Download Go for Gmail - Email Client for macOS 10.9 or later and enjoy it on your Mac. Go for Gmail is the best and most powerful Gmail desktop client. It's perfect for quickly accessing your Gmail account without ever needing to open a web browser. A recent surge of worthy new email clients offers Mac users some of the best choices they've ever had for managing their mail. With a panoply of clever features and new ideas, these contenders. This mail client only recently arrived on OS X after finding success on iOS and Android Task-Oriented Email App Mail Pilot Arrives On Mac OS X Task-Oriented Email App Mail Pilot Arrives On Mac OS X Like the mobile version of the app, Mail Pilot for Mac is very useful for managing important email like a to-do list.
Every Mac comes with a free email application, appropriately named Mail. Using the native Mail application is fine for most people, especially for those who only use iCloud, but things get trickier when you're dealing with multiple email accounts.
For Gmail users in particular, more thorough solutions are available, many which are free. Here's a look at five Mail alternatives and why they might work for you.
AirMail ($10)
Marketed as being a 'lighting-fast email client for Mac,' AirMail is also the most beautiful application on the list. Offering Split Screen support for OS X El Capitan, the application looks and feels like it's an Apple creation. It also features some options not available on the native Mac application, which consistently makes AirMail one of the best overall apps for OS XThe Best Mac Apps to Install on Your MacBook or iMacThe Best Mac Apps to Install on Your MacBook or iMacLooking for the best apps for your MacBook or iMac? Here's our comprehensive list of the best apps for macOS.Read More.
Chief among this is the ability to compose in Markdown or HTML. As you type on the left, the result is shown on the right side of the screen. Being able to view the formats side-by-side means you can make sure to remove broken links or weird-looking text before sending.
In AirMail, received messages may be organized by task. You can mark each email as To Do, Memo, or Done. The first are for items that require some action or a follow-up. A Memo is for items you need to memorize or store for later, and you can mark completed emails as Done. You can also Snooze messages, allowing you to move them to the side for viewing at a later time or date.
The application offers support for Google, iCloud, Exchange, Yahoo, Outlook, AOL, IMAP, and POP. It also works with many third-party integrations, including Dropbox, Google Drive, OmniFocus, Things, and many more.
AirMail is available in the Mac App Store. You can also download a beta version for free from the developer's website. An AirMail for iPhone app is coming soon.
Mail Pilot 2 ($20)
Like AirMail, Mail Pilot 2 turns mail into a to-do list, allowing you to focus on what's most important. Unique to Mail Pilot 2 is a relatively new feature called Dash.
With Dash, your daily life is summarized on a dashboard to help you become more productive. It includes the number of messages that you have received in the past 24 hours, plus those that are completed, set aside, due, and late. Dash also summarizes the average time it takes for you to reply to emails and more. Another handy feature provides links to files that you've recently sent or received, which is very nice.
The application supports all standard IMAP accounts, including Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo, AOL, Rackspace, Outlook.com, and Google Apps. Mail Pilot 2 is available in the Mac App Store. A $9.99 iOS version is available from the App Store. Ssh client for mac free download.
Do you want to learn more about Mail Pilot? Be sure to take a look at our original reviewTask-Oriented Email App Mail Pilot Arrives On Mac OS XTask-Oriented Email App Mail Pilot Arrives On Mac OS XLike the mobile version of the app, Mail Pilot for Mac is very useful for managing important email like a to-do list.Read More.
Postbox ($10)
In AirMail, received messages may be organized by task. You can mark each email as To Do, Memo, or Done. The first are for items that require some action or a follow-up. A Memo is for items you need to memorize or store for later, and you can mark completed emails as Done. You can also Snooze messages, allowing you to move them to the side for viewing at a later time or date.
The application offers support for Google, iCloud, Exchange, Yahoo, Outlook, AOL, IMAP, and POP. It also works with many third-party integrations, including Dropbox, Google Drive, OmniFocus, Things, and many more.
AirMail is available in the Mac App Store. You can also download a beta version for free from the developer's website. An AirMail for iPhone app is coming soon.
Mail Pilot 2 ($20)
Like AirMail, Mail Pilot 2 turns mail into a to-do list, allowing you to focus on what's most important. Unique to Mail Pilot 2 is a relatively new feature called Dash.
With Dash, your daily life is summarized on a dashboard to help you become more productive. It includes the number of messages that you have received in the past 24 hours, plus those that are completed, set aside, due, and late. Dash also summarizes the average time it takes for you to reply to emails and more. Another handy feature provides links to files that you've recently sent or received, which is very nice.
The application supports all standard IMAP accounts, including Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo, AOL, Rackspace, Outlook.com, and Google Apps. Mail Pilot 2 is available in the Mac App Store. A $9.99 iOS version is available from the App Store. Ssh client for mac free download.
Do you want to learn more about Mail Pilot? Be sure to take a look at our original reviewTask-Oriented Email App Mail Pilot Arrives On Mac OS XTask-Oriented Email App Mail Pilot Arrives On Mac OS XLike the mobile version of the app, Mail Pilot for Mac is very useful for managing important email like a to-do list.Read More.
Postbox ($10)
Postbox is one of the oldest email clientsPostbox: An Alternative Email Client For MacPostbox: An Alternative Email Client For MacPostbox is an email management application for Windows and Mac powered by the Mozilla platform.Read More on our list, but it's also a very stable product. Postbox's goal is to remove some of the chaos associated with mail, by offering robust tools to make the process more efficient.
One of Postbox's nicest features is the ability to group messages by topic. This allows you to break work into smaller, more manageable chunks. Grouping by subject is particularly useful when you have more than one email account. Postbox also enables you to create Pre-Made Responses, which you can reuse as often as needed.
Postbox works with most email providers including Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, and iCloud. It also supports POP3, IMAP, and SMTP protocols. It is available from the Postbox website. A 30-day free trial is also available, so you can try before you buy.
CloudMagic (free)
This mail client only recently arrived on OS X after finding success on iOS and AndroidTask-Oriented Email App Mail Pilot Arrives On Mac OS XTask-Oriented Email App Mail Pilot Arrives On Mac OS XLike the mobile version of the app, Mail Pilot for Mac is very useful for managing important email like a to-do list.Read More. Dubbed 'simple, beautiful & blazing fast' by its creators, the application features a transparent user interface, free of fancy buttons or slides.
This approach works well, especially if you have to go through a lot of emails each day or have multiple accounts. We especially like the application's shortcut buttons, which allow you to move quickly to the next or previous email.
CloudMagic offers support for Gmail, Exchange, Google Apps, Yahoo, Outlook, iCloud, and all IMAP accounts. It's available in the Mac App Store. CloudMagic for iOS and CloudMagic for Android are also available. Both are free.
Nylas N1 (free)
Two of most popular third-party mail clients in recent years were Sparrow and Mailbox. After each was purchased by Google and Dropbox respectively, both were eventually shutdown, leaving millions of users in the lurch. By contrast, Nylas N1 is open-source and published on GitHub, meaning it will never be bought and axed.
Nylas N1 is the closest thing you'll see to a next-generation mail program. It features a clean user interface, supports Gmail keyboard shortcuts, and best of all, because it is open-source, has a community to back it up. However, because it's so new, you may run into some problems, at least in the short-run. For example, N1 doesn't currently offer a unified inbox and the formatting isn't quite right.
Why is N1 on our list? Because it's been designed for easy modification. Best of all, it can run on multiple platforms including OS X, Windows, and Linux. Better still — it's free. N1 is compatible with many providers, including Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, Microsoft Exchange, and more. Currently, there is no N1 app for iOS.
You've Got Mail Options
If you're happy with Apple's default email client, keep it. For those looking for different ways to organize your mail or rather use something that plays nicer with Gmail, consider one of our alternatives. The most feature-rich solutions on the list are AirMail and Mail Pilot 2. The ones most likely to push mail into new areas in the next year are CloudMagic and Nylas N1. Looking for a reliable, stable solution? Consider Postmate.
Are you looking for more ways to customize your email experience on a Mac? Check out these hidden El Capitan features you probably don't know about11 Hidden OS X El Capitan Features You Might Not Know About11 Hidden OS X El Capitan Features You Might Not Know AboutThink you've found all the new features in El Capitan? Think again! There is a bounty of handy features that haven't gotten a lot of press.Read More, or take your email writing to the next level with these tools5 Tools That Can Help You Write Better Emails5 Tools That Can Help You Write Better EmailsEveryone is still trying to solve the email problem. So, let's also talk about the most basic habit of all – the art of writing better emails. With the help of some cool tools.Read More.
Which email client for Mac do you use? Let us know in the comments below.
Explore more about: Apple Mail, Desktop Email Client, OS X El Capitan.
Hi! The article's great, although I think you should have put free email clients first.
I would also like to suggest Hiri (www.hiri.com), an email client that helps you master the art of email. It's an innovation like no other client, and as a standalone app for Windows, OS X, and Linux, Hiri works perfectly!
It's also free for personal use!
Nylas N1 is not free anymore despite marketing shit they spread
CloudMagic costs $19.99 to download. What do you people think 'free' means?
The answer is not 'approximately twenty dollars,' despite what you may have heard.
I really like Spark but for the love of god I wish they would go ahead and release a mac version already!!! Their iPhone and iPad version is good but I'm struggling to find an email client for the mac until further notice..
Jessica, I hope you may have found out that there is now a Mac version for Spark. It only supports IMAP though. I'm using Spark for iCloud since Apple Mail has become a complete hot mess on the computer (still works on iOS) and Apple Mail for my POP email accounts.
Does Pegasus Mail work on a Mac?
I might be wrong about this but CloudMagic keeps your user credentials in the cloud on their servers.
Can anyone confirm this either way please?
Yes they do.
Airmail is a disaster as of March 2016. Unstable and unfit for purpose.
Whats wrong with Airmail as of March 2016?
I agree. It seems to be more and more unstable. I had really high hopes for AirMail, but I'm out!
Airmail works perfectly fine. Still the best OSX email client. I wonder what issues you had with it.
The search is awful.. and doesn´t have an undo send option.
No MailMate mentioned? Really?
I second this, it is quite good..
Thunderbird ain't bad but its getting old. Anyone know which other client supports multiple identities (besides Postbox that is)?
For those using gmail with one of these native apps, what are you finding that missing compared to the gmail website client? I've tried various real clients over the years but gmails's search is awesome as is and haven't really found something lacking from the web client.
Have you tried http://mailplaneapp.com? Its a wrapper but pretty good if you're running OSX.
Came to say the same thing as Peter, above. Cloudmagic is twenty dollars!
What about Mozilla Thunderbird. It's also free and good.
+1
+1
Airmail is absolutely the best OS X mail client out there. I am also beta testing Airmail's iOS app and that is going to beat the pants off everything else.
Cloudmagic is nice, bit it's not free.
Over the years, as operating systems have matured, one need that has survived the test of time is emailing. From web-based clients to desktop ones, the need for a working email solution has always been there, especially in today's digital world. And email clients — both web-based and desktop — have come a long way, too. However, there's still room for improvement.
In OS X (now macOS), the native Mail app has been pretty capable, and over the last several years, this is one of those areas of the operating system that has seen consistent improvement. It's a pretty capable client that just works, but there are naturally better alternatives. In this article, we take a look at some of the best third-party macOS email clients that exist today:
1. Airmail
Of all the email clients that you can find for macOS, Airmail is arguably going to top every list. Currently in its 3rd iteration, Airmail is the one client that you can rely on for speed and stability while delivering an experience that matches and improves on the native Mail app in OS X. It's one of the cleanest email clients out there today, that supports iCloud (naturally), MS Exchange, Gmail & Google Apps, IMAP/POP3, Yahoo!, Outlook.com and AOL (who still uses that, anyway?). Airmail comes with multi-account support with a unified inbox, alias management, quick replies and interactions, gesture support, great folder and filter management, works well with Time Machine, can interact with other productivity apps like Evernote, Fantastical, native Calendar and Reminders etc. and so much more.
The complete list of features is pretty exhaustive — there's a reason why Airmail is hands down the best third-party macOS email client. Airmail exists for iPhone/iPad as well, and supports Handoff if you're using it on both devices.
Install Airmail ($9.99)
2. Unibox
Unibox is ‘unique', to say the least. This email client takes a different approach towards email organization, grouping emails by the person you're interacting with and not by subject/thread (that's doable, too, of course). The premise is that whenever you're interacting with anyone, you have a full context available of your past conversations. In practice, this works pretty well, although if you don't interact a lot with the same people every day, you'll get frustrated pretty easily. Unibox's email management approach is something that's hardly a one-size-fits-all, so experience it yourself to reach a verdict.
Other features in Unibox are pretty familiar. There's a wide support for a variety of email services as well as POP3/IMAP, unified inbox with multi-account support, an attachment grid that let's you view all attachments that you'd have received (I find this particularly useful), quick actions from email preview etc. Unbox also features an iOS app for a more complete package across the board.
Install Unibox ($15.99)
3. Inky
Inky is all about secure emailing. This cross platform email client, which is available for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android, focuses on encrypted and digitally signed email to ensure that your email exchanges are secure and from/with the right person, no matter which email provider you're using. Because Inky is more of a service than just being an email client, it comes in different tiers, with the free version supporting Gmail, iCloud and Outlook.com, while the Pro version ($5 a month) gives you MS Exchange, Office 365, Google Apps and other IMAP services. An enterprise tier is also available for large organizations.
The biggest advantage you get with Inky is private and secure email, which is great if email encryption is your biggest pet peeve. You also get a powerful search index, allowing for finding emails no matter how old they are or how obscure. Inky also supports unified inbox for multiple email accounts, has smart email suggestions (will ensure that you're sending email from the right account), powerful filters and cloud-based settings profiles that ensure that your settings are reflected across all your devices, be it desktop or mobile.
Install Inky (Free, Pro $5/month)
4. Postbox
Postbox is yet another email client with a service element. The client is all about managing email overload in the most efficient manner possible. Postbox's biggest strength is the four-part interface that helps with focus. These comprise of the Focus Pane, which basically separates email on the basis of attributes (is it a reminder? is it a subscription-based email? does it have attachments) and separates them into different labels. The second part is topics. which can break email overload into meaningful chunks (all emails related to a particular project, for instance). Finally, you get favorite contacts, which don't really need an explanation.
Other features to improve email management include a favorites bar, account groups, and something that you don't see in email clients a lot: tabs. I find tabs most intriguing, as they enable you to stay focused on one thing at a time without losing sight of others. Postbox also features quick replies, which are basically templates should you need to send the same kind of response frequently. Postbox is available for Windows and macOS. It will set you back $20 for a single-user license, but is worth it.
Install Postbox ($20)
5. Canary Mail
Canary Mail is a new entrant in the macOS email client arena that focuses on ease of use and simplicity augmented by a beautifully designed interface. Canary is in beta as of this writing, but that's a good thing, because that means you get to use the client — no strings attached — for free (they will have both free and paid versions when they do a commercial launch). Canary has all the features that you'd have come to expect from a capable email client, with the additional option to ‘snooze' emails (something that the good old Mailbox popularized before it was shut down). Snoozing an email means it will come back to your inbox when you're ready for it (depending on how you want to handle your email load).
Canary supports Gmail, Yahoo!, Outlook, FastMail and any other IMAP account, and comes with a unified inbox. It also features an attachment browser, stores emails locally with encryption and has a small memory footprint. It's one email client that you should try out just because it's worth it.
Install Canary Mail Beta (Free)
6. Mail Pilot
Mail Pilot is one email client that gets its wide acclaim over the internet from the unique approach that it takes toward email. The creators of Mail Pilot believe (and perhaps rightly so) that most email these days are 'tasks' and so, even if you've 'read' a message, it is practically 'unread' because the required action has not been taken yet. The idea is that once you're done taking the required action on an email, you can mark it as 'complete', just like you would for a task, and it will get archived.
Haven't got time for an email yet? Set a reminder for it to come back when you will have time, and forget about it until then (similar to Snooze in other email clients). For other scenarios, you can create Lists, like Waiting for More Information, Waiting for Reply etc., and put relevant emails in those lists as applicable. Mail Pilot's unique approach might take a little getting used to, but it works wonders once you've set it all up. Mail Pilot is available for both iOS and macOS, and can be obtained on the latter for a $20 one-time payment.
Install Mail Pilot ($20)
7. Nylas N1
Nylas N1 is the most curious new email client that I've ever come across. It's an open source email client that gets its uniqueness from being open to developers. So, in effect, anybody with knowledge can take Nylas N1 and customize and tweak it to their liking and needs, and deploy in whatever environment they like. Since not everybody is a developer, there are some standard features of N1, too, and that's what we'll focus on. Nylas has a pretty decent suite of features, with the most standout being its built-in support for Mail Merge. That means Nylas is ideal for deployment in large organizations.
There is message scheduling, calendar integration and tracking, and a host of other plugins that enhance the functionality beyond what it is capable of, out of the box. All the usual bells and whistles — unified inbox, search, email service provider compatibility, aliases etc — are available, too. Nylas is free for the developer version, and has paid higher pricing tiers. It's worth exploring, that's for sure.
Install Nylas N1 (Free)
8. Polymail
Polymail is another capable email client for macOS as well as iPhone and iPad that enables better control over email for an average user. It combines powerful email tracking features with scheduled emails, and is one of the few email clients that allow you to control the exact time that you want your scheduled messages to be sent at. There's snoozing emails for later use, option to unsend a message (much like Gmail's experimental Undo feature) within several seconds of hitting send, and best of all, one-click unsubscribe to emails that you don't want to receive anymore.
Polymail supports Gmail, Google Apps, iCloud, Outlook and Office 365 for now, with IMAP support coming later. It also carries a unified inbox with combined search to find the right message, no matter which account it was received on. All of this, and more, comes in a neatly designed package that works seamlessly well on both iPhone and your Mac.
Install Polymail (Free)
9. CloudMagic
CloudMagic is one email client that gained popularity from iPhone and Android, and has now expanded to cover the macOS desktop space as well. Naturally, with that much experience under its belt, CloudMagic delivers a solid experience. It focuses on being clean and pleasing on the eyes while providing as much functionality as it can, including support for Gmail, Exchange, Yahoo!, Outlook.com, Office 365 and all the regular players. Other features include the standard set of aliases, a unified inbox, quick filters and actions, HTML support, keyboard shortcuts, rich sender profiles (subscription based), advanced printing controls and multi-language support.
CloudMagic is a pretty solid contender, except that its $20 price tag is a tad on the higher side, especially considering that the mobile apps for CloudMagic are free. Still, you have an option if that's what you prefer. Best bit torrent client for mac.
Install CloudMagic ($20)
10. Mailplane
Mailplane is one of those apps that have been around for longer than most others, and it's hard to classify it as an 'email' client, because all this app supports is Gmail and Google Apps. Why, then, is it in our list? Because Gmail and Google Apps are widely used, and for that, it's hard to find a better experience on Mac other than Mailplane. This app allows you to enjoy a number of native-app features while retaining the power and functionality of Gmail, combining the best of both worlds.
There's preview and annotate for attachments directly within Mailplane, and integrations allow you to utilize a number of third-party apps with Gmail, including macOS's native Share menu, Todoist, Omnifocus, Evernote, Apple Photos, automation via AppleScript and much more. Mailplane has multi-language support, and integrates Gmail plugins like Rapportive, Boomerang etc. Mailplane is paid, with a single-user license costing $25.
Install Mailplane ($25)
SEE ALSO: 15 Totally Awesome Productivity Apps For Mac
Try out the top 10 email clients for macOS
These are our top 10 picks for best email clients available on macOS, as of now. It's worth mentioning that the native Mail client itself is very capable and gets new features and enhancements with almost every new iteration of macOS, but it's still not as powerful as some of these third-party options. Another honorable mention goes to Thunderbird – another open source client that has been around since time immemorial and has seen a bunch of feature updates, even if its interface has become dated by today's standards.
So, do you have a favorite email client for macOS that we missed out on? Let us know in the comments section below.
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