Partner article. This article was supplied by Tuta, which holds the first position on our email providers page as a paid placement. We edited it, checked the dates, prices and the integration details against Tuta's and Nextcloud's own announcements, and removed claims we could not verify. Statements about Tuta's products are Tuta's own.
Tuta, the end-to-end encrypted email and calendar provider from Germany, can now be used together with Nextcloud. Tuta has released an app in the Nextcloud App Store, and Tuta Mail has a Nextcloud plug-in.
The two German companies announced the collaboration on 1 October 2026, and Tuta says it is the first officially supported plug-in for Tuta Mail and Tuta Calendar. For businesses, the pitch is a European workplace built from independent tools, with no single vendor that locks you in.
Picture this: a client emails you confidential documents from their Tuta account, protected with end-to-end encryption. You save them directly into a shared folder that a colleague can reach in Nextcloud. Then you schedule a meeting in Tuta Calendar, and a Nextcloud Talk meeting link is created automatically.
Nothing about that looks special on screen, but according to Tuta the difference is underneath:
- Every step runs in European open-source software.
- Email is stored in Tuta's data centres in Germany, and files stay on the Nextcloud server that you or your provider control.
- No email, file or other data is sent to or processed by a US company in this workflow, which Tuta presents as keeping it out of reach of the US CLOUD Act.
Nextcloud, the open-source collaboration platform used by governments, universities and individuals, is a natural partner. Both companies are based in Germany, publish their code as open source and treat data protection as a core part of the product. Together they give organisations an easy way to combine secure email and calendar in Tuta with Nextcloud's file storage, video calling and more.
How it works
The Tuta Mail app in Nextcloud
The Tuta Mail app is available in the Nextcloud App Store. It lets you use Tuta directly in a locally hosted or managed Nextcloud instance.
The Nextcloud plug-in in Tuta
Nextcloud is Tuta's first officially supported plug-in. It saves attachments you receive in Tuta Mail straight into your Nextcloud files with one click, and in Tuta Calendar it generates Nextcloud Talk meeting links while you create an event. The plug-in requires the Tuta Mail app to be installed on your Nextcloud instance first.
How to get started
First, your Nextcloud admin or provider adds the Tuta Mail app from the Nextcloud App Store and allows you or your organisation to use it. After that, your Tuta Mail admin enables the Nextcloud plug-in in Tuta under Settings, Admin Settings, Plugins.
Why this matters now
There is a strong trend towards digitally sovereign tools, yet most European businesses and many EU authorities still depend on US software, above all Microsoft 365. Three things keep pushing the question.
The price of the default keeps rising
Microsoft 365 became the default for many businesses because of its wide range of tools, and Microsoft keeps raising prices while adding AI features that many customers did not ask for.
- In May 2025 Microsoft announced that the Business Premium and Office 365 E1 grants for nonprofits would end at their next renewal on or after 1 July 2025. Eligible nonprofits were offered up to 300 free Business Basic licences and up to 75% off Business Premium and E1.
- On 1 July 2026 Microsoft raised US list prices for Microsoft 365 Business Basic from $6 to $7 per user per month (about 17%) and for Business Standard from $12.50 to $14 (12%). Business Premium stayed at $22.
US jurisdiction and sovereign washing
Price is not the only issue. When a European company relies on a US provider, its data falls under US jurisdiction however confidential it is.
US companies such as Microsoft, AWS and Google have responded to the demand for sovereignty with "sovereign cloud" offerings, but Tuta argues that all US companies remain subject to US data-sharing legislation, so these offers amount to sovereign washing.
In June 2025, Microsoft France's legal director told a French Senate inquiry, under oath, that he could not guarantee French data would never be handed to US authorities without the approval of French authorities. The answer drew wide attention and fed the debate on digital sovereignty in Europe.
Vendor lock-in
US platform vendors sell a bundle: email, cloud storage, video calls and documents that work seamlessly together. The upside is one quick solution. The downside is relying on one company, which makes diversifying or switching tools hard.
A sovereign solution that stays open
Tuta and Nextcloud are both made in Germany, which makes GDPR compliance easier to argue, though compliance still depends on how you configure and contract each service. The more interesting point is the structure.
Instead of one company doing everything, two independent European providers each do what they do best and connect through an open integration. Tuta and Nextcloud are built so that you can replace and switch products as needed, and digital sovereignty does not have to mean one European giant replacing an American one.
If you are weighing the move from Microsoft or Google, our pages on European alternatives to Microsoft 365 and European alternatives to Gmail list the usual starting points, and the email providers category compares Tuta with other European providers. For a head-to-head with another encrypted provider, see Proton Mail vs Tuta in 2026.
Sources
- Tuta: the Tuta app on Nextcloud
- CyberInsider: Tuta brings encrypted email to Nextcloud
- Microsoft Partner Center announcements, May 2025 (nonprofit grants)
- UC Today: Microsoft 365 prices rise on 1 July
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Tuta and Nextcloud integration do?
It has two parts. A Tuta Mail app in the Nextcloud App Store lets you use Tuta inside a Nextcloud instance, and a Nextcloud plug-in inside Tuta Mail saves received attachments straight into your Nextcloud files and creates Nextcloud Talk meeting links when you add an event in Tuta Calendar. Tuta says it is the first officially supported plug-in for Tuta Mail and Tuta Calendar.
How do I switch it on?
Your Nextcloud admin or provider adds the Tuta Mail app from the Nextcloud App Store and allows your organisation to use it. After that, your Tuta Mail admin enables the Nextcloud plug-in in Tuta under Settings, Admin Settings, Plugins. The plug-in needs the Tuta Mail app on your Nextcloud instance first.
Where is the data stored?
According to Tuta, email is stored in its data centres in Germany, and files stay on the Nextcloud server that you or your provider control. Check the hosting terms of your own Nextcloud provider, because that part depends on who runs it.
Does using European software remove exposure to US law?
It reduces it, but read the contracts. US companies are subject to US data-access laws such as the CLOUD Act, which can reach data held abroad. A German email provider and a Nextcloud server that you or a European host operate are not US companies, which is why both Tuta and many public bodies point to this setup. Confirm the ownership and hosting of every layer you rely on.