Mailo vs Migadu

Compare Mailo and Migadu on capabilities, jurisdiction, assurance, and fit for European buyers.

Both listed as alternatives to: Gmail, Microsoft 365

Logo: Mailo

Mailo

France· Email Services

Needs review

Shortlist Mailo when you want French-entity freemium webmail with classic IMAP/EAS clients, integrated calendar/cloud, supervised Mailo Junior for kids, or Pro custom domains for SMEs—without US Big Tech accounts. Skip when you need default zero-knowledge E2EE, open-source/self-host, or a full Workspace-class suite; consider Tuta, Proton Mail, or Infomaniak kMail instead.

France-hosted (claimed)Freemium webmailMailo JuniorIMAP / ActiveSyncPro custom domainsOptional PGP (server-side)
Logo: Migadu

Migadu

Switzerland· Email Services

Needs review

Shortlist Migadu when you need Swiss-operated, standards IMAP/SMTP hosting with unlimited addresses across many domains under flat account quotas—especially agencies and multi-domain SMEs. Skip when you need provider E2EE defaults, contractual SLA on the default offer, mailbox 2FA, or bulk/transactional sending; consider Proton Mail/Tuta for E2EE, or mailbox.org/Mailfence/Posteo/Runbox for other European professional-mail tradeoffs.

Swiss operatorUsage-priced multi-domainSMTP/IMAP/POP3Mail hosted in FranceMulti-admin + APINo ads / no tracking
Mailo vs Migadu: Snapshot
FeatureLogo: MailoMailoLogo: MigaduMigadu
Country of originFranceSwitzerland
CategoryEmail ServicesEmail Services
Open sourceNoNo
Self-hostedNoNo
HeadquartersFranceSwitzerland
Legal entityMAILO SAS (capital €75,000; RCS Créteil 851585547; VAT FR44851585547)Migadu-Mail GmbH
Governing lawFrench law (terms of use)Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Swiss Confederation (terms)
US parent / controlNo known US parentNo known US parent
CLOUD Act exposure (indicative)MediumMedium
Hosting / residencyVendor states user personal data and content are stored/processed on servers in France; specialised French host centre (who-we-are); website hosted by Ecritel, Arradon, France. Named third parties: Verifone/Paybox (payment email), PayPal option, Gandi/Netim (domains), Sirdata + ad agencies (free-tier ads), optional Rainbow video and OnlyOffice. Full mail DC/backup subprocessor list not published.Mail servers stated in France (EU). Payment subprocessors Stripe and PayPal (US) for billing data. Full mail infrastructure/backup subprocessor list not published by name on primary pages.
Summary

French freemium webmail and Mail&Cloud suite (MAILO SAS): email, calendar, cloud disk, Mailo Junior for children, and Pro custom domains—hosted in France, proprietary SaaS.

Swiss-operated, standards-based email hosting for custom domains: unlimited addresses and multi-domain accounts priced by usage quotas, not per mailbox.

Tags
At a glance: Mailo vs Migadu
At a glanceLogo: MailoMailoLogo: MigaduMigadu
HQ / entityMAILO SAS, France (RCS Créteil 851585547)Migadu-Mail GmbH, Switzerland
Hosting (claimed)Servers in France; website host Ecritel (FR)Not listed
ModelFreemium SaaS (Free / Premium / Pro / Junior / Edu)Not listed
Open sourceNo (proprietary MailObject®)Not listed
Self-hostNoNo
Encryption defaultTLS + optional server-side PGP (not ZK E2EE)Not listed
FoundedNot listed2014 (vendor About)
Mail hostingNot listedData centers in France (vendor Pro/Cons)
Commercial modelNot listedFlat per-account plans by daily message quotas + soft storage
Open source product?Not listedNo — built on open-source stack; service is proprietary SaaS
OwnershipNot listedBootstrapped; no outside capital (vendor claim)
Key capabilities: Mailo vs Migadu
Key capabilitiesLogo: MailoMailoLogo: MigaduMigadu
France-hosted (claimed)YesYes
Freemium webmailYesNot listed
Mailo JuniorYesNot listed
IMAP / ActiveSyncYesNot listed
Pro custom domainsYesNot listed
Optional PGP (server-side)YesNot listed
Swiss operatorNot listedYes
Usage-priced multi-domainNot listedYes
SMTP/IMAP/POP3Not listedYes
Multi-admin + APINot listedYes
No ads / no trackingNot listedYes

Mailo

  • French-hosted webmail with IMAP, EAS, and classic protocols

    Webmail plus IMAP4 for clients, Exchange ActiveSync for mobile sync, and POP3 on paid tiers; SMTP relay with account credentials. Vendor states mail and content stay on servers in France. Free tier is ad-supported with lower quotas; Premium unlocks POP3, more aliases, and larger mail/cloud caps. Suits teams that need standard desktop/mobile clients rather than a closed proprietary app only.

  • Mailo Junior supervised email for children

    Child accounts (about ages 6–14) only exchange mail with contacts a parent or teacher validates. Age-adapted mini/junior UIs, no ads on Junior, optional promotion to a standard account while keeping the address. Separate Junior mobile apps. Unique fit for families and schools versus generic consumer mail.

  • Calendar, virtual disk, and open sync protocols

    Shared calendars and tasks, address book, photo albums, and a virtual disk for files with WebDAV/FTP access. CalDAV and CardDAV for external clients. Premium+ can unlock OnlyOffice in-browser editing. Better as an all-in-one Mail&Cloud for SMEs/families than bare IMAP-only privacy mail.

  • Mailo Pro spaces: custom domains and mutualised storage

    Pro Start/5/Modulo style plans share mail+cloud quota across accounts, support custom domains (register, transfer, or declare external), distribution lists, mailbox sharing, resource calendars, and manager tooling. Priority Pro hotline with documented acknowledgement and restoration targets for Pro subscriptions. Aimed at TPE/PME, associations, and municipalities—not a full Google Workspace clone.

  • Optional server-side PGP and account security controls

    Built-in PGP/MIME encrypt and sign in the webmail as a trusted third party (keys managed on Mailo for multi-device convenience). Two-factor authentication, application passwords, connection history, and guardianship-style access options. Not zero-knowledge E2EE by default—use external client crypto if the provider must never hold keys.

Migadu

  • Usage-metered accounts with unlimited addresses

    Plans are flat per Migadu account. Within daily in/out quotas and soft storage guidance, create large numbers of mailboxes and host many domains without per-address fees—useful for agencies and multi-project teams. Soft storage does not hard-bounce mail; sustained over-quota use can force upgrades or limits.

  • Standards SMTP, IMAP4, POP3, and webmail

    No proprietary client protocol. Connect Thunderbird, Apple Mail, Outlook, mutt, and others over TLS (typical endpoints imap.migadu.com:993, smtp.migadu.com:465, pop.migadu.com:995). ManageSieve filtering, aliases, pattern rewrites, identities, footers, auto-responders, and optional catch-alls cover classic postmaster needs. Data remains portable via standard protocols.

  • Multi-domain admin, multi-admin, and beta API

    Agencies can hold many client domains under one roof, open multiple administrators (domain-scoped on higher plans), set per-domain/mailbox limits, and monitor traffic. A REST API (documented as early beta) manages domains, mailboxes, identities, forwardings, aliases, and rewrites for automation. Domain deletion stays UI-only as a safety measure.

  • DNS helpers and postmaster-style support

    Optional built-in DNS ships mail records preconfigured; Migadu also offers DNS setup help at no extra fee and publishes diagnostics/activation flows. Support is ticket-based from people who operate the mail stack—not outsourced chat—with plan-dependent urgency outside office hours.

  • No ads, no product analytics cookies

    Vendor policy states no advertising, no tracking of mailbox content for ads, and no website analytics cookies beyond session needs. Processing is framed for service delivery, abuse prevention, and legal obligations. Payment data still goes to Stripe and PayPal under separate processor terms.

Assurance & compliance: Mailo vs Migadu
Assurance & complianceLogo: MailoMailoLogo: MigaduMigadu
Independent security / no-logs audit
Not found

Charter claims no commercial reading of messages; automated AV/spam scanning on servers. No public third-party audit PDF found.

Not found

Vendor claims no ad scanning/sharing of mail content; no public third-party audit PDF located.

ISO 27001
Not found

No ISO 27001 claim found on legal/security/primary pages researched.

Not found

Data centers described as internationally certified; no Migadu-organization ISO 27001 certificate found on primary pages.

SOC 2 / SOC 3
Not found

No SOC 2/3 report referenced on public product pages.

Not found
GDPR / EU data protection
Vendor claimed

French controller; privacy rules cite GDPR and French correspondence secrecy; DPO at dpo@mailo.com; France storage claim.

Vendor claimed

Privacy policy asserts GDPR and Swiss DPA compliance; mail hosted in France per vendor.

US CLOUD Act exposure (indicative)
Partial

EU entity / no known US parent / France-claimed mail hosting, but Verifone and PayPal (US-group) on payment path; full infra subprocessors unpublished. Assessment only—not legal advice.

Partial

Swiss entity, no known US parent, mail in France; Stripe and PayPal process payments with US transfers. Infrastructure subprocessors not fully named. EuropeanStack assessment—not a vendor certification. Not legal advice.

Data processing agreement (B2B)
Not found

Privacy rules and terms cover processing; no standalone public B2B DPA download found—request via DPO or Pro channel.

Vendor claimed

Privacy page states it serves as privacy policy and DPA; confirm suitability with counsel.

EU AI Act
Not applicable

Traditional email/cloud suite; not marketed as an AI system product.

Not applicable

Email hosting product; not an AI system offering.

Considerations & known limitations: Mailo vs Migadu
Considerations & known limitationsLogo: MailoMailoLogo: MigaduMigadu
PGP is server-side trusted third party
Medium

Webmail PGP holds keys on Mailo for multi-device use. Provider-access risk differs from zero-knowledge E2EE defaults at Tuta/Proton. Use external crypto if that is a hard requirement.

Not listed
Incomplete public subprocessor inventory
Medium

Privacy rules name payments, domains, and free-tier ads, but not a full list of mail storage, backup, or anti-spam infrastructure vendors. Request annex for B2B risk review.

Not listed
US-group payment processors
Low

Checkout shares email with Verifone/Paybox; PayPal is also offered. Limited to billing path per privacy rules, but relevant to CLOUD Act diligence.

Not listed
Free tier third-party advertising
Low

Mailo Free shows ad banners via agencies under IAB TCF consent (Sirdata CMP). Premium removes ads. Ad cookies stated as not tied to Mailo profile.

Not listed
No public ISO/SOC or independent security audit
Medium

Security posture relies on first-party statements and internal measures. Procurement teams may need questionnaires or NDA evidence.

Not listed
Free accounts deleted after inactivity
Low

Mailo Free unused for 365 days can be deleted with content loss. Premium/Pro have different retention rules—plan backups and renewals.

Not listed
US payment subprocessors (Stripe, PayPal)Not listed
Medium

Billing-related personal data can transfer to US processors under Migadu’s privacy policy. Mail content path is France/EU per vendor, but payment data is a separate CLOUD Act / transfer surface.

Incomplete public infrastructure subprocessor listNot listed
Medium

Primary pages name France hosting and certified DCs without a full vendor inventory for compute, storage, and backups. Procurement should request the current list and regions in writing.

No E2EE product default; no classic mailbox 2FANot listed
Medium

Standards mail with TLS; vendor recommends user-side OpenPGP for strong content secrecy. IMAP 2FA is not offered; app-specific-style identities are not second-factor MFA.

Daily quotas and human-mail policyNot listed
Medium

Account-wide daily in/out caps and anti-bulk rules make Migadu unsuitable as a transactional/marketing ESP. Over-limit mail can be deferred or rejected after tolerance.

No default SLA on standard plansNot listed
Low

Vendor states standard offers lack SLAs; email is treated as asynchronous and occasionally disrupted. Enterprise SLA only via separate commercial discussion.

No public independent security auditNot listed
Medium

Privacy and no-ad-scanning claims are first-party. No independent audit report found for no-logs or security controls.

Fit

Mailo

Best fit when

  • EU individuals and families wanting French-hosted mail with calendar and cloud disk in one account
  • Parents/schools needing supervised child email (Mailo Junior) with contact allow-lists
  • French SMEs, associations, and municipalities needing custom domains and mutualised Pro storage
  • Teams that depend on IMAP, EAS, CalDAV, CardDAV, or WebDAV rather than a locked-in app
  • Buyers who accept freemium ads on free tier or low-cost Premium rather than pure prepaid anonymity mail

Poor fit when

  • Orgs that require default end-to-end encryption with zero-access provider architecture
  • Buyers that need open-source server code or official self-hosting
  • Enterprises needing SOC 2 / ISO 27001 evidence already published on a trust centre
  • Heavy Google Workspace / Microsoft 365 collaboration suites (docs/drive ecosystem depth)

Consider instead when

  • When: You need zero-knowledge / default E2EE webmail

    Consider: Tuta or Proton Mail

    Mailo PGP is optional and server-side trusted third party

  • When: You want German privacy mail with different encryption/product posture

    Consider: Posteo or mailbox.org

    Compare protocols, storage bundles, and business features side by side

  • When: You need Swiss multi-product cloud with mail plus broader suite

    Consider: Infomaniak kMail

    Different country stack and product breadth

  • When: You need US Big Tech ecosystem integration at any cost

    Consider: Gmail or Microsoft 365 / Outlook.com

    Trade EU entity and France residency claims for ecosystem depth

Migadu

Best fit when

  • Agencies and freelancers hosting many client domains under one account with multi-admin or API provisioning
  • Organizations that want custom-domain mail with standard clients and portable IMAP—not a proprietary suite lock-in
  • Teams tired of per-seat pricing for large address spaces with modest real traffic
  • Buyers who value a small bootstrapped Swiss operator that publishes blunt product limits
  • Setups that need aliases, rewrites, identities, SIEVE, and postmaster-style controls more than collab apps

Poor fit when

  • Primary need is end-to-end encrypted mail by default (Proton Mail, Tuta, or user-side OpenPGP workflows)
  • High-volume transactional, marketing, or bulk outbound mail
  • Requirement for default contractual SLA, phone support, or multi-language admin UI
  • Mandatory mailbox 2FA on every IMAP login
  • Want a free long-term plan or Migadu-branded @provider addresses without owning a domain

Consider instead when

  • When: You need provider-managed end-to-end encryption as the default product promise

    Consider: Proton Mail or Tuta

    Migadu is standards hosting with TLS; content secrecy against the operator is not the design center.

  • When: You want another European professional host with a different admin/encryption/residency package

    Consider: mailbox.org, Mailfence, Posteo, or Runbox

    Compare DPA detail, audit packaging, and whether multi-domain usage pricing still wins for your address sprawl.

  • When: You need full workspace suite (docs, meet, identity) rather than email hosting alone

    Consider: Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or Infomaniak-style European suites

    Migadu deliberately stays postmaster-focused.

  • When: You need bulk or high-rate application email

    Consider: A dedicated ESP (not Migadu); Amazon SES is the common Big Tech baseline—pair with EU ESPs if residency matters

    Migadu rate-limits and bans intentional bulk use.

Open questions for due diligence

Mailo

  • Will Mailo sign a GDPR Article 28 DPA with a full subprocessor and transfer annex for Pro customers?
  • What is the named primary data-centre operator and backup/DR location beyond the France and Ecritel website-host statements?
  • Is there an independent penetration test, ISO 27001 roadmap, or customer-available security whitepaper?
  • Where is Rainbow (video) and OnlyOffice data processed relative to the France mail claim?
  • Current UGAP / public procurement listing status for French public buyers?

Migadu

  • What are the current named mail hosting, backup, and ancillary subprocessors and their countries?
  • Can Migadu provide ISO/SOC evidence for the organization or only DC-level certifications?
  • Is an independent security or penetration-test summary available under NDA?
  • Does the privacy-page DPA meet your controller’s mandatory clauses without a separate signed agreement?
  • What encryption-at-rest and key-management practices apply today versus the older public pro/con narrative?