Free Email Clients
Which email apps a founder can read and send all their email from for free today, what the free version leaves out, the systems it runs on, whether a card is needed and what the paid plan costs, read from each provider's own page.
Free allowances read on each provider's own pages, all checked on or after . Email clients change their free plans from time to time: confirm the terms on the provider's page before you rely on it.
Email clients a founder can use for free today include Mailspring (Free for everything you need), Thunderbird (Free forever, donations optional), eM Client (Free, registration required), Claws Mail (Free and open source (GPL)), and Edison Mail (Free on iPhone and Android). Each of the 8 free plans below links to the provider's page that states it, with its main limit, the systems it runs on, whether a card is needed and what the paid plan costs.
A founder juggles a company inbox, a personal one and often a few aliases, and a good email client puts them in one place. Several email apps have a free version, and open-source email clients are free with no paid plan.
The headline rarely tells you how far it goes. Free versions can cap the number of accounts, keep smart or pro features for paid plans, and run on one system only. Each client below shows what is free, its main limit, the systems it runs on, whether a card is needed and what the paid plan costs, quoted from the provider's own page with the date we read it.
Which apps we picked and the order they appear in are our editorial choices; the terms are the providers'. Some of these providers pay us a referral commission when someone signs up through our link: those links are labeled, and they play no part in which apps are listed or where.
Email apps with a free version
Read every inbox in one app, free to start.
- 1
Mailspring
A fast desktop client for one or many inboxes
Mailspring is free for everything you need. Its page says Pro removes the limits in the free version, and Pro costs $8 a month.
Start free at MailspringTerms read on getmailspring.com on Mailspring: the free allowance and how to start - 2
eM Client
Two email accounts on Windows or macOS, free
eM Client's Free plan allows 2 email accounts with registration required, for Windows and macOS. Its paid licences are priced in euros, so no paid price is shown here.
- Main limit
- 2 email accounts (source: emclient.com)
- 3
Edison Mail
One unified inbox on a phone
Edison Mail's page states it is free on iPhone and Android devices, and names no paid plan.
Start free at Edison MailTerms read on edisonmail.com on Edison Mail: the free allowance and how to start - 4
Mimestream
Gmail on a Mac, after a 14-day trial
Mimestream offers a 14-day free trial with no card. After it ends, a subscription is required to keep using the app, at $4.99 a month.
- What's free
- 14-day free trial (source: mimestream.com)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: mimestream.com)
Start free at MimestreamTerms read on mimestream.com on Mimestream: the free allowance and how to start - 5
Canary Mail
Every inbox in one app on Mac, iPhone, Windows and Android
Canary Mail's Free plan is $0 and free forever, with a unified inbox and unlimited mail accounts on macOS, iOS, Windows and Android. AI features need Growth, at $3 a month billed yearly.
Start free at Canary MailTerms read on canarymail.io on Canary Mail: the free allowance and how to start
Free and open-source email clients
Use a full email client with no paid plan.
- 1
Thunderbird
A free desktop email app from Mozilla
Thunderbird is free forever, and its page asks readers to donate to make it better. It runs on Windows, Linux and macOS, and no paid plan is listed.
Start free at ThunderbirdTerms read on thunderbird.net on Thunderbird: the free allowance and how to start - 2
Claws Mail
Users who want a free GPL email client
Claws Mail is distributed under the GPL, and its project page lists no paid tier.
Start free at Claws MailTerms read on claws-mail.org on Claws Mail: the free allowance and how to start - 3
K-9 Mail
An open-source email app on Android
K-9 Mail is an open source email client for Android.
- What's free
- Free and open source (source: k9mail.app)
- Runs on
- Android (source: k9mail.app)
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How this comparison is built
The list covers email clients a founder can use for free today without applying to a program. The order and the "best for" notes are our editorial reading of each app's terms. Every term comes from the app's own pricing or help page on the date shown, never from a third-party list; follow each link for the full conditions. A cap on accounts, smart features or AI kept for paid plans, ads in the free version, a desktop app for one system only can matter more than the headline, so the comparison quotes them wherever the provider states them. Some of these apps pay StartupPerks a referral commission, and their links are labeled as referral links; that decides neither whether nor where a app appears, and no app pays for a placement on this page.
Read the full methodologyCommon questions
What is the best free email client?
By the terms each provider states, Thunderbird is free forever on Windows, Linux and macOS, Mailspring is free on Mac, Windows and Linux, eM Client is free for 2 email accounts, and Edison Mail is free on iPhone and Android.
Is Thunderbird free?
Yes. Thunderbird is free forever, with optional donations, on Windows, Linux and macOS.
Is eM Client free?
eM Client is free with registration for up to 2 email accounts, on Windows and macOS.
Is there a free email client for Mac?
Yes. Thunderbird, Mailspring and eM Client run on macOS for free, and Mimestream, a Gmail app for macOS 12 or newer, has a 14-day free trial.
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