Compare Cloud Mail and Mailfence on capabilities, jurisdiction, assurance, and fit for European buyers.
Both listed as alternatives to: Gmail, Microsoft 365, Outlook.com
Italy· Email Services
Needs review
Shortlist Cloud Mail when you need Italian-operated, managed domain email with Plesk, Roundcube, CalDAV/CardDAV, and pre-delivery antispam on Seeweb infrastructure. Skip when you need end-to-end encrypted / zero-access mail (consider Proton Mail or Tuta) or a full Workspace/365 productivity suite (Google Workspace / Microsoft 365).
Belgium· Email Services
Needs review
Shortlist Mailfence when you want Belgian-operated webmail with interoperable OpenPGP, digital signatures, and a light calendar/documents suite—plus optional business private-label or on-prem license. Skip when you need automatic closed E2EE without key management (consider Tuta), a large Swiss privacy ecosystem (Proton Mail), or a minimalist German mailbox (Posteo / mailbox.org).
Highlighted rows differ between the two products.
| Feature | Cloud Mail | Mailfence |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Italy | Belgium |
| Category | Email Services | Email Services |
| Open source | No | No |
| Self-hosted | No | No |
| Headquarters | Italy | Belgium |
| Legal entity | Seeweb S.r.l. (VAT IT02043220603), Via Armando Vona 66, 03100 Frosinone | ContactOffice Group sa, Avenue Franklin Roosevelt 47b, B-1050 Brussels (BE 0466.241.584) |
| Governing law | Italy / EU (forum of Frosinone referenced in general conditions) | Belgian law; Brussels courts (Terms of Use) |
| US parent / control | No known US parent | No known US parent |
| CLOUD Act exposure (indicative) | Low | Low |
| Hosting / residency | Seeweb-operated European infrastructure (proprietary DCs in Milan and Frosinone; group facilities also listed in Lugano, Zurich, Sofia). Cloud Mail backups: daily off-site to another Seeweb data center using IBM Spectrum Protect software. CISPE materials claim European territorial storage for covered cloud services. No public AWS/GCP/Azure hosting path found for this product. | Primary production servers described as located in Belgium under Mailfence operational control (no intermediary managing servers per security page). No public AWS/GCP/Azure subprocessor list found. Backups stored in locations separate from offices/main DC (providers not named). Payment-card processing path not fully published. |
| Summary | Seeweb’s managed professional domain email: Plesk admin, Roundcube webmail, CalDAV/CardDAV, pre-delivery antispam, and daily off-site backups on Italian/EU infrastructure. | Belgian secure email suite with browser-side OpenPGP encryption, digital signatures, calendar, documents, and optional custom domains under ContactOffice Group SA. |
| Tags |
| At a glance | Cloud Mail | Mailfence |
|---|---|---|
| HQ | Frosinone, Italy (Seeweb S.r.l.) | Not listed |
| Group | DHH (Euronext Growth Milan) since 2020 | Not listed |
| Product type | Managed domain email hosting | Not listed |
| Admin / webmail | Plesk + Roundcube | Not listed |
| Protocols | IMAP, POP3, SMTP, CalDAV, CardDAV | Not listed |
| Open source product | No (managed service; Roundcube is the webmail UI) | Not listed |
| Self-hosted product | No | Not listed |
| Commercial model | Paid storage/mailbox packs; domain required; WhiteLabel available | Free tier + prepaid paid plans; Business packaging (see vendor site) |
| HQ / entity | Not listed | Brussels — ContactOffice Group sa (BE 0466.241.584) |
| Product launch | Not listed | Mailfence brand ~2013; ContactOffice lineage since 1999 |
| Crypto | Not listed | OpenPGP E2EE + digital signatures; optional password-encrypted messages |
| Hosting | Not listed | Vendor-operated servers in Belgium (per security page) |
| Open source | Not listed | No (front-end OSS planned; not current) |
| Self-host | Not listed | SaaS default; Business license for large on-prem deployments |
| Independent audit | Not listed | No public audit PDF found |
| Key capabilities | Cloud Mail | Mailfence |
|---|---|---|
| Managed domain email | Yes | Not listed |
| Plesk administration | Yes | Not listed |
| CalDAV / CardDAV | Yes | Not listed |
| ISO 27001 (claimed) | Yes | Not listed |
| CISPE CoC (claimed) | Yes | Not listed |
| Italian / EU operator | Yes | Not listed |
| EU-operated (Belgium) | Not listed | Yes |
| OpenPGP E2EE | Not listed | Yes |
| Digital signatures | Not listed | Yes |
| Mail + calendar + docs | Not listed | Yes |
| Custom domains (paid) | Not listed | Yes |
| B2B DPA available | Not listed | Yes |
Plesk domain mail admin (mailboxes, aliases, forwards)
One admin account manages mailboxes, passwords, aliases, forwards, and auto-replies in Plesk, with quota/usage visibility per account. Suited to SMEs and resellers who want classic hosting-style control without running their own MTA.
Roundcube webmail + IMAP/POP3/SMTP on mail.truemail.it
Users access mail via Roundcube (webmail.truemail.it) or standard clients. Docs publish IMAP/POP3/SMTP endpoints with STARTTLS and SSL port options for Outlook, Thunderbird, Apple Mail, and mobile. CalDAV and CardDAV cover calendar and contacts sync.
Managed pre-delivery antispam/antivirus (no default spam folder)
Centralized filters check sender IP/domain behaviour and content before the message is accepted. Rejected spam is returned to the sender rather than filed in a default spam mailbox; false positives are handled via ticket or report@postmaster.seeweb.it. Accuracy is not claimed to be 100%.
Daily off-site backups (IBM Spectrum Protect, 30-day history)
Incremental daily backups run to a remote Seeweb data center using IBM Spectrum Protect software. Deleted mail can be requested for recovery within about 30 days; restores recover the backed-up set rather than individual selected messages, so IMAP is recommended.
Scalable domain packs + WhiteLabel resale
Plans scale from small 5 GB / 5-mailbox packs through large multi-hundred-GB packs with matching mailbox counts (up to on the order of 1,280 mailboxes). A domain is required at activation. WhiteLabel supports partners who resell branded mail on Seeweb’s managed stack.
Browser-side OpenPGP end-to-end encryption
Encrypt outbound mail in the browser with the OpenPGP standard so intermediaries—including Mailfence when messages are properly E2EE—cannot read ciphertext. Fully interoperable with other OpenPGP tools (e.g. Thunderbird/GnuPG). Optional password-encrypted messages cover recipients who do not use PGP. Unencrypted mail still sits on servers in the normal webmail model.
Digital signatures and multi-key OpenPGP keystore
Sign messages for authenticity and integrity, and manage keys in-product: generate, import, export, publish, and hold multiple key pairs without browser plug-ins. Default generated keys are 4096-bit per the threat-model page. Passphrase protection of private keys limits crypto operations if only the account password is compromised.
Mail, calendar, documents, and groups in one account
Beyond inbox: shareable calendars, online document storage/editing, and contact groups for collaboration without bolting on a separate US suite. Storage and alias limits scale by plan; free accounts remain suitable only for light personal use.
Custom domains, aliases, and mail protocols on paid tiers
Higher plans add custom domains with SPF/DKIM/DMARC-oriented setup, larger alias counts, and classic client access (POP, IMAP, SMTP) plus ActiveSync where listed. Entry-level free accounts focus on web/PWA/apps rather than full protocol parity—verify the live plan matrix before procurement.
Business admin: API, SSO, private label, optional on-prem license
Mailfence for Business offers control-panel and XML-RPC API user provisioning, SSO and directory hooks (LDAP/AD/CAS), branding, and Belgian cloud hosting with SLA language—or a license to run on customer Linux servers for large deployments. Fit for orgs that need Belgian hosting with admin automation, not a consumer-only mailbox.
| Assurance & compliance | Cloud Mail | Mailfence |
|---|---|---|
| Independent security / no-logs audit | Not found No public third-party no-logs or mail-specific penetration audit PDF found for Cloud Mail; ISO ISMS certs are separate. | Not found No public third-party audit PDF found. Vendor mentions security specialists, bug bounty activity, and inspection openness—not a substitute for a published audit. Privacy policy documents operational metadata collection (not zero-logs). |
| ISO 27001 | Vendor claimed Vendor certifications page: ISO/IEC 27001:2022, scope includes mail services; AXE REGISTER cert IT18-27702D (listed valid until 28 Nov 2027). Not independently re-verified in a public registry by this draft. | Not found No Mailfence ISO 27001 certificate claim found on primary security/GDPR/company pages. |
| ISO 27017 / 27018 (cloud) | Vendor claimed Published on certifications page as appendices to the ISO 27001 certificate; mail services in process scope. | Not listed |
| SOC 2 / SOC 3 | Not found Not listed on the public certifications page. | Not found |
| GDPR / EU data protection | Vendor claimed Italian controller entity, named DPO, privacy policy under GDPR; product marketed as GDPR-oriented; CISPE CoC adherence claimed. | Vendor claimed Belgian controller/processor materials; dedicated GDPR page and technical/organisational measures overview. Confirm roles in your DPA. |
| CISPE Code of Conduct | Vendor claimed Certifications page: Seeweb cloud services adhere to CISPE; claims storage exclusively within European territories for covered services. | Not listed |
| US CLOUD Act exposure (indicative) | Partial EuropeanStack assessment: EU entity, DHH European group, no known US parent; public hosting story is Seeweb EU DCs and CISPE EU territory claim; backups on Seeweb off-site DCs (Spectrum Protect software, not described as US cloud mailbox SaaS). Residual gaps: no full public subprocessor list; antispam uses external reputation services not named on the docs page. Not legal advice. | Partial EU entity (ContactOffice Group sa), no known US parent; servers claimed self-operated in Belgium without named US hyperscaler hosts. No formal public subprocessor inventory; payment processors not named. Assessment residual: partial transparency on data path. Not legal advice. |
| Data processing agreement (B2B) | Not found No downloadable product DPA found on the marketing site; general conditions reference GDPR processing and the privacy notice. Request Art. 28 terms for mail content before go-live. | Vendor claimed Downloadable DPA linked from the GDPR page for organisational customers. |
| EU AI Act | Not applicable Cloud Mail is conventional email hosting, not an AI product. | Not applicable Email/collaboration suite; not an AI system under typical procurement framing. |
| Considerations & known limitations | Cloud Mail | Mailfence |
|---|---|---|
| Subprocessor / antispam feed list not public | Medium Docs mention reputation services for antispam but do not publish a complete subprocessor table. Procurement should request the current list and transfer safeguards. | Not listed |
| Backup restore is set-based, not single-message | Low 30-day off-site history is useful, but restores recover the backed-up set; plan operational recovery expectations and prefer IMAP. | Not listed |
| Pre-delivery reject without default spam folder | Low Strong filtering can block legitimate senders; there is no user-visible spam quarantine by default—use tickets/reporting workflows. | Not listed |
| Not zero-access / E2EE-first mail | Medium Provider-managed conventional mail. Choose encrypted peers if the threat model assumes a compromised host provider. | Not listed |
| B2B DPA not prominent on site | Medium Treat contract/DPA negotiation as a gate for regulated workloads until Art. 28 terms and roles (controller/processor for mailbox content) are signed. | Not listed |
| No public independent security audit | Not listed | Medium If vendor risk requires a published audit letter, ISO 27001, or SOC 2, treat Mailfence as incomplete until evidence is obtained offline or under NDA. |
| Closed-source SaaS | Not listed | Medium Cannot independently review server code or default-self-host like some FOSS mail stacks. Business on-prem license is a commercial path, not community self-host docs. |
| E2EE is opt-in OpenPGP, not automatic | Not listed | Medium Clear-text messages are operator-readable at rest. Users must encrypt/sign deliberately; training and policy matter for regulated content. |
| Operational metadata retention | Not listed | Low Privacy policy lists IP, message-IDs, addresses, subjects, and related fields for operations, abuse control, and legal process—not a zero-logs design. |
| Limited public subprocessor inventory | Not listed | Low Strong first-party claims of internal hosting, but no AWS-style public subprocessor table; confirm payment and support tooling in procurement. |
| US CLOUD Act (indicative) | Not listed | Low No known US parent; Belgian self-operated hosting narrative. Residual unknown payment/SaaS paths. Not a legal safe harbour guarantee. |
When: You need zero-access / end-to-end encrypted mailboxes as the primary control
Consider: Proton Mail or Tuta
Different product class: E2EE-first vs conventional managed IMAP hosting
When: You need mail plus full productivity suite and global enterprise ecosystem
Consider: Google Workspace or Microsoft 365
Trade EU-operator focus for suite breadth and US-jurisdiction diligence
When: You want another European professional domain-mail host for comparison
Consider: Migadu, Mailfence, or Combell E-mail
Compare admin model, spam handling, restore RPO, and contract artifacts
When: You want automatic encryption for all messages with minimal key management
Consider: Tuta
Different crypto model; less OpenPGP interop emphasis than Mailfence.
When: You want a larger Swiss privacy suite brand and ecosystem apps
Consider: Proton Mail
Trade Belgian ContactOffice ownership and PGP-centric UX for Proton’s broader product family.
When: You want a lean German ad-free mailbox without suite features
Consider: Posteo or mailbox.org
Simpler mailbox posture; different admin/domain/crypto tradeoffs.
When: You need full Google/Microsoft productivity and compliance tooling
Consider: Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace (accept US-cloud risk) or EU office suites if residency is the driver
Mailfence is not a drop-in M365 replacement.