Microsoft Outlook vs Spark Mail
We give Microsoft Outlook and Spark Mail the same GPA: 3.8 out of 4.0. Microsoft Outlook grades higher on value for money. Spark Mail grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and platforms.
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
Spark Mail
Email client with a unified smart inbox, AI tools and team features
How we grade them
| 3.8GPAMicrosoft OutlookExcellent | 3.8GPASpark MailExcellent | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AMicrosoft 365 Basic is $1.99 a month, or $19.99 a year. That takes the ads out and lifts your mailbox from 15 GB to 100 GB. Proton's cheapest paid plan is $3.99 and stops at 15 GB. | BPlus is $8.25 a user a month billed annually, which is $99 a year, or $10 monthly. That's about what paid email apps usually start at, and it adds Gatekeeper, Priority and the AI tools. Shared inboxes need Pro at $16.58. |
| Free plan and trial | AA real 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. You pay in ads, and they sit right in the inbox. | AUnlimited email accounts in one Smart Inbox, with snooze, send later, reminders and a calendar, free for good. Most people could stop here. The AI on Free is only a taster: 5 meeting notes in total, and 1 month of history for the AI Assistant. |
| Features | AFocused Inbox, Sweep, snooze, a calendar, contacts and to-do lists in one window. It'll even track parcels and flights. Copilot writes and summarises too, but that's on the $9.99 plan. | AA unified inbox that separates personal mail from newsletters, Gatekeeper to screen new senders, AI that drafts, summarizes and translates, and a built-in calendar. Teams can share a thread, comment on it privately and write the reply together. |
| Ease of use | B4.8 from about 9.3 million App Store ratings, so the phone app is doing something right. 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?" | A4.6 from about 82,600 App Store ratings. Add your accounts and the Smart Inbox does the sorting for you. Snooze and send later are there from the start, on the free plan. |
| 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. | AMac, Windows, iPhone and Android, and it takes Google, Outlook, iCloud, Yahoo, Exchange and IMAP accounts. Paid plans plug into Todoist, Asana, Trello, Notion and Slack. There's no web version and nothing for Linux, mind. |
| Best for | all your inboxes and a calendar in one app | one inbox for all your email accounts |
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 Spark Mail. How we grade
Where they differ
- Microsoft Outlook starts at $1.99 per month, or $19.99 per year (Microsoft 365 Basic). Spark Mail starts at $8.25 per user / month, billed annually ($99 / year).
- Only Microsoft Outlook lists a web app.
- Microsoft Outlook also covers tasks and inbox filtering.
- Spark Mail also covers meeting notes, templates and shared inbox.
At a glance
| Microsoft Outlook | Spark Mail | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $1.99 per month, or $19.99 per year (Microsoft 365 Basic) | $8.25 per user / month, billed annually ($99 / year) |
| 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. | Unlimited email accounts in a unified Smart Inbox with snooze, send later, reminders and calendar, plus 5 AI meeting notes in total and an AI Assistant preview limited to 1 month of email history. |
| Free trial | One-month free trial of the Microsoft 365 business plans, credit card required; Personal and Family also offer a free trial | 7-day free trial of Plus and Pro when you subscribe directly in the app |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Microsoft | Spark Mail Limited |
| Price read from | microsoft.com | sparkmailapp.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Microsoft Outlook
- People who want mail, calendar and contacts from several accounts in one app
- Organizations already paying for Microsoft 365 and Exchange email
- Windows users: Microsoft says Outlook is included free with Windows
Spark Mail
- People juggling several email accounts across desktop and phone
- Individuals who want a free client with a unified inbox and send later
- Small teams that want to comment on emails and draft replies together
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.
Spark Mail
- The vendor lists apps for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android only; there is no web or Linux version.
- Gatekeeper, Priority, Spark +AI and third-party integrations require Plus or higher.
- Shared inboxes, read statuses and the HubSpot integration are limited to Pro and Enterprise.
- The free plan's AI is a limited preview: 5 meeting notes in total and 1 month of email history for the AI Assistant.
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.
Spark Mail
- Smart Inbox and unified inbox
- Brings every connected account into one inbox and separates priority mail from newsletters and notifications. Included in the free plan.
- Gatekeeper and Priority
- Gatekeeper lets you accept or block new senders before they land in the inbox, and Priority highlights chosen senders. Both are part of Plus and above.
- Spark +AI and AI Assistant
- +AI drafts, proofreads, summarizes and translates email. The AI Assistant answers questions about your mail, reaching back 1 month on Free, 1 year on Plus and without limit on Pro.
- Snooze, Send Later and reminders
- Snooze a message, set it aside, schedule a send or get a follow-up reminder. These scheduling tools are in the free plan.
- Team collaboration
- Share a thread with teammates, discuss it in private comments and write drafts together in real time. Shared inboxes for addresses such as support@ need Pro.
- Calendar and AI meeting notes
- A built-in calendar can add Zoom, GoTo or Microsoft Teams call links. AI meeting notes are capped at 5 in total on Free and 40 a month on Plus, and unlimited on Pro.
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.
Spark Mail
Free$0
Unlimited accounts, Smart Inbox, unified inbox, snooze, send later, reminders, calendar and 5 lifetime AI meeting notes.
Plus$8.25
per user / month, billed annually ($99); $10 billed monthly
Adds Gatekeeper, Priority, Spark +AI, the AI Assistant with 1 year of history, 40 AI meeting notes a month, integrations and team collaboration.
Pro$16.58
per user / month, billed annually ($199); $20 billed monthly
Everything in Plus, plus shared inboxes, read statuses, unlimited AI meeting notes, HubSpot integration and Spark CLI triage access.
EnterpriseCustom
Everything in Pro, plus security and controls, a dedicated success manager and 1:1 productivity coaching.
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.
Spark Mail
- Annual discount
Save 17% with annual billing
The pricing page shows Plus at $99 a year instead of $120 and Pro at $199 a year instead of $240 when billed annually, a 17% saving over paying monthly.
