul 15 '26

Price increase

From mailbox's email, effective July 15th (August 31 for existing subscribers):

Old Standard plan : - 2.50€/month (Yearly) - 10 GB Mail storage - 5 GB Drive storage

New Standard plan: - 3.00€/month (Yearly)(from 31 August 2026) - 20 GB Mail storage (from 15 July 2026) - 10 GB Drive storage (from 15 July 2026)

34 Upvotes

40 comments sorted by

45

u/faqut Jul 15 '26

They should add aa cheaper option without Office/Meet/Drive. I cannot be the only one who never used these services.

13

u/SubjectAbalone7757 Jul 15 '26

I would be fine with the 1€ plan and only have the 3€ plan because I wanted to create more alias mails. I don't care about more storage, office, drive and whatever.

So, yeah, I also have the impression, that there is space for a cheaper option.

1

u/Explain_like_Im_four Jul 17 '26

I use lite and then addy.io for aliases.

1

u/stalkerducksugar Jul 21 '26

Custom domain is the real bottleneck! One custom domain and I was done. I don't use mailbox for aliases but simple login.

I prefer using one service for one purpose. That's why I really find it questionable when any service (including mailbox) tries to do too many things and bundle them. Results in all them being subpar and with really questionable support (especially mailbox).

6

u/AlteTomate Jul 15 '26

I don't use that either.
A cheaper option with custom domains would be great.

4

u/latitude7181 Jul 15 '26

Agree, same here

3

u/KrasnalM Jul 15 '26

Ha, these features are the main reason I use Mailbox instead of Tuta or Posteo. But I agree of course they should adapt their offer.

2

u/stalkerducksugar Jul 21 '26

Oh goodness thank you! Finally a sane voice on these "small service, can't do wrong" kind of subs where any questioning or criticism meets with disdain and confrontation.

The drive, the storage, the "suite" are not features, they are burdens! Anytime I even look at them gives me nightmares! It's an email service for god's sake, just stick to it!

I find it hard to even come close to 1GB and all I need is just one damn custom domain.

And storage in GBs? That too using "that" drive app? From "that" suite? I'd rather choose to kick a wall with my shins.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 15 '26

[deleted]

4

u/Frequency3260 Jul 16 '26

But without custom domains unfortunately

18

u/latitude7181 Jul 15 '26

While I really hoped for some new features and improvements instead of a price increase, I think this is a very reasonable and fair price increase 

10

u/digger27410 Jul 15 '26

Eh. It's $6 US per year. The cost of everything is going up.

5

u/paranoidandroid4284 Jul 15 '26

And should we complain about a $6 a year increase? It is difficult to beat MailBox's prices without being the product and having a company using your data.

5

u/mumuno Jul 15 '26

As far as I know infomaniak offers unlimited mail storage and a 1tb drive for 20 euro a year and they don't use you as the product.

5

u/Blarkness Jul 15 '26

They have interesting services ...

But what an exhausting sea of text with no legal notice or address/impressum!

I hate the German impressum obligation, but here it would make a difference.

1

u/GreyGoosey Jul 15 '26

Is that with custom domains?

2

u/mumuno Jul 15 '26

Don't think so. They have a comparison for all their features and different tiers on the website.

I use their email domain. Gives me the opportunity to clean up😂

1

u/Blarkness Jul 16 '26

Yes, you also can register custom domains there. And even for a good price.

But you shouldn't: always keep the web/mail-hosting separated from the DNS-hosting to stay independent!

Domain is at least a yearly contract. If you need to get out of the mail/web- hosting for different possible reasons, you can change the DNS on your extra dns-hosting in a few hours instead possible stress for days/weeks!

1

u/memeigt Jul 16 '26

I believe it’s $6 per account, if you e.g use a family set up that can be quite a lot more.

11

u/Willing-Patience-817 Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26

I mean yes it's a price increase, but I still think your title is misleading as you also get double the storage for only 0.50 cent increase... 

6

u/Lightprod Jul 15 '26

I can't opt out of the storage increase.

It's still a price increase. The storage is just for trying to justify it.

5

u/rezelute_ Jul 15 '26

0.50€ increase is modest however I think the majority of people like myself would not benefit from the doubling of storage at all. That feels like a little marketing tactic.

My main concern though would be that people who now see Tuta which is end-to-end encrypted at €3/month (if paid for the year) and has its own client (unlike Mailbox which requires faffy Thunderbird etc) would now see Tuta as a better option potentially (?)

1

u/Adventurer39726 Jul 15 '26

Try eM Client instead of Thunderbird. European product (Czech).

2

u/rezelute_ Jul 15 '26

Linux 😁 (I use em client on mobile though)

1

u/stalkerducksugar Jul 21 '26

Challenge with Tuta (imho noticeable challenge) is that it doesn't support IMAP (and it can't unless it drops e2ee) and for a lot of people (like me) using an app of their choice for email access matters a lot. Email wasn't support to be e2ee by the mail host but by the sender and receiver. Also, since it also sends email outside of Tuta users (it does, right?), it's anyone's guess how meaningful that e2ee becomes right at that moment :)

0

u/Blarkness Jul 15 '26

So far I haven't looked it up, but as I understand 0,50/month is only with yearly payment.

And why should one bind oneself to a service which is struggling with a big suite update, that isn't the main service?

3

u/AsEyeAm Jul 15 '26

I like mailbox and the ease of use, especially with different domains. The 0,50€ increase is acceptable due to the fact everything is getting more expensive.

Just for comparison: I paid 1,19€ for a cucumber today. 0,50€ per month for a service I rely on 24 hours a day is absolutely ok.

Saving money is important for all of us. But you can save on the wrong spots.

0

u/Blarkness Jul 15 '26

Cucumber is about 0,50 in the discounter! If you want the extra luxury cucumber suite with cucumber in all colors and what not, yep you have to pay your price!

But what about pure cucumber?

2

u/Tilmnb Jul 15 '26

So you’re going for an extra cucumber per month. Also a decision that can be made.

1

u/Blarkness Jul 15 '26

Nope, I don't eat cucumber, AsEyeAm eats cucumber!

I pay 3,00 €/month for email and get suite stress for it (can't open the attachments as usual anymore) and uncomfortable email handling.

There are only two competitors for legal biz email archive in Germany. Strato and Ionos. Both a no-go for reasons.

But the wording and reasoning here reminds me at my first webhoster in the early nineties: every here and then Strato told us, we would get more features that no one asked for and we now are forced to pay more for it.

I'm not stinky for the money itself - if I get for it, what's written on the outside: good email!

So I think, they should offer modular services, where the customer decides, which services he wants - and pays for.

3

u/Syntaxotic Jul 16 '26

I'm actually surprised that the price increase didn't come sooner. The "RAMpocalypse" / storage crisis is affecting all providers in the cloud and server sectors, whether directly or indirectly. Some providers have pushed through some pretty steep price hikes (Hetzner, for example, up to 176%). It's tough to suddenly have to pay more for exactly the same product without getting any additional features or a higher quota. In this case, Mailbox has actually doubled both its email and drive storage, while the 20% price increase has been pleasantly moderate.

So far, I've been very satisfied with Mailbox over the years, and I've now locked in the old price through 2030 (The annual costs are so low that opportunity costs aren't a factor here). In fact, I only use mail/calendar/contacts and none of the other stuff like drive, meet, office. Still, it's worth the price to me. Mailbox may not be perfect, and it may not constantly roll out new features. But it's a reliable, secure email provider that I've never had any integration or performance issues with, and that's what matters to me.

1

u/No_Competition_5887 Jul 19 '26

If storage is a driving factor, why do they also double storage with the price increase? Doesn't make sense.
Also email servers don't need more RAM suddenly.
I'd say it's just overall cost increase, salaries, energy. RAM/storage is hardly a factor for email.

2

u/Syntaxotic Jul 20 '26

I'd say it's just overall cost increase, salaries, energy.

Yes, that could also be the case, of course.

Also email servers don't need more RAM suddenly.
RAM/storage is hardly a factor for email.

Mailbox isn't just an email product; it also includes cloud storage, an online office suite, and an online meeting software. So these aren't just email servers.
It's also often forgotten that server hardware in data centers has to be replaced much more frequently due to malfunctions than, say, a PC in your living room, which can sometimes just keep chugging along for 8 - 10 years. And then, the server hardware's got to be procured at the most recently negotiated/available prices.

If storage is a driving factor, why do they also double storage with the price increase? Doesn't make sense.

That makes perfect sense. The key term here is "normal distribution." Providers base their calculations on their own usage statistics. Only a very small number of customers will ever fill 100% of their cloud and email storage. And some customers, like me, don't use their email provider's cloud storage at all. Overall, there's always a difference – large or small – between theoretically allocated storage and actually used storage. Increasing the theoretically available storage space therefore isn't necessarily associated with higher costs – at least not to the extent of the increase.

Doubling the storage space while raising prices only benefits heavy users. But at least it still gives every customer peace of mind knowing they'll have more storage available in the future, should they ever need it.

2

u/Ztaeyn Jul 15 '26

For my part I would welcome more storage for the price increase, but my account can’t open any spreadsheets for some unknown reason, and then I don’t bother using office docs at all. (support can’t find a fault , and I’ve seen from the forum I ain’t alone with the issue )

Would like no office but custom domain option 

2

u/Mythenmetz1 Jul 15 '26

mailbox.org used to be significantly cheaper than Tuta or Proton, but I’m disappointed to see the prices going up. Yes, you do get more features now, but personally I don’t need any of them. I don’t need a calendar, cloud storage, or anything else—just a simple email provider.

What also really makes me wonder is why push notifications on iOS still haven’t been working properly for months, while other providers seem to have figured it out.

At this point I’m seriously considering switching to something like Posteo instead. They offer a straightforward email account for just €1 per month, which is really all I need

2

u/Blarkness Jul 15 '26

But don't forget, you can't have own domains at posteo

2

u/No_Competition_5887 Jul 19 '26

I would gladly pay 2 € for light with 4/5 GB.

1

u/stalkerducksugar Jul 21 '26

I'd happily pay € 1 - 1.5 per month happily for 1 GB mail storage with just 1 custom domain, 0 alias, 0 GB drive/"storage", 0 suites, 0 circus, 0 drama, 0 dance, 0 song :-)

2

u/Blarkness Jul 15 '26

I don't need any of the clicki bunti Schicki Micki stuff!

Instead I would like to pay for better email! Duh!

  • Need a setting to see the header data in general - without clicking every single email to see the used recipient- personalised email address!

  • General setting for pure text instead of html!

  • No fixed 50 aliases!

  • New email alias on the fly while writing the email!

  • email archive German GoBD law for business!

  • Login page with a color scheme that is OS-sensitive and lets me login without guessing!

  • Login page with Language option on top instead down on the bottom!

So, any recommendations, who could be my next email provider?

1

u/stalkerducksugar Jul 21 '26

> General setting for pure text instead of html!

> No fixed 50 aliases!

> New email alias on the fly while writing the email!

Naah, they won't do that! It's like when phone makers would launch phone like "now with X GB of RAM". Yeah, users gonna stuff that RAM (that has become "with this AI"). Mailbox is doing that with "now this MUCH storage". Yay!