A mail client is software that allows you to work with different mailboxes using one platform. The main advantage it provides is time saving. After all, you no longer need to enter each mailbox individually.
The client helps to:
Many email clients have an extensive list of features either thanks to built-in functions or compatibility with external programs. For instance, some of the advanced capabilities include email delegation, setting up auto-responders for when you are out of office, and organizing emails into folders or labels.
In addition, an email client allows you to store your email data on your computer and in the cloud. Whereas web-based email services store everything on the server only. This is why email clients are better for business: it’s easier for you to access your work emails and they are better protected.
Choosing an email client can be tricky because everyone has different needs and preferences. However, we compiled a list of a few key characteristics to look out for:
Supported platforms and device compatibility are critical factors in choosing an email client. Can the software be used on multiple operating systems (for instance, on Linux and Mac), or just one? Make sure to check if the software can run on your device before purchasing or downloading. Check if it has a mobile version for on-the-go access.
Normally, email clients have no issue working with widely used providers such as Google or Yahoo. Still, if you’re using a less known service, it’s best to confirm that the client can support it ahead of time.
Get to know the features of your client of choice and how it integrates with other programs. There are some email clients that offer more than others in terms of features and connections. Some might be really useful for work with such features like task management, calendar integration, and note taking. Others might be more suitable for personal use with options like customizable themes and automatic email sorting into folders.
Feeling comfortable with your email client is important. What’s convenient for you is mostly a matter of preference. Some people like simpler layouts while others might prefer more advanced features. Take some time to explore and test out the interface before committing. Consider if it’s user-friendly and how easy it is to navigate through the various options and settings. Also, think about if you find the interface aesthetically pleasing and customizable to your preferences.
Make sure that the pricing works for your budget and needs. Some email clients may have a one-time payment option, while others offer a monthly or yearly subscription. Some might even have a free version with the basic functions: sorting, sending, mail search. Compare the options and pick the best fit for you.
Using a functional email client can make managing and organizing your inboxes much simpler, ultimately improving productivity and streamlining communication.
We have compiled a list of the best email clients available, which will optimize your experience whether you are using it for work or personal purposes, and regardless of what type of device you use. This list includes both paid and free options. We’ll highlight their strengths and list the best features.
Supported platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux.
Price: Free.
A popular email client that stands out for its simplicity and flexible settings. Thunderbird uses a classic interface, complete with tabs for easy handling of multiple emails at once. It includes features ranging from a powerful search function and an integrated calendar to an activity manager and plug-in support that makes it even more powerful.
Thunderbird is completely free on all platforms.
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Things users don’t like about Thunderbird:
Supported platforms: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Web.
Price: Free. Premium features – $6.99/month for 1 person or $9.99 for group use for up to 6 people.
One of the most famous email tools, which is especially popular among corporate users. Outlook manager is deeply integrated with the Outlook calendar, and has a built-in task scheduler, notes, and address book. To handle incoming correspondence, there are flexibly configurable rules, smart sorting, and easy keyword searching.
Other features include the text-formatting tools familiar to Microsoft Word, the ability to create groups to discuss projects together, and support for scripts to automate routines.
Users can either sign up for a limited free version or purchase a Microsoft license to get the full range of features, including ad removal, more storage (1TB), and advanced security measures.
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Things users don’t like about Microsoft Outlook:
Supported platforms: Android, iOS, Web, Windows.
Price: Free.
Gmail, the email client created by Google, has garnered a reputation for being user-friendly and efficient. Its interface is simple and intuitive, allowing users to easily navigate and organize their inboxes. It also offers a range of useful features such as label customization, conversation threading, and automatic spam filtering.
Additionally, Gmail boasts ample storage space and the ability to integrate with other Google apps. The client allows you to access and manage email from various third-party services, such as Yahoo and Hotmail.
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Things users don’t like about Gmail:
Supported platforms: Windows.
Price: Standard package – $2.28/month, Premium package – $3.44/month.
A powerful email client with flexible settings and integration with many popular services, from cloud storage to social networks. Mailbird allows you to process mail quickly by supporting hotkeys and speed reading. Useful features include message delay, spell checker, attachment search, notification settings, and design themes, including a dark theme.
A full-featured version of Mailbird is available by subscription or by purchasing a perpetual license. As an introduction, you can use the application for free, but with a limit of three accounts and without some options like the use of personal and business applications (WhatsApp, Trello), etc.
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Things users don’t like about Mailbird:
Supported platforms: Linux, Windows, and Mac.
Price: Annual – $39, Lifetime – $119.
Hiri emphasizes simplicity. In addition to email, this app allows you to work with calendars, to-do lists, and contacts. Hiri also focuses on nuanced design. Its powerful interface makes it simple to navigate your email and remove any unwanted clutter from your inbox. The tool syncs all calendar events with Office 365 and Exchange. You can also share your calendars. Hiri has an offline mode for extra privacy. There are also reminders and the ability to turn off notifications.
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Things users don’t like about Hiri:
Supported platforms: Mac, Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
Price: Starter – $19, Growth – $49, Scale – $99.
This email client is great for collaborative work. You can handle mail (and even the same email) as a team. All participants can discuss activities with each other.
You can merge emails from different services and integrate with more than 50 third-party services such as Salesforce, Slack, Trello, GitHub, Intercom, and Asana. Therefore, this client is especially beneficial to those who conduct business as it is a valuable tool for improving team communication and productivity. The features of sharing, assigning, commenting on, snoozing and resurfacing issues makes zero inbox possible.
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Things users don’t like about the Front:
Supported platforms: Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Price: Free, Pro-version — $8 monthly.
It is a feature-rich email client that supports Gmail, Outlook, iCloud and several other major email service providers.
The program allows you to cancel a message within seconds if you realize you’ve made a mistake. There is a quick search for the contents of emails. A dark mode is available in the tool.
However, the free email client has some limitations. You cannot connect more than four email accounts to Mailspring.
The Pro version is beneficial for users who want email read notifications. The system will also let you know if an email hasn’t been opened for some time. There is a special section where you can see all the statistics about new emails read and links clicked.
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Things users don’t like about Mailspring:
Supported platforms: Windows.
Price: Standard – $30/year, Premium – $39/year, Elite – $58.99/year.
Kiwi only works with Google accounts, but you can add an unlimited number of them. The tool allows you to combine multiple Gmail accounts and filter your inbox using the Focus feature. With it, you can organize mail by date, importance, attachments, and more.
The presence of indicators show you how many unread emails are in each account, so you can easily switch between them. Different accounts may have different color schemes to make it easier to keep track of them.
You can set different sound alerts for each account in the application settings. The program can display the number of emails in the Dock or menu bar. The application can be silenced for a while with a special switch.
Another advantage of Kiwi for Gmail is support for Google Apps. With just one click, you can launch Google Calendar, Contacts, and open the Google Drive window or Documents, Tables, and Presentations.
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Things users don’t like about Kiwi for Gmail:
Supported platforms: Windows, Linux, Mac.
Price: Free, Pro version – $4.38/month, Enterprise – $14/month.
Rambox is not a traditional email client. Instead, it is a productivity suite that aims to help users organize their workspace by managing multiple applications from a single location. Rambox supports more than 600 applications, including major email clients, instant messaging and social networking applications, calendar and scheduling, and project management tools.
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Things users don’t like about Rambox:
Supported platforms: iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Web.
Price: Free, PRO — $5/month, Business — $10/month.
Spike is an email client that allows users to view emails in a chat format. Several types of email browsing are available: chat, dialog format with built-in additional features, and standard email browsing. Thanks to the chat system, users can respond to incoming emails faster.
The service also makes it easy to share pictures, videos, audio, GIFs, and documents. In addition to quick file sending, the app allows for audio and video calls, and shows when the person you’re mailing to has opened a message and started typing a reply. Moreover, users can create group conversations for any tasks and projects.
Finally, users can sort incoming emails and view the most important ones in a separate folder.
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Things users don’t like about Spike:
Supported platforms: Windows, Mac.
Price: Free, Pro-version – $49,95
This is a powerful email client with a modern interface, high performance, and tons of features for working with email. If you need to handle a lot of emails from several mailboxes and have a busy correspondence, then eM Client is the right choice for these tasks.
It has all the basic features you need: a calendar, contacts and task manager, and live chat between users. The program allows you to import settings and content from many other email clients, so the migration process is not difficult. The free version allows you to import two profiles only, while the Pro version has no import restrictions.
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Things users don’t like about eM Client:
Supported platforms: Windows.
Price: Free 30 days. Further costs are calculated for each client individually.
In addition to a well-designed user interface, Inky boasts multi-account capability, flexible filters, cloud synchronization, and a user-friendly visualization that lets you choose colors and icons for different accounts.
Inky also features built-in automatic sorting of incoming emails by relevance. Messages from the closest contacts are marked with a blue blob, which means the message is highly important. Less important messages and spam are marked with less bright drops and are lowered in the list.
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Things users don’t like about Inky:
Supported platforms: Windows, Mac.
Price: $59 lifetime license.
Postbox positions itself as an email application for professional use. Postbox is very easy to use and has the usual email client design features. It synchronizes from Yahoo, Gmail, iCloud, Office 365, Outlook and from other email service providers. With its feature set, Postbox is a great option for those looking to improve their email productivity and organization.
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Things users don’t like about Postbox:
Supported platforms: Web, Android, iOS.
Price: For individuals: Free, Unlimited – $7.99/month; For businesses: Mail Essentials – $6.49/month, Business – $9.99/month
If your privacy is paramount, it’s time to start using ProtonMail. ProtonMail is a Switzerland-based email service that offers enhanced privacy and security features. The program involves special transmission methods that ensure that only the users involved in the communication have access to the messages.
ProtonMail prevents any unauthorized persons, including email providers, from viewing the mailbox. It also has a clean, user-friendly interface and allows for custom domain usage (for paid version only). It is a solid choice for individuals or businesses looking for heightened privacy and security in their email communications.
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Things users don’t like about ProtonMail:
Supported platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux.
Price: free.
Zimbra is a multifunctional email client. The idea behind Zimbra is to combine email with other teamwork tools. These include chat correspondence, one-to-one correspondence and group chats, etc. Zimbra can work both with its own email server and with other email providers (Gmail, AOL, Yahoo Mail, Microsoft Exchange IMAP). All in all, the Zimbra client is a great program for simplifying collaboration within a company.
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Things users don’t like about Zimbra:
An email client comes in handy for those who need to keep track of emails but have several mailboxes.
Using an email client allows you to manage multiple email accounts from one platform, saving time and streamlining the communication process. Clients allow you to receive, send, store, and sort emails, as well as edit them and set up automatic sending. Many also offer additional features such as delegating emails or setting up auto-responders. You can also export and import emails into other programs.
When deciding on an email client, it’s important to consider:
