Firefox Relay is simple and tightly integrated with Firefox, but the free tier caps you at five masks and it does not support PGP. A strong Firefox Relay alternative is Emcognito: it offers unlimited aliases on the free tier and passwordless sign-in that works in any browser, not just Firefox, with reply from any alias on its Plus and Pro plans. It forwards to your real inbox and meters forwards rather than addresses.

Firefox Relay is a clean, well-integrated email-mask tool — until you hit the five-mask ceiling on the free plan. If you've run out of masks, or you've moved away from Firefox and want aliases that follow you to any browser, here's an honest comparison and a strong alternative.

What Firefox Relay does well

Native Firefox integration. Relay is built into the browser and your Mozilla account, so creating a mask at a signup form is nearly frictionless.
A name you already trust. Mozilla has a long privacy track record, and Relay inherits that credibility.
Simple by design. There's very little to configure — generate a mask, and mail forwards to your real inbox.
Phone masking add-on. Higher tiers can mask a phone number too, which alias-only tools don't touch.

The five-mask ceiling

The core friction is the free plan's limit of five email masks. The entire value of aliases is making a fresh one per service so a leak or sale is contained — and five runs out almost immediately under that approach. Going unlimited means Relay Premium, and the experience leans on Firefox, which is awkward if you've switched to another browser.

Firefox Relay vs Emcognito at a glance

Feature	Firefox Relay	Emcognito
Aliases on the free tier	5 masks	Unlimited
Browser	Best in Firefox	Any browser
What you pay for	Unlimited masks (Premium)	Forwarded emails (100/mo free)
Reply from an alias	Yes (paid)	Yes — every plan
One-click suspend/delete an alias	Disable per mask	Yes
PGP encryption	No	No
Sign-in	Mozilla account	Passwordless magic link

Emcognito charges by the forwarded email rather than by the mask, so unlimited aliases are free up to 100 forwards a month — then $2/month for 2,500. See the full pricing breakdown.

Where Emcognito is the better fit

You've hit five masks. Unlimited aliases on the free tier means you never have to reuse one or pay just to make more.
You don't live in Firefox. Emcognito is browser-agnostic — Chrome, Safari, Edge, or Firefox all work the same way.
You want to reply from aliases. Included on every plan; replies go out from the alias in your normal mail client.
You want passwordless sign-in. A magic link instead of a password.

Where Firefox Relay still wins

If you live inside Firefox and want masking baked right into the browser chrome, Relay's integration is genuinely smoother. And if you want to mask a phone number alongside email, Relay's higher tiers cover that — Emcognito is email-only.

How to switch

Create a free Emcognito account with your email and a magic link.
Recreate aliases for the five services currently on Relay masks, plus any you've been rationing.
Disable the old masks once mail stops arriving on them.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to use Firefox?

No. Emcognito works in any browser and doesn't depend on a browser extension.

Is it really unlimited aliases for free?

Yes. Every plan includes unlimited aliases; the Free plan covers 100 forwarded emails a month.

Can I reply from an alias?

Yes, on every plan — the recipient only ever sees the alias.

Does Emcognito mask phone numbers?

No — it's email-only. If you need phone masking, Firefox Relay's paid tiers offer it.

Questions about moving over from Relay? Email the founder at yoni@wm.emcognito.com.

Firefox Relay Alternative for 2026