Best Email Clients for Windows 10 & 11: 10 Free & Paid Apps Compared

For all those in the market for the best mail apps, you need to read this first. You should know the difference between an email provider and an email client. This article will be mostly about the best email client for Windows 10 and 11, though you will learn a bit about email apps in general as well. Of course, we won’t neglect MacOS or Linux; they just won’t be prioritized here.

Best Windows email client comparison chart (top 10 highest rated email programs for Windows)

Take a glance at this chart of the best mail clients. These are the top 10 tools for anyone looking for a better email for Windows.

What are the best email clients 2023? Here’s our top 10 list:

Our detailed descriptions of the best email clients for Windows will surely excite many of you fans of all things email applications. We made sure to include all the info you need to decide on the best client for your needs. So let’s not tarry!

P.S. If you’re not sure what is an email client and how does it work, we recommend you get familiar with the basics first.

1. Microsoft Outlook (Best email client for Windows overall)

It should come as no surprise that a Microsoft email app is our number one email client for Windows as both come from the same parent company. So, we can clearly say Microsoft Outlook is the best email client for Windows overall.

Pros:

• When you have an Outlook email account, you get solid cross-functionality with other useful Microsoft apps, especially as Outlook comes as part of Microsoft 365, which also includes Word, Excel, and a calendar tool.
• Great email account data end-to-end encryption, and Outlook also scans for phishing scams, viruses, and malware.
• Microsoft’s email service does backup and recovery features with Microsoft OneDrive, which helps with email management. 
• Looks great on mobile devices, and it even includes a lite version for low-resource phones and networks.
• You can use Outlook with some email providers like Gmail too.

Cons:

• There Is a free mail account you can get with Outlook. However, it has ads, lacks end-to-end encryption, and does not scan attachments.

Pricing:

• Outlook has a free email client and calendar tool

• Microsoft 365 Personal costs $69.99 per year

• Microsoft 365 Family costs $99.99 per year

Visit Microsoft Outlook

2. Thunderbird (Top open source email client)

The Thunderbird email client is brought to us by Mozilla, which also makes the popular web browser known as Firefox. Thunderbird is a top open-source Windows mail client if you want to sync multiple accounts.

Pros:

• First Thunderbird pro is that it is free and very user-friendly. This is especially true if you are using it as a unified inbox for multiple email accounts. The mail setup wizard takes care of all the IMAP, SMTP, and SSL/TLS configurations.
• Great email advanced features like tabbed email, content blocking, message archive, do not track, and collaboration tools.
• Mozilla Thunderbird offers an add-on manager to customize further your desktop email client, including custom skins or smart folders.
• You get excellent security features with private emails and phishing protection, among other tools.
• Thunderbird is an open-source email client, and many prefer it over proprietary software.

Cons:

Aside from being a top email app for Windows, Thunderbird works on many operating systems, and though we think it is one of the best for Windows, it is a shame it does not rank so well with Mac OS or iPhone users.

Pricing:

• Mozilla Thunderbird is a free and open-source email client

Visit Mozilla Thunderbird 

3. eM Client (Best email client for Windows 11 and MacOS)

eM Client is our number three email client app, and it is one of the top choices for Windows 11, though it's also popular with MacOS users.

Pros:

• Advanced email functionality of eM Client includes a snooze option, message encryption, notes, sending emails later, a reply monitor that sends alerts and notifications, translation, and quick texts.
• For team collaboration, eM Client fuses email, calendar, task management, undo send, notes, and chats.
• You can use eM Client with many popular email providers or webmail, like Gmail, Outlook, and MacOS server mail. It also works well with other email protocols like POP3, SMTP, and IMAP.
• Good cloud storage options with Dropbox, OneDrive, or Google Drive, though it's not perfect with iCloud.
• Finally, eM Client has a range of great email templates, as well as signatures you can bring over from Gmail CRM or Exchange.

Cons:

There is a free version of eM Client, but it is only good for two email accounts and lacks a lot of advanced email features. Also, while this is great on Windows 11, it is not so well-regarded on Windows 10, though it’s not clear why.

Pricing:

• eM Client has a free option

• Pro plan is $49.95

• Pro plan for Companies is $188.95

Visit eM Client 

4. Mailbird (Best email app for Windows 10)

Mailbird is another very popular email client with Windows and particularly for Windows 10 users for those unwilling to make the leap to Windows 11, while it’s also good with Linux.

Pros:

• First off, Mailbird has an amazing app integration library, and you can sync up its data with SaaS like WhatsApp, Dropbox, Twitter, Slack, Facebook and Google Calendar, and Docs.
• You have a decent unified inbox to help show you all your secure email management activity in one neat location.
• Other cool advanced email tools include real-time email tracking, a snooze option, a speed reader, custom sounds for notifications and alerts, multi-language support, and even a LinkedIn lookup feature.
• Being one of the best Windows 10 email apps, there are lots of easy-to-figure-out shortcuts for writing emails, replying, archiving, and forwarding.

Cons:

• There is no free Mailbiord version, and even the most affordable option is a bit light on the good features. 
• And though there are unlimited email accounts you can bring in, you are limited to using Mailbird on three devices, whether desktops, iOS devices, or Android ones.

Pricing:

• Personal use plan is $3.25 per year or a one-time payment of $49.50

• Business use plan is $5.75 per year or a one-time payment of $99.75

Visit Mailbird 

5. Mailspring (Best free email client for Windows 10)

Mainspring is one of the best free email clients for Windows. There is also a premium version of Mailspring for only $8 per month.

Pros:

• Very clean and intuitive user interface means a quick learning curve for Mailspring.
• Easily sync multiple accounts from Office 365 using IMAP. Mailspring also has cross-platform support for Linux, Mac, and Windows apps.
• Good spell check and translation advanced email tools.
• Lots of cool themes and templates to choose from. You can also expand a sidebar for a more detailed view of contacts. Mailspring Pro can also offer template workflows, which let you automate the creation of new templates directly from emails.

Cons:

• While this is considered one of the best free email clients for Windows 10, sadly, Mailspring does not have a mobile app, meaning it's good for desktops but not iOS and Android devices.

Pricing:

• Mainspring is a free download

• Mailspring Pro costs $8 per month

Visit Mailspring 

6. Postbox (Best Gmail email client)

Postbox may be among the best email clients for Gmail, but that does not mean it is also not a solid email client option for MacOS and Windows 10, and Windows 11.

Pros:

• Postbox unifies the email service providers of Gmail, Apple iCloud, Exchange, Yahoo Mail, AOL, and Outlook, as well as lesser-known names like Fastmail and Protonmail. 
• Do better email management with email groups, tagging, labels, and email tabs viewing, as well as use one-click email filtering.
• Postbox has very efficient email searching and advanced queries based on subject, sender, recipient or dates. There are also good keyboard shortcuts.
• The Postbox workspace or interface is quite beautifully designed, and there are a variety of skin settings and themes. Part of it is called the focus pane, which lets you prioritize seeing certain emails by your preferred metrics, like unread emails or emails with attachments.
• As one of the best mail clients for Gmail, you can import Gmail and G Suite labels and other data.

Cons:

• There is just one pricing plan, so you lack options for more or fewer features based on how much money you are willing to spend. But at least it is a one-time payment, like many other email client alternatives discussed here.

Pricing:

• Postbox costs $49 per user

• Pricing may be based on a promotion which is subject to change

Visit Postbox 

7. Spark (Best email client for multiple accounts)

Spark is considered by many users to be the best mail app for multiple accounts. It is a smart and sophisticated app that helps its users be very productive and efficient with their emailing.

Pros:

• It begins with a Smart Home Screen for desktop, which is like a front desk assistant showing you daily updates and other items like unread emails, as well as offering email scheduling suggestions.
• The Smart email inbox is great for setting priorities, unifying multiple email accounts, performing smart searches, getting newsletters and notifications, and push notifications.
• There is a nifty gatekeeper tool that lets you accept or block new incoming emails. You can also quickly block any sender or just mute threads.
• You can use Spark to automate some simple email tasks with easy workflows, including workflows with names like done maker, set aside, snooze, reminders, send later, or add labels.
• For team collaboration, you get that shared inbox, and team draft composition. You can also assign tasks and roles to team members.

Cons:

• Like a lot of these amazing email clients for Windows, this is mainly a desktop app, and not a web-based application, which is expected, though some people get disappointed to learn this fact.
• The free version of Spark comes with hardly any of the cool advanced features like the gatekeeper, team administrations, and shared drafts and templates.

Pricing:

• Spark has a free plan

• Premium Individual plan is $4.99 per month billed annually 

• Premium Teams plan is $6.99 per month billed annually 

Visit Spark 

8. Spike (Best email client for Yahoo mail)

Most people have totally forgotten about Yahoo, except Yahoo Mail is still a thing, and for that reason, you need an email client which handles Yahoo mail, and Spike is that email client.

Pros:

• Spike can connect a large number of email accounts from different providers. It is one of the best Yahoo Mail clients, but it also does Hotmail, Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, Office 365, Godaddy, Exchange, AOL, as well as other IMAP accounts. 
• If team collaboration is your thing, Spike has many useful tools, like live collaboration for creating emails, as well as chat, comments, and task management. Chat also comes in a neat sidebar.
• Spike also does what it calls conversational email, which is a simplified email inbox organized around your contacts instead of messy threads.

Cons:

• Spike can be considered by many to be more than just an email client app, as it offers other kinds of tools. This may end up only being a distraction from its core email functions.

Pricing:

• There is a free Spike plan

• Pro plan is $5 per month billed annually 

• Business plan is $10 per month billed annually 

Visit Spike 

9. Hiri (Great Windows mail app also for Linux)

Hiri boasts that it is the email client which is best for email management and maximal inbox efficiency. It is a leading Windows mail app, though it’s also popular with Linux people and even some Apple people.

Pros:

• The Hiri inbox is designed in such a way as to make it very clear and upfront which emails require your attention and which emails can take a back seat so as not to distract you. As a desktop app, there is a good offline mode. 
• You can sync up your calendar data to Hiri from Office 365 or Exchange.
• Some useful Hiri email client features include snooze reminders and alerts, access to Microsoft’s Global Address List, MS archiving compatibility, as well as many customization options. 
• Finally, you can install Hiri on an unlimited number of devices with one subscription.

Cons:

• There is no free Hiri plan, and otherwise this is not the most affordable email client subscription package. The monthly fees are almost as expensive as some one-time fees of Hiri competitors. 

Pricing:

• Hiri is $39 annually

• Lifetime price is a one-time payment of $119

Visit Hiri 

10. The Bat (Best desktop email client)

To round off our list, we have The Bat, the only email client brand name with a declarative article. The Bat is a great email client server for Windows and a superb desktop email client.

Pros:

• Keep your email inbox well-organized with The Bat’s filtering system. The Bat also offers its own special address book.
• You can set up RSS feed subscriptions for your emails with The Bat. You can also bring in accounts using IMAP4, POP3, RSS, and MAPI protocols.
• Great templates for email composition, as well as good and safe file attachment tools.

Cons:

• The look and feel are extremely old school and many will be turned off by this at first glance.

Pricing:

• The Bat Home is $49.99

• The Bat professional is $59.99

• There are many upgrade purchase options

Visit The Bat 

Which is the best email software for me? Our conclusion

This is the end, my friend, of our write-up of the best email programs for Windows 10 and 11. As you can notice, the best email client aren’t the same as the best email management software. They’re more professional platforms, while email management software mostly include add-ons and plugins.

We sincerely hope that you’ve scratched all your itches regarding wanting deep knowledge about Windows email clients, and maybe now you are only wondering about the best Mac email client, which is a topic for another article for sure.

Thank you so much for reading this. We look forward to seeing you back here for more.

P.S. we recommend reading our email management tips to maximize your productivity and cut down inbox time.