Unlike Windows, Mac OS X comes packed with its very own mail client, aptly named ‘Mail’. You’ve probably seen it or indeed used it, if you have your own Mac. We have previously written about the newly introduced features in Mac Mail App.
5 of the Best Email Clients for Mac By Mahesh Makvana – Posted on Mar 27, 2014 Mar 27, 2014 in Mac Although all the email services available let you access your emails via a web based interface, it is a good idea to have an app that can manage all this for you. 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. Best Email Apps for Mac Platform The common reasons people usually leave Mac Mail app and opt for a third party one is usually the lack of delete and archive options as separate functions in the Mail app, or no Dropbox integration for instance.
However, don’t take it as a given that there is no alternative for the application, and although it pretty features rich, well supported and typically of Apple products in general, quite aesthetically pleasing, you might want to consider one of the following.
Alternative Mail Clients for Mac OSMozilla Thunderbird
For anyone who has dabbled with various e-mail clients over the years, Thunderbird from Mozilla must have become quite the obvious and ubiquitous choice. It’s popular for many reasons, but possibly most of all because it’s open-source, and therefore as is often the case: free.
Unfortunately, as is usually the case with open-source software, beauty takes to the back benches and compared to the standard Mail application in OS X, Thunderbird certainly won’t be up for any pageants any time soon.
Having said that, it’s functionally very adept, allowing you to keep your Mac and Windows PC’s in check and consistent, as it’s one of the only popular mail clients that’s truly cross-platform, including Linux distributions.
With this also being the 8.0 version of Thunderbird now, there are a lot of tweaks and extra features now that were never around before, including the option of add-ons, which allow for more customised productivity in an e-mail client, as well as the ability to customise the look and feel, something very rarely available in other clients.
The main reason you might want to use Thunderbird though, given that it caters for your mailing needs, is its openness. Not only would you be supporting the work of a giant not-for-profit organization that has a powerful ethos about delivering quality software, it also means that it’s being constantly developed, supported, improved, as well as being more compatible than any other mail client.
If you’re looking for a great free alternative to Mail, this is certainly the choice I would recommend. You can download it here.
Postbox
However, if you’re looking for something a little more polished, then you might want to spend a little cash to get exactly what you’re after. Enter Postbox, probably my favorite of all Mac e-mail clients. Having said that, the £29.95 license might be a little bit of a put-off for budding buyers.
What you get for that though, is a great looking mail application that can handle social feeds, calendars etc. and the self-proclaimed ‘best Gmail client for Mac’. It’s hard to deny that it does host pretty comprehensive Gmail integration, new to the latest version of Postbox, 3.0, which is built on top of the open-source code that comprises Thunderbird.
On top of that, whilst there might not be a great deal that will ‘wow’ you in terms of what it can do over and above its rivals that cost a lot less, it’s more the experience that you’re splashing out for. The developers have gone to the effort of tweaking and perfecting every inch of the application so it’s fully incorporated into Mac OS X, including gestures and full-screen capabilities new to Lion.
There’s also a handful of useful features great for adding convenience and productivity to your Mail application, including a favorites bar with a similar premise to how your bookmarks bar works in most browsers, essentially providing a minimal shortcut to your various accounts and folders. As well as that you have a series of preset messages that you can simply send if you’re in a hurry and need to get a basic message across to a person or people.
There’s no doubt it’s a great application, but it’s the price you want to be wary of. If you don’t use Mail a whole lot, you’d be better off sticking to Mail in OS X, or even Thunderbird, but if you’re a heavyweight in this area then it might well be worth your while. If you have bought Postbox in the past, an upgrade to the latest version only costs just under £10. You can download the free trial, or buy the full version from here.
Sparrow
And now for something completely different. If you’ve used a variety of mail clients in the past, irrespective of platform, you’ll probably be familiar with the standard look and feel of them. It’s pretty consistent, to say the least. The typical sidebar down the left, function buttons along the top and the main body making up the rest of the window, displaying message lists and the message itself underneath.
However, the developers of Sparrow have opted for a totally new and minimalist look. This is very much one for the mail lightweight, in fact until recently it wouldn’t even work with mail accounts other than Gmail. However, a recent update has brought a host of new features, allowing you to entirely customize your Mail experience and make is as simple or as complex as you please.
If you’ve used the official Twitter app for Mac, you will be surprised by how strikingly similar the interface actually is to that, which is a great thing if you’re a bit of a minimalist as it does look great and professional. However, in terms of productivity, it can be slightly restricting, so I guess this is for the people who were disgusted by the thought of paying nigh on £30 for Postbox. The casual users.
Having said that, Sparrow isn’t free. Though nor is it expensive. Considering it offers such a vastly different mail experience to most of its rivals, and you might well prefer it by an equal gulf, £6.99 doesn’t seem altogether unreasonable. And there is a ‘lite’ version which is free and both versions are available through the Mac App Store, here.
Outlook
The latest version of Microsoft Office for Mac, 2011, brought with it a brand new application for the Mac: Outlook. Though it’s proved the staple for many businesses and personal users using Windows for years, with its abundance of advanced features and being a standard part of Office, such a popular suite of applications on the whole.
For the Mac though, it’s something new, but it will probably be something extremely welcome. Though it isn’t at all cheap, with the entire Office package being £190 for a 1 user license, or the 2 user license being £230. Outlook only comes as part of the Home & Business edition, more expensive than the standard Home & Student edition. Unfortunately, you can’t buy an individual Outlook application as yet.
Outlook does come with a host of incredible features though, that once used you might not want to be without. For instance, for a pro user, the integration with OS X’s Spotlight and Time Machine features could be pivotal in sorting through heaps of email and backing them up, respectively. And with regards to productivity, Spotlight even allows you to access your mail accounts without actually opening the app itself, using Quick Look.
All in all, it’s a terrific Mail application, probably the best of the bunch, but the price is astronomic for a basic user but well worth it for a business or heavy mail user due to its advanced feature set, quality support, and broad connectivity. You can download the Outlook app here.
See Also:
Outlook Mail has screwed me over- lost ALL my emails, folders, everything! Can no longer access my Hotmail account. PLEASE don’t promote this freakin’ disaster!!!!
Apple Mail is a free, native email application that ships with every Mac, making it a solid default choice for most Mac users, especially those using iCloud only. Despite steady developments from the Apple stable, its email client hasn’t had a major design upgrade in years; it’s the same old-school design.
Although it’s a good, full-featured and trouble-`
free app, it may lose out to third-party alternatives for Mac because it doesn’t do anything further to help you rethink email.
If you are looking to switch to a better email client, here are the best free and paid Apple Mail alternatives for Mac users.
Related: 7 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do with Your Email Inbox
1. Spark
Spark is a free and impressive desktop email client for Mac that not only allows you to organize inboxes automatically, but also postpone emails and send one-click replies to your contacts.
Its Smart Inbox sorting feature uses buckets like Personal, Newsletters, and Notifications to bubble important messages at the top.
You can also schedule your emails like you would in Gmail at select times such as later today, in the evening, tomorrow, and more. Similarly, if you sent an email and didn’t receive a response for it, Spark nudges you with follow-up reminders just so you don’t forget.
The built-in Calendar tool comes in handy to help you organize your life.
For organizations, Spark for Teams is available as a collaborative email platform with unique features like collaborative composing and private commenting in small chat boxes. You can also invite teammates to collaborate and proofread your emails like in Google Sheets or Docs.
It also supports Yahoo, Google, iCloud, Outlook, Exchange, and IMAP accounts.
Why we like it
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What we don’t like
2. Mozilla Thunderbird
Thunderbird is a full-featured, open-source email client substitute for Apple Mail.
Besides letting you handle mail efficiently and filtering away spam or junk mail, Thunderbird is secure and functional, though it seems to be getting old. The application does get security updates, but other than that, it’s no longer in active development.
However, its email management service is secure, being a Mozilla project, but you may not get fancy features like those in other email client apps on this list. Either way, its still a simple, non-cluttered way of managing your email.
If all you want is a free email client to use with your Mac, Thunderbird is a good alternative. You may miss out on some cool features, but will still save on cost.
Thunderbird is highly extensible and has the feel of the classic Outlook with useful features like sending large attachments through cloud storage, tabbed email, and the ability to change its look and feel.
Why we like it
What we don’t like
3. CloudMagic (Newton)
CloudMagic is a free app you can use with Mac, though it came on the platform after a successful go on Android and iOS platforms.
It’s simple, fast, and has a transparent, clutter-free interface, which is actually good if you have a consistent stream of emails from multiple accounts every day.
It supports Yahoo, Google Apps, iCloud, Gmail, Exchange and IMAP accounts, and you can get it from the Mac App Store.
Why we like it
What we don’t like
Related: Eight Alternatives to Mailbox Email App on iOS
4. AirMail
AirMail is a paid app that isn’t just pretty to look at but is also “lightning-fast” and doesn’t bog you down with lots of features.
Unlike Apple Mail, this app has Split Screen support for OS X El Capitan and the ability to compose in HTML or Markdown.
You can also organize your tasks into To-Do, which require action or follow-up, Memo, which are for a later date, or Done, which are marked as completed. Like Gmail, you can also Snooze your emails and view them later.
AirMail is available for about $10 in Mac App Store and supports iCloud, Yahoo, Google, Outlook, IMAP, AOL, POP, and Exchange. It also integrates with third-party apps like Google Drive, Dropbox, Things, OmniFocus and more.
Why we like it
Windows Email Client For Windows 7
What we don’t like
5. Postbox
Postbox offers robust tools for more efficient email management and looks a lot better than Apple Mail.
Postbox lets you group your emails by topic, which is great with multiple email accounts. You can also divide your tasks into smaller, more manageable chunks for better organization.
Features like the pre-made responses make for easier and faster communication, though it lacks essential features like Send Later and Snooze.
The most unique feature is the Account Groups, which lets you combine your accounts into a unified box and separates or blends your work in an organized manner. There’s also a Focus Pane from which you can filter emails quickly to find what you want.
A nifty time tracker, which shows the length of time you took composing emails, and word count is included. And when you’re ready to hit send, domain fencing checks that you send emails to the appropriate recipients.
Postbox has a 30-day free trial and supports most popular email service providers and protocols like SMTP, POP3 and IMAP.
Why we like it
What we don’t like
Best Windows Email Client For Mac Os Email ClientWrapping UpBest Windows Email Client For Mac Os Email Server
If you’re content and satisfied with Apple Mail, you can continue using it. However, if you want more from an email client, something more reliable, stable, and modern, then consider one of these five alternatives.
Mozilla Thunderbird
Do you use a third-party email client for Mac? Tell us about it in a comment below.
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