Apple Mail vs Gmail

Apple Mail

• iPhone, iPad and Mac owners who want a mail app at no cost
• Reading iCloud, Gmail, Exchange and Yahoo mail in one inbox
• People who want protection from email tracking built in

Gmail

• Anyone who wants a free personal address with 15 GB of shared storage
• Organizations that want email on their own domain inside Google Workspace
• People who already rely on Google Calendar, Meet, Chat and Drive

Apple Mail

• The app is listed only for Apple devices. Elsewhere, iCloud Mail is reached in a browser at iCloud.com, which Apple describes for iCloud Mail accounts, or in Outlook on Windows.
• iCloud Mail counts against iCloud storage, 5 GB on the free tier. When it runs out, the iCloud address stops receiving new mail until space is freed or bought.
• Hide My Email and Custom Email Domain need iCloud+, and Apple notes that Custom Email Domain is not available in all countries or regions.
• Priority Messages, summaries and Writing Tools depend on Apple Intelligence, which Apple labels a beta and limits to certain languages and regions.

Gmail

• Business email is only sold as part of Google Workspace, which also includes Calendar, Drive, Meet and Docs.
• The free 15 GB is shared with Drive and Photos. More space is a paid add-on: the US App Store listing shows 100 GB at $1.99 and 200 GB at $2.99, with no billing period given.
• Free accounts may show ads, though Google says it does not use Gmail content to personalize them.
• No desktop app is listed: Gmail runs in a browser and as Android and iOS apps, or through another mail client.

Apple Mail

Every account in one inbox

Add iCloud, Gmail, Exchange, Yahoo, Outlook and other accounts, then read them in a single inbox or one mailbox at a time, with filters for unread or flagged messages.

Automatic categories

Mail sorts incoming messages into Primary, Transactions, Updates and Promotions, which keeps receipts and marketing email out of the main list.

Priority Messages and summaries

With Apple Intelligence, urgent messages are shown in a section at the top of the inbox, messages and threads can be summarized, and Smart Reply drafts quick responses.

Send later, snooze and unsend

Schedule a message to send later, snooze one to come back to, or unsend it. On Mac, Mail can also remind you about messages that got no response.

Mail Privacy Protection

Hides your IP address from senders and downloads remote content privately in the background, so senders cannot tell whether or when a message was opened.

Hide My Email and custom domains

With iCloud+, send from unique, random addresses that forward to your real one, and use a domain you own with iCloud Mail, shared with up to five other people.

Gmail

Spam, phishing and malware blocking

Google says Gmail automatically blocks 99.9% of spam, phishing attempts and malware, and flags a suspicious message that could still be legitimate.

Gemini in Gmail

Drafts and polishes replies and summarizes long threads. On personal accounts, asking Gemini to search the inbox is a premium feature of Google AI Pro or Ultra plans.

Smart Compose, Smart Reply and Nudges

Suggests replies and sentence completions as you type, and reminds you to answer or follow up on messages you have not dealt with.

Confidential Mode

Set an expiry date on a message, require the recipient to verify by text, and remove the options to forward, copy, download or print it.

Custom domain email and mail merge

Workspace puts addresses on your own domain, with up to 30 aliases per user. Mail merge, from Business Standard, takes up to 1,500 recipients from a linked spreadsheet.

Offline mail and other clients

Gmail offline lets you read, reply to, delete and search messages without a connection. Accounts also work in Microsoft Outlook, Apple Mail and Mozilla Thunderbird.

Apple Mail

• Mail$0

  The Mail app on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple Vision, plus iCloud Mail within the 5 GB of free iCloud storage.

• iCloud+ 50 GB$0.99

  per month

  50 GB of iCloud storage, which iCloud Mail counts against, plus Hide My Email and Custom Email Domain.

• iCloud+ 200 GB$2.99

  per month

  200 GB of iCloud storage with the same Hide My Email and Custom Email Domain features.

• iCloud+ 2 TB$9.99

  per month

  2 TB of iCloud storage with the same mail features. Apple also sells 6 TB at $29.99 and 12 TB at $59.99 per month.

Gmail

• Personal Google Account$0

  Gmail for personal use with 15 GB of storage shared with Drive and Photos. No address at your own domain, and the account may show ads.

• Business Starter$7

  per user / month, 1-year commitment ($8.40 flexible)

  Google Workspace with email at your own domain, 30 GB of pooled storage per user and the Gemini assistant in Gmail.

• Business Standard$14

  per user / month, 1-year commitment ($16.80 flexible)

  2 TB of pooled storage per user, plus custom email layouts, mail merge and Gemini in Gmail, Docs, Meet and more.

• Business Plus$22

  per user / month, 1-year commitment ($26.40 flexible)

  5 TB of pooled storage per user, with Google Vault for retention and eDiscovery and advanced endpoint management.

• EnterpriseCustom

  No user limit, where the Business editions stop at 300. Adds S/MIME encryption and data loss prevention; priced through Google sales.

Apple Mail

No public discounts listed.

Gmail

• Annual discount

  Lower rate with a 1-year commitment

  Business Starter costs $7 per user per month on the Annual/Fixed-Term Plan versus $8.40 on the Flexible Plan. Standard drops from $16.80 to $14 and Plus from $26.40 to $22.

• Other savings

  Introductory discount for the first 3 months

  The US pricing page gives new Workspace customers 50% off Starter, 30% off Standard and 20% off Plus for their first 3 months, and describes the offer as valid for a limited time.

• Nonprofit

  Google Workspace for Nonprofits at $0

  Eligible nonprofits get Google Workspace for Nonprofits at $0 per user, or Business Standard at $3.50 and Business Plus at $6.16 per user per month on a 1-year commitment.

• Education

  Education Fundamentals at no charge

  Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals is available at no charge to qualifying institutions. Education Plus is a paid edition.