Skiff Alternative: Skiff Mail vs Tuta
Skiff vs Tuta: Key differences
Encryption: Both Skiff and Tuta use end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for their email services as well as their calendars. Tuta as well as Skiff Mail always store incoming and outgoing emails encrypted, even if sent unencrypted.
However, Tuta's encryption is superior to Skiff's: Tuta is the only email service that automatically encrypts all emails, all calendars and also all of your contacts by default. Key generation, key handling, key exchange – all of this happens automatically in the background while the private key is still only accessible by the user. In addition Tuta is the only private email solution that is already working on updating its encryption algorithms to harden the encryption against attack from quantum computers
Security: In addition to encryption, both Tuta and Skiff have security measures, including two-factor authentication (2FA), secure password reset and identity verification. Neither Tuta nor Skiff Mail use PGP or Open PGP, because the PGP standard does not encrypt the subject of your messages.
Privacy: For doing privacy right, it is not enough to have top-notch encryption. At Tuta, we own our servers and network infrastructure ourselves instead of using third party services which would lead to sensitive data being leaked. While this causes a lot of effort, it is important so that we can protect our users' data to the maximum. As a result, no third party can know IP addresses of our users. Skiff, on the other hand, uses AWS as its mail server, so Amazon has access to your IP address, UserID and SessionId. In addition, Skiff uses Cloudflare as DDoS protection. Cloudflare DDoS protection usually works in such a way that the TLS endpoint is Cloudflare. This means the TLS encryption ends at Cloudflare and Cloudflare has access to UserIDs, IP addresses and SessionIds of Skiff users.
We at Tuta go the extra mile to keep your data safe from any third party company or US surveillance: Instead of using Cloudflare, Amazon servers, or Google Push, we make sure that all of these tasks are handled in-house and that no one can get access to your private emails.
Open Source: According to Skiff’s whitepaper regarding their security practices, the Skiff Mail client was open source since day one. However some of Skiff’s products are being open-sourced throughout 2023. Tuta’s email apps and browser version as well as the calendar have been open source since the launch. Subsequently we’ve built our own open-source captcha, push notifications and desktop clients to make sure that we do not depend on third-party closed-source services or leak any data to these.
Skiff is based in the US, a country known for its surveillance measures, while Tuta is based in Germany, a country with strong privacy protections. At Tuta, we own our own servers and our service is GDPR-compliant.
Business features: In terms of complimentary business features in addition to email, Skiff currently has the advantage of also including cloud storage, shared documents and files, offering a comprehensive solution for teams and organizations. Skiff allows users to create encrypted documents, collaborate in real-time, and manage access permissions for team members. It integrates with popular tools like Slack, Google Drive, and GitHub, making it seamless to work within existing workflows – though one must note that files stored in Google Drive are not encrypted end-to-end.
Tuta is also planning to launch an end-to-end encrypted cloud storage solution in the near future. Our focus in this regard is more on security than on third-party integrations. We launched the PQ Mail project in 2020 and we have a working prototype that lets us encrypt emails with a hybrid protocol combining our proven encryption algorithms with post quantum secure algorithms. We will stay ahead of the quantum computing "arms race" and make sure that your data stays secure, even when quantum computers will be able to break currently used encryption algorithms, by upgrading all Tuta email accounts to the PQMail algorithms. Additionally, when our cloud storage solution will be ready to launch, it will benefit from the same post-quantum security.
Skiff Mail includes some functionalities not included in Tuta Mail, but potentially useful to business users, like the ability to unsend an email. On the other hand, Skiff has very limited customization options, whereas Tuta has a fully customizable whitelabel version, which is often a must-have for business users. This feature in Tuta gives you the unique option to customize the look and feel of Tuta, place the login on your website and let's you even adapt the notification message to external recipients of end-to-end encrypted messages.
Sustainability: While Skiff doesn’t have any sustainability initiative, Tuta uses 100% renewable electricity for all its servers as well as its offices. We believe tech companies can and should help advance sustainability actions. A private, secure and encrypted email service that is also the most sustainable option is a choice you can feel good about!
Pricing: Both Tuta and Skiff operate on a freemium model. Tuta’s plans for private users cost the same as their Skiff counterparts, but the features in Tuta are more extensive with more storage, more email alias addresses and more custom domains included in each plan.
For business users, Tuta has three options, two plans that are cheaper than their Skiff counterpart and one at the same price level as Skiff’s Business plan but with different features. Ultimately, you can always experiment by creating free accounts on both platforms and see which workflows and products best suit your needs. Tuta also has a 14-day money-back guarantee in case you are not happy with any of our personal or business plans.
Skiff vs Tutanota - Which Is Best?
Best Skiff Alternative: Summary
Tuta and Skiff are two secure communication platforms that provide alternatives to mainstream email providers. While Tuta focuses on encrypted email services, Skiff takes a broader approach by offering secure collaboration and file sharing solutions. While both services share similar goals, Tuta is the much better option when you want to protect your privacy.
Both Tuta and Skiff Mail offer robust security features. Plus, it's great that both have a free version that let's you test the basic features. However, Tuta definitely has an advantage in terms of security and privacy, as we own our servers and infrastructure. Skiff on the other hand makes use of third-party services like Amazon and Cloudflare, leaking personal information like IP addresses about their users to these tech giants.
Tuta excels as an encrypted email provider with its user-friendly interface and strong emphasis on easy-to-use encryption. Skiff, on the other hand, offers a more comprehensive solution for secure collaboration, extending its encryption beyond emails to include files and documents. When choosing between Tuta and Skiff, consider whether you require primarily encrypted emails or a broader collaboration platform for your specific use case, but keep in mind that Skiff is not the best option to protect your private data.
Tuta is the best email service for those who value security and want to create a new email address, especially if they need to use their custom domains and their own custom branding.
With Tuta you can have end-to-end encrypted email, calendar, and business email features all in one place, making it easy to stay organized and productive.
US vs Germany
Skiff is headquartered in the US in San Francisco, with offices based in 5+ countries in the US, Egypt, Israel and France. While information on the location and ownership of their servers is not readily available to the public, it’s clear that they fall under US jurisdiction with its significantly worse privacy laws than in Germany.
Skiff was launched six years after Tuta. Therefore, several features on Skiff are not fully available, like calendar event reminders for their desktop clients which are not yet supported, the current lack of inbox rules and the fact that some of their products are still being open-sourced throughout 2023, according to the company.
Until June 2023 Skiff has raised a total of $14.2M in funding over four rounds. The company currently has 27 VC investors, including Sequoia Capital and Ethereum Foundation.
The latter also means that Skiff Mail is financially motivated to embrace the cryptocurrency space. While being able to pay with crypto anonymously is also supported in Tuta, we do not endorse the cryptocurrency space for multiple reasons. First, most cryptocurrencies have a negative impact on the environment. Second, the cryptocurrency space is not the most trustworthy one, with several crashes of what were supposed to be stablecoins. Keep in mind, several crypto investment funds turned out to be frauds that only came to light after mid-2022.
When you consider the above, Skiff’s massive marketing budget and aggressive growth, it’s possible that their focus might be more on a quick and profitable exit, than on a long-term vision for their products.
Tuta has taken the opposite approach when it comes to funding. We want to ensure that any decision making about our products is not biased by any investors and that we always focus our number one priority on the interest of our users: that of maximum security and privacy – no matter if they are on a free plan or paying subscribers. Also, we are to stay true and committed to sustainability.
Both services, Tuta and Skiff Mail, are open source and end-to-end encrypted. Both offer secure login, password reset, client-side search as well as spam and phishing protection. The two privacy-first providers make sure that you’re not tracked through remote content like images. Both Tuta and Skiff Mail are preferable to legacy email providers like Gmail, Outlook or Zoho Mail.
Tuta is premiering E2E encryption resistant to post-quantum attacks and plans to launch cloud-based storage in the future. If your priority is the highest level of security, or if you need a business email that you can customize according to your brand identity, then Tuta is the best email provider for you to create an email address.
Switch to Secure Emails Today
Tuta is open source so security experts can verify the code that protects your emails. Our Android app is Google-free making Tuta the best open source email service.
Tuta - the email alternative that respects your right to privacy.
With its all-round end-to-end encryption and its clear focus on open source, Tuta is the best email provider when it comes to convenience, security and privacy. We have replaced the need for IMAP by building the Tuta desktop clients for Windows, Linux and Mac OS that also support offline mode. Our next development steps include conversation view and email import. Our vision with Tuta is to become a full-fledged email alternative with a calendar, notes, cloud storage - everything encrypted by default.