Top 5 free alternatives for Microsoft Outlook

Your quest for the right e-mail client ends here!

Since its inception in 2012, Microsoft Outlook has proved itself as a very eclectic E-mail client. So, why are we talking about the free alternatives for Microsoft Outlook? Because…

• A drawback of Outlook lies in its complexity. The features are tough to understand and master.
• If you want Outlook email client, you will have to buy the Microsoft Office Suite. However, in most cases, you won’t be using many of the utilities that are bundled in the package.
• The price of MS Office Suite is more than INR 6000 yearly. Keep this aside, you will have to pay even more if you want to upgrade it to Microsoft Exchange.
• Another major disadvantage of Outlook is when you try to integrate it with non-Microsoft software, it wouldn’t.

Therefore we have presented here a comprehensive list of best free alternatives for Microsoft Outlook. You can just buy business E-mail solutions such as Biz mail, Business Email or collaboration suites such as G Suite or Office 365 and use them for free using following E-mail clients.

Mailbird

The reason Mailbird topped this list is the recognition it has received over the years. Starting in the year 2013, it has been recognized by the Top Tech Portals like PC World, IT World, Windows Report, and Softonic.com. 

If you are a secret admirer for ‘The Apple brand’, Mailbird is for you! Mailbird was inspired by Sparrow Email Client. (Plus, it’s free!) The user interface is surprisingly easy and cluster-free. Outlook’s drawback of the non-integrability gets tamed here. Mailbird can integrate with apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, WeChat, Google Calendar, Slack, Trello, Twitter, etc. E-mail snoozing is another unique feature that makes  Mailbird stand out.

Mozilla Thunderbird

Thirdbird is free and open-source. 

The primary distinction between Thunderbird and Outlook is: 

• Microsoft Outlook is available only for Windows and Mac. 
• Thunderbird is available for all major platforms: Windows, Unix, Mac, etc. 

Thunderbird gives you a direct ability to chat with people through Facebook Messenger, Hangouts, and Twitter. It also supports a lot of plugins that help you design it the way you always wanted your mail client to be. Thunderbird does not restrict your mailbox to a size limit. Whether you have 5 mails or 5000 mails in your inbox, it hardly ever freezes. It stores a file per mail. This helps in incremental backups.

eM client

The eM client’s basic version is free. If you want it to support unlimited accounts, you will have to pay for the pro version. The interface of the eM client is customizable with color-coding and theme options. eM client also provides support for Jabber, Yahoo and other popular instant messaging clients.  It can import your data from most other popular clients like Thunderbird and Outlook. If two accounts suffice your purpose, then eM client will prove to be an excellent option. 

Windows Mail

Windows mail is a free e-mail client that you will get along with the bundle of the Windows operating system. Here we are trying to compare two babies of Microsoft where Outlook is the elder sibling. 

Windows mail is a smaller version of Outlook with less but similar features. This is because of the primary difference between their goals. Windows mail is meant for not-so-email-crucial purposes. Whereas, Outlook especially serves professionals and enterprises. Windows mail supports many email services such as Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, etc. If you are a Windows user, Windows mail is a great option to consider. 

Claws Mail

Claws mail is another popular open-source e-mail client. It is based on GTK+. It is most popular for its THE feature – being light-weight. It occupies very little memory. So, it can run in the background without slowing down the entire system. It is not much like Thunderbird that does multiple tasks. Claws mail does one thing but does it really well. The open-source software is usually infamous for its complexity among the non-techies. But, the installation and learning curve of this client is not that steep after all. 

Wrapping up,

The best e-mail client for you depends upon what your needs are. If you want a highly sophisticated bundle of software and you are willing to pay money for it, Outlook is for you. Otherwise, the above-mentioned e-mail clients can also provide a great deal.