1. Thunderbird
Though Thunderbird development was discontinued in 2012, it still receives maintenance updates so don’t write it off as dead just yet. In fact, a stable version update was released earlier this year. The client won’t be getting any new features going forward, but it’s absolutely still usable.
And, as sad as it is to say, Thunderbird is the only free and open source desktop email client that’s actually worth using. Other open source clients exist, but they’re riddled with issues like clunky interfaces, glitchy performance, and lack of advanced features.
Available for Windows, Mac, Linux.
Download — Thunderbird (Free)
2. Nylas Mail
We already highlighted Nylas Mail as an awesome mail client for Mac but we’re going to repeat ourselves here because it’s that good. What’s most interesting, at least to me, is how it came out of nowhere and developed so quickly: first announced in January 2016, Nylas Mail is now one of the best mail clients to use, even if it still has lots of room to grow.
Available for Windows, Mac, Linux.
Download — Nylas Mail (Free / $144 per year)
3. Mailbird
Mailbird is an attempt to optimize the desktop email client experience. If you’ve never used desktop email before, then you’ll probably love it. If you’re migrating from another client, it will be hit or miss — some parts will feel familiar, other bits will impress you, but you’ll undoubtedly find aspects that you hate as well. All we can recommend is giving it a try.
Available for Windows.
Download — Mailbird (Free / $12 per year)
4. eM Client
eM Client aims to be an all-in-one solution for dealing with office tasks and communications. It’s primarily designed for email, but also has nifty calendar integration, task management, contacts organization, and even chat support — and the free version only has one (albeit major) limitation, as you can see below.
Available for Windows.
Download — eM Client (Free / $50 one-time purchase)
5. Hiri
Hiri is an email client like no other. It aims to change the way you use email because your email habits are causing undue stress, and it’s designed to minimize the amount of time you waste on “unactionable” emails (thereby boosting your daily productivity). It even reminds you not to check your email too often. If you’re an efficiency freak, you need Hiri.
6. Mailpile
Mailpile is an e-mail client!
Mailpile is a search engine and a personal webmail server.
Mailpile is an easy way to encrypt your e-mail.
Mailpile is software you run yourself, on your own computer.
Mailpile is an effort to reclaim private communication on the Internet. A project to rescue our personal lives from the proprietary cloud and prevent our conversations from being strip-mined for corporate profit and government surveillance. Mailpile is taking e-mail back.
Available for Windows.
Download — Mailpile (Free)
