Cleanfox vs Mailstrom (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Cleanfox grades higher than Mailstrom: 3.0 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Cleanfox grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Cleanfox
Free tool for unsubscribing from newsletters and clearing inboxes
Mailstrom
Web-based inbox cleaner for bulk deleting and unsubscribing
Which one is for you
Pick Cleanfox if
- Fits if your inbox is full of newsletters you never read
- Works for people who accept the data trade for a free cleaner
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you don't want your emails scanned, as the site says it sells statistics compiled from them
- Watch out: signing up joins NielsenIQ's online consumer panel, according to the site
- Skip it if you want an email client, as it cleans subscriptions only
- Watch out: the site says it can't connect to some providers
Pick Mailstrom if
- Fits if your inbox holds thousands of old messages you want to delete or archive in bulk
- Works for people who'd rather choose what goes themselves than leave it to AI sorting
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to tidy your other folders too, because only the inbox can be organized for now
- Tight if you're on Basic with a big mailbox, as it's capped at 1 email account and 10,000 emails
- Not for you if you want an app on your phone, since it runs in the browser only
- Watch out: the free trial is a one-off snapshot of 5,000 messages, and you can act on only 25% of them
- Skip it if your mail is POP-only or on Exchange without IMAP, as those can't be connected
How we grade them
| 3.0GPACleanfoxVery good | 2.2GPAMailstromFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AEverything is free. The cost is not money: the site says it sells statistics compiled from the transactional emails and newsletters it scans. | CBasic is $9 a month, the middle of this category, or $59.95 a year, about $5 a month. That covers 1 email account and up to 10,000 emails. A second mailbox or a bigger one means Plus at $14 a month, and Pro is $29.95. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright, with all features at no charge and no paid plan. | CNo free plan. The trial needs no credit card, but it's a one-time snapshot of up to 5,000 inbox messages and only 25% of them can be deleted, archived or moved. Enough to see how it works, not enough to finish the job. |
| Features | CNewsletter detection, delete or keep per sender, deleted mail goes to the bin, and several providers. It does that one job, a smaller job than an email client, and the site says it can't connect to some providers. | CIt does its one job: bundles by sender, subject, date and size so thousands of messages move at once, with Unsubscribe, Block, Chill, Expire, saved move rules and an Undo for every command. That's a narrow slice of email, and the FAQ says folders other than the inbox can't be organized yet. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You connect your mailbox first, though it's one-click per newsletter after that. | CNo rating on record. Bundles are simple to read and Undo reverses mistakes, but you start by connecting a mailbox over IMAP, and POP-only accounts or Exchange servers without IMAP can't be connected at all. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iOS and Android, with Gmail and Outlook connections. No desktop app. | BThe browser and nothing else: no phone or desktop app is listed. It connects to Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, AOL, iCloud, Microsoft 365 and other IMAP providers. |
| Best for | a free newsletter cleaner paid for by data | bulk-clearing an inbox you gave up on |
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: Cleanfox and Mailstrom. How we grade
Price against what you get
Cleanfox has no paid plan and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Mailstrom starts at $5 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Cleanfox starts $5 a month lower. Of the other email apps on the chart, none scores higher than Cleanfox for less, and 18 score higher than Mailstrom 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
At a glance
| Cleanfox | Mailstrom | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free trial |
| Starts at | Free | $9 per month, or $59.95 per year (Basic, 1 email account) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | Free trial, no credit card: a snapshot of up to 5,000 inbox messages, of which 25% can be deleted, archived or moved |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | NielsenIQ | 410 Labs |
| Price read from | cleanfox.io | mailstrom.co |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Cleanfox
- Cleanfox is paid for by data: the site says it sells statistics compiled from the transactional emails and newsletters it scans.
- Signing up joins NielsenIQ's online consumer panel, according to the site.
- It cleans subscriptions only; it is not an email client and does not replace one.
- The site says it is unable to connect to some providers.
Mailstrom
- It runs in the browser only; the site lists no mobile or desktop apps.
- The free trial is a one-time snapshot of up to 5,000 messages, and only 25% of them can be deleted, archived or moved.
- It works over IMAP, so POP-only accounts and Exchange servers without IMAP enabled cannot be connected.
- Basic is capped at 1 email account and 10,000 emails, and the FAQ says folders other than the inbox cannot be organized yet.
Key features
Cleanfox
- Newsletter detection
- After you connect a mailbox, Cleanfox lists the newsletters it finds so that each one can be reviewed in turn.
- Delete or keep, per sender
- For each newsletter you can delete future emails automatically, delete emails already received, or keep it.
- Deleted mail goes to the bin
- Removed emails move to the inbox bin and are emptied automatically after a few days, so a mistake can be restored.
- Several providers and apps
- It works with Gmail, Outlook and other providers, and there are Android and iOS apps as well as the web version.
Mailstrom
- Bundles of related mail
- Groups inbox messages by sender, subject, date and size so that tens, hundreds or thousands of them can be deleted, archived or moved to a folder in one action.
- Unsubscribe
- From the Mailing Lists tab, Unsubscribe sends a request email to the list owner. If the list gives no unsubscribe address, its web page opens in a new tab instead.
- Block
- Removes the selected messages and creates a rule that keeps future mail from the same sender, mailing list or subject out of the inbox. Available to subscribers.
- Chill and Expire
- Chill takes messages out of the inbox and returns them on a date you choose. Expire removes mail from a sender or mailing list after a set period. Both need a subscription.
- Automatic move rules
- A move can be saved as a rule, so future messages that match a sender or subject are filed into the chosen folder as they arrive. Subscribers' mail is loaded continuously.
- Undo and task history
- Actions are carried out by your email service and are not permanent: deleted mail goes to its trash, and an Undo feature reverses any command from the task list.
Plans
Cleanfox
Free$0
All features at no charge; the service is funded by selling statistical data from scanned emails.
Mailstrom
Basic$9
per month, or $59.95 per year
1 email account with up to 10,000 emails, 200 smart filters, unlimited email removal, and Chill, Expire and Block.
Plus$14
per month, or $99.95 per year
3 email accounts with up to 250,000 emails and 400 smart filters.
Pro$29.95
per month, or $199.95 per year
20 email accounts with unlimited inbox size and 1,000 smart filters.
Ways to pay less
Cleanfox
No public discounts listed.
Mailstrom
- Annual discount
Annual plans are marked as saving 40%
The subscribe page labels annual billing as saving 40%: Basic is $59.95 a year against $9 a month, Plus $99.95 against $14 and Pro $199.95 against $29.95.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Cleanfox or Mailstrom?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Cleanfox is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $5 a month when paid by the year for Mailstrom. Cleanfox is free, and Mailstrom starts at $9 per month, or $59.95 per year (Basic, 1 email account).
Which has a free plan, Cleanfox or Mailstrom?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Cleanfox has a free plan. Mailstrom does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Cleanfox and Mailstrom run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Cleanfox lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web 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.