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Email · 10 alternatives

Instead of Thunderbird, try one of these 10.

Every alternative is lined up against Thunderbird on what people actually switch for: price, open source, self-hosting, offline use and platforms. Thunderbird sits in the first row, so you can see what you give up.

Show onlySorted by likes · 10 of 10
Alternative
Price
Open source
Self-host
Offline
Platforms
ThunderbirdWhat you have now
Free, open-source desktop email client from Mozilla.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux
Spark#1
Smart inbox that filters noise and groups by sender.
PriceFreemium
premium $5/mo
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Mac · Win · iOS · Android
K-9 Mail#2
Open-source Android client for multiple mail accounts.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Android
eM Client#3
Full-featured desktop email, calendar and contacts.
PriceFreemium
pro $50 once
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac
Mailbird#4
Windows mail app with unified inbox and app integrations.
PriceFreemium
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac
SeaMonkey#5
All-in-one browser, mail and newsgroup suite.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux
Evolution#6
GNOME mail, calendar and contacts suite for Linux.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Linux
Claws Mail#7
Fast, plugin-extensible GTK mail and news client.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Linux
Betterbird#8
Thunderbird fork adding fixes and extra features.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux
BlueMail#9
Mobile-first unified inbox covering all your accounts.
PriceFree
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux · Android · iOS
Pelton#10
Telemetry-free desktop mail client with offline search.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux

How to read this. “Yes” means fully supported by the maker. “Partial” means it works with caveats. Likes reflect community popularity; vendors can’t pay for them or for placement. How we compare.

Thunderbird alternatives at a glance

Thunderbird is a free email app. We compared 10 alternatives: 6 are open source, 7 are completely free, 0 can be self-hosted and 9 work fully offline. The most popular is Spark, with 740 likes.

Most liked overallSpark

Smart inbox that filters noise and groups by sender.

Freemium
Best free optionK-9 Mail

Open-source Android client for multiple mail accounts.

Free · Open source · Works offline
Best open-source optionSeaMonkey

All-in-one browser, mail and newsgroup suite.

Free · Open source · Works offline
Best for offline useeM Client

Full-featured desktop email, calendar and contacts.

Freemium · Works offline

More email apps

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