Spark alternatives

Who Spark suits

Spark is a mail client for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android. Its pricing page says the Free plan includes a Smart Inbox, unlimited email accounts, smart notifications and a calendar. Plus and Pro add AI features, meeting notes, team collaboration and integrations. Its home page lists Outlook, Exchange, iCloud, Yahoo and IMAP among the accounts it connects.

If you juggle many accounts and want a good-looking free client, that is hard to beat.

Why people look elsewhere

• AI sits on paid plans. The pricing page describes Spark +AI, the AI Assistant and meeting notes on Plus and Pro, with monthly quotas. Free users get a limited preview of the AI Assistant.
• Features still marked "soon". As of October 2026 the pricing page marks Autopilot and Auto-Drafts as "SOON" on Pro. If those are why you would subscribe, check their status first.
• You want one assistant across mail, calendar and tasks. Spark is a client with AI features. Some people want the assistant to be the center of the app.

Alternatives worth a look

• Otto. Gmail and Outlook in one app, with calendar, tasks and an assistant that waits for your approval before anything sends, books or changes. Free covers one account; Plus is $6.99 a month and Pro is $19.99 a month, with a lower rate on yearly billing. Web and iPhone.
• Outlook. Microsoft's own app also holds non-Microsoft accounts: Microsoft documents adding Gmail, iCloud and Yahoo accounts. Some AI features need a Copilot license, and Microsoft lists which clients and licenses apply.
• Shortwave. AI-first and built around Gmail, with a free plan. Its docs say Microsoft 365 and Exchange are not supported at this time.

What they cost

Otto Free costs nothing. These are the lowest paid plans, in USD on monthly billing, from each vendor's own pricing page.

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
Shortwave	Business	from $30/month	per seat

Yearly billing is cheaper where a vendor offers it, and plan limits differ, so read the plan before you compare on price alone.

Where Otto fits, and where it does not

Otto fits if you want an assistant that reads, drafts, books and files across Gmail and Outlook, with a review step before anything changes, and you want calendar and tasks in the same place.

Otto does not fit if you need many accounts on a free plan: Otto Free covers one connected account, and more accounts come with paid plans. It also has no native Mac or Windows apps, and it does not connect iCloud, Yahoo or generic IMAP accounts.

Side by side: Otto vs Spark. For the question people search most, see Spark vs Outlook.

What to test before you switch

Move one account and note what you reach for. If it is the Smart Inbox and the multi-account switcher, Spark is doing its job and an alternative has to match that. If you keep opening the calendar and a task list, an app that puts them beside mail may suit you better. Check which AI features are live on the plan you would buy rather than on the plan page's roadmap, and look at whether the free plan's limits would stop you before the first month ends.

How we checked this

Last reviewed 9 October 2026. Sources: Spark's pricing page and home page, Microsoft's Outlook search guide and Copilot in Outlook FAQ, and Shortwave's provider guide. Otto is our product, so weigh the Otto notes accordingly. Nothing here is paid placement and there are no affiliate links. We read each product's own pages on 9 October 2026 and did not run a head-to-head test. Plans, limits and features change, so confirm on the linked pages before you pay.