I disagree. I'd rather pay a reasonable amount (try running your own mail server for $50/year) for a service than see advertisements or have the service shut down because it wasn't sustainable.

I disagree. The existing Plus plan is perfectly reasonable in price. If you can't afford that, those of us who pay are supporting your ability to use it for free. And you are always welcome to make donations if you wish to contribute in some way.

A price break for lifetime accounts sounds reasonable. I'm currently transferring my primary email communication to Protonmail and expect to be using it for at least that long.

At the current rate, thirty years of using protonmail would cost me $3000. There is no way I can I justify that.

Yes! Us students want to support you while getting some value out of paying too. Making donations makes feel guilty sooner for one with a tight budget. It would be awesome to have for example, choose one plus feature for 2$/month -plan etc. For example I have no need for many plus features, I've only used 2mb/500mb but I'd love to have more aliases and domains

Yes! Us students want to support you while getting some value out of paying too. Making donations makes feel guilty sooner for one with a tight budget. It would be awesome to have for example, choose one plus feature for 2$/month -plan etc.

Micropayments can be a nice idea or a package between the free and the plus. Price like Tutanota could be a good idea.

I don't think it's too expensive for Plus accounts, quite reasonable I feel. But I do think the jump from plus accounts to Visionary is way to wide a gap. Also, are family accounts still in the process? Cause yes, while the family may not be super concerned about privacy, thats more people that would actively be using the service, and not yahoo or gmail or something. Would like to see the family multiuser support rolling out so we can put family members together on a single domain and have stuff together.

Exactly, I think for many users there should be a cheaper option. For me the main thing it to be able to use it long-term. Which means more storage or (cheaper for developers) the ability to download and then delete the e-mails. Or forcing all users to pay, let's say 1 euro per moth (at least for students)

Well for the coffee example - maybe in Switzerland, but for many countries it's just too expensive to pay so much for ProtonMail...

I'm not sure if I agree that it's too expensive, but maybe they could add a "Backer" option with none of the added PLUS features and instead something like 1-3GB added storage.

I like Protonmail very much because of it's clear structure and layout, and I support its intention. Till now I've been using Gmail, but I'd like to stop using it. The pricing is holding me back. If I could subscribe to 3 GB for 2 €, I would do so.
Another thing is cloud storage. I guess this service costs money too, or is it just expanding your server a bit for this?

Buffet style seems practical for those on limited budgets but still want to protect their privacy. Rather than the jump to a full package of paid features, there could be a basic minimum paid package with all the other features or increasing them as optional additional costs. Those who want everything will still keep the option to pay for everything. Those who cant afford it, can pay for less features, while still helping to contribute to the cause of privacy for everyone.

I agree with this.

I don't think ProtonMail is too expensive per se, but the gap between the free account and 4€ per month is too wide.

For me, the free account is enough. If there would be a basic plan for 1-2€ per month, I would buy that nevertheless just to support the team. But for 4€/m I won't.

It's rare to find any other email service out there that offers secured mailing without cost. The security level that ProtonMail offers is great. Yes! Improvements are needed. Upgrading for storage? Yes! It's great, but more GB would be nice for those who are using ProtonMail as their primary email for work. However, it does seem a little costly considering that we are limited to adding more addresses, not having any filters or folders, as well as a calendar. I'm sure that improvements are in the works, but having better organization is key and it is making it a little hard to want to stay with protonmail. Nonetheless, looking forward to much needed improvements.

I'd also support a cheaper service and upgrade to Pro then, even for lifetime possibly. I'm currently still paying for a standard provider - considerably cheaper - but I'm also willing to pay the little extra for Protonmails special security.

Encryription has àn incalculable value To me! Lifetime price would certain make it more tolerable To others!

I don't mean to under appreciate the service but there's got to be at least two more paid levels. I guess we all want to get rid of gmail and yahoo, as someone else pointed a 2 dollar -euro a month with 2.5GB 5 accounts maybe 150 messages a day and limited support tickets would be great. I would make the jump right away.

They offered lifetime accounts on Black Friday. Keep your eyes peeled for the next time they do that. I'd start saving now if I were you.

The business model for ProtonMail is secure email, and is the whole point of using their service. You are paying for secure email and that should be the focus; features come secondary to security and privacy. (why searching through the body of an email is such a popular request is beyond me)

If you know what you are doing, maintaining your own mail server on your domain with your hardware in a physical space you can control access to would be the closest you could get; although still imperfect. But with that comes constant maintenance and vigilance, both which take up time. I see it as a good trade to pay a small monthly sum so I can have that time back and free to spend as I please.

A domain, physical server, rack space, electricity, and connection to an ISP all cost money at either a fixed cost (server, storage, memory) or a subscription (domain, rack space, electricity, ISP). If you are using a service that relies on resources that have a subscription cost, it should not be out the question to pitch in.

Services targeted for consumers are not free. Users of mail providers such as Yahoo, Google, Microsoft, etc. may not be charged with a monthly fee, but they pay for their subscription through a different medium of exchange probably not considered legal tender.

As it is now a free account is really only useful to test drive the service and see if you like it and want to continue using ProtonMail, which I think is fine. Whether ProtonMail wants to create another tier in between a free account and a Plus account is their decision, but I do not think replacing the subscription model for a fixed payment is a viable idea.

Thank you for taking time to read my wall of text.