Outlook: free alternatives at a glance

Mozilla’s e-mail client Thunderbird is the most common Outlook alternative for both private and commercial use. The basic version of this program is streamlined and has all the most important features. As well as being free of charge, this open source solution has numerous add-ons. The e-mail program can be expanded with modules that allow users to manage meetings and tasks. Here are the advantages of Thunderbird at a glance:

Unlike Outlook, Window’s Live Mail is free. With its range of functions similar to those of Thunderbird, this alternative stands out with its clear and simple design. Using Windows Live Mail means you also have access to other Microsoft services. Live Mail is essential for users with Windows 7 and beyond since Microsoft’s current operating systems no longer include the simple, pre-installed e-mail program, Outlook Express.

SeaMonkey presents an all-round solution for office communication. It also includes an HTML editor as well as a browser, e-mail, and chat client. Mail organisation is carried out via instructions defined by the user and further features such as flexible sorting and visual highlighting are also available. The encryption is handled according to S/MIME.

A few years ago Opera Mail was only available as part of the browser; now, however, it can be downloaded as a separate program. The structure is simple, and all-important basic functions are accessible via an intuitive user interface. The connection occurs either via POP3/SMTP or via IMAP4/SMTP. In contrast to SeaMonkey, Opera Mail enables users to activate the transport encryption directly with SSL/TLS.

Evolution is a free e-mail and groupware program that is relatively popular among Linux users as an alternative to Outlook. It supports the important features that Outlook has to offer: besides managing e-mail traffic, you can also organise contacts, meetings, tasks, and memos. The encryption occurs using PGP as well as S/MIME. Evolution is also suitable for professional use as it supports collaboration servers and the Microsoft Exchange Server.

Developed in 2006, eM Client is a Windows-based e-mail client with which you can send and receive e-mails, manage calendars, contacts, and tasks. The goal was to make it more user-friendly than other existing e-mail clients. It’s available in twelve languages under two types of license, Free and Pro. The former can be used non-commercially and supports two e-mail accounts, and the latter is for commercial use and supports an unlimited amount of e-mail accounts. It’s compatible with POP3 and IMAP4 servers, chat protocols (e.g. XMPP) and with programs like Skype, as long as the user has them installed on their computer.

Inky was developed in 2008 and is compatible with Mac, PC, iOS, and Android and allows the synchronisation of e-mail data across all platforms. Two popular features among users (making it a great alternative to Outlook) include the ability to unsubscribe from messages and view all e-mail accounts together on one screen. Inky sorts out messages depending on their relevance and can organise them into individual folders. Since 2016, Inky has been offering end-to-end encryption and digitally signed e-mail.

Mailbird is an e-mail client for Windows 7, 8, and 10 and was awarded Best Windows E-mail Software Program three years in a row. It boasts a simple design, which makes it faster, and also offers a platform for e-mail productivity where other developers can create applications for the open source app community and platform. Mailbird provides support for various applications and allows you to configure different accounts, create identities, and organise folders and subfolders to store messages. It’s also possible to connect to Facebook and WhatsApp.

Outlook is not usually the first choice for mobile internet users. Depending on the operating system, smartphones and other mobile devices come equipped with e-mail programs, calendars, and contact management functions. The pre-installed apps are a good solution for private users and Google apps are especially popular on Android devices. The same also applies to businesses, which increasingly consider Google products as the go-to choice. Synchronising different apps, calendars, e-mails, and contacts is not complicated and Apple users can use pre-installed products and dock these onto an Exchange account or a Google app. Windows mobile device users can also make use of the Microsoft Office apps.