Mailspring vs Sylpheed (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Sylpheed grades higher than Mailspring: 2.8 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Sylpheed grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use 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 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
| 2.4GPAMailspringFair | 2.8GPASylpheedGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | AFree under the GNU GPL, with nothing to host. |
| 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. | AFree under the GNU GPL, with no paid plans and no limits on the program. |
| 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. | 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 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. | CNo store rating on record. You add each account yourself, and the interface is old but plain. |
| 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. | CWindows, macOS and Linux, but nothing on phones or the web. A program for computers alone. |
| Best for | a free desktop inbox, Linux included | 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: Mailspring and Sylpheed. 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. Sylpheed has no paid plan and scores 2.0.
They score the same, and Sylpheed starts $7.08 a month lower. Of the other email apps on the chart, 47 score higher than Mailspring 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
- Mailspring also covers templates.
- Sylpheed also covers inbox filtering.
At a glance
| Mailspring | Sylpheed | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Free to use, modify and redistribute under the GNU GPL. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | Foundry376, LLC | Sylpheed |
| Price read from | getmailspring.com | sylpheed.sraoss.jp |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 13, 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.
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
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.
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
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.
Sylpheed
Free$0
Free software distributed under the GNU GPL; no paid plans.
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.
Sylpheed
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Mailspring or Sylpheed?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Sylpheed 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 Sylpheed is free.
Which has a free plan, Mailspring or Sylpheed?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Mailspring and Sylpheed have a free plan.
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.