EPIM (EssentialPIM) vs Microsoft Outlook

EPIM (EssentialPIM)

• Windows users who want mail, calendar, tasks and notes in one app
• People who prefer a perpetual license to a subscription
• Small teams sharing calendars and tasks from one database

Microsoft Outlook

• People who want mail, calendar and contacts from several accounts in one app
• Organizations already paying for Microsoft 365 and Exchange email
• Windows users: Microsoft says Outlook is included free with Windows

EPIM (EssentialPIM)

• The desktop app is Windows only. The iOS app includes only the Tasks and Passwords modules, and the store listings date both mobile apps' latest updates to 2023.
• Cloud sync, automatic backup, tags, templates and Sticky Notes need EPIM Pro. The free EPIM Mail edition leaves them out.
• A perpetual license includes 1 year of updates. Newer versions after that need a paid 12-month update extension.
• License prices are recorded in Indian rupees, as the pricing page displayed them to a visitor in India. US dollar prices were not shown.

Microsoft Outlook

• Free accounts show ads in the inbox; a Microsoft 365 Basic, Personal or Family subscription removes them.
• Business Basic includes only the web and mobile versions of Outlook. Business Standard with Copilot, at $23.50 per user / month, adds the desktop apps.
• On home plans, Copilot in Outlook currently works only with outlook.com, hotmail.com, live.com and msn.com addresses, and only for the subscription owner.
• Microsoft lists Outlook for Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and the web. No Linux app is listed.

EPIM (EssentialPIM)

Connected modules with a Today view

Mail, calendar, tasks, notes, contacts and passwords live in one Windows application, and the Today view shows upcoming events and tasks from across them.

Calendar

Day, Week, Week Agenda, Month, Year and Agenda views, with a tasks sidebar beside the schedule, custom categories and reusable event templates.

Tasks

Tasks and subtasks sit in a hierarchy and can be shown in Tree, Plain or Kanban views, with search, filters, custom layouts and templates.

Mail

A unified inbox for several IMAP, POP3 and Microsoft Exchange accounts, with mail rules, tags, advanced search and PGP encryption.

Notes and passwords

Notes are written in Markdown or rich text with images, tables and drawings. Passwords are kept in an encrypted database with a generator and Auto-Type.

Sync and portable mode

EPIM Pro syncs with Google, Microsoft 365, iCloud, Nextcloud, ownCloud and Dropbox. Portable mode runs the app and its data from a USB drive.

Microsoft Outlook

Several accounts in one app

The desktop and mobile apps take Outlook.com, Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud and other mail services alongside work or school accounts, and switch between them without leaving the app.

Focused Inbox, Sweep and snooze

Focused Inbox and Sweep clear clutter out of the main view. Messages can be snoozed until later or flagged as important.

Calendar, contacts and to-do lists

Email, calendars, contacts and to-do lists sit in one view. Outlook can schedule events, set reminders, and track packages and flights on supported platforms.

Copilot in Outlook

Drafts a message from a prompt, adjusts tone, length and clarity, and summarizes long threads. Included with Microsoft 365 Personal and Family, with usage limits.

Mailbox protection

Outlook scans attachments and links for threats on Microsoft email addresses. Paid plans add mailbox encryption, checks on suspicious links and removal of dangerous attachments.

Office files from the inbox

Open, edit or send Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents from the inbox, and attach OneDrive files as links.

EPIM (EssentialPIM)

• EPIM MailFree

  Email, calendar, tasks, notes, contacts and passwords with the essential features, portable mode and community and email support.

• EPIM Pro (Annual Subscription)₹4,790.95

  per year, as shown to a visitor in India

  Adds sync with major cloud services, automatic backup, tags, templates and Sticky Notes. All updates are included while it renews.

• EPIM Pro (Perpetual License)₹9,587.95

  one-time, with 1 year of updates

  The same Pro features bought once. The last version received keeps working after the update year, and updates can be extended yearly.

• EPIM Pro Business (Annual)₹9,587.95

  per user / year

  Pro features plus access to shared EPIM databases and user access rights through EPIM Server, which is free to install.

• EPIM Pro Business (Perpetual)₹19,181.95

  per user, one-time, with 1 year of updates

  A one-time Business license for 1 user. Every user who connects to a shared database needs a license of their own.

• EPIM Cloud (add-on)$2.99

  per month, or $19.95 per year

  Optional service sold separately: sync across supported devices, automatic backup and browser access to calendars, contacts and tasks.

Microsoft Outlook

• Outlook$0

  For 1 person: email and calendar on web, desktop and mobile, 15 GB of mailbox storage, 5 GB of cloud storage and core spam filtering, with ads.

• Microsoft 365 Basic$1.99

  per month, or $19.99 per year

  For 1 person: ad-free Outlook, 100 GB of mailbox storage, 100 GB of cloud storage and advanced Outlook security features.

• Business Basic$7.00

  per user / month, paid yearly ($5.40 without Teams)

  Custom business email on Exchange for up to 300 users, with the web and mobile versions of Outlook only and 1 TB of cloud storage per user.

• Microsoft 365 Personal$9.99

  per month, or $99.99 per year

  For 1 person on up to 5 devices at once: the Outlook desktop app with Copilot, 1 TB of cloud storage and Microsoft Defender.

• Microsoft 365 Family$12.99

  per month, or $129.99 per year

  The Personal benefits for 1 to 6 people, with 1 TB of cloud storage each. AI features are for the subscription owner only.

• Business Standard with Copilot$23.50

  per user / month, paid yearly ($20.30 without Teams)

  Adds desktop versions of Outlook and the other Office apps, plus Copilot grounded in work data. Business Premium with Copilot is $32.00.

EPIM (EssentialPIM)

• Education

  Educational discount for eligible customers

  The pricing FAQ says educational discounts are available to eligible customers and links to the vendor's discount pages for the terms.

• Other savings

  Competitive and volume discounts

  The same FAQ answer lists competitive discounts, for people switching from another product, and volume discounts on multiple licenses.

• Annual discount

  Save 44% on EPIM Cloud with yearly billing

  EPIM Cloud is listed at $2.99 a month or $19.95 a year, which the pricing page gives as $1.66 a month and a 44% saving.

Microsoft Outlook

• Annual discount

  About 16% lower with yearly billing

  Paying yearly costs $19.99 for Microsoft 365 Basic, $99.99 for Personal and $129.99 for Family, against $1.99, $9.99 and $12.99 a month.

• Education

  Students save 50% on Microsoft 365 Personal

  College and university students who verify their status get 50% off Microsoft 365 Personal, which includes the Outlook desktop app with Copilot. Eligibility is re-verified each year.

• Nonprofit

  Business Basic free for eligible nonprofits

  Microsoft lists Business Basic as a grant, free for up to 300 users. Nonprofit staff pricing is $3.50 per user / month for Business Standard and $5.50 for Business Premium, paid yearly.