aerc vs Mailspring (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, aerc grades higher than Mailspring: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
aerc grades higher on value for money. Mailspring grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Mailspring
Open-source desktop email client for Mac, Windows and Linux
Which one is for you
Pick aerc if
- Fits if you send patches by email and want git and mail in one place
- Works for people who already think in Vim keys
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want HTML mail shown the way it looks in a browser
- Not for you if you need a graphical or web version, as it only runs in a terminal
- Skip it if you don't want to configure it by hand
- Watch out: support is mailing lists, a bug tracker and a wiki
Pick Mailspring if
- Fits if you're on Linux and want a desktop email app that takes several accounts
- Works for people who want read receipts and link tracking, at 5 a week free or unlimited on Pro
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you read mail on your phone too, as there's no iOS or Android version
- Not for you if your work account is Exchange only, because EWS and ActiveSync aren't supported
- Too light for anyone who needs a working calendar, since it's a read-only preview for Google accounts
- Tight if you stay free, at 15 snoozes, 5 send-later messages and 5 tracked messages a week
- Watch out: there's no lifetime license, and Pro at $8 a month doesn't include premium support
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAaercGood | 2.4GPAMailspringFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree, and the project says it is 100% free and open source. | CPro is $8 a month, or $85 a year, the $8.00 middle of this category. All it buys is the lifting of weekly caps on snooze, send later, reminders, receipts and tracking. No one-time or lifetime license is offered, and Pro doesn't include premium support. |
| Free plan and trial | ANothing is locked: free to download and use, with no paid plans. | AThe free version is a full mail client with unlimited accounts, a unified inbox, search, mail rules, signatures and templates, and no cap on any of that. A free Mailspring ID adds weekly allowances of Pro: 15 snoozes, 5 send-later messages and 5 tracked ones. |
| Features | CSeveral backends, PGP through GnuPG and git patch workflows. HTML mail goes through an interactive terminal browser instead of showing in place, which is a real gap for ordinary mail. | CThe basics: one inbox for several accounts, Gmail-style search across all of them, read receipts, link tracking, send later, snooze, reply reminders, translation and a grammar check. The holes are on its own pages: no Exchange or POP3, and a calendar that's a read-only preview for Google accounts. |
| Ease of use | DIt's a terminal program that you set up by editing files, and there's a keyboard vocabulary to learn first. | CNo rating on record. It's a desktop app with a familiar layout, but you add each account yourself and the free-plan allowances mean keeping track of how many snoozes and tracked messages you have left this week. |
| Platforms and integrations | CLinux and macOS in a terminal. No graphical, web or phone version. | CComputers only: Mac, Windows and Linux, but there's no iOS, Android or web version and the docs say the team is focused on the desktop. Mail syncs over IMAP straight from your provider to your machine. |
| Best for | a terminal mail client with Vim-style keys | a free desktop inbox, Linux included |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: aerc and Mailspring. How we grade
Price against what you get
aerc has no paid plan and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Mailspring starts at $7.08 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.0.
Mailspring scores higher, and starts $7.08 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other email apps on the chart, none scores higher than aerc for less, and 47 score higher than Mailspring for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Mailspring also covers templates.
At a glance
| aerc | Mailspring | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $8 per month, or $85 per year (Mailspring Pro) |
| Free plan | Free to download and use; the project says it is 100% free and open source software. | Unlimited accounts, unified inbox, search, mail rules, signatures, templates and themes. A free Mailspring ID adds weekly allowances of Pro features, such as 15 snoozes and 5 send-later messages. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | aerc | Foundry376, LLC |
| Price read from | aerc-mail.org | getmailspring.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
aerc
- Runs only in a terminal; there is no graphical or web version.
- HTML email is rendered through an interactive terminal browser rather than shown natively.
- Support is via mailing lists, a bug tracker and a wiki.
Mailspring
- There is no iOS, Android or web version; the docs say the team is focused on the desktop app.
- Exchange (EWS and ActiveSync) and POP3 are not supported. Microsoft 365 accounts connect over IMAP and SMTP.
- The calendar is a read-only preview for Google accounts; a full calendar is described as coming later.
- No one-time or lifetime license is offered, and Pro does not include premium support.
Key features
aerc
- Embedded terminal compose
- Edit emails in an embedded terminal, tmux-style, while checking incoming mail and other threads.
- Vim-style keybindings
- Vim-style keys and an ex-command system allow automation from a single keystroke.
- Several backends
- Supports multiple accounts over IMAP, Maildir, Notmuch, Mbox and JMAP, with SMTP and sendmail for sending.
- git and email workflow
- Highlights patches with diffs and offers first-class support for working with git and email.
- PGP with GnuPG
- Signs, encrypts and verifies messages using GnuPG; HTML mail renders through a terminal web browser.
Mailspring
- Unified inbox
- One inbox for Gmail, iCloud, Office 365, Fastmail, Outlook.com, Yahoo and other IMAP accounts. The free version puts no limit on the number of accounts.
- Advanced search
- Mailspring indexes mail so that Gmail-style search queries can look through message contents across every connected account.
- Read receipts and link tracking
- Notifies you when a recipient opens a message or clicks a link. A free Mailspring ID can track 5 messages a week of each kind, and Pro is unlimited.
- Send later, snooze and reminders
- Schedule a message, snooze a conversation, or get a reminder when nobody replies. The free allowance is 5 send-later messages, 5 reminders and 15 snoozes a week.
- Translation and grammar check
- Translates drafts and incoming messages and checks grammar in the composer with LanguageTool. Both have weekly caps, which are higher on Pro.
- Open source with direct sync
- The full codebase is published under the MIT license. Mail syncs over IMAP straight from the provider to your machine, not through Mailspring's servers.
Plans
aerc
Free$0
Free and open source; no paid plans.
Mailspring
Free$0
Complete email client with unlimited accounts and a unified inbox. Weekly allowances of Pro features: 15 snoozes, 5 send-later messages and 5 tracked messages.
Mailspring Pro$8
per month, or $85 per year
Unlimited snooze, send later, follow-up reminders, read receipts and link tracking, plus higher caps on translation, grammar check and contact profiles.
Ways to pay less
aerc
No public discounts listed.
Mailspring
- Annual discount
11% off with annual billing
Mailspring Pro is billed monthly at $8 by default. The subscription docs list an annual plan at $85 a year, which they describe as an 11% discount.
- Other savings
Multi-seat discounts for teams
The subscription docs say discounts on multi-seat licenses and annual team plans are available by contacting Foundry376's sales address.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, aerc or Mailspring?
As of Nov 13, 2026, aerc is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $7.08 a month when paid by the year for Mailspring. aerc is free, and Mailspring starts at $8 per month, or $85 per year (Mailspring Pro).
Which has a free plan, aerc or Mailspring?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both aerc and Mailspring have a free plan.
Which platforms do aerc and Mailspring run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Mailspring lists a Windows app. Both list macOS and Linux apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.