I tried out ProtonMail for just a little bit around the time I switched, and personally I found the focus on security and encryption to be at the expense of user experience.

If I recall correctly, ProtonMail was using RoundCube as the webmail interface when I was looking for a service. RoundCube was the reason I left my previous e-mail provider, so I had to give it a pass. Though now their website is showing a rather nice web UI, perhaps they've switched to a new one since then?

We have never used RoundCube in the project's history. You must be thinking of someone else.

I'm gonna piggyback on your comment to ask a question I'm not clear on. Am I correct in that if I don't set a recovery email there is absolutely no way for anyone to get access to my account unless they get my password? If that were to happen I could recover my account by proving to you I am who I say I am (perhaps gov ID plus DNS records), but my previous email will be forever encrypted?

I ask because that is what I want. I want my account to autodestruct if compromised and when recovered I want to be assured that all my personal data has been safeguarded by effectively throwing away the key into the depths of Mordor.

Thanks for the clarification, must indeed be mixing you up with another service!

You might be thinking up riseup.net. They use Roundcube, they target a similar audience, and both have a cryptopunk-ish slant.

I had a quick look -- I was thinking of Posteo. I think they aren't aiming for the exact same customer segment, but I think of both as a small Central European service that values privacy.

I’ve only tried ProtonMail’s iOS client, but have found it to be very easy to use.

Do not forget about tutanota.com. I prefer them to protonmail since they're much cheaper and feature wise are pretty much the same.