Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

OpenPGP VS Gmail

Compare OpenPGP VS Gmail and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

OpenPGP logo OpenPGP

The most widely used email encryption standard. Defined in RFC 4880.

Gmail logo Gmail

Gmail is available across all your devices Android, iOS, and desktop devices. Sort, collaborate or call a friend without leaving your inbox.
  • OpenPGP Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-22
  • Gmail Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-02-13

OpenPGP features and specs

  • Interoperability
    OpenPGP is an open standard that's widely supported across various platforms and software, making it possible to work with many different clients and systems.
  • Security
    OpenPGP uses strong cryptographic algorithms to provide confidentiality, integrity, and authentication for communications, offering robust protection against data breaches and snooping.
  • Email Encryption
    OpenPGP is particularly well-known for its ability to encrypt emails, which is crucial for maintaining privacy in digital communication.
  • Authentication and Verification
    It provides a mechanism for signing messages, which can authenticate the sender and verify data integrity, reducing the risk of forgery and tampering.
  • Data Portability
    As an open standard, OpenPGP ensures that data encrypted or signed with one application can be decrypted or verified by another supporting application, preventing vendor lock-in.

Possible disadvantages of OpenPGP

  • Complexity
    The setup and usage of OpenPGP can be complex for non-technical users, involving key generation and management, which could lead to misuse or errors.
  • Key Management
    Maintaining and securing private keys can be cumbersome, and losing a private key can make encrypted data irretrievable.
  • Lack of Forward Secrecy
    OpenPGP does not inherently offer forward secrecy, meaning that if a private key is compromised, previous communications encrypted with the corresponding public key could be decrypted.
  • Integration Challenges
    Integrating OpenPGP into existing systems and workflows can be challenging, especially in environments that have not previously supported encryption.
  • User Adoption
    Even though OpenPGP is widely supported, its adoption among general users remains limited, which can lead to difficulties in communicating securely with others who do not use it.

Gmail features and specs

  • Generous Storage
    Gmail provides a large amount of free storage (15GB shared with Google Drive and Photos), allowing users to store a significant number of emails without frequently needing to delete old ones.
  • Integration with Google Services
    Gmail is seamlessly integrated with other Google services like Google Drive, Google Calendar, and Google Docs, enhancing productivity and ease of use.
  • Powerful Search Functionality
    Gmail’s advanced search functionality allows users to quickly and efficiently find specific emails using keywords, filters, and operators.
  • Spam and Virus Protection
    Gmail’s robust spam filter and virus protection features help in keeping your inbox safe from malware, phishing attacks, and unwanted emails.
  • Customizable Email Management
    Gmail offers various tools for organizing emails, such as labels, filters, and custom tabs, enabling users to manage their inbox efficiently.
  • Cross-Platform Accessibility
    Users can access Gmail from any device with internet connectivity, including via web browsers and mobile apps for both Android and iOS.
  • Offline Access
    Gmail offers offline access, allowing users to read, respond to, and search their emails without an internet connection.
  • Feature-Rich Interface
    Gmail’s interface includes features like smart compose, email scheduling, integrated chat, and video calls, making it versatile for both personal and professional use.

Possible disadvantages of Gmail

  • Privacy Concerns
    As a Google product, Gmail’s handling of personal data is subject to the company’s data policies, which might raise privacy concerns among some users.
  • Advertisements
    Free Gmail accounts come with targeted ads that appear in the inbox, which some users may find intrusive or annoying.
  • Complexity for New Users
    The wide array of features and customization options can be overwhelming for new users who may find it difficult to navigate and utilize all the functionalities effectively.
  • Dependence on Internet
    Though offline access is available, many Gmail features require an active internet connection to function optimally.
  • Synchronization Issues
    Some users may experience occasional issues with email synchronization across multiple devices, leading to delays or loss of recent email updates.
  • Limitation on Attachments
    Gmail has a per-email attachment size limit of 25MB, which might be restrictive for users needing to send larger files via email.
  • Potential for Over-reliance
    Given its extensive feature set and integration with other Google services, users might become overly reliant on Gmail, making it difficult to transition to other platforms if needed.

OpenPGP videos

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Gmail videos

QUITTING GMAIL - alternatives for email, calendar, contacts

More videos:

  • Review - Manage Multiple Email Accounts in Gmail - Save Time!
  • Review - The New Gmail - Everything You Need To Know

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to OpenPGP and Gmail)
Security & Privacy
100 100%
0% 0
Email
0 0%
100% 100
Encryption
100 100%
0% 0
Email Clients
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare OpenPGP and Gmail

OpenPGP Reviews

We have no reviews of OpenPGP yet.
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Gmail Reviews

  1. marksachintha
    · CEO at ShiftX ·
    Best Email Service I have ever used.
    🏁 Competitors: Slack, Microsoft Outlook, Mattermost
    👍 Pros:    No need email hosting|Can create groups/channels like slack
    👎 Cons:    Doesn't work with outlook
  2. Phil_is_ill01
    Great user interface, and ease of use. Not sure about the privacy though.

    Very happy with its offers, it has a full suite of tools. Also the user experience is great. I am not sure about the privacy though. I am not confident enough to use it for sending and receiving confidential documents.

    🏁 Competitors: Mailfence, ProtonMail
    👍 Pros:    Huge storage space|Mobile app|Easy to use|Organisation
    👎 Cons:    Security|Privacy|Data protection and security
  3. Marta Garcia
    Not good mail in terms of privacy and security

    I used to use Gmail until 4 months ago. I was really happy with this mail, it is easy to handle and, being a Google member, there are many tools available to use. However, I started to learn about the security and privacy offered by Google, which is NONE. We are selling our information and personal data to a technological giant and, many times, we are not even aware of it.

    This is why I deleted all but one of my Google-related accounts. As most people are still not aware of this, when working or contacting certain people for the first time, it is essential to do it through Gmail.

    Today, there are a few alternatives to solve this lack of privacy. After doing an intensive search and reading comments, I decided to get an account with Mailfence and, honestly, I'm very happy with their service. It's an easy to use email, with end-to-end encryption, digital signatures, calendar, document saving capabilities, ... I really recommend it for all those who are starting in the world of privacy and security. The best thing is that you can create a free account and, if you are happy with the service or need more storage space, you can switch to a paid account.

    I hope my opinion helps everyone, especially those who are thinking about whether it is really worth giving all our information in exchange for a free email.

    🏁 Competitors: Mailfence

10 Best Alternatives to Microsoft Outlook to Try in 2023
Gmail also offers a number of powerful search features that make it easy to find specific emails. For example, you can search for emails by sender, subject, or keyword, and Gmail will return all relevant results.
Source: mysignature.io
11 Top Outlook Alternatives to Try
Google Workspace users can create email addresses with a custom domain, like [email protected], while Gmail users can only make Gmail.com addresses. Google Workspace offers shared drives and more storage space.
Source: kinsta.com
Superhuman vs. Gmail: A Tale of Two Email Experiences
In contrast, Gmail caters to a broader audience, offering basic email services (vanilla Gmail) and integration with the Google Workspace suite. This entails the use of Google Mail, Google Calendar integration, limited keyboard shortcuts, Docs, Sheets, messages (via Gmail's chat feature), and more!
Source: tatem.com
ProtonMail Compares Apple to Mafia, Says App Was Forced Into In-App Purchases in 2018
Yen believes Apple's 30 percent fee harms privacy-centric apps because it's difficult for a paid app to compete with free apps like Gmail while also having to pay ‌App Store‌ frees.
Moving away from GMail
But my GMail address can be lost for many reasons, many unrelated to GMail itself. I guess you can get the address suspended for spamming or doing other things, I'm not particularly worried about that. However, ToS violations of any kind, across other Google products, can lead to a ban on your account and implicitly, on your GMail address. There are many examples: reselling...
Source: rolisz.ro

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, OpenPGP seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 4 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

OpenPGP mentions (4)

  • WKD on custom domains
    You're trusting the service (openpgp.org seems to be the only server offering this?) to serve up your correct key. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Verification Key? OpenPGP and Keys, How to acquire Verification Code
    Hello, I used openpgp.org to create a set of pgp keys, and I tested them out and all is well. I went to a web site and uploaded my pub key fine, but now it asks for a Verification Code/Key? What is that, and how do I get that off my newly created PGP keys? Thanks. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Future of Key-Pools
    Not sure, but it looks like keys.openpgp.org is up. I found a keyserver still running where I could find my public key (this one: http://pgp.mit.edu/) and uploaded it to the openpgp.org one. This seems rather recent; there's a related post on r/GnuPG. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • Keyservers are gone
    Anyways; it looks like openpgp.org is trying to get on the right side of these crowds ... Source: almost 4 years ago

Gmail mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Gmail yet. Tracking of Gmail recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing OpenPGP and Gmail, you can also consider the following products

Skizzle Email - Skizzle is the most secure way to share end-to-end encrypted files through email, backed by blockchain

ProtonMail - Secure email with absolutely no compromises. Get your free encrypted email account today.

OpenPGP Keyserver - Pool of places to publish and search OpenPGP public keys.

Microsoft Outlook - Organize your world. Outlook’s email and calendar tools help you communicate, stay on top of what matters, and get things done.

Virtru - Virtru is your data privacy force field, wrapping and protecting emails and files wherever they're shared. Easy-to-use data security software for business. People also askIs Virtru Hipaa compliant?

Zoho Mail - Zoho Mail is a secure, encrypted, and enterprise-ready email solution, a suite of apps tailor-made for your organization's needs.