EMX compared
Written to be useful rather than flattering. The figures are from each provider's own pages where they render prices, and from dated third-party price lists where they do not (marked as such); everything was read on 28 September 2026, Hostpoint and Proton again on 6 October 2026. Prices change, so check the provider's page before you decide. The last section says where you should pick something else.
At a glance
| EMX | Infomaniak | Hostpoint | Proton | Fastmail | Google Workspace | Microsoft 365 | mailbox.org | Tuta | Migadu | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per mailbox and month | CHF 4 (Team), CHF 3 with your own Resend key, no VAT charged | CHF 1.76 (kSuite) to 2.29 (Mail Service) | CHF 2 to 3.50 in the first year, then CHF 3 to 7, VAT included | USD 6.99 to 19.99 (annual) | USD 3 to 9 (third-party list) | CHF 6 to 18 (Swiss resellers) | CHF 5.67 to 25.92 (official, annual) | EUR 1 to 12 | EUR 6 to 12 | USD 19 to 990 a year, flat, by sending volume |
| Mail lives in | Switzerland and the EU: messages in Geneva, the database in Germany, copies in the Netherlands and France | Switzerland | Switzerland | Switzerland | EU or US, your choice | Google's regions | Swiss regions available | Germany | Germany | not stated |
| Company | Krauss Software (Elchi Studios), a sole proprietorship, Oberägeri ZG | Infomaniak, Geneva, foundation-owned | Hostpoint, Rapperswil-Jona | Proton AG, Geneva | Australia | US | US | Germany | Germany | Switzerland |
| IMAP and SMTP | yes | yes | yes | SMTP for sending on paid plans with your own domain; IMAP only through Bridge on a desktop | yes, and JMAP | yes | yes | yes | no | yes |
| API | the web client's own API, documented | platform API; mail detail not published | not published | no public mail API | JMAP | Gmail API | Graph | "API for professionals" | no | no |
| Leaving | IMAP export and the API | IMAP | IMAP | Bridge on a desktop | IMAP, JMAP | IMAP, Takeout | IMAP, PST | IMAP | only the app's export | IMAP |
| Office suite, video | no | kDrive, OnlyOffice, kMeet | drive, document editing | Drive, Docs, Meet | no | Drive, Docs, Meet | Office, Teams | Office, Meet | no | no |
Sources: Infomaniak, Hostpoint, Proton plans with prices from a review of July 2026, Proton on SMTP submission, Fastmail with prices from Tekpon, Mixel IT on Google and Microsoft in CHF, Microsoft de-ch, mailbox.org, Tuta with prices from Atriomail, Migadu.
What the price buys
At CHF 4 a mailbox EMX is not the cheapest Swiss mail; Infomaniak and Hostpoint are, and both bundle a drive and document editing; Hostpoint also includes a calendar and an address book, which EMX does not have. What EMX charges for is the part a developer or an agency needs and the others do not sell: the API the web client itself uses, signed webhooks when a message arrives or a delivery fails, and mailboxes that can be sealed so that only the person's own devices can open them. If your people want Office and Teams, the comparison is over before it starts: take Microsoft 365, in the Swiss region.
Where the money and the trouble go
The complaints in public reviews and forums cluster on four things.
- Protocol lock-in. Proton lets a printer, a web form or another program send by SMTP on its paid plans with your own domain, but a mail app reads Proton mail only through Bridge, a desktop program, so a phone's own mail app cannot; Tuta offers no IMAP, SMTP or POP on any plan, and no IMAP-based tool can migrate out. EMX is plain IMAP and SMTP, and the API is the second door.
- Price changes. Fastmail raised its plans in 2025 and 2026; Proton repriced its business plans in 2024; mailbox.org tripled its domain fee in 2021. EMX's price is on this site and changes only with 30 days' notice (terms, 3.6).
- Limits that bite. Migadu's flat price caps outbound mail per day. EMX limits sending per person and day and per organisation and month (30,000 recipients a month on Team), and every limit is published, not discovered.
- Support. Fastmail at two days and more in reports, cyon and Infomaniak within business hours on the standard plans. EMX's support is a conversation with a person in the console or by mail to contact@elchi.dev; we aim to answer within a working day. There is no telephone support.
Sources: CyberInsider on Proton, Atriomail on Tuta, Tekpon on Fastmail's prices, Proton's 2024 price post, ComputerBase on mailbox.org, TrekMail on Migadu.
Where your mail is, and whose law applies
A US company answers to US law wherever the servers stand (the CLOUD Act). Microsoft offers Swiss regions for Exchange and Google offers EU regions; the company behind them does not change. Infomaniak, Hostpoint and Proton are Swiss companies, and EMX is run by a Swiss sole proprietorship; mailbox.org, Posteo and Tuta are German. EMX's database and copies are in Germany, the Netherlands and France, where those states' authorities can reach them through the provider under their own law. Whether that matters for you is your question; the table and the terms, Annex A, are there so you can answer it.
Where you should pick something else
You need a calendar, contacts or Exchange ActiveSync. EMX has none of them, and no mobile app of its own. Hostpoint and Infomaniak include a calendar and contacts; Microsoft 365 has all three.
You want Office, a drive and video calls in the same subscription. Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, or Infomaniak's kSuite if it must stay Swiss. EMX is mail.
You want the cheapest Swiss mailbox. Infomaniak at CHF 1.76 to 2.29 with unlimited storage, or Hostpoint.
You want end-to-end encryption between mailboxes by default. Proton or Tuta encrypt between their own users without a setup. EMX seals a mailbox for the person's own devices, which is a different promise: our servers see a message in clear while it is received or sent, and mail to and from other servers travels as ordinary mail.
You want a decade of operation behind your provider. Infomaniak, Hostpoint and cyon have it. EMX is young, and says so rather than hiding it.