Top 6 Email Clients – Which Is The Best For Your Needs?

Email has become an extremely important part of our lives, with many using a number of different email addresses for different purposes. I, for example, have way too many email addresses last time I counted, for things like different jobs, old and new accounts, and so on.

Because of this, it can be very useful to use an email client like Microsoft Outlook to help you manage your emails in one, easy to use app. Not only that, but with an email client, emails can be downloaded to your computer, so if you don’t have Internet access you can still read emails that have already been downloaded.

In this article, we compiled a list of six of the best stand alone email clients available today and tell you what features make them great.

Microsoft Outlook

Well, this one had to be on the list. Microsoft Outlook has long been a favorite for many, especially considering the fact that it comes with most Microsoft Office bundles. One of the best things about Outlook is that it is extremely fully-featured, really offering everything you might technically need from an email client. Not only that, but Microsoft has vastly improved the user interface in recent years, making it a lot easier to use than might have been the case 7 or 8 years ago.

Despite this, some still wish they had something more simplistic, and while Outlook is fully-featured, some simply don’t need that many features, and the extra clutter can get in the way.

Of course, such a fully-featured client isn’t free. Users can get it with Office as part of the Office 365 subscription starting at $9.99 per month, or in the bundle for a flat $149.99.

Apple Mail

The Apple equivalent to Microsoft Outlook is Apple Mail, however unlike Outlook, Mail is free with any Apple computer, phone, tablet, and so on. In classic Apple fashion, Mail is extremely easy to use. The interface is clutter-free, and users can expand different inboxes or folders to gain access to more options.

Not only that, but for many the fact that Apple Mail is pre-installed and there is no need to install any extra software is a big plus. I know I personally want to keep my computer as clean as possible, meaning that any software I don’t need or really, really want isn’t going to get installed.

Now, while it is easy to use, Apple Mail is still pretty fully-featured, but those who use more complex features might get frustrated at them being hidden away all the time.

For the average person who owns an Apple device and doesn’t need all the bells and whistles that something like Outlook offers, Apple Mail is the way to go.

eM Client

eM Client is another email client built for Windows computers, and many suggest that the client is able to combine ease-of-use with a full set of features that is worth of going up against even Microsoft Outlook. The interface of eM client is very modern yet easy to navigate, and offers support for things like touch and advanced search.

Unlike Outlook, eM Client comes in a few different versions, with the free version offering support for only two email accounts. If you have more than one email address that you want to manage in eM client, you might want to look at the “Pro” version of the software, which costs $50.

Opera Mail

Opera Mail used to be included in the Opera web browser, but it has been spun off into its own app, available as both a mobile and desktop app. Those that have used Opera Next Mail will enjoy the same service, only it won’t be found in the web browser anymore.

Opera Mail is pretty full-featured, offering support for all major email protocols, yet it still manages to remain lightweight when it comes to things like processing power.

As far as the interface of the software goes, Opera Mail is quite clean, and easy to look at, offering a tabbed interface, however some users will find the ease-of-use similar to Outlook, where there is a lot there and it can get overwhelming.

One of the things that many users don’t like about Opera Mail is that it doesn’t offer too much in the way of customization.

Opera Mail is available on both Windows and OS X, and is free to download and use.

Inky

Most people probably don’t really care how “fully-featured” an email client is – all they need is something to read their emails from multiple accounts in an easy-to-use manner.

Ease-of-use is exactly where Inky comes in. In my opinion, of all the mail clients reviewed here, the user interface for Inky is the best. It’s extremely easy to take in and doesn’t go too far in the way of shoving features down your throat. Not only that, but it is available on Mac, PC, iOS and Android, meaning that users can have their email data synced across all their platforms.

Inky doesn’t have a complete lack of features either. One of the service’s nicest features is a button that allows users to unsubscribe from emails without having to look for a link down at the bottom of the email.

Inky is not, however, free, but it is pretty cheap. Subscriptions to Inky cost users $5 per month.

Mozilla Thunderbird

Mozilla Thunderbird is another email email client that started out in an Internet browser (Mozilla Firefox) and was then spun off into its own service.

Thunderbird is quite popular because of its tabbed interface that seems to modernize classic email client interfaces – basically, older clients seem to have presented as many features as possible, while more modern clients still keep many of those features, but hide them away to make for a cleaner interface. Thunderbird sorts features into different tabs that are only a click away, similar to different tabs on a web browser. This is perfect for those that want to use things like the calendar and contacts list in their email client, but don’t necessarily want to have to be looking at them at all times.

Conclusions

There are plenty of email clients available, and each one offers different features for different people. From the easy-to-use and beautiful interface of Inky to the full set of features in Outlook, there is something for everyone.

Which email client are you currently using or have you switched to web based only email?  Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.