Mailspring vs Zero Mail (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Mailspring grades higher than Zero Mail: 2.4 against 1.8 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 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.
Mailspring
Open-source desktop email client for Mac, Windows and Linux
Zero Mail
Open-source AI email client that connects your existing inboxes
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 Zero Mail if
- Fits if you want AI summaries and replies over a Gmail or Outlook inbox
- Works for developers who are happy with a beta and might self-host
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a finished product, because the site labels Zero beta
- Tight if you have more than one inbox, since free allows one connection
- Pricey if you want the full AI writing and summaries: Pro is $20 a month
- Watch out: no desktop or phone apps are listed, only the web
- Watch out: the pricing page does not say whether $20 is monthly or annual
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAMailspringFair | 1.8GPAZero MailWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | DPro is $20 a month, which is where the dearest tenth of email tools starts. The page does not say whether that is billed monthly or yearly. |
| 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. | CFree plan: one email connection, AI chat with the inbox, basic labeling and limited AI writing. Unlimited connections and full AI writing need Pro. There is a 7-day Pro trial. |
| 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. | CAI chat, summaries, labels and writing on a keyboard-driven inbox. The site labels it beta, and the free plan limits the writing. |
| 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 connect your Gmail or Outlook accounts, and self-hosting is also offered. |
| 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. The site lists no desktop or mobile apps, and Gmail and Outlook are the connections named. |
| Best for | a free desktop inbox, Linux included | an AI layer over your existing inbox |
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 Zero Mail. 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. Zero Mail starts at $20 a month and scores 2.0.
They score the same, and Mailspring starts $12.92 a month lower. Of the other email apps on the chart, 34 score higher than Mailspring for less, and 45 score higher than Zero Mail 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
- Zero Mail is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Mailspring also covers templates.
- Zero Mail also covers inbox filtering.
At a glance
| Mailspring | Zero Mail | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $8 per month, or $85 per year (Mailspring Pro) | $20 per month (billing basis not shown) |
| 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. | One email connection, AI chat with your inbox, basic labeling and limited AI email writing. |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial of Zero Pro |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | Foundry376, LLC | Zero Email Inc |
| Price read from | getmailspring.com | 0.email |
| 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.
Zero Mail
- The site labels Zero as beta, and the vendor's pricing page does not say whether $20 is billed monthly or annually.
- The free plan allows one email connection; unlimited connections need Pro.
- Zero is a web client; no desktop or mobile apps are listed on the site.
- The pricing page lists Enterprise support and a Slack channel without prices.
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.
Zero Mail
- Keyboard-driven inbox
- Shortcuts for opening, replying, archiving and marking read, plus a command palette for search (Cmd+K), aim to process mail without the mouse.
- AI chat with your inbox
- Ask questions or give instructions in natural language, such as finding an invoice from a sender or replying to a person, on every plan.
- Summaries and AI writing
- Pro generates thread summaries and one-click replies; the free plan has limited AI writing.
- Labels and categories
- Free accounts get basic labeling; Pro adds automatic labeling to sort incoming mail.
- Self-hosting
- The README on GitHub describes running Zero on your own server, connected to Gmail and other providers.
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.
Zero Mail
Free$0
One email connection, AI chat with the inbox, basic labeling and limited AI writing.
Pro$20
per month, billing basis not shown
Unlimited connections, auto labeling, one-click AI writing and replies, and instant thread summaries.
EnterpriseCustom
Everything in Pro plus a dedicated Slack channel and priority customer support.
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.
Zero Mail
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Mailspring or Zero Mail?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Mailspring is cheaper to start with: $7.08 a month when paid by the year, against $20 a month for Zero Mail. Mailspring starts at $8 per month, or $85 per year (Mailspring Pro), and Zero Mail starts at $20 per month (billing basis not shown).
Which has a free plan, Mailspring or Zero Mail?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Mailspring and Zero Mail have a free plan.
Which platforms do Mailspring and Zero Mail run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Mailspring lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps and only Zero Mail 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.