Short answer: the best free email client for most people is Thunderbird. It's free for good, open source, and runs on Windows, Mac, Linux and Android. If you want one app on every device, including iPhone, the free plans of Canary Mail (ours) and Spark both handle unlimited accounts. On a Mac or iPhone, the built-in Apple Mail is free and fine for a few accounts.
Disclosure: we make Canary Mail, and Dove comes from the same company. Both are in this list and marked as ours. Free-plan limits and prices were checked on each vendor's own site on October 1, 2026.
Quick picks
- Best completely free: Thunderbird, with no paid tier at all.
- Best free plan on every device: Canary Mail, with unlimited accounts on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android.
- Best free AI: Dove, with 10 AI actions a day on the free plan.
- Best free plan for small teams: Spark.
- Best for Linux: Thunderbird or Mailspring.
- Already on your computer: Apple Mail on a Mac, the new Outlook on Windows 11.
What "free" really means
Free email clients come in three kinds, and the catch is different for each:
- Free and open source. Thunderbird, Betterbird and FairEmail have no paid version you need; they're funded by donations or optional extras. Mailspring's core app is open source too, with a paid Pro tier on top.
- Free plans of paid apps. Canary, Dove, Spark, eM Client, Mailbird and BlueMail let you use a free plan for as long as you like. The limits are where the catch is: some cap the number of accounts, some are for personal use only, and most keep AI writing for paying customers.
- Built into your computer. Apple Mail and the new Outlook cost nothing extra. The new Outlook shows ads if you use it with a free Outlook.com address.
None of these apps give you an email address. They connect to the one you have, such as Gmail, Outlook.com, iCloud or a work account. If you need a free address too, see the end of this guide.
Free email clients compared
| App | What's free | The catch | Platforms | Paid plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderbird | Everything | None; it's funded by donations | Windows, Mac, Linux, Android (iPhone in beta) | None |
| Canary Mail (ours) | Unlimited accounts, read receipts, snooze, templates | 2 devices; no AI writing, summaries or send later | Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android | From $36/year |
| Dove (ours) | Unlimited accounts, 10 AI actions a day | AI is capped; the trial asks for a card | Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android, web | $20/month or $200/year |
| Spark | Unlimited accounts, Smart Inbox, calendar, send later | No AI writing or summaries | Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android | From $10/month or $99/year |
| Mailspring | Unlimited accounts, unified inbox, rules, templates | Only a few read receipts and send-laters a week | Windows, Mac, Linux | $8/month |
| eM Client | 2 accounts, calendar, tasks, PGP | Personal use only; no send later or undo send | Windows, Mac (phone apps free) | From $19.95/year or $29.95 once |
| Mailbird | 1 account | No Exchange, send later or snooze | Windows, Mac | From $29.50/year (discounted) |
| Apple Mail | Everything | Apple devices only | Mac, iPhone, iPad | None |
| New Outlook | Everything | Ads with a free Outlook.com account | Windows (built in), Mac, phones | Microsoft 365 Basic, $1.99/month, removes ads |
| BlueMail | Unlimited accounts, unified inbox, PGP | No AI | Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, Android | $5/month or $36/year (sale) |
The 10 best free email clients in 2026
1. Thunderbird: Best completely free email client
Thunderbird is free, open source and funded by donations, with no paid tier and no ads. It puts mail, calendars and contacts in one app, can show every account in a unified inbox, and has OpenPGP encryption built in. A new version comes out every month; version 157 was released on September 30, 2026. There's also an official Android app, which grew out of K-9 Mail.
- Who it's for: anyone who wants a full desktop email client and doesn't want to pay
- Free plan: everything; there is no paid version
- Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux, Android; the iPhone app is in public beta, with an App Store release expected late 2026
- Standout features: unified inbox, calendar and contacts, OpenPGP, add-ons, Exchange and Microsoft 365 mail support
- Downside: there's no iPhone app yet, and its Microsoft 365 support covers mail but not calendars or contacts.
2. Canary Mail: Best free plan across every device
Disclosure: we make Canary Mail. Canary's free plan has no time limit and no cap on accounts, on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android. It includes a unified inbox, read receipts (a lite version), snooze and pin, templates and one-click unsubscribe. Canary has more than 2 million users and has been featured by Apple on the App Store and the Mac App Store.
- Who it's for: people with several accounts who want the same free app on their computer and phone
- Free plan: unlimited accounts on up to 2 devices; unified inbox, read receipts (lite), snooze, templates, AI inbox tabs
- Paid plans: Growth $36 a year adds AI writing and summaries, send later, rules and a calendar; Pro+ $100 a year adds PGP and phishing protection
- Platforms: Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android
- Downside: the free plan covers 2 devices and leaves out AI writing, summaries and send later. Paid plans are yearly or lifetime, with no monthly option.
3. Dove: Best free AI email app
Disclosure: Dove comes from the same company as Canary Mail. Dove sorts incoming mail by what needs your attention and lets you ask questions about your inbox. Its free plan includes AI: 10 actions a day across writing, summaries and questions, on unlimited accounts.
- Who it's for: people who want to try AI email without paying
- Free plan: unlimited accounts and 10 AI actions a day, reset daily
- Paid plan: Pro, $20 a month or $200 a year, adds smart notifications, custom rules, read receipts and task management
- Platforms: Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android, web
- Downside: 10 AI actions go quickly on a busy day, the 7-day trial asks for a card, and the free plan has no read receipts or custom rules.
4. Spark: Best free plan for small teams
Spark's free plan includes unlimited accounts, a Smart Inbox that groups mail by type, scheduled sending, snooze, reminders and a calendar. It also includes team basics, such as shared threads and private comments.
- Who it's for: individuals and small teams who want one free app on every device
- Free plan: unlimited accounts, Smart Inbox, send later, snooze, calendar, shared threads
- Paid plans: Plus $10 a month or $99 a year; Pro $20 a month or $199 a year
- Platforms: Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android
- Downside: no AI writing or summaries on the free plan, and shared drafts are limited to 2 active collaborators.
5. Mailspring: Best free desktop client for Linux
Mailspring is a fast desktop client with an open-source core and no limit on accounts in the free version. Free users also get a small weekly allowance of Pro features, such as 5 read receipts, 5 send-laters and 15 snoozes, which resets every week.
- Who it's for: desktop users, especially on Linux, who want something lighter than Thunderbird
- Free plan: unlimited accounts, unified inbox, search, rules, signatures, themes, plus a weekly allowance of Pro features
- Paid plan: Pro, $8 a month, makes those features unlimited
- Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux (Snap, Flatpak, .deb and .rpm)
- Downside: no phone app and no full calendar, and it doesn't support Exchange; work Microsoft 365 accounts need IMAP turned on.
6. eM Client: Best free Outlook-style app
eM Client works like classic Outlook, with mail, calendar, contacts and tasks in one window, and its free version keeps most of that, including PGP and S/MIME encryption, rules and backups. The phone apps are free with no licence at all.
- Who it's for: home users who want an Outlook-like desktop app for one or two accounts
- Free plan: 2 accounts, personal and non-commercial use only; calendar, contacts, tasks, PGP
- Paid plans: Personal $19.95 a year or $29.95 once; Business $24.95 a year or $39.95 once, per device
- Platforms: Windows, Mac; free apps for iPhone and Android
- Downside: only 2 accounts, no business use, and the free version leaves out send later, undo send and snooze.
7. Mailbird: Best simple free app for one account
Mailbird is a clean desktop app with a unified inbox and sidebar apps. Its free plan is meant for one account, which makes it a simple Windows Mail replacement for one address.
- Who it's for: Windows users with a single email address
- Free plan: 1 account on 1 device
- Paid plan: Premium, $29.50 a year or $99.75 once (shown as discounts on $59 and $399)
- Platforms: Windows, Mac
- Downside: the free plan leaves out Exchange support, send later, snooze, templates and filters, and there's no phone app.
8. Apple Mail: Best free option on Mac and iPhone
Apple Mail comes with every Mac, iPhone and iPad, handles iCloud, Gmail, Exchange and IMAP accounts, and has send later, follow-up reminders and mail categories. If you only have a few personal accounts on Apple devices, you may not need anything else.
- Who it's for: Mac and iPhone users with a few personal accounts
- Free plan: everything
- Platforms: Mac, iPhone, iPad
- Downside: it only runs on Apple devices, and it has no read receipts or templates.
9. The new Outlook: Best free option already on Windows
The new Outlook replaced the Windows Mail and Calendar apps, which stopped working at the end of 2024, and it comes preinstalled on recent versions of Windows 11. It's free, and it can add Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud and other IMAP accounts as well as Microsoft ones.
- Who it's for: Windows users who want the app that's already there
- Free plan: the full app
- Paid plan: any Microsoft 365 plan removes the ads, starting with Microsoft 365 Basic at $1.99 a month
- Platforms: Windows (built in), Mac, iPhone, Android, web
- Downside: it shows ads in your inbox if you use a free Outlook.com address, and it's built around Microsoft accounts. See our guide to Outlook alternatives if it isn't for you.
10. BlueMail: Best free app on the most platforms
BlueMail's Personal plan is free for good and covers unlimited accounts, a unified inbox, PGP encryption and its Clusters view, which groups mail by sender. It runs on more platforms than any other app here.
- Who it's for: people who switch between Windows, Mac, Linux and phones and want one free app everywhere
- Free plan: unlimited accounts, unified inbox, Clusters, PGP
- Paid plan: Plus, $5 a month or $36 a year (on sale from $49), adds AI and email backup
- Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, Android
- Downside: AI and email backup are only on the paid plan, and S/MIME encryption needs its Enterprise plan.
The best free email client for each platform
Windows
Thunderbird is the best free choice. The new Outlook is already installed, but shows ads with an Outlook.com address. eM Client is the closest to classic Outlook for up to two accounts. For more picks, see our guide to the best email clients for Windows.
Mac
Apple Mail is free and built in. For more accounts or features, Canary, Spark and Thunderbird all have free Mac apps. See the best email clients for Mac.
Linux
Thunderbird is the usual first choice. The other good free options are:
- Betterbird: a fine-tuned version of Thunderbird that follows its extended-support releases.
- Mailspring: a lighter app, available as a Snap, Flatpak, .deb or .rpm.
- Evolution: GNOME's mail, calendar and contacts app, with Exchange and Microsoft 365 through the evolution-ews add-on.
- KMail: KDE's mail app, with IMAP, Exchange (EWS) and end-to-end encryption.
Geary is still around, but it hasn't had a new release since May 2024.
iPhone and Android
The Gmail and Outlook apps are free but show ads for personal accounts: Gmail in its Promotions and Social tabs, Outlook in the inbox. For a free app without ads, try Canary or BlueMail on either phone. On Android, Thunderbird and FairEmail are free and open source, and neither shows ads. See the best email apps for iPhone and the best email apps for Android.
Need a free email address too?
An email client reads mail; an email service gives you the address. The main free services are:
- Gmail: 15 GB shared with Google Drive and Photos, with ads in the Promotions and Social tabs.
- Proton Mail: end-to-end encrypted, with 1 GB on the free plan.
- Tuta: end-to-end encrypted, with 1 GB on the free plan and no ads.
- Zoho Mail: free for up to 5 users on your own domain, but without IMAP, so it only works in Zoho's own apps.
If ads are what you want to avoid, see our guide to email without ads. For a business address, see the best free business email.
How we chose
We looked for apps you can keep using for free, not trials. Each one had to connect to common accounts such as Gmail and Outlook.com, and still be maintained in 2026. We checked every free plan's limits on the vendor's own site on October 1, 2026. Postbox, which used to be on lists like this, was bought by eM Client and discontinued in 2024. For a broader list that includes paid apps, see the best email app for multiple accounts.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free email client?
Thunderbird. It's free for good, open source, has no ads, and runs on Windows, Mac, Linux and Android. If you also want an iPhone app, Canary Mail and Spark have free plans with unlimited accounts on every device.
What is the best free email client for Windows 10 and 11?
Thunderbird for most people. The new Outlook comes preinstalled on recent versions of Windows 11, but shows ads with a free Outlook.com address. eM Client is free for up to two accounts for personal use.
Is Outlook free?
Yes. The new Outlook for Windows and the Outlook mobile apps are free, but they show ads if you use a free Outlook.com account. Any Microsoft 365 subscription removes them, starting at $1.99 a month for Microsoft 365 Basic.
Is Thunderbird still free and safe?
Yes. Thunderbird is open source and funded by donations, with no ads and no paid tier. It gets regular updates; version 157 came out on September 30, 2026.
Can I use a free email client with Gmail?
Yes. Every app on this list connects to Gmail, Outlook.com, iCloud and Yahoo, and most connect to other IMAP accounts too.
Is there a free email client with AI?
Dove's free plan includes 10 AI actions a day. Apple Mail has Apple Intelligence on supported devices. Canary's free plan sorts your inbox with AI, but writing and summaries are on its paid plans, as they are on Spark's.
What happened to Postbox?
eM Client bought Postbox in October 2024 and stopped selling and developing it; support ended on December 22, 2024. eM Client is the closest replacement, and Thunderbird is the closest free one.
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Sources
- Thunderbird
- Thunderbird 157.0 release notes
- Thunderbird for iOS roadmap
- Canary Mail pricing
- Dove pricing
- Spark pricing
- Mailspring free plan limits
- eM Client pricing
- Mailbird pricing
- BlueMail pricing
- Microsoft: About ads in Outlook
- Microsoft: new Outlook preinstalled on Windows 11
- Google: Ads in Gmail
- Postbox acquired by eM Client
- Betterbird
- FairEmail