As far as I know there is no good free way to use Thunderbird. Protonmail blocks Thunderbird behind a paywall and tuta doesn't let you use Thunderbird at all you will probably have to make a compromise there.
this post was submitted on 09 Apr 2025
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Privacy
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thank you I did that joined free version of infomaniak works on thunderbird
Gmail is not free. You pay with your data. How much is your data worth to you? spend that in a service like Mailbox.org, Posteo.de, or any other that respects your privacy.
I agree, they would be the last resort for me
Proton.me or tuta.com though neither will work with thunderbird (proton offers a bridge for paid subscribers)
I use Nextcloud's calendar, which works with any client that's compatible with CalDAV, and my ISP's email service with AnonAddy and SimpleLogin redirects.
Nextcloud’s calendar,
Caldav sounds great as I sync my android calendar app ok as well as perhaps I could integrate it into my thunderbird in Windows
do they offer a calendar space for you to integrate or it is a self-hosted option only as Self-hosting isn’t really an option for me
Nextcloud offers a free account for home users through one of their partner companies, if you go to their signup page. That includes storage space, calendar access, and the ability to sync your calendar & contacts. If you want to pick your own provider, there are reviews on many in the Nextcloud forum. I've used Woelkli's Nextcloud instance for years and never had any problem with them, but I think they may not currently be open to new accounts.
Thank you "Nextcloud offers a free account for home users" would be a very good option I have started testing infomaniak at present although nextcloud would also be good choice best
I've heard good things about Infomaniak. Whatever works for you!
They do have a a plan for corporations, for other end users the main path is self-hosting. Which is not hard, alternatively, there are known provides that you can sign up with, however. Most of them are paid services. In general, in one way or another have to pay for things, nothing is 100% free.
However there may be some free services but they are likely very limited or there is the issue of whether you want to trust them with your data.
There's infomaniak which provides something like the Google Suite called kSuite. They also have a email service that does support IMAP/POP3 which would allow you to use Thunderbird.
Btw will you switch to Linux?
UPDATE just started a free account with infomaniak so far happy with infomaniak except the free email extensions like @ik.me @etik.com or @ikmail.com addresses whether will be accepted / recognized by institutions like banks etc
I was considering infomaniak until I have read some comment , user cannot get a solution or a response because of some emergency situation Please share your experiences with infomaniak. No to linux since many apps I have depends on windows I am afraid
I have no experience. I just know that they do provide the kSuite.
free replacement for Gmail
have you tried infomaniak? They also have a calendar and an online office suite... and their free plan is nice (paid user here) ;)
Thank you indeed just started a free account with infomaniak so far happy with infomaniak except the free email extensions like @ik.me @etik.com or @ikmail.com addresses whether will be accepted / recognized by institutions like banks etc
I was considering that until I have read come user comment saying that user could not contact them at all when some mulfunction have you had a good experience as a paid user, please share your experience if you could,
Experience is great so far but I have send my very first help request... yesterday evening. Will see when/if I get an answer, but it's not even about any issue just a question about some stuff I could not understand ;)
appreciate your response. just created mine and trying to discover the details please keep sharing your experience and or any tips best
Got their reply this morning (it's early evening when I type this), useful but leading to one more question on my part. Wait and see ;)
Thanks for the heads up!
I also reached out to support and got a pretty generic reply: "If your question is different, please reply." So I did, but still no response.
Adding or editing the calendar on Infomaniak through Thunderbird can be hit or miss—sometimes the server is down or just busy. It seems to be working fine now, though.
I already moved my Google Calendar and deleted the calendar on my Google account
I found a bunch of complaints -several pages- from other users about Infomaniak, but then I stopped collecting them. I can share them here if you’re interested!
Most entertaining info : "We never share your personal data with third parties without good reason" https://www.infomaniak.com/en/legal/confidentiality-policy
There is no viable alternative to Gmail. That's why its still as popular as it is despite privacy concerns.
