The Mac OS X App Store was first made available as part of the Mac OS X 10.6.6 update, released earlier this year. The new Mac App Store model allows for the distribution of Apps developers have come to love (or hate) from the iOS platform.
Emailing is probably the activity we do the most on our computers. Even if you don't work on a computer during the day, you probably sit down in front of it to check your inbox at the end of the day. If the Mail app that comes with your Mac doesn't provide the features you need, you're in luck. There are dozens of great email apps in the Mac App Store. I've tested many of them and these are my favorites. Each one has a little something special that makes it unique.
Polymail
I was a little late to the game with Polymail and only started using it recently on Mac (though I downloaded it on iOS when it first launched). It turns out, I love it on the Mac. It has a fantastic interface with cute little buttons everywhere so you don't have to think about what to do next. It actually looks like it belongs on a mobile device, except that you click the buttons instead of tapping them.
There is a fourth section that appears whenever you select an email, which displays all of the past correspondences you've had with that particular contact or group of contacts. It's great for quickly tracking down something you've talked about in the past.
Huawei 3231 update 22.138.03.00.156. You can set up new mail with a pre-made template, send calendar invites, get notifications when someone has read your email, and schedule an email to be sent at a later time.
You can also write or respond to emails with rich text formatting. So, if you want to change the font, add bold lettering, bullet point a section, or just slap an emoji in there, it's all available right from the toolbar at the top of your new email. The only thing it's missing is Touch Bar support, which would really make this app shine.
Polymail can be used for free, but you'll need to sign up for a subscription if you want all of the awesome features that make Polymail stand out, like read notifications, send later, and messaging templates. You can add these features for as low as $10 per month. If you are a heavy email user and these features entice you, give the free trial a run to see if it's worth your money.
If you want your computer email experience to look and feel more like a mobile experience, with big, easy-to-find action buttons, Polymail is the one for you.
Spark
Spark has this 'Smart Inbox' feature that separates out what is Personal, Notifications, Newsletters, Pinned, and Seen. That is, any email that is from someone in your contacts or otherwise looks like a personal email will be filtered to the top of the inbox list. Below that, in a separate section, emails that look like alerts from companies you deal with, like your gas company or Amazon, that include some kind of alert or notification. Below that, you'll see a section called 'Newsletters' which is exactly that. Below that are emails you've flagged or tagged as important in some way. Lastly, emails you've seen, but haven't moved to another folder.
Spark also allows you to snooze an email and come back to take care of it at a later time. This is invaluable when you regularly get emails that you need to respond to but don't have time for until the end of the day. I use it all of the time.
It also has gesture-based actions for getting to inbox zero. You can swipe to the right or left to delete, archive, pin, or, mark an email as unread.
And it has Touch Bar support, which I love.
Spark is best for people that like to have their inbox organized before they go through and move emails to new folders, address them, or delete them entirely. If that sounds appealing to you, try Spark.
Airmail
Airmail treats your emails like a to-do list. You can triage your inbox by scheduling when you are going to take care of an email. If you can't get to it right now, snooze it for later. If it's an email that requires an action, send it to your to-do folder. If it's something important that you'll want quick access to, mark it as a memo. And, when you've finished dealing with your email, send it to the 'Done' folder to get that sweet satisfaction of having completed something on your task list.
If you get more done by treating everything like a to-do list, get Airmail and your inbox will be empty in no time.
Kiwi for Gmail
If you have one or more Gmail accounts, you should consider switching to Kiwi. This all-in-one triumph brings the look and feel of Gmail for the web to the desktop in the form of an app. With the service's unique Focus Filtered Inbox, you can view your messages based on Date, Importance, Unread, Attachments, and Starred. In doing so, you can prioritize your emails in real time.
Perhaps the best reason to use Kiwi for Gmail is its G Suite integration. Thanks to the app, you now get to experience Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, as windowed desktop applications. Kiwi is available for Mac and Windows.
Your favorite?
What's going to be your next email client for Mac?
Updated March 2019: Guide updated to reflect price changes. Added Kiwi.
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Email plays a critical role in most people’s Mac workflow. It’s thus essential to have an email client that suits your needs and helps you work through your numerous email tasks efficiently.
Luckily, there’s a range of options available for macOS. Here are the best email apps for your Mac.
1. Apple Mail
Your Mac comes preinstalled with Apple’s own email client, simply called Mail. Apple Mail is a feature-rich and responsive home for your inbox. It offers a standard set of features that’s sufficient for most users.
The app has a common two-window design, spam filters, and timely notifications. Best of all, it’s already available on your computer. You don’t have to download anything, learn a new system, or pay for a subscription.
Apple Mail is an ideal email solution if you’re also an iPhone user. You can seamlessly import media from your phone and continue writing drafts you left incomplete.
However, Apple Mail can feel archaic in places and has a rigid interface you can’t customize per your preferences. Plus, it’s not updated as often as the other options on this list, and lacks smart utilities.
2. Spark
Spark is for people who are constantly fed up with their overflowing inbox. This popular Mac email app groups your emails into various sections like Personal and Newsletters so that you can easily sift through them. More importantly, it has a clean look that doesn’t get cluttered even when working with hundreds of messages.
In addition, Spark houses a multitude of other intelligent features that let you email like a pro. It can remind you to follow up, snooze emails for later, create templates for emails you send out regularly, schedule messages, and more.
Another highlight of Spark is its collaboration options. If you work in a team, you can delegate emails to a colleague, edit a draft together in real-time, and chat with them right inside the email app.
If you like, you can also personalize Spark to your wishes. Find the design overwhelming due to its many features? Switch some of them off. If you find a particular sidebar useless, just hide it.
Spark is even compatible with third-party integrations. This means you can connect Pocket to save links, or use Todoist to add emails as tasks.
Download:Spark (Free)
3. Airmail
You could describe AirMail as a more responsive and seamless form of Apple Mail. It augments the simple aesthetic with a series of under-the-hood and user-facing improvements. The app brings all your email accounts under a single roof and doesn’t bog you down with superficial additions.
AirMail allows you to turn emails into to-dos and memos so you can keep tabs on important messages that require a response. You can directly attach files from cloud storage platforms, such as Google Drive and Dropbox. You’ll also find a minimal mode that retracts Airmail into a mobile-like, vertical window.
The app hosts nearly every major feature you’d expect, including the ability to snooze emails, keyboard shortcuts, and offline access.
Airmail’s efficiency comes at a price, however, as it charges a one-time fee of $27. But it may be worth the cost if speed matters the most to you.
Download:Airmail ($26.99)
4. Spike
Spike is built on the idea of conversational email. The app transforms your inbox into something resembling an instant messaging app, allowing you to interact with your email threads like chats.
On the left, you have a list of your messages. When you click one, Spike launches a chat window on the right which shows its content and every other email you’ve exchanged with the sender in the past. There’s a reply box at the bottom accompanied by attachment and emoji buttons—similar to a messaging app.
Spike can sort your emails based on common subject lines, senders, or in chronological order as usual. Apart from that, you can schedule and snooze emails, switch themes, create calendar entries, and more. Teams on Spike have the option to chat and video/voice call their colleagues as well.
Spike is free for personal accounts with under 100,000 messages. For businesses, the app carries a monthly price per user.
Download:Spike (Free, subscription required for business accounts)
5. Canary Mail
Canary Mail puts security above everything else. You can choose to protect your emails with end-to-end encryption, which means neither Canary Mail nor the service provider will be able to read them. However, for this to work, the recipient has to be a Canary Mail user too. You can send regular non-encrypted emails to those who aren’t.
Other than that, Canary Mail is filled to the brim with handy features. The apps come with a design that is both visually appealing and functional.
Canary’s AI-based system learns your preferences and automatically highlights the emails it thinks are most important to you. On top of this, there’s natural language search, snooze options, templates, and a one-click unsubscribe button for spam.
Download:Canary Mail ($19.99)
6. Mailplane
Google offers a vast collection of tools with Gmail that you won’t find on other clients. You can send self-destructing emails, enable two-factor verification for each message, quickly reply with automated suggestions, and more. Gmail’s Smart Compose feature takes a lot of work out of composing new emails. Unfortunately, Gmail doesn’t have a desktop app.
Enter Mailplane, a third-party Mac app that brings Gmail to your desktop. Mailplane is essentially a web wrapper for Gmail’s web app. But it adds optimizations and a bunch of exclusive functions to make it feel more like a native client.
For starters, you have access to a universal search. It lets you look up emails from all your Gmail accounts in a single place. Mailplane also bundles a built-in annotation tool and quick-reply button for notifications.
Further, Mailplane comes with a Mac menu bar widget, which displays unread messages. Unlike a few other Gmail web wrappers, Mailplane supports a few popular Chrome extensions such as Grammarly and Boomerang.
Mailplane is not your only option for using the Gmail web app on your Mac. Check out these handy macOS apps that bring Gmail to your desktop.
Download:Mailplane ($29.95, free trial available)
Get the Best Email Experience on Your Phone Too
Your Mac is likely where you attend to most of your important emails. These apps ensure you have the right tools at your disposal to quickly get through the pile.
On the other side of the spectrum, you’re no stranger to tackling emails on your phone when on-the-go. For a consistent email experience across your devices, we recommend taking a look at the best iOS email appsThe 6 Best iPhone Email Apps to Organize Your InboxThe 6 Best iPhone Email Apps to Organize Your InboxWhat is the best email app for iPhone? Here are the best iOS email clients to help you manage your inbox.Read More and the best Android email appsThe 10 Best Email Apps for Android, ComparedThe 10 Best Email Apps for Android, ComparedEmail on a smartphone? Use one of these excellent email apps for Android to make the experience more productive and enjoyable.Read More.