- Best Free Email Client For Mac 2020
- What Is The Best Email For Mac
- Best Free Email Client For Mac 2019
- Best Free Email Provider For Mac Computer
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- Unlike Gmail and several other best free email services, Outlook.com doesn’t scan the content of users’ emails for advertising purposes. “For example, if you're emailing back-and-forth with a family member about a trip to go hiking, Gmail will simultaneously surface text ads for things like Rocky Mountain vacations, hiking boots, and protein bars,” explains Jason Hiner for TechRepublic.
- A free email client, Apple Mail, comes installed and ready for use with macOS. If you're interested in what the Mail app can do compared to other alternatives, here are the best free email clients available for macOS.
- Outlook app is also available for Android and iOS. Well, Mail.com is another best email service provider on the list which you can consider. It’s basically a free webmail service that includes an email domain, mobile access, and Mail collector feature. Mail.com provides you 2GB of free online storage.
Email clients come in all shapes and sizes, but when it comes to the options available on the Mac, we feel that Airmail is the best email client for most people. It’s easy to use, supports a number of different email providers, has a solid search function, and more.
In this article, I’m going to offer you the best encrypted email services, alternatives to popular email services such as Gmail or Yahoo, which can also be secured to a certain degree, but, at the same time, mainstream providers are notorious for mishandling their users’ data or scanning inboxes for keywords to display personalized ads.
Airmail 3
Platform: macOS
Price: $9.99
Download Page
Features
- Supports Gmail, Google Apps, iCloud, Exchange, IMAP, POP3, and local accounts
- Unlimited email accounts with a unified inbox
- Gmail keyboard shortcuts, global shortcuts, and custom shortcuts
- Adjustable interface with multiple themes, modes, and layout options
- Global search, filters, advanced token search, and a preview mode
- Integration with Omnifocus, Fantastical, Trello, Asana, Evernote, Reminders, Calendar, BusyCal, Things, 2To, Wunderlist, and Todoist
- Large contact photos for most contacts
- Support for Gmail Primary Inbox
- Support for folders, colors, Gmail labels, flags, and more
- Attachment support for integration with Dropbox, Google Drive, Droplr, and CloudApp
- Customizable notifications
- VIP support with sender-specific notifications
- Quick replies
- Send later options
- Customizable menus, gestures, and shortcuts
- Today extension and handoff support
- iCloud syncing with iPhone app
- Folders and labels for organization
- Search filters, flags, and message sorting
- AppleScript support
- Muting and blocking features
- Task-based sorting with options to send emails to memos, done, or to-dos
- Support for Markdown, rich text, HTML, and plain text
Where It Excels
Airmail’s biggest strength is the variety of ways you can customize it. Part of that comes from the fact that Airmail is updated pretty frequently, which means that not only does it regularly get new features, it’s also always up to date with the most modern iterations of macOS. Over the course of its life, those updates have added in features like snoozing, VIP mailbox, and plenty of other modern email features.
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The ways that you can customize Airmail are pretty in-depth. You can alter what’s on your sidebar, what emails you’re notified about, how emails are displayed, how long a “snooze” is, how gestures work, where you save files, and tons more. Airmail also integrates with a bunch of third-party services, so if you use one of the supported to-do apps or notes apps as part of your email workflow then it’s pretty easy to integrate that into Airmail.
Airmail is basically a power-user email app for people who don’t want to go “full power-user” with something like Outlook. It’s great for the niche of people who need an advanced email client on their Mac and who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty customizing it.
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Where It Falls Short
At $10, Airmail is a bit of an investment and while it’s well worth the cost if you use all is features, not everyone needs a ton of features to begin with. While Airmail is very customizable, it’s not great out of the box, which means you’ll want to spend a 10-15 minutes playing around with various settings, options, and other things to tweak it to suit your needs. If you use email a lot for work, this isn’t a huge deal, but if you’re a casual user who just want to send and receive some mail then Airmail is overkill.
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The Competition
Apple Mail is probably the most obvious competition here. The packed-in email client is.. fine. It works on a fundamental level, but since it’s only updated when Apple updates its entire operating system, it’s pretty devoid of modern features. If you just check and reply to emails, it does the job though.
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Spark(Free) is easily the best alternative to Airmail for people who don’t need as many of the advanced features that come packed into it. Spark has a lot of the modern razzle-dazzle of Airmail without the clutter. It has smart inbox sorting, iCloud syncing with the free mobile app, email snoozing, and quick replies. The free part might seem like its main strength, but it gives me pause because it’s unclear what the business model is, and therefore hard to tell what will happen to the app in the future. We’ve seen far too many abandoned email apps over the years to trust any free app moving forward, even if it is run by a company with a whole productivity suite. Still, it’s a great alternative to Airmail and free to check out if you’re curious.
Postbox ($40) is another great competitor. Like Airmail, Postbox excels in search options and additional powerful features you won’t find in most other mail clients. For example, you get message summary mode, sorting by type/subject of email (called the Focus Pane), add-ons, easy archiving of messages, and more. It’s a little clunky to actually use though, and Postbox doesn’t feel as at home in macOS as Airmail does. While you can check out a trial of Postbox for free, it’s a tough sell at $40 unless you really enjoy it.
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Lifehacker’s App Directory is a new and growing directory of recommendations for the best applications and tools in a number of given categories.
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A free email client comes installed and ready for use with macOS, and macOS Mail is not a bad program at all. However, you might want to examine its free alternatives. Here are the best free email clients available for macOS. Give them a try.
MacOS Mail
What We Like
Pegasus Mail
Included in the Mac operating system.
Supports smart folders and robust filters.
Markup tools for annotating photos or PDFs email attachments.
VIP user notifications.
What We Don't Like
Basic design that lacks customization features.
No option to snooze emails.
Hasn't had a major design upgrade in years.
The Mail application that ships with macOS and OS X is solid, feature-rich and spam-eliminating software that is also an easy-to-use email client. Optimized to work on the Mac, the Mail app is trouble free and full featured. It can handle all your email accounts in one place.
Spark
What We Like
Clean, modern design.
Quick Replies feature for sending short, templated responses.
Smart mailboxes.
Supports multiple email accounts.
What We Don't Like
Slow tech support.
Questionable privacy policy.
Doesn't support many services.
Spark is an impressive email program that auto-organizes your inboxes and lets you postpone email easily as well as send quick one-click replies. Spark's 'Smart Inbox' bubbles messages that are important to you to the top, and uses categories of Personal, Notifications, and Newsletters.
Spark's scheduling feature allows you to assign a time period during which it will send a particular message. Select from times later today, in the evening, tomorrow, or on any date.
Mailspring
What We Like
Integrates with Gmail, iCloud, Office 365, Outlook, and Yahoo
Supports snoozing.
CPU and battery efficient.
What We Don't Like
Some features limited to paid subscription.
Doesn't support Exchange accounts.
Mandatory Mailspring ID.
Aimed at the professional email user, Mailspring boasts mail merge, reminders, and the option to schedule mail—all available in a pro edition.
Best Free Email Client For Mac 2020
With the free version, you get a clean, highly productive and expandable email program that includes thrills such as link and open tracking, quick reply templates, and undo send. However, the free edition is limited to 10 accounts.
Mozilla Thunderbird
What We Like
Flexible filtering system.
Many available plug-ins.
Tabs for navigation.
Easy to configure.
What We Don't Like
Rudimentary design.
Not as user friendly as other clients.
No longer in development.
Mozilla Thunderbird is a full-featured, secure, and functional email client. It lets you handle mail efficiently and filters away junk mail. Thunderbird is no longer in active development except for security updates, but it supplies a streamlined interface and a powerful email package.
Best Free Email Client Windows 7
Mozilla SeaMonkey
Best Free Email Client For Mac Os
What We Like
Best Free Email Client For Windows 10
All-in-one internet suite that includes email.
Customizable toolbars.
What We Don't Like
Outdated interface.
Some features not intuitive.
No mobile device support.
Best Free Email Client Software
Never underestimate Mozilla. The company built SeaMonkey, the email component of its open source browser, on the same Mozilla platform as Firefox 51. It delivers HTML5, hardware acceleration, and improved JavaScript speed. It is a solid performer, full featured and usable.
Introduction
We’ve all heard of Gmail. Some of the older ones probably remember Hotmail too. But chances are you don’t use those in a professional setting.
Microsoft Outlook had dominated the scene of business email providers. But no more. Now there are loads of good email clients. To get the skinny on the best email clients, both paid and free, check out this super roundup.
Best email clients comparison chart (top 10 highest rated)
Product | Best for | Pricing (starts at*) | Site |
Microsoft Outlook | Best email client for Windows 10 | $5 per user per month billed annually with Office 365 | |
Mozilla Thunderbird | Best alternative to Gmail | Free | |
eM Client | Best email client for Windows & Mac | $49.95 per device | |
Mailbird | Top email client for multiple accounts | $1.63 per month | |
Airmail | Top email client for iPhone | $2.99 per month | |
Spike | Good desktop email client | $4 per account per month billed annually | |
Hiri | Good email client for Mac | $39 per year | |
Mailspring | Good free email client | $8 per month | |
INKY | Top email app to block phishing | Contact vendor | |
Spark | Good email app for team collaboration | $6.39 per user per month billed annually |
*Not including free versions
What is an email client?
An email client is a more robust email app than your average Gmail or Hotmail.
Firstly, an email client lets you host your email data on your own computer, as well as on the cloud sometimes. This is opposed to webmail which hosts everything on a server. That’s why client-based emails are better for business purposes: You have better access and protection over your work emails.
Secondly, email clients let you sync multiple email accounts into one UX. You can bring in your Gmail, Outlook or Yahoo accounts and use them all in one unified inbox.
There are a lot of great features when it comes to the functionality of email clients. These go beyond showing which emails have been read, and which are still unread.
The best email client solutions do the following:
Send later lets you write an email and schedule it to be sent at another time
Smart inboxes in email clients can identify important emails
Read receipts show you when someone has opened your email
Email templates let you save and reuse emails
Attachment management lets you store and retrieve attachments
Snooze buttons help you avoid email distractions for a period of time
Encryption is often more robust with special email clients, using tech like PGP
Phishing or other suspicious emails get flagged by email clients
Calendar tools let you create events directly from an email invitation
Contact tools let you create or edit a contact directly from an email
Collaboration tools let you share emails with colleagues and work as a team
These are just some of the great features you can expect with the best email apps.
What are the best email clients? Here’s our top 15 list:
Now that you’ve learned a thing or two about email solutions, it’s time to explore your options. This list of the best email clients covers both paid and free versions. We highlight their strong suits and list off their best features. Read on to find your perfect email client fit.
Microsoft Outlook (Best email client for Windows 10)
Forget Gmail. When it comes to email servers at the office, Microsoft Outlook is probably the best known name in email services. It first came out with Microsoft Office 97.
Microsoft Outlook combines email and calendar tools in one place. It identifies emails that are “focused.” These are important emails. You can easily create calendar events or tasks directly from the email dashboard. Outlook has good enterprise-end encryption. There’s also ransomware detection. Microsoft Outlook integrates mainly with other Microsoft products like Office and cloud storage app OneDrive. Outlook comes with mobile apps for iOS and Android.
There is a free version of Outlook. Premium versions come with Office 365. Personal plans go for $69.99 for one user, $99.99 for up to 6 users, both per year. Business plans are $5, $12.50 and $20 per user per month billed annually.
Microsoft Outlook is best for:
SMBs
Large businesses
Enterprise
Calendar
Microsoft 365 integrations
Windows users
Mozilla Thunderbird (Best alternative to Gmail)
Thunderbird is the email product of Mozilla. Like all of Mozilla’s apps, Thunderbird is free and open source. Its latest version came out in September 2020.
Mozilla Thunderbird is a free and easy to use email app. Anyone can set it up and use it like a pro in minutes. There are many customization options for the Thunderbird dashboard with add-ons. These include extensions, plugins for more features, and themes for different looks. For security, it offers do-not-track and phishing protection. There’s also an add-on for PGP encryption. You also get calendar and to-do tools. One-click address book makes it easy to add new contacts. Attachment reminders make sure you don’t forget to add mentioned files. Finally if you have multiple email accounts, Thunderbird helps keep them organized with smart folders.
Thunderbird is totally free. So are the many add-ons by Mozilla and other companies.
Thunderbird is best for:
Free users
Startups
SMBs
Customization
Multiple email accounts
Ease of use
eM Client (Best email client for Windows & Mac)
eM Client Inc. is a software company out of the Czech Republic. It got off the ground in 2017. It’s flagship app is the email client of the same name.
eM Client works in over 20 languages. It runs on the operating systems of Microsoft Windows and macOS. It supports the major email technologies. These include POP3, SMTP, IMAP, and more. You can encrypt your messages with PGP for added security. eM Client lets you watch for replies and gets you read receipts. You get access to email templates. There is an attachment manager. You can schedule emails to send later. eM Client includes modules for calendars, task management and contact management. You can also do messaging through eM Client.
There’s a free version of eM Client for 2 email accounts. The pro versions start $49.95 per device.
eM Client is best for:
Startups
SMBs
Templates
Messaging
End encryption
Translation
Mailbird (Top email client for multiple accounts)
The folks behind Mailbird call themselves a “A Brilliant Team of Email Innovation Nerds.” That should inspire confidence that they are serious about great email.
Mailbird operates on Windows. It specializes in handling multiple email accounts. You can sync from other email accounts into a unified inbox. The dashboard is clean and pleasing to the eye. Figuring out Mailbird’s features is intuitive. You can customize the look with color themes and layouts. Other Mailbird features include speed reader, snooze buttons, and attachment searching. Mailbird excels at integrating with other useful tools. These include Twitter, Whatsapp, Facebook, Evernote, and more. It also works with Google Drive and Calendar, Dropbox and Slack.
Mailbird Personal is only $1.63 per month, $19.50 per year, or a one-time payment of $39.50. Mailbird Business is $2.88 per month or $34.50 per year.
Mailbird is best for:
One person business
Startups
SMBs
Unified inbox
Multiple accounts
Integrations
Windows users
Airmail (Top email client for iPhone)
Airmail is the email client by the Italian software development Bloop SRL. They design apps for macOS and iOS. Airmail is Bloop’s main product.
Airmail works exclusively within the Apple ecosystem. It runs on iPhone, iPad and Mac computers. The design is native to each device. Apple has often praised Airmail’s cool look. The platform can respond to Siri. It syncs multiple accounts from the likes of Gmail, iCloud Mail, Office 365, Microsoft Outlook, IMAP and POP3. It lets you manage them all in one unified inbox. A smart inbox sorts out the important emails for you. You get snooze tools and send later tools. Airmail lets you set up workflow rules to automate your email management. There is a privacy mode to work offline. It also prevents pixel tracking. The iOS versions use FaceID and TouchID for extra security. Airmail even works on Apple Watches.
You can download Airmail and use many features for free. Airmail Pro is $2.99 per month or $9.99 per year. Airmail Business is a single purchase of $49.99
Airmail is best for:
Single users
One person business
Small teams
iOS devices
iPhone users
Unified inbox
Spike (Good desktop email client)
Spike is an Israeli company. It got off the ground in 2017.
You can best use Spike on your desktop with a web browser. It also works on other devices. They have apps for iOS, Android, Windows and macOS. The Spike approach is called conversational email. It removes things like subject lines and signatures to make the email thread easier to follow. The inbox highlights important emails. Spike also has a note app that’s good for collaboration. You can also chat in a sidebar in real-time. Group chats with team members work too. There are scheduler and to-do tools. Spike uses email encryption to keep your stuff safe.
Spike offers a free version. The pro plan is $4 and the Business plan is $6, both per account per month billed annually. Contact them for Enterprise prices.
Product name is best for:
Freelancers
Startups
SMBs
Group chat
To-dos
Hiri (Good email client for Mac)
Hiri is an Irish email client. It was first released in 2012.
Hiri is an email app for Mac. It puts simplicity first. Aside from email it does calendars, to-do lists and contacts. Hiri also puts a lot of attention to its design details. This includes features to remove clutter. Hiri syncs all calendar events from Office 365 and Exchange. You can share your calendars too. Hiri has an offline mode for added privacy. You also get reminders and snooze tools.
Hiri costs $39 per year or $119 for life.
Hiri is best for:
Startups
SMBs
Large businesses
Shared calendars
Mac users
Design
Mailspring (Good free email client)
Mailspring forked off from the mail client Nylas Mail. It’s open-source and built with a native C++ sync engine.
Mailspring works with macOS, Windows and Linux. It lets you use multiple IMAP & Office 365 accounts. It’s got a lot of the basic email features. These include undo send and read receipts. There’s also snooze and reminders. The dashboard is customizable with layouts and themes. Mailspring does real-time translation with English, Spanish, Russian, simplified Chinese, French, and German. There’s an RSVP feature that lets you instantly respond to email invites. Your contact list in Mailspring has profiles with Linkedin bios, social media links and company information.
Mailspring has a free version. The pro version is $8 per month.
Mailspring is best for:
Freelancers
Startups
SMBs
Translation
Contacts
INKY (Top email app to block phishing)
INKY is an email app that is foremost about protection from phishing and other fraud. It uses AI and machine learning to do this.
INKY blocks malware, spam and phishing. Its detection is more robust than average email clients. Warnings on emails range from safe, unusual and malicious. You get visibility and email tracking into the blocked emails. It also guides you if you want to examine the suspicious email closer. You can report any suspicious email with one click. INKY’s platform is hosted in the cloud. It supports Office365, Exchange and G Suite. This email security app scales up to companies of any size.
You can request a demo from INKY’s website. For prices contact them as well.
INKY is best for:
Small businesses
Large businesses
Enterprise
Email security
Phishing detection
Spam and malware detection
Spark (Good email app for team collaboration)
Spark was made by Ukranian app development company Readdle. They launched Spark back in 2015.
Spark has mobile apps for iPhones and Androids. There’s a desktop version for macOS and one for Windows is on its way. It syncs email accounts from Outlook, iCloud, Google, Yahoo, Exchange and IMAP. The intelligent inbox sorts out important emails. You can also pin important emails. There is a batch email action feature. You can also get notifications when emails come from people you know. You can work with team members with Spark. It lets you write drafts together or add private notes. Team leaders can delegate emails tasks from the email inbox. It lets you set deadlines and track progress. There’s the usual send later, follow-up reminders, snooze and customizable signatures.
What Is The Best Email For Mac
Spark has a free version. The best team collaboration tools are in the Premium plan at $6.39 per user per month billed annually. Contact Spark for enterprise plans.
Spark is best for:
Startups
SMBs
Large businesses
Managers
Team collaboration
Task management
Postbox
Postbox was first released in 2007. The brains behind this desktop email client came out of the Mozilla team. It was originally based on Thunderbird.
Postbox positions itself as a professional email app. The UX is very straightforward and familiar. It syncs accounts from Yahoo, Gmail, iCloud, Office 365, Outlook, and more. The dashboard lets you see your emails in tabs. Email tools let you group your accounts. You can create favorite folders. There is advanced searching and filtering. Postbox also offers file and image management. Pre-canned responses, professional-looking signatures and pre-formatted clips are also available. There’s also an HTML code editor. Postbox uses PGP encryption.
Postbox offers one-year licenses for $29. A lifetime license is $49 (though subject to change).
Postbox is best for:
Freelancers
Startups
SMBs
Desktop email client
Tabbed browsing
Superhuman
The reviews are very mixed about Superhuman Email. Some love it, others are underwhelmed. Still this email app is worth mentioning.
Superhuman tries to reinvent a lot of email UX. The design is very streamlined and sleek. Superhuman also puts speed as the top selling point. They claim every action takes less than 100 milliseconds. It uses powerful AI in the email tirage stage. This sorts the important emails from the lesser ones. You get an undo send option. There’s also follow-ups, reminders and send later tools. Read statuses and read receipts are also part of the toolset. Superhuman gathers insights on your contacts from LinkedIn and other social media.
While there is no pricing listed on the website, other reviewers have noted that Superhuman costs $30 per month.
Superhuman is best for:
SMBs
Large businesses
Fast emailing
AI triage
ProtonMail
ProtonMail is the creation of Swiss scientists who met while working at CERN. That’s some big brains behind this email client.
ProtonMail is an email platform with full end-to-end encryption email. Security is a big deal with ProtonMail, Swiss-style. New accounts are made without needing to use personal information. It doesn’t store any IP logs. You can use ProtonMail with a web browser, or on iOS and Android devices. ProtonMail is open-source and simple to use. The interface has the look and feel as any normal email app.
ProtonMail offers a free version. The Plus version is good for one person at $5 per month. The Pro version is $8 per user per month, and the Visionary version is $30 per month for 6 users.
ProtonMail is best for:
Individuals
Freelancers
Startups
SMBs
End to end encryption
Email privacy
Zimbra
Zimbra was developed by Synacor. That’s a technology company out of Buffalo, NY. Synacor launched Zimbra in 2005.
Zimbra is collaboration software. A big part of it is the email server. The idea is to combine email with other teamwork tools. These include live chatting, 1:1 messaging and group chats. There’s also video conferencing, file sharing and screen sharing. There are tools for real-time collaboration on documents. For emailing, you can sync up Gmail, Yahoo, IMAP and POP. The platform works on Windows, macOS and Linux. You can create tags for emails. Email threads are displayed on multiple tabs. You also get undo send, restore email and scheduled delivery. Calendar and contact management are also available.
For prices contact Zimbra through their website.
Zimbra is best for:
Teams
Startups
SMBs
Collaboration
File sharing
Shift
Shift hails from Victoria, Canada. The people behind Shift have a goal to make work both more productive and more fun.
The Shift approach is to help you manage multiple workflows. You can create custom workspaces inside Shift and invite people to collaborate. Shift is a desktop email client that lets you sync up many email accounts into a unified inbox. It integrates G Suite apps, as well as Slack and Facebook Messenger. You can add extensions to Shift. These include things like Grammarly, Dropbox, HubSpot and Zoom. The overall idea is to create Shift Workspaces and add all your web apps to the UX. It can replace basic web browsing.
The basic Shift plan is free. The Advanced and Team plans are $99.99 per year.
Shift is best for:
Best Free Email Client For Mac 2019
Individuals
Freelancers
Startups
SMBs
Extensions
Key takeaways
To sum it all up, you’ve got no more excuses to stick with basic Gmail or Hotmail. Sure Outlook is a decent choice for Windows users. But we hope you’ve discovered some other good email client solutions.
FAQs
What is the difference between webmail and email client?
An email client runs off your own computer, and you can also back up your emails in the cloud. This is opposed to webmail which hosts everything on a server. Email clients are more common for business purposes, while webmail is more for personal use.
What is client-based email?
Client-based email is email software downloaded to your computer. It also stores your email archives on your own computer. You can back up your emails in cloud storage. Client-based emails have more features than simple webmail, and are often premium products.
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