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Developer Tools · head to head

Earthly vs Proton Mail

Earthly logo

Earthly

Developer Tools

Engineering guardrails for the AI era

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Proton Mail logo

Proton Mail

Cybersecurity

Secure email that protects your privacy

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Earthly pricing model not published; requires sales contact; Proton Mail paid plan pricing not displayed on vendor site
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Earthly and Proton Mail actually diverge.

Attributes where Earthly and Proton Mail differ
AttributeEarthlyProton Mail
Pricing modelNo pricing published on websitefreemium
PlatformsWeb, CLIWeb
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity
Founded2020Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Earthly

  • Policy as code
  • Multi-stage enforcement
  • AI agent governance
  • Repository-wide policies
  • Incident response automation
  • Compliance management
  • Earthfiles build tool
  • Satellites

Only in Proton Mail

Nothing recorded that Earthly does not also cover.

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Earthly

  • Enforcing engineering standards across AI and human developersnot Proton Mail
  • Automating incident response procedures across all repositoriesnot Proton Mail
  • Embedding compliance requirements into development workflowsnot Proton Mail
  • Standardizing build processes with Earthfilesnot Proton Mail

Proton Mail

  • Encrypted email communicationnot Earthly
  • Privacy-focused email servicenot Earthly
  • Family email protectionnot Earthly

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Earthly

  • Pricing model not published; requires sales contact
  • Earthly Lunar is a recent launch (2025) with limited track record
  • Primarily GitHub-focused; limited integration with other platforms
  • No public documentation on pricing or feature tiers

Proton Mail

  • Paid plan pricing not displayed on vendor site
  • Free tier limited to 1 GB storage
  • Free tier limited to single email address

Pricing, plan by plan

Earthly

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Earthly review.

Proton Mail

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Proton Mail review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Earthly if

  • You need policy as code.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI.
  • You also want multi-stage enforcement.
Earthly review

Choose Proton Mail if

  • You want to start without paying.
Proton Mail review

Questions people ask

Is Earthly or Proton Mail better?
Neither clearly leads. Earthly starts at Free and Proton Mail at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Earthly or Proton Mail?
Earthly starts at Free and Proton Mail at Free.
Does Earthly or Proton Mail run on more platforms?
Earthly runs on Web, CLI. Proton Mail runs on Web.
Can I use Earthly for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Earthly best used for?
Earthly is most often used for enforcing engineering standards across ai and human developers, automating incident response procedures across all repositories, embedding compliance requirements into development workflows, standardizing build processes with earthfiles. Of those, enforcing engineering standards across ai and human developers and automating incident response procedures across all repositories are not what Proton Mail is typically brought in for.
What can Earthly do that Proton Mail cannot?
Earthly covers Policy as code, Multi-stage enforcement, AI agent governance, Repository-wide policies.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Earthly: What is the difference between Earthfiles and Earthly Lunar?

Earthfiles is an open-source build tool that reached 12,000 GitHub stars and is used by companies like NVIDIA, Intel, and Databricks. Earthly Lunar is a separate governance platform launched in 2025 for enforcing standards across development workflows.

Source
Proton Mail: Is there a free version of Proton Mail?

Yes, Proton Mail offers a free plan with 1 GB storage, 1 encrypted email address, and basic features like folders, labels, and filters.

Source
Earthly: How does Earthly Lunar enforce standards?

Lunar converts engineering standards, compliance requirements, and processes documented in AGENTS.md files, wikis, and incident postmortems into enforceable guardrails that apply consistently across repositories and development stages.

Source
Proton Mail: What does the Mail Plus plan include?

Mail Plus includes 15 GB storage, 10 encrypted email addresses, support for 1 custom domain, 10 hide-my-email aliases, priority support, and access to Proton Calendar.

Source
Earthly: What is the pricing for Earthly Lunar?

Pricing is not published on the website. Interested customers should contact Earthly's sales team for current pricing and feature tiers.

Source
Proton Mail: What is included in Proton Unlimited?

Proton Unlimited provides 500 GB storage, 15 email addresses, 3 custom domains, unlimited hide-my-email aliases, access to Mail, Calendar, VPN, Drive, and Pass, plus dedicated support.

Source
Proton Mail: Does Proton Mail offer a money-back guarantee?

Yes, Proton Mail provides a 30-day money-back guarantee for paid plans.

Source
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