"Why isn't Mailflow free?"
That's a fair question—and the answer says everything about what we believe in.
In a world where everything seems to be "free," Mailflow charges money. Not much—just $0.07 to $0.10 per email address—but we're upfront about it. No hidden costs, no surprise subscriptions, no "freemium" tricks.
But here's the thing: our paid model isn't a limitation—it's our greatest strength. It's what allows us to offer something that no free service can: genuine privacy without compromise.
Most Free Services Aren't Really Free
Let's be honest about how most "free" email services actually work. They don't charge you money, but they extract value in other ways—ways that directly compromise the privacy and simplicity you're looking for.
🆓 The "Free" Model
- Login dashboards (to show you ads)
- User accounts (to track your behavior)
- Data collection (to sell to advertisers)
- Email content scanning (for targeted ads)
- Complex interfaces (to increase engagement)
- Limited features (to push paid upgrades)
- Terms changes (to extract more value)
💰 The Mailflow Model
- No login screens needed
- No user accounts to maintain
- Zero data collection
- No email content access
- Radical simplicity
- All features included
- Stable, transparent service
The Real Cost of "Free"
Free email forwarding services build login dashboards and user portals not because they're convenient, but because they need you to visit frequently. Every visit is an opportunity to:
- Show you advertisements and collect ad revenue
- Track your behavior across their platform
- Collect personal data to sell to third parties
- Analyze your email patterns for marketing insights
- Push premium upgrades with artificial limitations
You're not paying with money, but you're paying with your privacy, your time, and your attention. The transaction is just hidden.
💡 What "Free" Actually Costs You
Privacy Loss
$50+Time Waste
2hrsSecurity Risk
PricelessMailflow Cost
$1We Chose a Different Path: Radical Simplicity and Real Privacy
When we built Mailflow, we made a conscious decision to remove every element that could compromise privacy or add unnecessary friction. This wasn't a technical limitation—it was a deliberate choice.
🚀 What Mailflow Doesn't Have (By Design)
No Login Screen
Never need to remember passwords or create accounts
No User Accounts
No personal data stored in databases
No Ads
Your attention isn't the product
No Tracking
We don't monitor your behavior
No Data Mining
Your emails are never analyzed
No Subscriptions
Pay once, use forever
Instead, we built a system where you never have to "log in" to anything. You send a command email, and that's it. Simple. Private. Invisible.
🎯 Our Design Philosophy
Every feature we didn't include was a conscious choice to prioritize your privacy over our potential profit. We could have built login dashboards, user profiles, and analytics panels. We could have shown ads or sold data.
Instead, we chose to build the email service we ourselves wanted to use: simple, private, and honest.
Why We Charge: Because Independence Costs Something
Running a secure, scalable, ad-free infrastructure without storing personal data or showing advertisements means we can't "monetize" you the way other services do.
We have real costs:
- Server infrastructure with 99.9% uptime guarantees
- Security measures to protect your privacy
- Development and maintenance of reliable software
- Customer support that's actually helpful
- Legal compliance with privacy regulations worldwide
So yes—Mailflow costs money. Ten addresses for one dollar. No subscriptions. No lock-ins. No catch.
The Independence Advantage
When you pay for Mailflow, you're not just buying email addresses—you're buying independence. Independence from:
🗽 What Your Payment Buys
Privacy Protection
No data collection, no behavior tracking, no profile building
Service Reliability
Professional infrastructure focused on uptime, not ad impressions
Product Focus
Features designed for users, not advertisers
Security Investment
Resources dedicated to protecting your communications
Real Support
Customer service that helps customers, not ad engagement
Design Integrity
Simple interfaces without dark patterns or manipulation
We Built What We Wanted to Use Ourselves
This isn't a venture-backed product optimized for maximum user acquisition and data extraction. Mailflow was built out of frustration with existing options.
We wanted something clean. Simple. No dashboards. No ads. No BS.
We wanted email forwarding that just worked without asking for our personal information, showing us advertisements, or trying to upsell us premium features.
We wanted to pay a fair price for a good service and be done with it.
This Is What Privacy Should Look Like
Real privacy isn't free because real privacy requires making choices that aren't profitable in the traditional sense:
- Choosing not to collect data that could be valuable
- Choosing not to show ads that could generate revenue
- Choosing not to track users for behavioral insights
- Choosing not to build engagement features that increase "stickiness"
- Choosing simplicity over complexity when complexity could lock users in
These choices cost money in opportunity cost, but they're the foundation of genuine privacy protection.
🔐 Our Privacy Promise
Because you pay for Mailflow, we can make promises that free services never can:
- We will never sell your data
- We will never show you advertisements
- We will never require user accounts
- We will never track your behavior
- We will never analyze your email content
- We will never change our business model to compromise privacy
These aren't just promises—they're commitments backed by a business model that doesn't depend on violating them.
The True Value of Honest Pricing
When we charge $1 for 10 email addresses, we're being completely transparent about the transaction. You know exactly what you're paying and exactly what you're getting.
Compare this to "free" services where:
- The real cost is hidden in data collection
- Terms of service can change at any time
- Features can be removed or put behind paywalls
- Your privacy can be compromised for business reasons
- The service can disappear if it's not profitable enough
Our model is sustainable, transparent, and aligned with your interests rather than opposed to them.
Mailflow is the Email System We Wish Existed
Now it does. Privacy-first, simple, honest, and built for people who value their digital independence.
Try Mailflow — 10 Addresses for $1Because This Is What Privacy Should Look Like
We believe that privacy shouldn't come with compromises. You shouldn't have to choose between convenience and security, between simplicity and protection, between affordability and honesty.
Mailflow costs a dollar because real privacy costs something. But that something isn't your personal data, your attention, or your digital autonomy.
It's just a dollar.
In a world where digital privacy is under constant attack, where free services extract value through surveillance, and where simplicity is sacrificed for engagement metrics, Mailflow represents a different choice.
A choice to pay fairly for good service. A choice to prioritize privacy over profit extraction. A choice to keep things simple when complexity could be more profitable.
That's why Mailflow is paid. And that's why it works.