TechJunkie Expert Recommendations
Whether you use your computer for leisure or for work, email is likely a significant way for you to keep in touch with people and manage your life. An email client plays an important role in that and is worthy of a place on your computer, especially if you use multiple accounts on Gmail, the most popular and most powerful free web email service. The built-in Google web interface leaves a lot to be desired, but fortunately, you aren’t stuck using that built-in interface, or Windows Mail or Outlook as your email client. Windows 10 users have a lot of viable alternatives for a Gmail client solution. Most of them are free, they all work pretty well, and all of them are an easy replacement for Mail or Outlook.
As a user of both Windows 10 and Gmail, I’ve tested a full range of apps for Windows 10, both designed from the ground up for Gmail and supporting other apps outside of Google’s own service. This makes these apps perfect for anyone working from both their own Gmail account and work email alike. If you’re ready to improve how Gmail works on Windows, you’ve come to the right guide.
Windows 10 includes a Mail app by default, as well as Microsoft Outlook. Since Mail comes with Windows 10 and everyone has at least tried Outlook, I haven’t listed those here. Neither have I stuck with just those apps available from the Windows Store as that would exclude what I think are the best mail apps available right now. Instead, we’ve listed apps from both third-party sources and the Microsoft Store alike. They all work great, all play nicely with Gmail, none of them create problems with Windows 10 and they all get the job done.
Got a favorite? Tell us about it in the comments below.
Mailbird looks and feels like a Windows 10 app and is quite similar to Outlook, at least in visual design. It has a slick UI, intuitive controls and can manage multiple email accounts. It works quickly and plays well with multiple email accounts including Gmail, Outlook, iCloud and Exchange. Mailbird supports touch, messaging, task management, calendars and more. The install is small and straightforward and setup is a breeze. It is definitely one of the better mail clients for Windows 10. It does cost money for the Pro version, though, which will kick in after the 30-day trial.
Compatible With
Thunderbird is an obvious contender for one of the best Gmail apps for Windows 10. It is a very flexible email client that is constantly being developed by its community of users. It supports add-ons and extensions, works with most email accounts and uses tabbed windows to manage multiple emails and tasks. Once you get used to how it all works, you’ll wonder how you coped without it. Thunderbird is owned and run by Mozilla, the guys behind Firefox, but is now developed and maintained by fans.
Mailbird Lite is the version of Mailbird you get if you elect not to buy the Pro version of Mailbird. The mail features remain much the same but you lose the ability to speed read, snooze email a la Quiet Hours, and previewing attachments. Other than that, they are very similar so all the positives you read about above are still relevant here. Mailbird Lite works with POP3 and IMAP, and links to Facebook, Whatsapp and other social media apps as well.
Inky is a very powerful email client for Windows 10 that looks awesome on the screen. Inky is ideal for the security conscious as it includes end-to-end encryption as standard. It is also one of the best looking mail clients in this list. It is powerful yet simple to use, thanks to the well designed UI. It works with POP3 and IMAP and takes only a few minutes to set up. It syncs across desktop and mobile too. Inky is free if you have Outlook, Gmail, or iCloud and use it for home use. Enterprise users pay $5 per month.
TouchMail is a Windows Store app that adds a little color to email. It uses a colorful UI to represent emails from different senders and provides individual tiles for each one. It’s a stylish interface that includes all the usual features you would expect. It plays nicely with Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, POP3 and IMAP and so will work with most email accounts out there. The only slight downside is that it is designed primarily for touch, so isn’t as slick with the mouse as it could be. TouchMail is free for up to two email accounts.
As a big fan of the lightweight browser Opera, I had to try out Opera Mail. Like its browser sibling, it is open source, simple and powerful. It looks pretty good, too, with a straightforward interface that looks a bit like Thunderbird. It works with most email types, including Gmail, and has an RSS reader too. There are some neat email templates included in the package too if that’s your thing. Opera Mail is free to use as you see fit. However, a notification on the Opera Mail website announces that the product is at the end of its lifecycle, and they will not be supporting it in the future.
eM Client is a well-established email client which has been around for more than a decade. The UI is clean, feature-rich and makes navigating and managing emails simple. It is free for home use and can manage two email accounts. There is a premium version available if you need more features. eM Client works with Gmail, Outlook, iCloud and Exchange email accounts. The installer will automatically set up a free trial of the premium version but you can get a key for the free version from the eM Client site. There have been some reports that eM Client doesn’t work well with certain G Suite accounts, but in my tests, it seemed to be fine.
If you don’t see an app that should be here, let us know what it is