Evolution vs Sylpheed (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Evolution and Sylpheed share a 2.8 GPA, both are free, so the choice depends on whether you care more about features, where Evolution grades higher, or platforms, where Sylpheed does.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 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 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
Pick Sylpheed if
- Fits if you want a small, free mail program for an older computer
- Works for people who like one file per message on disk
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want regular updates, as the latest stable release is from January 2018
- Skip it if you want it on your phone, since no mobile apps are listed
- Watch out: the mailing list was announced as discontinued in September 2025
- Watch out: the 3.8 beta dates from September 2022
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAEvolutionGood | 2.8GPASylpheedGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree and open source with no paid edition. A program anyone can download and run counts as free and substantial. | AFree under the GNU GPL, with nothing to host. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright: the whole app, with no paid edition and no trial. | AFree under the GNU GPL, with no paid plans and no limits on the program. |
| Features | BMail, calendar and contacts together, Exchange support and Flatpak builds. Nothing on the pages shows a gap in the core email work. | CFiltering, search, GnuPG and plug-ins for the basics of mail. The last stable release is 3.7 from 2018, so don't expect new features. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You install from a distro or Flathub and connect your own accounts. | CNo store rating on record. You add each account yourself, and the interface is old but plain. |
| Platforms and integrations | DThe pages list Linux distributions and Flatpak only. No Windows, macOS, phone or web version. | CWindows, macOS and Linux, but nothing on phones or the web. A program for computers alone. |
| Best for | the GNOME mail, calendar and contacts app | a light desktop mail client |
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: Evolution and Sylpheed. How we grade
Price against what you get
Evolution has no paid plan and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Sylpheed 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 Evolution for less, and none scores higher than Sylpheed 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
- Evolution also covers calendar.
- Sylpheed also covers inbox filtering.
At a glance
| Evolution | Sylpheed | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | The whole application is free software with no paid edition. | Free to use, modify and redistribute under the GNU GPL. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | GNOME Project | Sylpheed |
| Price read from | wiki.gnome.org | sylpheed.sraoss.jp |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Sylpheed
- The latest stable release shown is 3.7 from 31 Jan 2018; 3.8beta1 dates from 14 Sep 2022.
- The Sylpheed mailing list was announced as discontinued in September 2025.
- No mobile apps are listed; the downloads cover desktop systems.
Key features
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.
Sylpheed
- One file per message
- Messages are stored one per file, which the site cites as a reason for reliability.
- Filtering and search
- The feature list names powerful filtering and search, plus junk mail control.
- Security
- Lists GnuPG and SSL/TLSv1 support, and a plug-in for automatic attachment encryption.
- Plug-ins
- Extensible through a plug-in system, with a plug-ins page and external command integration.
- Keyboard-oriented
- Built for keyboard operation as well as a conventional GTK+ interface for beginners.
Plans
Evolution
Evolution$0
Free and open source; install from your distribution, Flathub or the source tarballs.
Sylpheed
Free$0
Free software distributed under the GNU GPL; no paid plans.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Evolution or Sylpheed?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Evolution and Sylpheed are free to use.
Which has a free plan, Evolution or Sylpheed?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Evolution and Sylpheed have a free plan.
Which platforms do Evolution and Sylpheed run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Sylpheed lists macOS and Windows apps. 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.