Claws Mail vs Evolution (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Claws Mail and Evolution share a 2.8 GPA, both are free, so the choice depends on whether you care more about platforms, where Claws Mail grades higher, or features, where Evolution does.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Which one is for you
Pick Claws Mail if
- Fits if you want a light mail client you can drive from the keyboard
- Works for people who use GnuPG and want plugins for extras
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a calendar built in, as that's a plugin
- Not for you if you use a Mac, since the downloads page mentions no macOS version
- Watch out: Windows is a separate port
- Too light on looks if you want a modern design: the interface is built on GTK and follows older desktop mail clients
Pick Evolution if
- Fits if you use Linux and want mail, calendar and contacts in one app
- Works for people who need Exchange access from a Linux desktop
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you use Windows, macOS or a phone, as only Linux is listed
- Watch out: Exchange access needs the separate, optional evolution-ews package
- Watch out: support is by mailing list, GNOME Discourse and IRC, not a help desk
- Skip it if you want an app-store install, as you get it from a distro, Flathub or source
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAClaws MailGood | 2.8GPAEvolutionGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree under the GPL for anyone to download. A program anyone can download and run counts as free and substantial. | AFree and open source with no paid edition. A program anyone can download and run counts as free and substantial. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright, the whole app, with no paid edition. | AFree outright: the whole app, with no paid edition and no trial. |
| Features | CA keyboard-driven client with filtering, search, GnuPG, plugins, several protocols and MH storage. Gaps: calendar and RSS are plugins, not the base app. | BMail, calendar and contacts together, Exchange support and Flatpak builds. Nothing on the pages shows a gap in the core email work. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You install from a distro package or source, connect your accounts and add plugins for extras. | CNo store rating on record. You install from a distro or Flathub and connect your own accounts. |
| Platforms and integrations | CLinux, plus a separate Windows port. No macOS version is mentioned and there's no phone or web version. | DThe pages list Linux distributions and Flatpak only. No Windows, macOS, phone or web version. |
| Best for | a lightweight keyboard-driven mail client | the GNOME mail, calendar and contacts app |
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: Claws Mail and Evolution. How we grade
Price against what you get
Claws Mail has no paid plan and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Evolution has no paid plan and scores 2.0.
On this chart the two sit in the same place: the same score for the same starting price. Of the other email apps on the chart, none scores higher than Claws Mail for less, and none scores higher than Evolution 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
- Claws Mail also covers inbox filtering.
- Evolution also covers calendar.
At a glance
| Claws Mail | Evolution | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | The whole application is free software under the GPL. | The whole application is free software with no paid edition. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | Claws Mail project | GNOME Project |
| Price read from | claws-mail.org | wiki.gnome.org |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Claws Mail
- Calendar and RSS are plugins, not part of the base application.
- Windows is listed as a separate port; no macOS version is mentioned on the downloads page.
- The interface is built on GTK and follows the look of older desktop mail clients.
Evolution
- The pages read list Linux distributions and Flatpak only; no Windows or macOS builds are mentioned.
- Support is by mailing list, GNOME Discourse and IRC, not a vendor help desk.
- Exchange access needs the separate, optional evolution-ews package.
Key features
Claws Mail
- Keyboard-driven interface
- Almost all commands can be reached from the keyboard, in a layout meant to look familiar to people from other mail clients.
- Filtering and search
- Filtering, per-folder processing, message scoring, colour labels and a search function for sorting a busy mailbox.
- GnuPG support
- Encrypt and sign messages with GnuPG through GPGME, and switch the encryption type while composing.
- Plugins
- Extras such as an RSS aggregator and a calendar come as plugins, and the project lists them on a plugins page.
- Protocols and accounts
- Multiple accounts over POP3, IMAP4rev1 and SMTP with SSL, plus Usenet news reading and posting through NNTP.
- MH storage and import
- Messages are kept in the MH format, and mbox import and export lets you move mail in and out of other clients.
Evolution
- Mail, calendar and contacts together
- One application covers email, calendaring and an address book, rather than a mail client alone.
- Exchange support
- The optional evolution-ews package connects to Microsoft Exchange servers through Exchange Web Services.
- Flatpak builds
- Flathub carries the latest stable version, and Evolution can also be built and run in Flatpak on older distributions.
- Source and manual
- Source code is published as tarballs and in GNOME's GitLab, and a user manual is available online.
Plans
Claws Mail
Claws Mail$0
Free under the GPL; install from a distribution package or the source tarballs.
Evolution
Evolution$0
Free and open source; install from your distribution, Flathub or the source tarballs.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Claws Mail or Evolution?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Claws Mail and Evolution are free to use.
Which has a free plan, Claws Mail or Evolution?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Claws Mail and Evolution have a free plan.
Which platforms do Claws Mail and Evolution run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Claws Mail lists a Windows app. Both list a Linux app. 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.