Head-to-head · Email
Gmail vs Mailfence
Which one to pick in 2026 — comparing 🇺🇸 Gmail with the European alternative 🇪🇺 Mailfence on the things that actually decide who can read your data.
🇺🇸 Gmailvs🇪🇺 Mailfence
Verdict
Who has stronger privacy guarantees by law?
Mailfence — GDPR-native and outside the US CLOUD Act / FISA 702 reach.
Which one encrypts your data end-to-end by default?
Mailfence ships E2E encryption by default. Gmail does not.
Which one tracks you for ads?
Gmail relies on ad tracking. Mailfence doesn't.
Which one is open source?
Mailfence is not fully open source — check details.
Side-by-side
Gmail vs Mailfence — full comparison
Criteria
🇪🇺 Mailfence
🇺🇸 Gmail
Headquarters
Brussels, Belgium
Mountain View, USA
Jurisdiction
EU (Belgium)
USA (CLOUD Act, FISA 702)
Data location
EU (Belgium)
Global, US-controlled
GDPR-native
Yes
No
CLOUD Act / FISA exposed
No
Yes
Ad tracking
No
Yes
End-to-end encryption
Yes
No
Open source
No
No
Ownership
Private (ContactOffice)
Alphabet Inc.
Founded
2013
2004
Make the switch
Try Mailfence instead of Gmail
Belgian end-to-end encrypted email with OpenPGP.
Other European alternatives to Gmail