You’ve Got Mail Email clients come in all forms of size and functionality. But only a few have the necessary features that ease user interaction while providing an easy to use interface to manage, categorize and control all incoming and outgoing emails.
Support for the major email providers is also crucial for success and widespread adoption among users. The recent rise in the number of feature rich email clients for Mac allows users to select the best among clients that suit their taste and requirements. These competitors have not only gained widespread adoption due to their feature-rich interface, they are now on the verge of challenging the already established Apple Mail and Microsoft Outlook. So here we have we have compiled the top 3 email clients for Mac OS that not just feature rich but are also highly customizable to suit each user’s needs. Also Read: – Good Design, Powerful Features With a native UI and sleek design, the than the Apple Mail itself. For only $10, the app is filled to the brim with usable features, performance oriented software architecture and an intuitive design. The base engine is from Mozilla’s flagship Thunderbird – application with no further development or innovation.
The categorization algorithm and automatic account detection helps it shine better than most of its competitors. Once you have entered your email to start configuring the client, it automatically checks and detects all protocols until it finds the right one. Then it synchronizes all email (or selectively, depends on your configuration) to your Mac. All downloaded emails are then categorized by tracking their metadata to form threads and categories.
You can now easily follow and keep track of automatically created message threads. The message threads are clean and easily distinguishable from each other through simple interface elements. Along with that, the program automatically categorizes all images, audio and attachments to present a clean interface ready to take user input.
Cross platform and service support is one of its strongest suits. Now you don’t have to attach large files to your email. Postbox provides a Dropbox link to your file that can then be uploaded to share with its recipients. The app also connects major social networks like Facebook, twitter and others to provide a host of new features that generally lack in major email clients. – Super fast and Highly Customizable Airmail is a worthy replacement to Sparrow (Now bought by Google and shut down) with excellent features and support for Google services. The app is lightning fast with pre-caching processes that automatically cache most of the data that lets the app open and execute function in fraction of seconds.
Along with Google, it also supports other major email providers. It categorizes emails with the help of tags and labels just like Gmail. The app also comes with dozens of keyboard shortcuts that greatly help in navigation and carrying out basic functions. One of the major features of the app is its unlimited flexibility to customize. You can change how folder structures work, how conversations are displayed and the whole user interface of the app.
It also allows users to store to do’s in the form of folder structures that can be easily modified to suit your need. The app only costs $2 and comes with features that are ideal for Gmail and outlook users. Unfortunately, it also has its share of disadvantages that are likely to be improved in future versions. One of the major repellant is the huge number of icons and buttons that often make the user interface hard to understand. It takes the normal user some time to set up the whole workspace before they can continue using the app effectively.
But once the app is set up, it turns out to be the most effective and fast email client on the web. – Beautiful and Self Learning App The most attractive feature of Inky is its awesome interface. Along with a clean and natural interface, the app focuses on productivity and personalization depending on user choices. This is ideal for users who like to use emails clients for personal uses rather than for businesses or in professional environments. One of its distinguishing features is its setup process. All your account related information including POP and IMAP information is stored on Inky’s server to automate user experience and data across devices and locations.
Once you are logged in, the app automatically pull all emails to your desktop and classifies them categorically with significant ease. Inky uses the unified inbox approach to display all your emails.
Moreover, you can connect multiple email accounts along with social networks with Inky and it will automatically grab all incoming emails and messages on the respective services to your desktop. The unified interface is well-organized even when there are hundreds or thousands of emails waiting to be read. Moreover, Inky is self-learning. That means it automates a majority of the tasks by noticing what you generally do with a type of email or thread. This saves most of your time and helps you focus on the important stuff. Moreover, you can teach inky to display your emails based on relevance, which is then automated until you remove your preferences.
Inky also comes with smart organization features that automatically categorizes all emails into pre-built categories depending on the contents. The only thing lacking in the app are business oriented features that some users may expect from an email client. Conclusion Along with the above, a dozen other applications may suit your requirements. Some of the most popular ones that deserve a mention are:, etc. All of these apps are quite different from each other even though they accomplish the same task. Unique interfaces with hundreds of inbuilt features that ease user experience make them the most popular apps among the Mac community.
Some of the apps also have versions for other operating systems, therefore helping you adapt in whichever OS you like. Even if you want a simple email client, you don’t have to stick to Apple Mail. There are better alternatives at throwaway prices that provide a better experience along with productive features.
There are several instances when you need a desktop-friendly email client app. One, you may have a self-hosted email account but couldn’t afford to get the Google Business Suite. Or, you may be fed up with the traditional interface offered by Gmail and Outlook. Or, probably you would want to manage your emails; get real-time notifications, and enjoy other details on your computer. Previously, we have covered the best email clients for Android.
This time, however, is for Mac. Fortunately, there is a big number of Mac email clients out there. Every day, we see the rise of something innovative.
In this article, we have compiled some of the best and versatile email clients for Mac. Regardless of who you are and the work you do, you’ll find a suitable app here. Shall we begin? Read: Best Email Client for Mac #1 Mail (Apple Mail App) Unlike Windows, macOS ships with an inbuilt email client — named Mail.
It’s probably one of the best email clients you can have for Mac too. The best part about Mail is that it keeps you active on the Apple ecosystem. That is, you can use the same app on your iPhone or iPad, syncing every bit of information you have. There are also features like Handoff for those who are in Apple ecosystem. Handoff basically lets you start working on an email on your iPhone and complete it later on the Mac. It’s one of the exclusive features you’ll find in Mail.
Keep that aside, and Mail app is the typical email client you can find. Mail does not offer much scope for customization or experimentation. There are a few add-on stuff, but they are not great. Free to use and built into macOS. Continuity features like Handoff Cons. A non-intuitive, rudimentary design.
Lacks customization. Navigation could be better If you are looking for a simple email client for Mac, Mail is the best option. If you are in the Apple ecosystem, you can benefit from features like Handoff.
Otherwise, you have different options too. It must also be noted that you don’t have to pay anything to use Mail.
(free) #2 Canary Mail — Secure Email Client for Mac Canary Mail is one of the most feature-friendly email clients for Mac. Even when offering a modern UI, it has not made any compromises in terms of security. It’s also one of the very few email clients that offer PGP Encryption. As oxymoronic as it sounds, Canary Mail is a fun & secure email client for Mac.
It works with your own email accounts as well as services like Gmail. There are a few features that we loved in Canary Mail. For instance, it offers two types of inboxes — normal and Focused. Thanks to Natural Language Search and Filters, you can quickly find emails that you are looking for.
Email Templates, Snooze Features and Read-Receipt Notifications etc. Are also included in the email app by default. Canary Mail also offers one of the best User Interface designs we’ve seen.
You can enjoy the Dark theme on both your Mac and iOS devices. If you ask us, though, we’d say the best thing about Canary Mail is the on-demand nature. You can keep all the super features aside and Canary Mail will still be an awesome way to manage your emails.
Pros. A modern, intuitive UI. On-demand Encryption, Read Receipt, and Focused Inbox features.
Seamless integration. Multi-device support Cons. AI Cleaner isn’t up to the mark Canary Mail is undoubtedly one of the most feature-rich email clients for Mac. It offers a state-of-the-art set of security and functionality. The AI features aren’t perfect, but you can get started.
We also loved the multi-touch gesture support too. ($20) #3 Boxy — Best macOS Email Client for Gmail Boxy is the best Mac email client for those who use Inbox by Gmail. Inbox by Gmail, in case you did not know, is a rather focused webmail interface. It also integrates with other Google services like Calendar and To-Dos.
Now, Boxy is bringing all those features to a desktop app. You can simply log in using the Gmail account and get all the benefits. The interface is no different from Inbox by Gmail. That having said, Boxy is easier to manage than the web-based UI. You also get one of the best Email Compose interfaces we’ve seen. In short, Boxy brings all good things about Gmail Inbox to your desktop. There is support for notifications as well as on-time sync as well.
Boxy also supports a bunch of common keyboard shortcuts. If you ask us, we’d recommend Boxy for the sake of the cleaner UI. Everything is available in a clean-packed way. Talking about the UI, Boxy lets you choose between different viewing modes as well as themes. You can, for instance, choose between Dark, Black, White and Crimson themes. Of course, it’s a downside that you cannot use other accounts here. Pros.
Cleaner UI. Optimized for Inbox by Gmail.
Easy Mail Management Cons. Doesn’t work with non-Gmail accounts.
Lacks customization Boxy is loved for the simple way it presents your Gmail messages. If you are a Gmail + Google user, Boxy is a superb way to keep track of your email world. We’d recommend Boxy if you want a desktop experience for Gmail messages. (Free) #4 Spark — Smartest Email Client for Mac Spark is one of the most versatile email clients we’ve seen for Mac.
Developers of Spark say it is the future of email, and we may agree with that. The best thing about Spark is that you can use it for personal as well as organization-level needs. This email client has been designed in a clean manner that you can completely focus on creating the best email. Unlike many of the email apps we’ve covered, Spark comes with a Smart Inbox.
This Inbox can identify the type of email and put it to categories like Personal and Social. You can also Pin certain emails for the further look on the go. Plus, Spark lets you manage them quite easily.
Or, if you want, you can shift to the Classic Inbox as well. There are also some awesome features like, follow-up reminders, integrated calendar, smart search, Quick replies, and worthwhile integrations. You can also optimize Smart Notifications so that you are alerted in case of important emails. By the way, Spark has a variant named Spark for Teams, which offers a bunch of features for in-team collaboration. Pros. Clean Design.
Smart Inbox with Categories. Rich Email Creation Experience Cons. None worth noting Spark should be your go-to choice if you need a simple email client with smart features.
The developers have succeeded in including the features without making the app so bulky. In case you have a big team, you can go for Spark for Teams as well. (Free) #5 Thunderbird — Best Free Email Client for Mac Thunderbird is a completely free, open-source email client, available for various platforms. Being a project from Mozilla, you can count on Thunderbird when you want a secure email management experience. You’ll have to miss out some fancy features that we’ve seen in earlier products. Still, you are getting a non-clumsy way to manage email.
Talking about the UI, Thunderbird does not have anything modern to offer. For instance, it does not have a unified interface for showing emails. You can double-click on a message, which would be opened in another tab. On the right side, you can access the Integrated Calendar as well. On the bright side, however, this email client offers one of the best performance levels we’ve seen. We really believe that Thunderbird can be better with some basic work from the team. For instance, one of the less intuitive things is to configure a new account with Thunderbird.
At the same time, we really liked a few features like the Integrated Address Book and better Preferences when it comes to displaying emails. It is a simple tool, but nothing much. Pros. Simple, Clean Design. Better Security and Open Source Cons.
Rudimentary Design. Lacks many features Thunderbird isn’t for everyone. If you are looking for a completely free and open-source email client for Mac, it’s probably the only choice. By doing so, however, you are missing out some of the cool features.
On the brighter side, you don’t have to pay a single penny. (Free) #6 Postbox — Best macOS Email Client for Multiple Accounts Postbox is yet another email client that deserves a place here.
It’s probably the best email client for Mac that comes with a lot of features. If you are someone who manages multiple email accounts and wants a cleaner UI, Postbox makes sense. This app is simple, clear and powerful, to quote the developers themselves. And, after testing it for a while, we thought the same. Account Management is perhaps the best thing in Postbox.
You can manage your multiple accounts as well as corresponding folders from the sidebar. The modern UI lets you view an email message and perform a lot of actions without much navigation.
Postbox also offers a Universal Search feature, which is helpful when it comes to finding emails and attachments. We also loved the Focus Pane in Postbox. If you’re involved in multiple projects, this feature would help you in easy navigation. Pre-canned responses and HTML editing are some nerd-focused features we found in the email app. In short, Postbox does not compromise the number of features, but you still have an intuitive way to do things.
Pros. Simple UI and Integration. Integrated Account Management Cons. Navigation Could Be Better Postbox is a wonderful email app for Mac that everyone can use. It packs a number of features we have not seen in other packages. Still, we’d recommend Postbox for professionals, who have to manage multiple mail accounts as well as folders. (Paid, $40) #7 Airmail — Best Overall Email Client for Mac We’ve saved the best for the last: Airmail.
Airmail is by far the most popular email client for macOS. It is so good that people have been using it for personal, professional and combined needs. Just so you know, it is available for both macOS and iOS. You can enjoy the features as well as the same interface on both devices, thanks to the sync. Navigation is one of the strong points of Airmail. Through a widely customizable design, you can view your emails, folders and other aspects easily. This email client has packed many features without compromising the intuitive nature of the User Interface.
Even for someone who hasn’t used an email client before, Airmail is the best place to start. Better organization of your emails is possible through Airmail, which is a great perk for most people. You can for instance snooze the email messages, star them and manage the whole conversation easily.
Because this app is available for both iOS and macOS, you can have benefits of sync as well. Also, you can integrate a lot of services like Dropbox, Calendar and Google Drive with Airmail. Pros. Intuitive Interface.
Ample scope for Customization and Integration. Easy Management Cons. Lacks smart categorization of emails At the end of the day, Airmail is the best-balanced email client for macOS. You don’t have to worry about an extremely tough set-up or hard-to-understand features. For the price you pay, Airmail offers one of the best email and account management experiences.
($9.99) Which is the best Email client for Mac? You have seen some of the best email clients you can have right now for macOS. Some of these apps, Spark and Airmail, have multi-device support as well. You can enjoy the same interface and features on your Mac as well as iPhone. Another thing we loved about Spark is that it categorizes emails based on the type, making it really easy for Quick Look. However, if you need better continuity support, we’d recommend sticking onto the Apple Mail app.
Best download microsoft office 2008 for mac. And, for anyone who is looking for the best spot between both, Airmail and Postbox would be our recommendations. In other words, depending on the level of features you need, you can choose one of these seven email clients for macOS.
Awesome, huh?
Apple Mail is one of the best email apps for Mac users. This Mac Email client is well designed for Apple ecosystem and works well with OS X and iOS devices. This built-in Mac email client works well with most of the email providers like Gmail, iCloud, Outlook, Yahoo, etc. There are a lot of other best email app for Mac that performs well in speed with great additional features, compared to the UI and features offered by Apple for native OS X Mail client.
Most of these Mac email clients support cloud attached files to email, a helpful feature while you send extremely large files. We pick the best email clients for Mac that meet your expectations when you work on Mac. Airmail is the best Mac Mail App on Apple Store. This excellent Mac email client offers similar performance with a single or numerous emails accounts. This app selected as one of the best email client for Mac that is ideal for those who have multiple email accounts.
Airmail supports iCloud, MS Exchange, Gmail, Google Apps, IMAP, POP3, Yahoo!, AOL, Outlook.com, Live.com. This Mac Email client is clean and offers a smooth delivery of emails without any interruption. The built-in features like Quick reply and move messages to different mailboxes are going to save a lot of time for Mac users. You can quickly preview attachments right from the main Airmail screen without opening the email thread and quick label them. In addition to this, Airmail bring you a cool feature that let you schedule email to send later, going to love this feature to schedule Birthday or Aniversary wishes in advance. Apple Store Link: ($9.99) Related: Spark. Spark email client is my favorite email app that let you quickly see what is inside of an email (quick preview) and you can neglect or delete.
Spark is a real time saver when you are dealing with a lot of spam and junk emails mixed with official emails. The main feature of Spark for Mac, that makes this email app so unique from other email clients is Smart Inbox that arranges all the emails into cards. Spark Email classifies the email into diverse groups, Personal, Newsletters, and Notification. The user can tell Spark app which email is important to make it learn about the important emails. Spark always keep update features with new Mac hardware and the latest update comes with Touch Bar and Snooze capabilities. The email client has quick action gestures that can be customizable whenever needed.
Spark is a lightweight and powerful email client allow to on Mac. These unique features make this Mac email client as one of the best Mac email apps on Apple store. Apple Store Link: (free) Related: Boxy Boxy is an unofficial client for Inbox by Gmail.
This Mac mail app comes with similar features to Google’s Inbox. This Mac Email software offers a modern and clean UI on your Mac screen for the emails.
You can use this email client in full screen as well as split screen mode to get better user experience. The email program comes with an innovative feature. Boxy email application allows the user to start writing an email and continue it afterward on an iOS device.
A fascinating Reader mode is also present for the people providing them everything expect from the text. Apple Store Link: ($5.99) Mail Inbox The developers call the Mail Inbox as the unofficial client for Google Inbox. This Mac mail app offers the users a sleek and responsive interface and one for the best email app for Mac for Gmail users.
Like other Mac email clients, Mail Inbox supports multiple email accounts along with Google Inbox. This Mac email app lets you hide email attachments preview to clean your Inbox and offer a neat preview of the inbox. With the Mail Inbox, you can start writing the mail and continue it later on mobile like the feature offered in the Boxy email client. The Email App works with any Gmail account and offers a cool experience with amazing features. With Mail Inbox Mac client, you can set snooze to take care the emails later and reminders for the emails to be notified later. Apple Store Link: (free) MailTab Pro MailTab Pro is a sleek and attractive email program for Mac, that stay on Mac menu bar.
This Mail menu icon is to give you a quick access to your Gmail account just with a click from the Mac menu bar. The audio alerts are customizable alert you about a new email as soon as it comes into inbox. The UI customization let you keep the Email app UI window transparent, with a unique slider. You can resize the Email App window or tab to get more working space on your Mac screen for multi-tasking. This Mail Tap Pro is one of best email client for Mac with the minimal design concept and lightweight. Apple Store Link: ($2.99) Unibox for Mac Unibox is one of the best email software for Mac, but expensive compared to other apps. This Mac people-centric email program organizing the mails by the originating thread.
The first thing that the tool states is neatness, does not have a crowded mailbox. The mails are sorted based on weekdays and the sender along with their profile photos.
All incoming emails are compiled and organized under the same thread based on the name of the sender. You can use multiple identities with one account and use the services offered. With Unibox, you can visually browse through the present attachment and preview them easily with Quick Look and filter the emails according to type for better viewing. Apple Store Link: ($15.99) Direct Mail Try Direct Mail App and end your search for an easy to use and feature-rich email program. It is the perfect Mac email app for powerful and efficient email marketing campaigns.
You can import contacts from other email programs already present on the Mac. The user can automate all your email campaigns by autoresponders, going to be a huge time-saving feature. Direct Mail allows 50 emails a month to send free. Wireless keyboards for mac.
In order to send more, the user has to use in-app purchase to unlock it. With this marketing email client, you can create customizable forms with the tool whenever needed.
With Direct Mail, you can make your email campaigns more interesting and great. Apple Store Link: (free) Most of these third-party Mac email clients work well with the email providers like native Mac Mail App.
However, these third-party email client apps like Airmail, Spark, Box, etc. Are drawing users attention with their amazing features and simple interface. Related: We listed the best email app for Mac. These Mac email apps do more than just reading your emails. These email clients offer some good extended functionality to make your life smooth and fast. You can select one of these best mail apps for Mac, that can handle your official emails and personal emails right from one client on Mac.
If you use more than one email account, as most of us do, the right free email client will really take the hassle out of managing your messages. This is particularly true if those accounts are with different providers, which would otherwise require you to have several browser tabs open at once. That's not all – as well as aggregating all your messages in one convenient place, a good email client can add features like encryption and integration with calendars, RSS feeds and video chat services. Desktop clients can store your mail locally too, giving you access to archived messages and attachments when you're offline and providing a valuable backup. That's a feature that webmail services are gradually catching up with (you can now, at last), but a dedicated email client offers far more flexibility and better search tools.
If that sounds good – and we think it does – read on for our pick of the very best free email clients. Only supports two email accounts has been around for nearly 10 years now, and throughout that long development it's evolved into the best free email client for Windows. EM Client makes it easy to migrate your messages from Gmail, Exchange, iCloud and Outlook.com – just enter your email address and the client will adjust the appropriate settings for you. EM Client can also import your contacts and calendar, and it's easy to deselect these options if you'd prefer to manage them separately. There's an integrated chat app too, with support for common platforms including Jabber and Google Chat, and the search function is far superior to those you'll find in webmail interfaces. Unlike most free email clients, eM Client is also packed with advanced options like automatic translation, delayed send and encryption. It's a remarkable set of tools, and for managing two email accounts, it's ideal.
If you have more accounts, it's well worth considering upgrading to for a one-off fee. This lets you connect an unlimited number of accounts, access VIP support (in the unlikely event that you need it), and use the email client commercially. Only supports one email account isn't just an email app – it's a whole communication platform to which you can add apps for scheduling, chatting, file syncing and teamworking.
Free users miss out on features such as speed reading, email snoozing and quick previews of attachments, but Mailbird Lite is still an excellent choice. The Lite version only lets you connect one email account but, it's optimized for speed, and looks great to boot. Setup is simple; enter your email details and Mailbird Lite will find the necessary POP or IMAP settings automatically, then get to work importing your messages. It offers to connect with your Facebook account, so it can liven up your inbox with your contacts' profile photos, and can also link with Whatsapp, Google Calendar, free task manager Moo.do, and teamworking app Asana. Doesn't support Gmail yet is usually a paid-for premium email client, but it's free for TechRadar readers. It's designed primarily with business users in mind (it currently only supports Microsoft email services including Hotmail, Outlook and Exchange), but home users will also appreciate its productivity-boosting features.
If you find yourself spending too long managing, reading and replying to emails, Hiri is the email client for you. It includes a smart dashboard that lets you see how many unread messages you have at a glance and how long you should wait before checking them (after all, how many really need an instant reply?) The Compose window is designed to save you time too, offering only the essential options (no fancy formatting) and including the subject line at the bottom so you don't have to write it until you know how to summarise the message.
These little touches make Hiri a truly exceptional client. If Microsoft is your email provider of choice, it should be well up your list. Interface still a little cluttered Thunderbird, from Firefox developer Mozilla, has just undergone a total overhaul that brings it right up to date. Not only does it look smarter, it also works much better. You no longer need to download and configure an extension to make full use of your calendar, and cutting, copying and deleting events is effortless. You can connect as many email addresses as you like to Thunderbird, and it's totally free, with no ads or prompts to upgrade.
Best Best Mail App For Mac 2018
It's also very flexible, with a wealth of customizable options – and if you can't see a particular feature, you can expand Thunderbird with third-party extensions. Thunderbird still takes a little getting used to (there are so many options, the interface is a little confusing at first), but it's a superb email client that'll serve you well – particularly if you have lots of accounts to manage. Setup takes a while The developers of Opera have always considered email to be a key feature of any good browser, and have poured a great deal of effort into developing free email client – now detached from the browser and available as a standalone program. Opera Mail's features include message templates - particularly handy for business use – message filtering and sorting, message sorting by type and a wide range of customization options.
The client also imports RSS feeds, making it a good alternative to web apps like Feedly and the much-missed Google Reader. What's the you can download today?
The Mac’s default Mail application (also referred to as “Mail.app” or “Apple Mail”) has a somewhat checkered past. While Mail.app provides a free, full-featured email client on every Mac and has even pioneered some innovative features over the years (like VIP and Handoff), it’s definitely not for everyone. It can be buggy, occasionally has issues playing nice with Gmail, and lacks some more advanced features that are present (and have been present for years) in other third-party email clients. If you use plug-ins to extend Mail.app’s functionality, Apple has a history of making changes that cause developers to re-write their plugins, resulting in a broken email workflow while you wait for updates.
Fortunately, there is no shortage of excellent third-party email clients that aim to fix Mail.app’s shortcomings. In this article, we’ll take a look at several of the more popular options and introduce you to our favorite. Criteria for the Best Email App In selecting the best email app for macOS, we used the following criteria to select the winner:. Overall Design — Dealing with email can be annoying, and using a poorly-designed email client can compound the frustration factor.
The email client you decide to use should provide you with a well-designed user interface that aids you in your quest for Inbox Zero. Ease of use — The email client you use should give you the tools you need to get the job done while staying out of the way as much as possible. You want to focus on reading and responding to email, not navigating complex menus or trying to figure out basic functions. Innovative Features — As the amount of email we receive grows over time, the way we deal with it must evolve. Developers are starting to reconsider how we fundamentally deal with the email we receive, and it is important that we consider innovative features that make it easier (and more enjoyable). Support for Multiple Account Types — The best third-party email clients are flexible enough to offer support for many different types of accounts, such as Gmail, iCloud, O365, Yahoo, Exchange, IMAP, etc. If an email client doesn’t support your email provider, then it’s just not an option for you — no matter how awesome it looks.
Support for Gmail-Style Shortcuts — If you’ve ever used Gmail keyboard shortcuts, you probably can’t imagine not using them since they can drastically reduce the amount of time you spend in your email client. For example, to archive a message in Gmail, you just have to press the “e” key, compared to using “Shift + Command + A” in Mail.app (you can view a complete list of Gmail keyboard shortcuts by pressing “?” in Gmail). These shortcuts can be a game-changer for how you read and respond to email, so it’s important that the best third-party email client for Mac support these.
Update Schedule — The email client you use should have a track record of being well-supported to minimize the risk of it suddenly disappearing, forcing you to figure out a new tool for your email workflow. Integration with Other Apps/Services — Email doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Many emails you receive have a task associated with them or a file you need to save for later, so it makes sense that you should be able to link that email message to your task management system (like Things 3, ) or a cloud storage solution like iCloud, Dropbox, or Google Drive.
Customization/Widgets — A good email client is flexible enough to support customization. Email is personal, and some email clients allow you to install widgets or plugins that can extend the core functionality, enabling you to create a very custom application that meets your specific email needs on any device.
Plays Nice with IMAP Folders — Some apps (rather sneakily) create additional IMAP folders for extended functionality, which (at best) creates additional clutter when you access your email outside of that email client, and (at worst) can cause major problems in your email-based workflow (i.e., when you can’t find a message because it’s actually sitting in a “hidden” folder). Get Your Email Under Control: Check out our for getting your email inbox calm and under control. Our Favorite Email App: Spark is our favorite third-party email client for the Mac because it has a great combination of powerful features and a clean, well-designed user interface. It’s a great productivity tool for individual users, and also offers some innovative features for teams that need to collaborate on emails together. Everywhere you look in Spark, there are features focused on making email better. The first thing you’ll notice is the Smart Inbox, which collects emails from all of your accounts and automatically organizes them into categories like Notifications, Newsletters, Personal, and Seen. This shows you the real emails from real people first so you can respond to the things that are important and save the rest for later.
Another unique feature in Spark is Quick Replies, which allows you to send short, templated responses. These are handy when you need to indicate that you’ve received or seen an email but don’t necessarily need to type out a lengthy reply. And if the message doesn’t require a response, you can use 4 different swipe gestures to mark it as read, archive it, pin it for later, or delete it entirely. One of the things that Apple Mail gets right is the support for smart mailboxes. These allow you to create custom mailbox folders that automatically organize your email messages based on criteria like who it’s from, what’s in the subject line, or what day it was received. Once you set up and use smart folders in Apple Mail, it can be hard to switch to an email client that doesn’t support it. Fortunately, Spark has support for smart mailboxes but they are even easier to create thanks to the built-in smart search feature.
Smart search appears all over the place in Spark, and functions a lot like Spotlight for your email client. All you have to do is start typing and Spark instantly shows you the available options. Spark also has a built-in calendar view, which can be useful when replying to a message requesting a call or meeting at a specific time. But what makes this feature really useful is the way it’s implemented. There are other email apps that build in calendaring functionality, but it’s either self-contained or uses a weird syncing protocol (I’m looking at you, Outlook). Spark does it a little bit differently. If you use something like Google or iCloud and then create calendar events in Spark, they will instantly show up on all your calendars in all your apps (like Fantastical or BusyCal).
The difference is subtle, but important — Spark is not trying to be your calendar, it’s just allowing you to access your calendar. There are some obvious limitations with this based on your account and service type. Such as, if you set up a standard IMAP account in Spark, the calendar view isn’t going to help you, but it is nice for the account types that support it. In addition to Google and iCloud, Spark supports quite a few different email account types, including:. Yahoo. GoDaddy.
Aol Mail. Hotmail.
Outlook. Office 365. Microsoft Exchange. GMX. Zoho.
Fastmail Spark also integrates directly with other productivity apps like, and, just to name a few. While the integrations provide much of the standard functionality available in other third-party email apps (like adding a due date for a task or choosing a notebook for reference material), the export window is customized to match the style of the service you are using. You can add personal info before you export, and some services allow you additional options like just copying the link to the message or exporting the message as a PDF. There are tons of other features that make Spark a great choice as your personal email client. Some of our favorites are email templates (so you don’t have to create your message from scratch every time), the ability to send messages later, follow up reminders, snoozing email messages, and customizable keyboard shortcuts (you can just click a button to use the standard set from Gmail or even Apple Mail if you prefer).
But Spark also includes features that make it a great solution as a team-based email tool. At first glance, it may be difficult to see the value or need for team-based email, and that’s okay. If you never use Spark’s collaboration features, it’s still an incredible email client. But sometimes it can be handy to have a conversation about an email, like when sending a proposal to a potential customer, and Spark allows you to do this from within the email client itself. Spark keeps all comments private, allowing your teammates to chime in before sending so you can create a better response. This is also a MUCH better method for keeping people “in the loop” than the traditional CC: or BCC: method which just leads to cluttered inboxes. You can also attach files to your comments so that all related client documents are kept together.
You can even create a secure weblink from any message that can be accessed via a web browser, which is a great way to integrate Spark with other web-based tools like a CRM. Spark also has an interesting pricing model built on its unique team-based collaborative features. If you use Spark for personal use, it’s completely free. The free version even allows you to get started with the team features, giving you up to 5GB of team file storage, 2 active collaborators (perfect if you work with an assistant), and up to 5 email templates.
You can upgrade to the Premium plan for a larger team, which includes 10GB per team member of file storage, unlimited collaborators, unlimited email templates, and even advanced link sharing options. The Premium plan is $7.99/user per month (or $6.39/user per month if billed annually). A VERY Close Second: Airmail is marketed as being a “lightning-fast email client for Mac,” and it certainly doesn’t disappoint.
It’s extremely quick and responsive and looks absolutely beautiful. Everything about Airmail is well-polished from a design perspective, and it just looks and feels like a native Mac application. But, Airmail is more than just a pretty face — it’s also a very powerful email client with a lot of great features that Mail.app lacks, like support for composing messages in Markdown. The compose window in Airmail actually allows you to compose in Markdown or HTML by opening up a side-by-side interface where you type on the left and your formatted text is displayed on the right.
This visual preview of your message can be really useful as you type your message to make sure you don’t miss anything that would result in broken links or strange-looking text. When it comes to receiving messages, Airmail takes a task-based approach that may be an acquired taste if you’re coming from Mail.app. Each message in Airmail can be marked as To Do, Memo, or Done. Selecting one of these options will apply an identifier (similar to a tag) to the message and move it to the appropriate container inside of Airmail. A To Do is (just like it sounds) something you need to do or take action on. For example, if your boss asked you to send an updated report, or your spouse emailed you to pick up something from the store on your way home, you might classify that as a To Do.
Once a task is completed, it is marked as Done, while a Memo is defined by Airmail’s support documentation as something that you need to memorize or store for later. Of course, you don’t have to use these features.
If the idea of managing tasks from your inbox doesn’t appeal to you, Airmail also integrates with many productivity applications like BusyCal, OmniFocus, and Things. Creating a calendar event or a task with a link to the original email message is easy: just right-click (control-click or two-finger tap) on the email, select Send To, and then select the application to which you want to send the email link. Airmail integrates with quite a few applications and includes a Plugin Framework API that developers can use to integrate their apps with Airmail. There’s a ridiculously long list of productivity applications Airmail supports, including OmniFocus, Things, BusyCal, Evernote, DEVONthink, 2Do, Cardhop, Fantastical, Trello, Bear, Droplr, Todoist, Trello, Asana, and many more. Airmail also includes several features that will be appreciated by power users, like AppleScript support and the ability to delay sending a message after hitting the Send button (giving you a chance to “undo” that angry email you sent and regretted a few seconds later). For Gmail users, Airmail supports Gmail keyboard shortcuts as well, and while the complete list is not supported, a surprising number of them are. Airmail is great, but there are a couple of things that keep us from naming Airmail as our favorite third-party email client.
One minor complaint we have with Airmail is the way that it handles your IMAP folders — it actually creates a few nested folders inside of an Airmail folder that it uses to handle email-based tasks. But the bigger issue is reliability. In our testing, we noticed Airmail will occasionally not send your message (and ). It appears this issue has been addressed in newer versions, but having a message fail to send when you think it has been sent is a big problem. It’s quite possible you won’t have any issues with this, but it’s something you need to be aware of. That said, Airmail is still a great email app overall.
If you were to choose Airmail simply for the beautiful coat of paint, what you’ll find underneath is a very versatile email client that will probably meet your email needs and then some. Airmail is also a one-time cost, so if Spark’s pricing model makes you a little bit nervous and you’d rather pay for your personal email client, Airmail is a great alternative. Get Your Email Under Control: Check out our for getting your email inbox calm and under control. The Best Email App for Power Users: MailMate If you’re looking for something more powerful than both Spark or Airmail, you might want to check out. Let me say at the beginning that MailMate is definitely not for everyone. The interface is a far cry from both Spark and Airmail, but if your goal is simply to crank through email as quickly and efficiently as possible, MailMate could be for you.
MailMate is a “keyboard-centric” mail client with a text-based approach to email. MailMate also supports more Gmail keyboard shortcuts than any other app except MailPlane, and you can even use your own if you want.
Because MailMate aims to be completely standards-compliant, it actually doesn’t even support formatted text. To add any basic formatting to your message (italics, bold, bullet lists, links), you must do it in Markdown. If you’re not used to writing in Markdown, it may take some getting used to. But, if you use Markdown frequently, then you’ll have no trouble picking up MailMate. MailMate also offers several unique, like a widescreen layout and special views to show thread arcs and email statistics. MailMate also has some of the most powerful search tools we’ve seen, rivaling Google’s web interface in terms of power and flexibility.
MailMate includes extensions (which it calls “bundles”) that allow integration with many different productivity applications, and the bundles that are shipped with MailMate go beyond the basic integrations that are found in most other third-party email clients. For example, MailMate is the only app that supports sending either a link to the original message or a copy of the message itself to OmniFocus (by using “Add” or “Add with Summary”). These bundles are also built on the default message URL schemes instead of using proprietary formats like both Spark and Airmail do. Let me give you an example: Let’s say you receive an email that you need to do something for, but you don’t want to do it right now. With any of the email clients we’ve mentioned so far, you can send that message to your task manager and it will create a task out of the message and include a link back to the original message.
When you are ready to take action, you can click that link and go straight to the message — no trying to find it in your email client, which is a huge time saver. But, if you look closely at the link in both Spark and Airmail, they are proprietary links.
The address will start with either spark:// or airmail:// respectively. This means when you click on the link, it will open directly in Spark or Airmail.
Which is fine if you’re all in with one of those email clients, but if you’re on a Mac where you don’t have those apps installed, you can’t get to the message. If you send an email to your task manager in Spark or Airmail for iOS, you’ll have to use the Mac counterpart if you want to access the message later. MailMate uses the default message format ( message://), which allows the message to open in any email client (and will use the one you set as the system default automatically). This isn’t a big deal, but if you are thinking of using different email clients on both your mobile and desktop devices, it’s something you should be aware of. MailMate is one of the most expensive email clients we reviewed, and is available for $50 from the (there is a 30-day trial available). At that price, MailMate is definitely not for everyone — in fact, it’s not for most people. The interface is very functional, but also pretty boring.
If looks are important to you, you won’t like MailMate. But, if you’re looking for the most powerful and most standards-compliant email client available, you write in Markdown frequently, and the price tag doesn’t scare you away, you might want to check it out. Other Options Postbox was previously our runner up, and is still a great email client with several unique features that are well thought out. For example, instead of just having one unified inbox, Postbox allows you to have “account groups” that can separate or blend work and personal accounts — a very useful feature if you have a lot of email accounts you’re required to manage. Postbox also has a Focus Pane which allows you to quickly filter email to find what you’re looking for. For example, you could quickly find an email from a specific person received yesterday that has an attachment.
Another great feature in Postbox is support for Pre-Made Responses. This is very similar to the “Canned Responses” feature in Google Labs (which is available in the Gmail web interface), but it doesn’t require that you have a Gmail account in order to use them and allows you to plug in tokens like first name or company. Postbox also has a time tracker feature when responding to email so you can see how long you’ve spent composing your message, as well as a word count. When you’re ready to send your message, Postbox also has domain fencing that can prevent you from sending an email from the wrong account.
And the Quick Bar is sort of like Spotlight for your email client, quickly allowing you to jump to any account, folder, or message using the keyboard. It also supports emojis, tagging, TouchBar support, and cloud file sharing (so you can attach large files to emails without cluttering up the recipient’s inbox). Postbox even has built-in anti-tracking, allowing you to block tracking pixels attached to some email messages. Postbox is also well-supported by the developers and receives consistent updates. Honestly, the main reason it’s not a runner up pick anymore is simply the emergence of Spark. Postbox is still a great email client, albeit a pricey one when compared to Spark or Airmail, and the interface is a little more cluttered because of all the features it supports.
Postbox is $40 and be purchased directly from the. There’s a 30-day free trial and a 60-day money back guarantee, so you basically have 90 days to try it out and see if it’s for you. Because all sales are handled through their website, they also offer upgrade pricing for owners of previous versions.
Canary One aspect of traditional email that can easily be overlooked is security. There are services that provide end-to-end encryption for the email messages you send and receive, but they can be a hassle to set up. Is an email app that handles it all for you by in a beautifully-designed email interface. You don’t have to think about it, and you can feel confident that only you and the person you’re communicating with can read what you send. Canary also has some great features, like a focused inbox, natural language search, smart filters, and a built-in cleaner that allows you to automatically find and delete unwanted emails. There’s also read notifications, email templates, the ability to snooze emails until later, and a one-click unsubscribe feature so you don’t have to search for those unsubscribe links. Unfortunately, Canary doesn’t play well with other productivity apps.
It integrates with Dropbox and Google Drive which is nice for taming attachments, but it doesn’t offer direct integration with a task manager like Spark, Airmail, and MailMate do. But if simple security is important to you, check out Canary. It’s available for, but is also included with a. Polymail is designed to be an email app for teams. Like Spark, it allows teams to communicate in real time with mentions and inline comments, and with email sharing you can turn any message into a sharable web link for your team to collaborate on. Polymail also integrates directly with apps your team might already be using, like Slack and Salesforce. What makes Polymail really interesting is the built-in automation and sequences features.
By automating manual tasks like email follow-up and scheduling meetings, your team can focus on the work that matters most. Sequences allows you to send out multi-stage email campaigns right from the app, and even gives you detailed reporting showing who opened, clicked, unsubscribed, or replied to your messages. Unfortunately, Polymail is pretty expensive and not a great option for individuals. It starts at $10/user per month for the Basic Plan, and the Premium Plan (which includes the sequences) is $24/user per month. We don’t recommend Polymail for most people, but if you’re looking for a powerful team email client that integrates with Salesforce and Slack, you might want to give it a look (if you’re not scared off by the price).
Outlook The approach to email is to integrate everything (calendar, tasks, email) into one ecosystem, which definitely isn’t for everyone and we personally don’t like it. It’s built from the ground up to support Microsoft Exchange, which combines everything into a somewhat proprietary format. So if you use Exchange-based email (popular in corporate settings), you might be stuck using Outlook as many third-party apps have limited support for the Exchange protocol. Outlook is also only available as part of an Office 365 subscription, which is pretty expensive ($6.99/month or $69/year for Personal, $9.99/month or $99/year for Home). An Office 365 subscription also includes other Microsoft office products like Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, so if you need or already use those apps it might be worth looking into. Interestingly, you can buy Office Home & Student 2019 for $149, but it doesn’t include Outlook.
So if you use Microsoft Office already or rely on the Exchange email protocol, Outlook may not be a bad option. Otherwise, the hefty subscription simply isn’t worth it. MailPlane If you prefer the Gmail web interface, is a great option since it basically runs the Gmail web app inside of an application wrapper.
This allows you to use the complete library of Gmail-supported keyboard shortcuts as well as Gmail plugins (like Boomerang) and even gives you access to Google Inbox while still offering some native app advantages, like Evernote and OmniFocus integration (among others). At $29.95, it’s specifically targeted for Gmail users who love the Gmail web interface but want the advantages of a native Mac app. UniBox offers a people-centric approach to email, organizing your messages and conversations by person. The list of contacts on the left-hand side of the screen is sorted by date, but each person will appear in the list only once.
Selecting a contact will reveal all your conversations with that person, similar to the Messages app. It’s a very different (and unique) approach to email, but is so non-traditional that it has a fairly steep learning curve. If organizing your messages by person sounds appealing to you, give UniBox (, included with a subscription) a look. Mail Pilot began as a Kickstarter campaign promising a a new (and better) email workflow. Mail Pilot treats your emails like tasks, which is an approach we don’t love.
Yes, many messages will require you to take action, but when you have tasks in your email client and tasks in a task manager (like Things) it’s easy to lose track of what is where and what you need to be doing. Ideally, your productivity system should have a single source of truth for what needs to get done (and it isn’t your email client). That doesn’t mean it can’t work for you though, so if you like the idea of assigning due dates to your email and organizing them by multiple priority levels check out Mail Pilot. As of this writing, Mail Pilot pricing is pretty confusing. Mail Pilot 2 was removed from sale by the developer and at the same time version 3 was announced via Medium. The website indicates that there are 2 versions available for pre-order: Carbon Fiber which is a one time purchase of $19.99 (50% off for pre-order), and a Yacht Club membership which is $4.99/month but also includes a weird 4-month 50% pre-order discount. The subscription gives you a couple additional features plus access to a Slack community and promises of free mobile apps if they release them.
Fortunately, there is a Public Preview edition you can first. Conclusion There is no single third-party email client that is perfect for everyone, but we believe is the best option for most people because of its powerful features and great design. If Spark’s pricing model makes you nervous, you prefer something a little more customizable, or need an integration with a productivity app that Spark doesn’t offer, check out. And if you’re looking for the most powerful, most flexible, most efficient, and most standards-compliant email client available (regardless of cost and looks), check out. Get Your Email Under Control: Check out our for getting your email inbox calm and under control.
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