Healthcare cybersecurity · HIPAA email encryption
Paubox
Paubox provides HIPAA-compliant email encryption and related security so healthcare organizations can send PHI that recipients read in ordinary inboxes. It is not an IoMT device security platform.
Strong fit
- Clinics, health plans, and digital health companies that need HIPAA-compliant email without making recipients use a portal
- Teams sending patient information from Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 who want encryption that works in ordinary inboxes
- Buyers comparing mid-sized healthcare email security rather than a full hospital security operations platform
Weak fit
- Health systems looking for medical device security or vendor risk assessment suites
- Buyers who only need patient texting or EHR inbox messages, with no need for encrypted email
- Groups that refuse cloud email controls and insist on running email gateways on their own servers
Bottom line
Paubox is worth using for clinics and digital health teams that want encrypted email patients can read in ordinary inboxes, without a portal. It suits groups wanting a simple mail-flow change. High-volume marketing senders may prefer LuxSci, and enterprise risk programs should look at Clearwater or Censinet.
Score breakdown
Weights: Outcomes 35% · Product 30% · Implementation 20% · Pricing clarity 15%.
Paubox is a HIPAA email security company in San Francisco founded in 2015 by CEO Hoala Greevy. It has roughly 30 to 50 employees.
Its core product encrypts outgoing healthcare email, so patient information can be read in ordinary Gmail or Outlook inboxes instead of a patient portal. That is the main reason clinics and digital health teams choose it.
It is email security, not a medical device platform or a HITRUST assessment suite.
G2 rankings and a place on the Inc. 5000 list back up its product depth.
Setup is usually a change to mail routing, not a months-long EHR project.
Pricing is by subscription and clearer than many security suites, though add-ons for large organizations still need a quote.
Among the HIPAA email tools we review, Paubox scores highest, above LuxSci. It falls below broad risk platforms such as Clearwater only when the purchase is a large risk program rather than email.
LuxSci suits high-volume marketing email and personalizing through an API. Clearwater or Censinet suit large risk assessments.
Competitor landscape
| Vendor | Overall | Ease of implementation |
|---|---|---|
| Paubox | 7.5 | 7.3 |
| Virtru | 7.4 | 7.2 |
| PreVeil | 7.3 | 7.4 |
| Hushmail | 6.8 | 7.2 |
| LuxSci | 6.8 | 6.6 |
| Trustifi | 6.7 | 7.0 |
| Protected Trust | 6.7 | 6.8 |
| DataMotion | 6.6 | 6.4 |
Pricing
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Model | A subscription for HIPAA email encryption, incoming email security, archiving, and related modules. Paubox posts starter prices and volume tiers on its site. |
| What usually drives cost | Number of mailboxes or emails sent, modules (encryption, incoming email AI, archive, API, marketing), and support level. |
| What to ask before you buy | The full yearly cost for your number of mailboxes, including incoming email filtering and any API or marketing add-ons. |
| Published pricing | Paubox lists starter plans on paubox.com. Modules for large organizations are priced by quote. |
Prerequisites for purchase
| Need | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| What you need to get Paubox to function | |
| A named IT or security owner for switching over mail routing | Without an owner, encryption stalls in the ticket queue. |
| A list of every system that emails patient health information now | Forgotten senders bring back unencrypted email risk. |
| A count of encrypted and unencrypted emails with patient information before you start | You cannot show improvement without a starting count. |
| A decision on how recipients get mail (straight to the inbox or through a portal) | Unexpected portals push people to work around them. |
| Legal and compliance sign-off on BAAs and how long mail is kept | Security tools fail audits without the paperwork. |
| What will maximize your value | |
| Send every type of email with patient information through the platform within 30 days | Covering only some email leaves the risk in place. |
| Shut down other encryption portals after a week of running both | Two tools confuse staff. |
| Check bounced email and help desk tickets every week | Email that quietly fails to arrive can look like success. |
| Train the people who send the most email first | Marketing and billing send most of the email. |
| Send a monthly compliance summary to security and operations | Unseen exceptions pile up. |
| Deal-breakers | |
| Nobody will own DNS, mail routing, or BAA paperwork. | |
| You will only run email on your own servers and refuse cloud email controls. | |
| Legal blocks encryption changes for the mail domains involved. | |
| You expect medical device security from an email product. | |
| Staff will keep using personal email for PHI. | |
Value creation time frame
| # | Stage | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plan and measure the starting point | 1-2 weeks to set up domains, senders, the BAA, and success measures. |
| 2 | Set up | 1-3 weeks for mail routing, encryption rules, and single sign-on. |
| 3 | Pilot | 1-2 weeks with one department or brand, watching help desk tickets. |
| 4 | Expand | 2-6 weeks for the remaining mailboxes, then retire old portals. |
Leadership
Methodology
| Weight | Factor | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| 35% | Customer outcomes | Whether buyers get measurable operational or clinical-workflow results after go-live |
| 30% | Product | Capability depth, reliability, and fit for the job the category buys |
| 20% | Implementation | How hard it is to stand up, integrate, train, and stabilize |
| 15% | Pricing clarity | Whether a buyer can model total cost without a mystery quote |
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Highly recommend | Strong outcomes and product with manageable caveats |
| Recommend | Solid fit for the right buyer; know the tradeoffs |
| Conditional | Only with a specific use case or heavy caveats |
| Not recommended | Avoid for most buyers in this category |
Read our full methodology for how we weight scores and assign recommend labels.