StartMail

StartMail is a private email provider built by the Dutch company behind the Startpage search engine and hosted entirely on servers in the Netherlands under EU and Dutch privacy law. Accounts come with encrypted mailbox storage (server-side AES-256 with per-user keys), built-in PGP for encrypted messages to other PGP users, unlimited disposable aliases for per-site signups, custom-domain email, IMAP and SMTP access, and a webmail client that strips trackers and external-image pixels by default. There are no ads, no third-party trackers, and no behavioral profiling; StartMail's business model is the subscription fee itself, not data monetization.

The typical StartMail customer is a privacy-conscious individual switching away from Gmail or Outlook, a journalist or activist who needs jurisdiction-controlled email, a small business wanting custom-domain email without Google Workspace surveillance, or a family picking up the Custom Domain plan to route their household under a single name. Plans are priced at roughly USD 5 per month on the personal plan (paid yearly), with Custom Domain and Business tiers stacking on top. Affiliate content that converts tends to be encrypted-email comparison reviews (Proton Mail, Tuta, Mailfence), switch-from-Gmail guides, and privacy-audit blogs; StartMail's selling points for creators are Dutch jurisdiction, aliases that work without extra add-ons, and the lack of a free tier, which filters out low-intent signups.

StartMail runs its affiliate program in-house rather than through a major network. Publishers apply through the startmail.com/affiliates page, provide website and traffic details, and once approved receive tracking links, banners, and marketing copy. The program has also been syndicated through Admitad in some regions, but the direct StartMail portal is the canonical path and pays the same headline rate.

The commission model is unusual: affiliates earn 100% of Net Sales Value on any Qualified Transaction for the referred customer's first subscription year. That includes the initial yearly subscription, additional mailboxes or add-ons bought during the first year, and any monthly-to-yearly upgrade made before the first 12 months are up. Attribution runs on a 45-day cookie from click to signup. Commissions are paid monthly, roughly 30 days after the month of the qualifying transaction, via bank wire; the payout threshold is USD 100, and amounts below carry over to the next month. PPC bidding is allowed on generic privacy terms (encrypted Gmail alternative, best secure email provider) but not on StartMail brand terms or typo variants. Self-referrals, incentivized traffic, and cancelled or refunded orders are excluded.