Apple Mail alternatives

Who Apple Mail suits

Apple Mail is the Mail app on Apple devices. Apple's iPhone guide says Mail can set up iCloud and Google accounts, as well as Microsoft Exchange and Yahoo ones, with just your email address and password, and that less common providers can be added manually. Apple's Mac guide describes managing all your email accounts from one app.

If you're on Apple devices and want a simple app for several accounts, it does the job.

Why people look elsewhere

These are reasons people commonly give. We're not claiming any of them as faults.

Some want the calendar and tasks beside the mail, so everything about a thread sits in one app.

Others want an assistant that acts. It should draft and book and file things for them. And it should stop for review before anything is sent.

Apple's guides cover iPhone and Mac, so people on Windows or Android want an app that runs there.

And some like another app's feel. It can sort and snooze the same account, or search it, the way they prefer.

Alternatives worth a look

Check your account type first. That's what decides which of these can open your mail.

• Otto puts Gmail and Outlook in one app, with a calendar and tasks. The assistant can draft a reply, find a thread, book a meeting or file a message. Anything it sends or books, and any change it makes, waits for your approval. Free covers one connected account. Plus is $6.99 a month and Pro is $19.99 a month, with a lower rate on yearly billing. It runs on the web and on iPhone. It doesn't open iCloud or Yahoo accounts, or IMAP ones.
• Spark's Free plan lists a Smart Inbox, unlimited email accounts and a calendar. Its home page says it works with IMAP, iCloud, Exchange, Outlook, Yahoo and Google accounts.
• Outlook handles a lot of account types. Microsoft's guide to adding accounts lists Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud and Exchange accounts. It also covers IMAP and POP accounts through advanced setup in classic Outlook.
• The Gmail app takes other providers too. Google's guide says it can hold a non-Gmail address such as Outlook, iCloud Mail or Yahoo, and other providers over IMAP.
• Mimestream is a native Mac client. Its home page describes it as made for Mac and optimized for Gmail, so it suits a Gmail account, not iCloud.

If it's a new address you're after

Changing the app doesn't change who hosts your mail. If you want to leave iCloud, Google or Microsoft as your provider, you'll need a different provider. Proton Mail, for example, describes itself on its home page as an encrypted email service based in Switzerland, with a free plan that includes one email address and a tool for moving contacts and messages across.

Otto doesn't do that. It connects to the Gmail or Outlook account you already have, and your mail stays with your provider.

What they cost

Otto Free costs nothing. The rest are each vendor's lowest paid plan, in USD on monthly billing, taken from their own pricing pages.

Product	Lowest paid plan	Price	Notes
Otto	Plus	from $6.99/month	Pro $19.99/month; $55.99/year for Plus
Spark	Plus	from $10/month	per seat, $8.25/month billed yearly

We last read this price in October 2026. Apple Mail has no separate plan we read. Yearly billing is cheaper where a vendor offers it. The plans also differ in what they include, so don't judge on price alone.

Where Otto fits, and where it does not

Otto fits if the account in Apple Mail is Gmail or Outlook and you want a calendar and tasks beside it, plus an assistant that waits for your approval.

It doesn't fit if your address is on iCloud or Yahoo, or any other IMAP account, because it can't connect them. It doesn't fit if you want a native Mac app either. In those cases Spark can open the same account, and so can Outlook or the Gmail app.

For a Gmail account, see Gmail alternatives. Side by side with a client that opens many accounts: Otto vs Spark. To see how the pieces fit together, read email with a calendar and tasks in one app.

What to test before you switch

We'd add the account to the new app and leave it in Apple Mail too for a week. Your mail lives with your provider, so you'll see the same inbox in both. Check that your folders and signature look right and that notifications behave as you'd expect, then decide.

How we checked this

Last reviewed 2 November 2026. We read Apple's iPhone account guide and Mac guide, Microsoft's account guide, Google's account guide, Spark's pricing page and home page, Mimestream's home page, and Proton's Mail page. Otto is our product, so take what we say about it with that in mind. Nobody paid to be here and there are no affiliate links. We read each product's own pages on 2 November 2026 and didn't run a head-to-head test. Plans and limits change, so check the linked pages before you pay.