The Mailbird Insider’s Guide

Everything we know about Mailbird in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.

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ToolGPAOctober 2026

Mailbird

The Insider’s Guide

Desktop email client for Windows and Mac with a unified inbox

Mailbird, as pictured on getmailbird.com

Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among email apps, read from Mailbird’s own pages.

Made by Mailbird, Inc. · checked Oct 5, 2026 · toolgpa.com

2.2GPA

01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from Mailbird’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Mailbird’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 5, 2026.

Part 01 · Overview

Welcome

What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first

2.2

GPA, above 9 of the 51 other email apps we grade

Mailbird is a desktop email client for Windows and macOS that brings Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud and other IMAP accounts into one unified inbox. Third-party apps such as Slack, WhatsApp and Google Calendar can be opened in a sidebar next to the mail. A free version covers one email account; Premium, sold as a yearly subscription or a one-time license, removes that limit and adds email tracking, app integrations and Microsoft Exchange support.

To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Mailbird, taken from its own pages and our grades.

1
Best for a unified inbox on Windows or Mac
Mailbird is a desktop mail app for Windows and Mac that pulls Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo and iCloud into one inbox, with Slack, WhatsApp and your calendar in a sidebar beside it.
2
Paid plans start at $2.87 a month when paid by the year
As its pricing page puts it: $34.49 per year (Premium Yearly Plan, US Mac App Store in-app price).
3
There is a free plan
1 email account on 1 device, with Knowledge Base support only. No email tracking, app integrations, ChatGPT integration or Microsoft Exchange support.
4
It runs on 2 platforms
Windows and macOS.
5
Unified inbox
Messages and contacts from several email accounts appear in one inbox. The free version is limited to 1 account, and Premium allows unlimited accounts.
6
Email tracking
Shows who opened a sent message and when. The comparison table lists tracking as unlimited on Premium and not included in the free version.
7
App integrations
Slack, WhatsApp, Dropbox, Google Calendar, Asana and other apps open inside Mailbird, and Premium can add any app or website as a custom app.
8
A 2.2 GPA, above 9 of 51
That is against the other email apps we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
9
Keep it
To replace Mailbird you would be making an email client: sending, receiving, threading and searching years of mail. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.

Mailbird at a glance

Pricing: Free plan, from $34.49 per year (Premium Yearly Plan, US Mac App Store in-app price)
Free plan: Yes
Free trial: None stated
Runs on: macOS, Windows
Made by: Mailbird, Inc., since 2012
Category: Email Apps
Our grade: 2.2 GPA, fair

The report card

Best for a unified inbox on Windows or Mac

Mailbird is a desktop mail app for Windows and Mac that pulls Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo and iCloud into one inbox, with Slack, WhatsApp and your calendar in a sidebar beside it. Premium is $34.49 a year on the US App Store. The free version is one account on one device with no tracking or Exchange, there's nothing for your phone yet, the Mac version can't connect POP3, and the website's prices vary by country.

ToolGPA report cardMailbirdGraded Oct 10, 2026

Subject	Grade	Comment
Value for money	B	Premium is $34.49 a year on the US Mac App Store, about $2.87 a month against an $8 middle here, and it covers unlimited accounts, tracking, app integrations and Exchange on 3 devices. Paying once is $159. Mailbird's site prices in local currency, marked down from a crossed-out list price, so your figure may differ.
Free plan and trial	C	The free version is 1 email account on 1 device, with Knowledge Base support only and no tracking, app integrations or Exchange. For an app whose whole point is a unified inbox, that's the cap you hit on day one.
Features	C	The basics plus some extras: one inbox for several accounts, tracking that shows who opened a message, snooze, send later, a ChatGPT integration for drafting, and Slack or WhatsApp open in a sidebar. The listing's limits: nearly all of it is Premium, and the Mac version can't connect POP3 accounts.
Ease of use	C	No rating on record. It's a desktop app, but you're adding each account yourself and then setting up whichever sidebar apps you want, and the Mac version needs macOS Ventura or later.
Platforms and integrations	C	Computers only: Windows and Mac, with no iOS, Android, web or Linux version, and the pricing FAQ puts phone apps on the roadmap. Inside the app it opens Slack, WhatsApp, Google Calendar, Dropbox, Asana, Trello and Teams.

Grade point averageFair, out of 4.02.2

An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.

Who Mailbird is for

Fits if you're on Windows and want all your email accounts in one desktop app
Works for people who want Slack, WhatsApp and their calendar in a sidebar next to their mail

Who it is not for

Skip it if you read mail on your phone too, because there's no iOS or Android app, only a roadmap mention
Tight if you stay free, with 1 email account on 1 device and no tracking, integrations or Exchange
Not for you if you have POP3 accounts on a Mac, which Mailbird for Mac can't connect
Watch out: the website shows local prices marked down from a crossed-out list price, which can differ from the App Store's
Tight if your Mac is older, as Mailbird for Mac needs macOS Ventura or later

Good to know

Good for

Windows users who want several email accounts in one desktop app
People who would rather buy a license once than subscribe
Keeping chat and calendar apps in a sidebar next to email

Worth knowing

The free version covers 1 email account on 1 device and leaves out email tracking, app integrations and Exchange support.
There is no iOS, Android, web or Linux version; the pricing FAQ says mobile apps are on the roadmap.
Mailbird for Mac needs macOS Ventura or later and cannot connect POP3 accounts.
Prices here are US Mac App Store in-app prices. Mailbird's website prices Premium in local currency, marked down from a crossed-out list price, and its figures can differ.

Part 02 · Pricing

What it costs

Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved

$2.87

A month to start, paid by the year. There is a free plan too

Mailbird has a free plan. Paid plans start at $34.49 per year (Premium Yearly Plan, US Mac App Store in-app price).

Mailbird's site prices in local currency, marked down from a crossed-out list price, so your figure may differ.

From our grade for value for money

Free
$0
Basic features for 1 email account on 1 device, with Knowledge Base support only.
Premium (Yearly Plan)
$34.49
per year (US Mac App Store in-app price)
Unlimited accounts, unlimited email tracking, templates, app integrations, Exchange support and email support, on up to 3 devices per license.
Premium (One-Time)
$159.00
one-time payment (US Mac App Store in-app price)
Premium bought once. The website calls it Pay Once, shows it at 75% off a crossed-out price in local currency, and sells a Lifetime Updates add-on.

The free plan

1 email account on 1 device, with Knowledge Base support only. No email tracking, app integrations, ChatGPT integration or Microsoft Exchange support.

Read from apps.apple.com on Oct 5, 2026.

Ways to pay less

Lifetime license
Pay Once license instead of a subscription
Premium is also sold as a Pay Once license with no renewals, and an optional Lifetime Updates add-on covers all future Mailbird versions. The US Mac App Store lists Premium One-Time at $159.00.
Stated on getmailbird.com
Other savings
Volume discounts from 2 licenses
The pricing FAQ lists automatic discounts on multiple Premium licenses: 5% for 2 to 10, 10% for 11 to 25, 15% for 26 to 50, 20% for 51 to 100 and 25% for 101 or more.
Stated on getmailbird.com

What the app costs elsewhere

Each country’s App Store price for “Premium – Yearly Plan”, against $34.49 in the United States, in dollars at the day’s rate. The four cheapest and the four dearest of 11.

Country	Price there	In dollars	Against the US
Philippines	₱ 1,990.00	$31.68	8% less
Indonesia	Rp 599ribu	$33.50	about the same
Australia	$49.99	$34.90	about the same
Canada	$49.99	$35.14	about the same
South Africa	R699.99	$42.34	23% more
Germany	39,99 €	$44.81	30% more
Brazil	R$ 229,90	$45.93	33% more
United Kingdom	£34.99	$46.26	34% more

Part 03 · Features

What it does

Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it

Places it runs: macOS and Windows

Desktop email client for Windows and Mac with a unified inbox. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: one-time purchase, AI features, email client.

Computers only: Windows and Mac, with no iOS, Android, web or Linux version, and the pricing FAQ puts phone apps on the roadmap.

From our grade for platforms and integrations

Unified inbox: Messages and contacts from several email accounts appear in one inbox. The free version is limited to 1 account, and Premium allows unlimited accounts.
Email tracking: Shows who opened a sent message and when. The comparison table lists tracking as unlimited on Premium and not included in the free version.
App integrations: Slack, WhatsApp, Dropbox, Google Calendar, Asana and other apps open inside Mailbird, and Premium can add any app or website as a custom app.
AI email writing: A ChatGPT integration drafts email text for you. The pricing table lists it as a Premium feature.
Snooze and send later: Snooze takes a non-urgent message out of the inbox until later, and send later schedules a message for a set time. On Mac both are listed under Premium, along with undo send.
Unsubscribe and block senders: Unsubscribe from mailing lists and block unwanted senders from inside the inbox. The pricing table lists both as Premium features.

Where it runs

macOS
Windows

What it works with

Slack
WhatsApp
Google Calendar
Dropbox
Asana
Trello
Microsoft Teams
ChatGPT

Mailbird is made by Mailbird, Inc., and has been around since 2012.

Part 04 · Standing

Where it stands

Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own

9/51

Other email apps it is graded above

Mailbird's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 9 of the 51 other email apps we grade, and level with 9.

It stands best on value for money (B, above 29 of 51) and worst on features (C, above 0).

Its paid plans start at $2.87 a month when paid by the year, against a middle price of $4.99 for the category: 8 of the 45 others that charge start lower.

On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 10 tools score higher and cost less.

Each grade against the category

Every bar is all 52 email apps we grade, cut by the letter each got. Mailbird’s own letter is outlined.

BValue for money
Above 29 of 51
CFree plan and trial
Above 4 of 51
CFeatures
Above 0 of 51
CEase of use
Above 0 of 51
CPlatforms and integrations
Above 4 of 51

Price against what you get

Each dot is one of 50 email apps. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Mailbird is the marked dot.

What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →

Keep it, or make your own?

Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.

Keep it

To replace Mailbird you would be making an email client: sending, receiving, threading and searching years of mail. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.

That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 33 of the 51 other email apps grade higher. It costs $34.49 a year.

What you could not

An email client: sending, receiving, threading and searching years of mail.
A real app for macOS and Windows. Something home-made would be a web page.
It plugs into other products, Slack, WhatsApp and Google Calendar among them.
AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.

What this rests on. Mailbird’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.

Part 05 · Alternatives

The alternatives

The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side

eM Client, Thunderbird, Mailspring, Microsoft Outlook and Spark Mail

The 5 tools Mailbird is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.

2.6GPA
eM Client
Free plan · from $49.95/yr
Desktop email client for Windows and Mac with calendar and chat.
- Only eM Client lists iOS and Android apps.
- eM Client also covers notes, tasks and calendar.
Mailbird and eM Client compared in full
3.2GPA
Thunderbird
Free
Free, open-source email app for Windows, macOS, Linux and Android.
- Only Thunderbird lists Linux and Android apps.
- Mailbird can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Thunderbird is open source, according to its own site.
Mailbird and Thunderbird compared in full
2.4GPA
Mailspring
Free plan · from $8/mo
Open-source desktop email client for Mac, Windows and Linux.
- Only Mailspring lists a Linux app.
- Mailbird can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Mailspring is open source, according to its own site.
Mailbird and Mailspring compared in full
3.6GPA
Microsoft Outlook
Free plan · from $1.99/mo
Microsoft's email and calendar app for desktop, mobile and web.
- Only Microsoft Outlook lists a web app.
- Only Microsoft Outlook lists iOS and Android apps.
- Mailbird can be bought with a one-time purchase.
Mailbird and Microsoft Outlook compared in full
3.0GPA
Spark Mail
Free plan · from $8.25/mo
Email client with a unified smart inbox, AI tools and team features.
- Only Spark Mail lists iOS and Android apps.
- Mailbird can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Spark Mail also covers meeting notes, templates, calendar and shared inbox.
Mailbird and Spark Mail compared in full

Part 06 · Questions

Quick answers

The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two

Questions, each answered in a line or two

The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.

Is Mailbird free?

Mailbird has a free plan. 1 email account on 1 device, with Knowledge Base support only.

How much does Mailbird cost?

Mailbird lists 3 plans. Free: $0.

What platforms does Mailbird work on?

Mailbird is available on Windows and macOS.

Does Mailbird offer any discounts?

Mailbird publicly lists the following: Pay Once license instead of a subscription; Volume discounts from 2 licenses.

Does Mailbird have an Android app?

No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. Mailbird is listed for Windows and macOS.

Does Mailbird have an iPhone app?

No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. Mailbird is listed for Windows and macOS.

Is Mailbird open source?

Mailbird is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 5, 2026.

What does Mailbird integrate with?

Mailbird's listing names Slack, WhatsApp, Google Calendar, Dropbox, Asana, Trello, Microsoft Teams and ChatGPT.

Who makes Mailbird?

Mailbird is made by Mailbird, Inc. It dates from 2012.

What are the alternatives to Mailbird?

The closest alternatives to Mailbird in our directory are eM Client, Thunderbird, Mailspring, Microsoft Outlook and Spark Mail.

How does Mailbird compare with other email apps?

Mailbird's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 9 of the 51 other email apps we grade, and level with 9.

Is Mailbird good value for money?

ToolGPA grades Mailbird B for value for money. Its paid plans start at $2.87 a month when paid by the year, against a middle price of $4.99 for the category: 8 of the 45 others that charge start lower.

Could I make my own version of Mailbird?

To replace Mailbird you would be making an email client: sending, receiving, threading and searching years of mail.

Where this guide comes from

The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Mailbird’s own pages on Oct 5, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Mailbird's own pages on 5 October 2026. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-05-07.

Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Mailbird, Inc. Prices change, so check getmailbird.com before you buy.

Part 07 · About

About ToolGPA

Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

3,189

Tools graded, in 94 categories

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries

What else is on toolgpa.com

Scan for the live page

Prices and grades as they are today

Quoting this guide?

Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:

ToolGPA, "Mailbird: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 5, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/mailbird

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Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/mailbird/guide

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See our other guides

The best-graded email apps after Mailbird, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.

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Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›

Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Mailbird’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Mailbird is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Mailbird, Inc. Prices and plans change: check getmailbird.com before you buy.