Microsoft Outlook vs Nine (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Microsoft Outlook: it is first in our ranking of email apps, and it grades higher too, 3.6 against 2.4.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Microsoft Outlook grades higher on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft's email and calendar app for desktop, mobile and web
Nine
Exchange ActiveSync email, calendar and tasks app for phones
Which one is for you
Pick Microsoft Outlook if
- Fits if you have three or four email addresses and want them in one app with your calendar
- Works for offices on Microsoft 365, where mail, calendar and Teams sit together
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if ads in your inbox would wind you up and you won't pay $1.99 a month to lose them
- Pricey if you want Copilot: it's on the $9.99 plan, and only for Microsoft addresses and the account owner
- Pricey if your business wants its own email domain and the desktop apps in one plan, at $23.50 a person
- Watch out: there's no Linux app, and on Windows the new Outlook lacks macros and old add-ins
- Too light for sorting mail on your phone, where reviewers say rules and subfolders need a computer
Pick Nine if
- Fits if your work mailbox runs on Exchange or Office 365 and you read it on a phone
- Works for people who want to pay once for a mail app
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want calendar and tasks from an IMAP mailbox, as those need ActiveSync
- Skip it if you need a desktop or web app too
- Watch out: the price comes from the Google Play listing, which also shows in-app purchases
- Watch out: Nine Work, the enterprise edition, was Android-only, with iOS described as coming
- Watch out: Play lists a different developer name from the vendor site
How we grade them
| 3.6GPAMicrosoft OutlookExcellent | 2.4GPANineFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AMicrosoft 365 Basic is $1.99 a month, or $19.99 a year, when the middle for this category is $8 and its lowest-priced quarter is $4. That takes the ads out and lifts your mailbox from 15 GB to 100 GB. Proton's lowest paid plan is $3.99 and stops at 15 GB. | A$14.99 once is well under a year of what the typical email app charges per month ($7.95), and there's no subscription to keep paying. |
| Free plan and trial | BA free plan, not a trial: 15 GB for mail, apps for your phone and your computer, and your Gmail, Yahoo and iCloud accounts in the same place. What holds it back is the price you do pay, ads sitting in the inbox, plus a 15 GB ceiling. | CA two-week trial and then you buy the licence. The Google Play listing doesn't say whether the trial wants a card. |
| Features | BFocused Inbox, Sweep, snooze, a calendar, contacts and to-do lists in one window, parcel and flight tracking, Office files from the inbox. The fine print keeps it off the top mark: Copilot is on the $9.99 plan and Microsoft addresses only, and Focused Inbox on Windows skips Gmail. | CExchange ActiveSync with mail, calendar, contacts and tasks, plus widgets and folder push. The gap is that IMAP accounts get mail only, so it's an Exchange tool first. |
| Ease of use | A4.79 from about 9.3 million App Store ratings, the most ratings in this category. Computers are messier: Windows has a new Outlook and a classic one, and Microsoft keeps a help page called "What version of Outlook do I have?" | CNo store rating on record. You connect each account, and for a company mailbox that can mean device-management settings. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android, where Gmail lists no desktop app at all. It plugs into Teams, OneDrive, Word and Excel as well. No Linux app, though. | CAndroid and iPhone only, with Exchange, Office 365, Intune and AirWatch as the connections. No desktop app and no web version. |
| Best for | all your inboxes and a calendar in one app | Exchange mail on an Android or iPhone |
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: Microsoft Outlook and Nine. How we grade
Where they differ
- Nine can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Microsoft Outlook also covers inbox filtering.
At a glance
| Microsoft Outlook | Nine | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $1.99 per month, or $19.99 per year (Microsoft 365 Basic) | $14.99 one-time license |
| Free plan | Free Outlook for 1 person: email and calendar on the web, desktop and mobile apps, 15 GB of mailbox storage, 5 GB of cloud storage and core spam filtering. The free inbox shows ads. | None |
| Free trial | One-month free trial of the Microsoft 365 business plans, credit card required; Personal and Family also offer a free trial | 2-week free trial before buying a license |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Microsoft | JiranSoft |
| Price read from | microsoft.com | play.google.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Microsoft Outlook
- Free accounts show ads in the inbox; a Microsoft 365 Basic, Personal or Family subscription removes them.
- Business Basic has only web and mobile Outlook. Apps for business ($10.00) adds desktop Outlook without business email; Business Standard with Copilot ($23.50) has both.
- 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.
Nine
- IMAP accounts sync email only; calendar, contacts, tasks and notes need ActiveSync.
- The price comes from the app's Google Play listing, whose wording may be out of date, and the listing also shows in-app purchases.
- Nine Work, the enterprise edition, was Android-only with iOS products described as coming.
- Play lists NextIntelligence.ai as the developer, while the vendor site is branded JiranSoft.
Key features
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.
Nine
- Exchange ActiveSync
- Direct Push sync with Exchange Server 2003 SP2 through 2019, Office 365 and Exchange Online, with modern authentication for Office 365.
- Email, calendar, contacts and tasks
- Calendar and contacts tie into the phone's stock apps, with task and notes sync on supported Exchange versions.
- Security features
- The listing names S/MIME, client certificates, IRM, SSL and a global address list for corporate accounts.
- Device-only data
- The listing says Nine has no server for user data, connecting directly to the user's server and storing data on the device.
- Widgets and folder push
- Widgets for unread count, shortcuts, email list, tasks and calendar agenda, plus per-folder push notifications.
Plans
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, who share 2 TB of cloud storage between them. 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.
Nine
Nine license$14.99
one-time per license
Full app after a 2-week trial, as stated on the Google Play listing.
Ways to pay less
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.
Nine
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Microsoft Outlook or Nine?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Microsoft Outlook starts at $1.99 per month, or $19.99 per year (Microsoft 365 Basic), and Nine starts at $14.99 one-time license.
Which has a free plan, Microsoft Outlook or Nine?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Microsoft Outlook has a free plan. Nine does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Microsoft Outlook and Nine run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Microsoft Outlook lists a web app and macOS and Windows apps. Both list iOS and Android apps. 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.