When pitted against all the popular email apps for Mac available in the market, Spark Mail app emerges as the best email app for Mac by a long margin. It has the absolute perfect combination of a friendly & elegant user interface along with an extensive & robust set of features.
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
Polymail for Mac has a fantastic interface with cute 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.
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 mail into categories: 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, there 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.
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.
Postbox
New on our list for 2020, Postbox has been designed for professionals, but anyone with more than one email account should continue using it. Available for Mac and Windows, Postbox works with any IMAP or POP account, including Gmail, iCloud, Office 365, and more.
Postbox offers one of the fastest email search engines available, which is ideally suited when you need to find files, images, and other attachments. With the app's built-in Quick Bar, you can move a message, copy a message, switch folders, tag a message, Gmail label a message, or switch folders with just a few keystrokes.
Looking for more? Postbox comes with 24 (counting) themes, and much more.
Your favorite?
What's going to be your next email client for Mac?
Updated February 2020: Guide updated to reflect price changes and more.
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Gmail is one of the most popular email products in the world. On a Mac, you can use the software through a browser as it was initially designed, or through the native Mail app. Another alternative is to bring the look and feel of the web-based Gmail to the desktop through a third-party app solution.
Which solution is best for you ultimately comes down to a matter of choice. Here’s a look at the best ways to use Gmail on your Mac.
Email Client For Mac
Contents
- 1 Through a Web Browser
- 2 Using the Native Mail App
- 3 Third-party Apps
- 5 A Lot to See Here
Through a Web Browser
First introduced as a beta release in 2004, Gmail on the web officially launched for the masses five years later. The free email service developed by Google is now available in over 100 languages and used by over 1.4 billion users worldwide.
Gmail offers a basic HTML version that works across all browsers, while an AJAX version is supported by major browsers for Mac including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, among others.
In 2018 for the third time in its history, Gmail received a significant design upgrade. The redesign uses Google’s Material Design and uses the company’s Product Sans font. Besides a design change, the update also includes a Confidential Mode, which allows you to set an expiration date for sensitive messages, integrated rights management, and two-factor authentication.
Reasons to use the web version of Gmail
If you’re a heavy Google Chrome user, it might be best to stick with Gmail on the web. Through this interface, you’ll have access to all of the official Gmail tools. To customize your Gmail web experience, check out the Google Chrome Store where you’ll find hundreds of Gmail extensions.
Recommended:
Using the Native Mail App
On your Mac, you can set up all of your email accounts through the official Mail app. When you do, your email tools are limited to those offered by Apple through macOS.
Download Gmail App For Windows 10
Why you should use the native Mail app
Using the Mail app is ideally suited if you have multiple email accounts, including more than one that’s being hosted by Google. In doing so, you can take a streamlined approach to all of your email needs.
Third-party Apps
These third-party apps do the best job of duplicating the Gmail web design on Mac. Each solution offers its own set of unique features.
Go for Gmail
With the free Go for Gmail app, you can see whether you have new email right from your Mac’s toolbar. In doing so, you don’t have to go into the app to check. Beyond this, it does a great job of bringing the Gmail experience to an app.
Extra features include the ability to run both a Desktop and Mobile mode. When you select the latter, you’ll discover mini versions of Google Calendar, Google Keep, and Google Tasks.
Simplicity is one of the reasons to choose Go for Gmail. Besides being able to change the app’s appearance slightly and customize its notifications, Go for Gmail works exactly like the official web version. It also supports multiple Gmail accounts.
You can download Go for Gmail from the Mac App Store.
Kiwi for Gmail
Like the Go app, Kiwi for Gmail brings the Gmail web experience to the desktop. However, this isn’t the only reason to use the product. With Kiwi for Gmail, you can also use extra features that will enhance your email experience.
These extras include a new Focus Filtered Inbox that has been designed to remove email noise, allowing you to focus on what’s important. In doing so, you can limit your view based on date, importance, unread, attachments, and starred. You can also combine filters to create a short list of your most relevant emails. Other useful features include windowed versions of Google’s web applications including Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
It should also be noted that Kiwi for Gmail supports the No. 1 scheduler plugin, Boomerang, which allows you to schedule the time to send an email.
If looking for an all-in-one app solution for Google tools, you can’t go wrong with Kiwi for Gmail, which is available on the Mac App Store.
Mailplane
Because of its price, Mailplane is best described as a premium solution for Gmail on Mac. Available through a 15-day free trial, the app offers some unique and essential features that make it worth considering despite its hefty price tag.
At the top of the list of Mailplane features is the ability to archive a message or write a quick reply directly from a new email notification. The software is also compatible with the new Dark Mode in macOS Mojave, offers an offline mode, the ability to add annotations and shapes to email, and more.
As a long-time Mailplane user, my favorite feature continues to be the use of third-party extensions, which now include Boomerang, Grammarly, SalesForce Inbox, and many others.
You can download your free Mailplane trial from the company’s official site.
One Final Alternative
With Wavebox, you can easily navigate between different web apps — including Gmail. In doing so, you can deal with fewer browser tabs and take advantage of the macOS Notifications system. In total, Wavebox offers integration with over 1,100 web applications.
Unlike browser tabs, Wavebox app allows you to work with a single suite of web apps. By doing so, you can open all of your most essential web apps with just one click. In Gmail’s case, you can also add links to other Google apps (including YouTube), so you can access them all in the same place on your computer. You can also install popular Gmail extensions like Boomerang, Clearbit Connect, and LastPass.
Available for macOS, Windows, and Linux, Wavebox Pro is free to use for 14 days. With a Pro account, you can install an unlimited number of web apps. A free version allows you to install up to two Gmail accounts. You can purchase a yearly Pro subscription from the official Wavebox website.
A Lot to See Here
As a heavy Gmail user, I’ve gone back and forth over the years on how best to access my email on my MacBook Pro. Kiwi has been my go-to app for many years because of its ease of use. The other ones are also worth considering, however.
I would strongly suggest that you try out each app before making a choice. Using the official Mail app is also an acceptable solution as is sticking with the web version. Make your decision based on the features you find most important and whether you want to pay.
How do you view Gmail on your Mac? Let us know in the notes below.