To answer your question, from my limited experience: no.

There are better or less shitty companies like Fastmail, Runbox (tried them), even Purelymail (but 1 or 2 people setup), Mailbox (shitty support, solid setup; I am a customer), Migadu (good name, I have never used them), there's Tuta (but somehow they seem off to me; like Proton they also do not allow IMAP/POP - Proton allows with some circus), MXRoute has good name at places like LET forum. There's even Zoho if you just a mail service (but then if you use Zoho then only reason to not use Google or MSFT will be cost or just the middle finger :D) … and many more.

So there are options.

PS. as per self hosting email - I can't self host my seedbox properly on a VPS, I don't think I should even try email :)

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cedws 3 days ago | parent [-]

Not allowing IMAP/POP isn’t just for the lulz, it’s not compatible with the encryption architecture Proton uses, which is kind of the selling point of the product. You can either have your emails encrypted at rest with your key OR you can have plain IMAP/POP without a bridge client, you can’t have both.

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int_19h 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

I never really understood the point of that. If you are exchanging emails with someone using one of the most popular email services that together make 99% of the marketshare, their server retains your email unencrypted anyway. So the only time that encryption will really matter is when emailing someone who is also using Proton.

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mjh2539 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

> the only time that encryption will really matter is when emailing someone who is also using Proton.

Correct, and this was/is explicit when you first sign up for a proton email account.

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kevin_thibedeau 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Proton also supports PGP emails... for the dozen or so people who are setup to receive them.

	▲	privatelypublic 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		So does m365.

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crossroadsguy 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Did I anywhere say it was for the "lulz"?