Do you need one?
An email client is a piece of software that is downloaded and installed on your computer. The software links to a server where it collects and delivers your stored email from and too. An email client can also be a web application where everything is stored online by the web app provider. While consumers have tended toward the ease of use that web app emails allow, many businesses still prefer to control their own emails through an email server and email client in order to protect sensitive business data. There are more than 50 recognised email providers on the market, and we work with them all. Here we summarise the best email clients and email web apps.
The Clients
Microsoft Outlook is the gold standard of email clients and has been around for decades. It is trusted by businesses worldwide and takes email beyond the simple exchange of messages through its integration with Outlook Calendar and Contacts. Outlook is supported for the Windows platform, as well as the mobile platforms of iOS and Android.
MacMail is the default email client that comes with every Mac using OS X 10.0 or later. It handles multiple accounts, is easy to use, and its integration with Spotlight makes finding emails simple. It works on your mobile devices as well.
Mail and Calendar is built into Windows 10, integrates with Windows Calendar and supports multiple email providers such as Hotmail, Live, Outlook.com, Yahoo, Gmail, and iCloud.
eM Client supports chat, boasts encryption, has a modern interface but does require Pro product for more than two accounts. It offers a wide array of features, including a calendar, contacts and chat. Support is provided for all the major email services including Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud and Outlook.com.
Mailbird Pro has lots of built-in apps and themes and is very affordable. Mailbird Pro supports a diverse range of integrated apps, including WhatsApp, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox and Slack.
Inky is an email client that focuses on security. This client scans internal and external emails to flag phishing attempts. It also offers an analytics dashboard ,which allows an administrator to see patterns of attacks based on dates, or targeted users.
The Apps:
GMail has become one of the most successful web applications for providing email. It is free, integrates with all Google services and has excellent anti-spam and anti-phishing filters.
Outlook.com is a free online email service from Microsoft. However it is not integrated with Microsoft’s other products without a paid Office 365 subscription. This puts it at a disadvantage compared to rival integrated services such as Gmail.
Thunderbird by the Mozilla Corporation is free to download and installation is easy. You can install addons to provide additional features and functionality, and there are different themes available to download so you can personalize your email experience.
Yahoo Mail is a free web application, which has been around for decades. However, it has not advanced much beyond its original design. If you desperately need a free email client then Yahoo Mail is an option, but it’s difficult to recommend it over more developed applications such as GMail.