Riseup.net
Riseup.net is a Seattle-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit autonomous tech collective, founded in 1999, that provides secure email, VPN, mailing lists, and collaboration tools for activists and grassroots social-movement organizations worldwide, funded entirely by user donations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1999
- HeadquartersSeattle, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Riseup.net does
Riseup.net (legally Riseup Networks) is a Seattle-headquartered 501(c)(4) nonprofit operating since 1999 as an autonomous tech collective that provides secure online communication tools for people and organizations engaged in liberatory social change. Its core products include personally encrypted email (Riseup Email with the TREES encryption project), a personal VPN service (RiseupVPN, transitioned onto the LEAP/Bitmask platform) for censorship circumvention and traffic encryption, and Sympa-powered mailing lists for activist organizations; supporting tools include Roundcube-based webmail, Etherpad for collaborative editing, Crabgrass-based private wikis, file-sharing, and full v3 Tor onion service coverage of all major endpoints. The underlying stack runs on Debian GNU/Linux with full disk encryption, no IP address logging, and email transit logs purged daily.
The organization is funded entirely by voluntary user donations — individuals are asked for $5–$15 per month and $60 per year for VPN, while organizations are asked to contribute at least 1% of their annual budget — with no investors, no parent company, and consensus-based governance by volunteer collective members worldwide. Distribution is entirely self-serve via web access and Tor onion services, with marketing limited to word-of-mouth within activist networks, a newsletter, documentation, and seasonal fundraising appeals. The only disclosed external capital event is a $100,000 grant from Mozilla in 2017.
Riseup.net firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Riseup.net
- Legal name
- Riseup Networks
- Website
- https://help.riseup.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1999
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Riseup.net is a Seattle-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit autonomous tech collective, founded in 1999, that provides secure email, VPN, mailing lists, and collaboration tools for activists and grassroots social-movement organizations worldwide, funded entirely by user donations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Riseup.net industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Secure Email and Communication Services
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)
- SIC
- Communications Services, Nec (4899)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Secure/Encrypted Messaging (BPAMACAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Decentralized Bandwidth & Connectivity (bandwidth marketplaces, VPN, ISP/last-mile DePIN) (FSAPALAD)
Keywords
Where Riseup.net is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seattle
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Riseup.net business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations
Revenue model
- User Donations: Riseup is funded entirely by donations from users. Individuals are asked to contribute $5-$15 per month, with organizations asked to contribute at least 1% of their annual budget. The service is free to use but relies on voluntary contributions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free email and mailing list services with suggested donation of $5-$15/month for individuals |
| Freemium | Annual | Free VPN service with suggested donation of $60 USD per year |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Riseup.net product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Riseup.net provides secure online communication tools for activists and groups working on liberatory social change. Its core offerings include IMAP-based email with personally encrypted storage (where only the user holds the decryption keys), a no-account VPN service for censorship circumvention and traffic encryption, mailing lists powered by Sympa, and collaborative tools (pads, file sharing, wikis). All services are operated on Debian GNU/Linux servers with no IP address logging and are accessible via Tor onion services.
Product overview
Riseup.net is an autonomous tech collective since 1999 providing a suite of secure communication tools for people and groups working on liberatory social change. The core offering includes secure email with personally encrypted storage (Riseup Email), personal VPN service (RiseupVPN) for censorship circumvention and traffic encryption, and mailing list services (Riseup Mailing Lists) for activist organizations. Supporting collaboration tools include Riseup Pad (real-time collaborative text editor), Riseup Share (file/pastebin sharing), and Riseup Groups/we.riseup.net (private wikis and group collaboration). The platform also provides webmail access, account management, help desk support, and Tor Onion Services for anonymous access. Riseup positions itself as an alternative to surveillance-funded corporate services, emphasizing privacy, security, and democratic control of communication infrastructure.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Riseup Email Secure email service with IMAP support, featuring personally encrypted storage where only the user holds the decryption keys, no IP address logging, and end-to-end OpenPGP support. Free to use with a 1GB storage quota.
- RiseupVPN Personal VPN service for censorship circumvention, location anonymization, and traffic encryption that routes all internet traffic through an encrypted connection to riseup.net. Requires no account registration or configuration and is available for GNU/Linux, macOS, Windows, and Android.
- Riseup Mailing Lists Mailing list service for activist organizations, powered by the Sympa mailing list engine running on Debian GNU/Linux servers. Used for organizing and coordinating within social movements.
- Riseup Pad Real-time collaborative text editor (Etherpad-based) at pad.riseup.net for group document creation and editing.
- Riseup Share File upload service at share.riseup.net providing pastebin and imagebin functionality for sharing text and images.
- Riseup Groups (we.riseup.net) Private wikis and group collaboration platform at we.riseup.net, built on Crabgrass social wiki software, for activist organizations.
- Riseup Webmail Browser-based email access at mail.riseup.net, powered by Roundcube webmail with enhanced security features.
Quantifiable outcome
- No IP addresses retained for any user for any service
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Riseup.net
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Riseup.net technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration30 records
Feature6 records
Riseup.net partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Riseup LabscoreRiseup Labs is a sister organization that accepts tax-deductible donations (501(c)(3)). Riseup.net donations are not tax-deductible, so users wanting tax-deductible options are directed to Riseup Labs.
- LEAP PlatformcoreRiseup plans to transition to using the LEAP platform for improved encryption and security. LEAP (LEAP Encryption Access Project) provides technology for easy-to-use encrypted communication.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Riseup.net competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Proton (ProtonMail / Proton VPN): Proton offers end-to-end encrypted email and a VPN product, directly overlapping Riseup's core offerings. While Proton is a venture-backed commercial company and Riseup is a donation-funded nonprofit, both target privacy-conscious users with end-to-end encryption and no-log policies, making Proton the primary commercial analogue.
- Tutanota: Tutanota is a Germany-based encrypted email provider focused on end-to-end encryption, comparable in user-facing security posture to Riseup Email. It is a relevant direct peer in the secure / encrypted email category.
- Disroot: Disroot is a privacy-focused, community-funded collective providing email, cloud storage, pads, and collaboration tools — a near-structural twin of Riseup's collective, donation-funded model. It is one of the closest direct peers in mission, funding, and product breadth.
- Autistici/Inventati: A long-running Italian activist tech collective offering email, mailing lists, VPN, and collaboration services on a donation-funded, no-logging model. It is directly comparable to Riseup in mission, structure, and threat model.
- Mullvad VPN: Mullvad is a privacy-focused VPN provider with anonymous account creation, no-log policies, and a strong reputation among activists. It is the closest commercial peer to RiseupVPN in values and threat model.
- May First / People Link: A member-led cooperative providing hosting, email, and VPN services to progressive organizations and activists. The cooperative, mission-driven structure and focus on movement-based technology make it a structural peer to Riseup.
Broad incumbents
- Calyx Institute: A U.S.-based nonprofit providing privacy-focused internet services including a VPN (Calyx VPN) and educational resources. It overlaps with Riseup's mission and is a relevant incumbent in the activist-privacy nonprofit space.
Emerging players
- Purism: Purism builds privacy-respecting hardware and services (Librem Mail, Librem One VPN) for activist and security-conscious users. It is an emerging peer in the broader privacy-tech ecosystem that intersects with Riseup's VPN and email offerings.
Others
- Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): The EFF is a leading digital rights organization that advocates for and educates on the privacy and security issues Riseup is built around. While not a direct product competitor, it is a key ecosystem and thought-leadership peer in the activist-tech space.
- LEAP Encryption Access Project: LEAP is the open-source encrypted communications platform that Riseup is migrating to and already uses as the basis for RiseupVPN. As a technology partner and infrastructure provider, LEAP is a strategically important ecosystem peer.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Riseup.net social profiles
Digital presenceRiseup.net financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Riseup.net leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
Riseup.net funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Riseup.net M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Riseup.net
What does Riseup.net do?
Riseup.net provides secure online communication tools for activists and groups working on liberatory social change. Its core offerings include IMAP-based email with personally encrypted storage (where only the user holds the decryption keys), a no-account VPN service for censorship circumvention and traffic encryption, mailing lists powered by Sympa, and collaborative tools (pads, file sharing, wikis). All services are operated on Debian GNU/Linux servers with no IP address logging and are accessible via Tor onion services.
Is Riseup.net a public or private company?
Riseup.net is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Riseup.net founded?
Riseup.net was founded in 1999. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Riseup.net based?
Riseup.net is headquartered in Seattle, United States, in the North America region.
How does Riseup.net make money?
One revenue line is on record: user Donations.
Who are Riseup.net's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Proton (ProtonMail / Proton VPN), Tutanota, Disroot, Autistici/Inventati, Mullvad VPN and May First / People Link. Calyx Institute is listed as a broad incumbent. Purism is listed as an emerging player. Others are Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and LEAP Encryption Access Project.
Does Riseup.net have an API?
No public API is recorded for Riseup.net.
What industry is Riseup.net in?
Riseup.net's product category is Secure Email and Communication Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMACAG, Secure/Encrypted Messaging, with a secondary code of FSAPALAD, Decentralized Bandwidth & Connectivity (bandwidth marketplaces, VPN, ISP/last-mile DePIN). Its NAICS code is 5182 and its SIC code is 4899.