Canary Mail vs Spark Mail

Canary Mail

• One mail app across Mac, iPhone, Windows and Android devices
• People who want PGP-encrypted email without a separate tool
• Buyers who prefer a one-time lifetime license to a subscription

Spark Mail

• People juggling several email accounts across desktop and phone
• Individuals who want a free client with a unified inbox and send later
• Small teams that want to comment on emails and draft replies together

Canary Mail

• It is a mail client, not a provider: it connects to existing accounts and does not create addresses or host mail.
• Apps are listed for macOS, iOS, Windows and Android only. There is no web or Linux version.
• AI Copilot, the calendar and Send Later need Growth, while PGP, SecureSend and phishing protection need Pro+ at $100 per year.
• There is no monthly billing. Paid plans are yearly or lifetime, bought inside the app, and the Free plan is limited to 2 devices.

Spark Mail

• The vendor lists apps for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android only; there is no web or Linux version.
• Gatekeeper, Priority, Spark +AI and third-party integrations require Plus or higher.
• Shared inboxes, read statuses and the HubSpot integration are limited to Pro and Enterprise.
• The free plan's AI is a limited preview: 5 meeting notes in total and 1 month of email history for the AI Assistant.

Canary Mail

Unified inbox for every account

Reads Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, Exchange, Yahoo Mail and other IMAP accounts in one inbox. Unlimited mail accounts are included on the Free plan.

AI Copilot

Drafts replies, suggests subject lines, rewrites messages in a chosen tone and summarizes long threads. It is part of Growth, and Canary says email is not used to train AI models.

Read receipts, snooze and Send Later

Lite read receipts, snooze, pinning and templates are free. Full read receipts and Send Later need Growth. A Chrome extension offers read receipts only.

PGP encryption and SecureSend

Pro+ adds PGP end-to-end encryption and SecureSend, which sends password-protected messages that can be set to expire.

Phishing and impersonation protection

Pro+ alerts you to suspicious links and spoofed senders and adds impersonation detection and misdirection prevention.

Calendar and scheduling

Growth includes a built-in calendar with scheduling tools, so meetings are handled in the same app as mail.

Spark Mail

Smart Inbox and unified inbox

Brings every connected account into one inbox and separates priority mail from newsletters and notifications. Included in the free plan.

Gatekeeper and Priority

Gatekeeper lets you accept or block new senders before they land in the inbox, and Priority highlights chosen senders. Both are part of Plus and above.

Spark +AI and AI Assistant

+AI drafts, proofreads, summarizes and translates email. The AI Assistant answers questions about your mail, reaching back 1 month on Free, 1 year on Plus and without limit on Pro.

Snooze, Send Later and reminders

Snooze a message, set it aside, schedule a send or get a follow-up reminder. These scheduling tools are in the free plan.

Team collaboration

Share a thread with teammates, discuss it in private comments and write drafts together in real time. Shared inboxes for addresses such as support@ need Pro.

Calendar and AI meeting notes

A built-in calendar can add Zoom, GoTo or Microsoft Teams call links. AI meeting notes are capped at 5 in total on Free and 40 a month on Plus, and unlimited on Pro.

Canary Mail

• Free$0

  Unified inbox, unlimited mail accounts, snooze and pin, email templates and lite read receipts, on up to 2 devices.

• Growth$36

  per year (shown as $3 per month; no monthly billing)

  Adds AI Copilot, full read receipts, Send Later, calendar and scheduling, Inbox Cleaner and app integrations, on up to 5 devices.

• Pro+$100

  per year (shown as $10 per month with 2 months free)

  Everything in Growth plus PGP encryption, SecureSend, phishing and ransomware protection, impersonation detection and priority support.

• Growth Lifetime$100

  one-time purchase

  The Growth features for one user on up to 5 devices, paid once with no recurring billing.

• Pro+ Lifetime$300

  one-time purchase

  The Pro+ features for one user on up to 5 devices, paid once with no recurring billing.

Spark Mail

• Free$0

  Unlimited accounts, Smart Inbox, unified inbox, snooze, send later, reminders, calendar and 5 lifetime AI meeting notes.

• Plus$8.25

  per user / month, billed annually ($99); $10 billed monthly

  Adds Gatekeeper, Priority, Spark +AI, the AI Assistant with 1 year of history, 40 AI meeting notes a month, integrations and team collaboration.

• Pro$16.58

  per user / month, billed annually ($199); $20 billed monthly

  Everything in Plus, plus shared inboxes, read statuses, unlimited AI meeting notes, HubSpot integration and Spark CLI triage access.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Everything in Pro, plus security and controls, a dedicated success manager and 1:1 productivity coaching.

Canary Mail

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime licenses for Growth and Pro+

  Both paid plans can be bought once instead of yearly: $100 for Growth and $300 for Pro+. A lifetime license covers one user on up to 5 devices across all four platforms.

Spark Mail

• Annual discount

  Save 17% with annual billing

  The pricing page shows Plus at $99 a year instead of $120 and Pro at $199 a year instead of $240 when billed annually, a 17% saving over paying monthly.