Alternatives to Mac Mail

[pcgolfer85]

I began using Mac Mail recently for all my email accounts and it seems buggy/slow.

What desktop mail client are you all using?

 

[Sital]

There have been a few recent threads asking this. Here's one. You can always search for others if need be.

 

[Jacksonc]

I use the default Mail. Mozilla Thunderbird is another great one.

 

[AnorexicPig]

Airmail is great ! Works superbly and price is really good at 1.99$ .

 

[vistadude]

Outlook 2011 is very good.

 

[xSeaside]

I'm in the same boat as the OP at the moment. I'm not really satisfied with the standard Mail application anymore.

So I'm giving Outlook 2011 a try.

 

[beachmusic]

Another vote for Airmail.

 

[jmiddel]

I'm happy with Outlook 2011.

 

[jojoba]

Thunderbird and Postbox are good.

 

[dmrowley]

I just bought Airmail last night. It is a beautifully designed app, and it sounds as if a big update is due to be released tomorrow. So far, I am finding it very nice to use. It's only $1.99 in the MAS, so you really can't go wrong for the price of a bottle of soda...

 

[Uplift]

Another shout for Airmail. I'm using the beta which has more bleeding edge updates, it can break from time to time but it's generally pretty stable.. http://airmailapp.com/beta

I used it because it was missing essentials in the main app but i think they've pushed any deal breakers to the MAS version now so i'll be moving to that soon.

 

[DavoteK]

Converted from the Mail app to Airmail for my iCloud and Gmail addresses. Aesthetically pleasing and more functional than the Mail app.

Still use Outlook 2011 for my work account though.

 

[Tholian]

I also wanted an alternative to MacMail, in particular I wanted one that would handle multiple e-mail accounts in one in box. I settled on Unibox (from the app store) and have found it to be very good. It uses a slightly different metaphor then other programs, claiming to give more emphasis on the user name rather then the origin date of the message. It is a subtle difference (particularly since you can set other programs to display by sender) but it works well for me. Worth taking a look at.

 

[clukas]

Airmail is very good +1 from me.

 

[exegete77]

I use Mail with seven accounts (Google, Yahoo, Apple, etc.).

The primary reason I stick with it? I purchased InfoClick from Nisus; it is a software search program for Mail. Before purchasing I couldn’t see why InfoClick was needed since Mail had its own search function. But after beginning to use it I would have think long and hard before switching from Mail. It is that good. IC is worth the money, the searches have always produced the results, while with Mail searches it is more happenstance.

 

[AnorexicPig]

I use Mail with seven accounts (Google, Yahoo, Apple, etc.).

The primary reason I stick with it? I purchased InfoClick from Nisus; it is a software search program for Mail. Before purchasing I couldn’t see why InfoClick was needed since Mail had its own search function. But after beginning to use it I would have think long and hard before switching from Mail. It is that good. IC is worth the money, the searches have always produced the results, while with Mail searches it is more happenstance.

I am not saying you are doing a promotion, but it does sound like an advertisement

 

[exegete77]

I am not saying you are doing a promotion, but it does sound like an advertisement

No, no advertisement, intended, just a very satisfied customer.

I had used Nisus Writer (in Mac System 6 through 9) and Nisus Writer Pro since it went OS X. When InfoClick became available I tried it because of Nisus’ reputation. I’m glad I did.

 

[tlctlc]

Mac Mail and TextEdit are both in dire need of upgrading and am so disappointed in Apple for now making them desirable apps instead of making most users have to look elsewhere and download competitors. Very disappointed. Microsoft Office, for example, is so superior. All makes me wonder about my Mac loyalty for 20 years plus. and will it continue.

 

[imacken]

Thought I'd try Airmail after what I read here. Now, unless I am doing something seriously wrong, it just isn't working at all correctly. I have 6 accounts added in, and none are working as expected.
Examples are:
- some messages show up in the unified 'Sent Mail', but don't show in the relevant account 'sent' folder
- on one of my accounts, all the sent mail show up in the account sent mail folder, show my name in the top left corner (rather than the recipient), and don't show up at all in the unified 'sent mail' folder. However, other messages on the same account show up with the recipient name in the top left corner (correctly). They all show in the unified 'sent', but not in the account 'sent' folder.
- in my main iCloud account, no sent messages show up at all, either in the account 'sent' folder, or the unified one
- in one of my Godaddy accounts, the same as above happens, i.e. no sent mail showing up at all anywhere.
Other little niggles (which may be fixable) are the interface is too wide. Should be able to hide the black left hand section like in Apple Mail and have the main 'inbox', 'Sent', etc. as selectable in the toolbar.
Very irritating icon in the main toolbar. Is that removable?
Maybe someone could explain why I am having these issues.

 

[tuthill]

Thought I'd try Airmail after what I read here. Other little niggles (which may be fixable) are the interface is too wide. Should be able to hide the black left hand section like in Apple Mail and have the main 'inbox', 'Sent', etc. as selectable in the toolbar.
Very irritating icon in the main toolbar. Is that removable?
Maybe someone could explain why I am having these issues.

Go to the View menu and click on the options to Hide various interface items.

 

[imacken]

Go to the View menu and click on the options to Hide various interface items.

Yes, you can do that, but there is no way to select anything if you hide the 'folder view'. With Apple Mail, I have the folders hidden all the time, and I can select 'Inbox', 'Sent', etc. from the toolbar.
No way to remove that annoying icon on the main OS X toolbar, and all the problems that you deleted from the quote are still there.
Airmail is totally unusable from my point of view so far. Pity, because it looks pretty good.

 

[xoAnna]

Yet another Airmail vote! Definitely worth the 1.99. ))

 

[kaltsasa]

I use postbox on Mac and Windows. It's nice to have a unified interface across both platforms.

 

[imacken]

Having tried various alternatives recently - Airmail, Thunderbird, Sparrow, Postbox, Inky - I have come to the conclusion that, for me, none of them come close to Apple Mail.
I have 6 email accounts varying from iCloud to Gmail to Yahoo to Godaddy, and Mail handles them all perfectly.
In Mail, I can
1) hide all folders from view to simplify the view
2) in the simplified view, be able to click on Inbox and Sent in the toolbar to see the unified version of these
3) have a unified Inbox
4) have a unified Sent folder
5) be able to see individual account Inboxes and Sent folders.
The alternative apps have sometimes got a nice UI, or some attractive features, but none of them have all 5 mentioned above.
Airmail in particular was a mess for me. It just wasn't consistent in how it dealt with all the different accounts. For example, it was not possible to view my Sent emails folder in my iCloud account. Airmail would only show the iCloud Sent emails in the unified Sent folder, and not be able to show them under the account folders. However, with my Gmail account, Sent emails could be seen both in the unified folder and in the Gmail Sent folder.
The biggest problem for me with most of the other was that they didn't have a unified Sent folder at all!
No, it's Apple Mail for me. Just an opinion.

 

[Fishrrman]

There is also GyazMail.

Nice interface, easy to set up and use.