Posteo
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersBerlin, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
Posteo firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Posteo
- Legal name
- Posteo e.K.
- Website
- https://posteo.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Posteo is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Berlin
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Posteo business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Subscription Revenue: Posteo generates 100% of its revenue from user subscriptions at 1 EUR per month. The company is entirely user-funded, forgoing investors, government funding, advertising partners, and bank loans. This model enables complete independence and allows the company to operate without tracking users or selling data.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Standard email account with 4 GB storage |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
Posteo product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Posteo sells a flat-rate, ad-free secure email subscription at 1 EUR per month that bundles an email mailbox, webmail client, calendar, address book, and notes under a single account. The service is differentiated by zero personal-data collection, anonymous registration and payment, one-click end-to-end encryption of all mailbox data, 100% green-energy operations, and BSI-certified secure email transport. It is offered directly to individual consumers and selected organisations via a fully self-serve website.
Product overview
Posteo is a single, unified privacy-focused email service based in Berlin, Germany. The core offering consists of the Posteo Email Service combined with the proprietary Posteo Web App (webmailer), which provides integrated calendar, address book, and notes functionality—all under one account. Users can add optional add-ons including the S/MIME encryption add-on and use the built-in Migration Service for data transfer. The product emphasizes end-to-end encryption (PGP, S/MIME, crypto mail storage), zero-tracking, anonymous payment, and 100% green energy operation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Posteo Email Service Core subscription product delivering an ad-free, privacy-focused email mailbox with 4 GB of upgradeable storage, 3 upgradeable alias addresses, two-factor authentication (TOTP), professional spam and virus protection, and compatibility with all devices and apps via IMAP/POP3. Targeted at individual consumers and small organisations that want an alternative to mainstream data-trading email providers.
- Posteo Web App Proprietary browser-based webmail client bundled with the Posteo Email Service, offering colour themes, Dark Mode, attachment browser with photo stream, and full management of email, calendar, address book, and notes.
- Posteo Calendar Integrated calendar with 3 included calendars, CalDAV synchronisation, ICS sharing, calendar encryption at the touch of a button, external calendar subscription, ICS import/export, email reminders, and birthday display from the address book.
- Posteo Address Book Encrypted address book with CardDAV synchronisation for iOS, Android and other clients, address-book encryption at the touch of a button, VCF import/export, and birthday display in the calendar.
- Posteo Notes Encrypted notes functionality integrated with the Posteo web app, allowing users to store private notes that can be encrypted with the same one-click mechanism as emails, calendar, and address book.
- Posteo Migration Service Free, self-developed migration service that transfers existing mailboxes over encrypted connections directly to Posteo without any third-party provider involvement. Supports 3 migrations per account, including emails, appointments, addresses, and folder structures from many other providers, plus an email collector function to pull mail from previous accounts.
- Posteo S/MIME Add-on Optional add-on that enables S/MIME encryption for email using S/MIME certificates, providing an additional layer of end-to-end encryption on top of Posteo's existing PGP support. Targets users who need S/MIME-compatible secure email workflows.
Quantifiable outcome
- Only German email provider offering Forward Secrecy for all email protocols
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Posteo
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Posteo technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature10 records
Posteo partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Green Planet EnergycorePosteo is 100% powered by green energy from Green Planet Energy (formerly Greenpeace Energy). This partnership is central to Posteo's sustainability positioning and is prominently featured in all marketing materials.
- UmweltbankminorPosteo maintains its finances with Umweltbank, an ethical bank focused on environmental projects.
- GLS BankminorPosteo maintains its finances with GLS Bank, a German cooperative bank focused on social and ecological banking.
- RIPE NCCminorPosteo participates in RIPE NCC, the regional Internet registry for Europe, Middle East, and parts of Central Asia, indicating compliance with Internet governance standards.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Posteo competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Tuta (Tutanota): Tuta is a German secure email provider offering end-to-end encrypted email, calendar, and contacts. It is the closest direct competitor to Posteo, sharing the German base, privacy-first positioning, and consumer/SMB target market.
- Proton: Proton is a Swiss privacy company offering Proton Mail alongside VPN, Drive, Calendar, and Pass. It directly competes with Posteo in secure consumer email and represents the most prominent venture-funded competitor in the same category.
- Mailbox.org: Mailbox.org is a Berlin-based email provider focused on privacy, ad-free service, and data protection. It targets similar privacy-conscious consumers and small businesses in Germany and competes directly with Posteo on secure, sustainable email.
- Fastmail: Fastmail is an established independent email provider offering paid, ad-free personal and business email with strong privacy practices. It serves a similar paying customer base seeking mainstream email alternatives to Big Tech.
- Hushmail: Hushmail is a Canadian secure email service offering encrypted webmail with a long-standing presence in the privacy email market. It targets professionals and small businesses needing HIPAA-compliant secure communication, overlapping with Posteo's privacy-focused offering.
- StartMail: StartMail is a Dutch secure email service from the makers of Startpage, offering encrypted email with PGP support. It directly competes with Posteo in the European privacy email segment with a comparable subscription model.
Emerging players
- Runbox: Runbox is a Norwegian independent email provider offering privacy-focused, ad-free email services on renewable energy infrastructure. It overlaps with Posteo on sustainability and privacy positioning but serves a smaller user base.
- CounterMail: CounterMail is a Swedish secure email provider offering OpenPGP-encrypted email with diskless servers. It targets a niche similar to Posteo's privacy-conscious users but with a smaller scale and narrower feature set.
- Disroot: Disroot is a Dutch non-profit privacy-focused platform offering email, cloud storage, and collaboration tools. It overlaps with Posteo on privacy values and sustainability ethos but competes primarily on a free, community-supported model.
- Kolab Now: Kolab Now is a Swiss-hosted, privacy-respecting email and collaboration suite targeting individuals and SMBs. It competes with Posteo on data sovereignty and Swiss/EU data residency, with a comparable subscription model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Posteo social profiles
Digital presencePosteo compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Posteo financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Posteo leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Posteo funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Posteo 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 Posteo
What does Posteo do?
Posteo sells a flat-rate, ad-free secure email subscription at 1 EUR per month that bundles an email mailbox, webmail client, calendar, address book, and notes under a single account. The service is differentiated by zero personal-data collection, anonymous registration and payment, one-click end-to-end encryption of all mailbox data, 100% green-energy operations, and BSI-certified secure email transport. It is offered directly to individual consumers and selected organisations via a fully self-serve website.
Is Posteo a public or private company?
Posteo is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Posteo founded?
Posteo was founded in 2009. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Posteo based?
Posteo is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Posteo make money?
One revenue line is on record: subscription Revenue.
Who are Posteo's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Tuta (Tutanota), Proton, Mailbox.org, Fastmail, Hushmail and StartMail. Emerging players are Runbox, CounterMail, Disroot and Kolab Now.
Does Posteo have an API?
No public API is recorded for Posteo.