Mailspring vs Roundcube (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Mailspring grades higher than Roundcube: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Mailspring grades higher on the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Mailspring
Open-source desktop email client for Mac, Windows and Linux
Which one is for you
Pick Mailspring if
- Fits if you're on Linux and want a desktop email app that takes several accounts
- Works for people who want read receipts and link tracking, at 5 a week free or unlimited on Pro
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you read mail on your phone too, as there's no iOS or Android version
- Not for you if your work account is Exchange only, because EWS and ActiveSync aren't supported
- Too light for anyone who needs a working calendar, since it's a read-only preview for Google accounts
- Tight if you stay free, at 15 snoozes, 5 send-later messages and 5 tracked messages a week
- Watch out: there's no lifetime license, and Pro at $8 a month doesn't include premium support
Pick Roundcube if
- Fits if you run your own mail server and want a webmail screen for it
- Works for hosting companies and admins who give users webmail
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a mailbox, because it only reads mail from your own IMAP and SMTP servers
- Not for you if you do not run a server, since you install and update it yourself
- Tight if you want a calendar or two-factor sign-in without plugins, as both are third-party
- Watch out: the site warns about scam emails that pretend to come from Roundcube
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAMailspringFair | 2.0GPARoundcubeFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPro is $8 a month, or $85 a year, the $8.00 middle of this category. All it buys is the lifting of weekly caps on snooze, send later, reminders, receipts and tracking. No one-time or lifetime license is offered, and Pro doesn't include premium support. | CThe software costs nothing, but it is only free if you host it, which needs a server, PHP 8.1 or newer and a database. Software you host yourself is graded C. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe free version is a full mail client with unlimited accounts, a unified inbox, search, mail rules, signatures and templates, and no cap on any of that. A free Mailspring ID adds weekly allowances of Pro: 15 snoozes, 5 send-later messages and 5 tracked ones. | BThe whole application is free with no user or message limit. You still pay for the server and mail service it runs on, so it is not free to a person with nothing. |
| Features | CThe basics: one inbox for several accounts, Gmail-style search across all of them, read receipts, link tracking, send later, snooze, reply reminders, translation and a grammar check. The holes are on its own pages: no Exchange or POP3, and a calendar that's a read-only preview for Google accounts. | CA mail client with an address book, shared folders, plugins and skins. It provides no mailbox, and calendar, two-factor sign-in and keyboard shortcuts come from third-party plugins. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. It's a desktop app with a familiar layout, but you add each account yourself and the free-plan allowances mean keeping track of how many snoozes and tracked messages you have left this week. | DSelf-hosting, with a web server and database to set up and keep updated. No store rating on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | CComputers only: Mac, Windows and Linux, but there's no iOS, Android or web version and the docs say the team is focused on the desktop. Mail syncs over IMAP straight from your provider to your machine. | CWeb only, in over 80 languages, with a responsive skin. Nextcloud is the only integration listed. |
| Best for | a free desktop inbox, Linux included | webmail you host yourself |
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: Mailspring and Roundcube. How we grade
Price against what you get
Mailspring starts at $7.08 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Roundcube has no paid plan and scores 1.7.
Mailspring scores higher, and starts $7.08 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other email apps on the chart, 34 score higher than Mailspring for less, and none scores higher than Roundcube 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
- Roundcube is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Mailspring also covers templates.
At a glance
| Mailspring | Roundcube | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $8 per month, or $85 per year (Mailspring Pro) | Free |
| Free plan | Unlimited accounts, unified inbox, search, mail rules, signatures, templates and themes. A free Mailspring ID adds weekly allowances of Pro features, such as 15 snoozes and 5 send-later messages. | The whole application is free, with no limit on users or messages, but you host it yourself. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | Foundry376, LLC | Roundcube project |
| Price read from | getmailspring.com | roundcube.net |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Mailspring
- There is no iOS, Android or web version; the docs say the team is focused on the desktop app.
- Exchange (EWS and ActiveSync) and POP3 are not supported. Microsoft 365 accounts connect over IMAP and SMTP.
- The calendar is a read-only preview for Google accounts; a full calendar is described as coming later.
- No one-time or lifetime license is offered, and Pro does not include premium support.
Roundcube
- It is a client only: it needs your own IMAP and SMTP servers and does not provide a mailbox.
- You install and update it yourself on a web server with PHP 8.1 or newer and a database.
- The site posts a warning about scam emails that pretend to come from Roundcube.
- Calendar, two-factor authentication and other extras come from third-party plugins.
Key features
Mailspring
- Unified inbox
- One inbox for Gmail, iCloud, Office 365, Fastmail, Outlook.com, Yahoo and other IMAP accounts. The free version puts no limit on the number of accounts.
- Advanced search
- Mailspring indexes mail so that Gmail-style search queries can look through message contents across every connected account.
- Read receipts and link tracking
- Notifies you when a recipient opens a message or clicks a link. A free Mailspring ID can track 5 messages a week of each kind, and Pro is unlimited.
- Send later, snooze and reminders
- Schedule a message, snooze a conversation, or get a reminder when nobody replies. The free allowance is 5 send-later messages, 5 reminders and 15 snoozes a week.
- Translation and grammar check
- Translates drafts and incoming messages and checks grammar in the composer with LanguageTool. Both have weekly caps, which are higher on Pro.
- Open source with direct sync
- The full codebase is published under the MIT license. Mail syncs over IMAP straight from the provider to your machine, not through Mailspring's servers.
Roundcube
- Full email client in the browser
- Drag-and-drop message management, threaded lists, MIME and HTML mail, spell checking and multiple sender identities.
- Address book
- Contacts with groups, find-as-you-type address entry and LDAP connectors.
- Shared folders and ACLs
- Supports shared and global IMAP folders and access control lists for them.
- Plugins and skins
- A plugin API and skin templates. Third-party additions listed include a calendar module, two-factor authentication and keyboard shortcuts.
- Security features
- Brute-force login prevention, XSS protection, OAuth login and support for PGP encryption.
- Multi-device interface
- A responsive skin, light and dark modes, three-column view and a translation into over 80 languages.
Plans
Mailspring
Free$0
Complete email client with unlimited accounts and a unified inbox. Weekly allowances of Pro features: 15 snoozes, 5 send-later messages and 5 tracked messages.
Mailspring Pro$8
per month, or $85 per year
Unlimited snooze, send later, follow-up reminders, read receipts and link tracking, plus higher caps on translation, grammar check and contact profiles.
Roundcube
Roundcube Webmail$0
Free under the GPL with unlimited users and messages; you supply the web server, database and mail servers.
Ways to pay less
Mailspring
- Annual discount
11% off with annual billing
Mailspring Pro is billed monthly at $8 by default. The subscription docs list an annual plan at $85 a year, which they describe as an 11% discount.
- Other savings
Multi-seat discounts for teams
The subscription docs say discounts on multi-seat licenses and annual team plans are available by contacting Foundry376's sales address.
Roundcube
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Mailspring or Roundcube?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Roundcube is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $7.08 a month when paid by the year for Mailspring. Mailspring starts at $8 per month, or $85 per year (Mailspring Pro), and Roundcube is free.
Which has a free plan, Mailspring or Roundcube?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Mailspring and Roundcube have a free plan.
Which platforms do Mailspring and Roundcube run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Mailspring lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps and only Roundcube lists 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.