# NeoMutt review (2026): is it any good? > Command-line mail reader forked from Mutt with extra features Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. NeoMutt is a command-line mail reader, or MUA, that began as a fork of Mutt with added features. The project says many old Mutt patches were brought up to date, tidied and documented, and that its Sidebar patch was adopted by upstream Mutt. Features such as Notmuch, NNTP and a trash folder are documented on its site. - **Category:** Email Apps - **Made by:** The NeoMutt Project - **Website:** https://neomutt.org - **Runs on:** Linux, macOS - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you don't want to write config files. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, NeoMutt is free to use. - **Pricing model:** Free - **Free plan:** Free to download and build from source, or to install from distribution packages. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Free | $0 | Free software; the site has a sponsor page for donations. | Read from https://neomutt.org on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with NeoMutt before buying. ## Key features - **Fork of Mutt:** Adds features to Mutt in the form of patches that were updated, tidied and documented, according to the project's home page. - **Documented feature list:** The features page lists items including Notmuch, NNTP, Sidebar, Lua, Fuzzy Search, Global Hooks and Multiple FCC. - **Sidebar:** The Sidebar patch was adopted by upstream Mutt, and NeoMutt documents sidebar intro and search options. - **Header cache options:** Header cache compression and LMDB and Kyoto Cabinet backends are in the feature list for large mailboxes. - **Packaged for many systems:** The distro page gives install steps for Arch, Debian, Gentoo, Homebrew, MacPorts, NetBSD, NixOS and others. ## Good for - Terminal users who already know Mutt and want more features - People who configure their mail client with text files and hooks ## Worth knowing - Text-only interface with no graphical window; configuration is by editing files. - Packaging pages list Linux, BSD and macOS package managers; no Windows build beyond a Cygwin listing. - Support is through GitHub, an IRC channel and mailing lists rather than a help desk. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.8 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. NeoMutt is a free terminal mail reader forked from Mutt, with a sidebar, header caches and Notmuch support. It's all text and all config files, and there is no Windows build. - **Value for money: A.** Free to download and build, or to install from a package. Nobody needs a server to run it. - **Free plan and trial: A.** The whole program is free, with no paid plan or limits. Donations are optional. - **Features: B.** Mail reading, a sidebar, header caches, NNTP, Notmuch and more, in a long documented feature list. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in reading mail, though you set it all up yourself. - **Ease of use: D.** It needs config files and a command line. You write the setup before you read a single message. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** A program for computers only: Linux, BSD and macOS through package managers. No phone app, no web version. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from The NeoMutt Project's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among email apps - NeoMutt's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 88 of the 122 other email apps we grade, and level with 11. - It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 97 of 122) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0). - NeoMutt has no paid plan. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/email ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** NeoMutt is free, so making your own would save you nothing. And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces. It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.8 is higher than 88 of the 122 other email apps we grade. - You could not: An email client: sending, receiving, threading and searching years of mail. - You could not: A real app for macOS and Linux. Something home-made would be a web page. - You could not: It plugs into other products, Notmuch, NNTP and Lua among them. - You could not: The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Notmuch, NNTP, Lua, LMDB, Kyoto Cabinet **Tags:** Email client, Open source, Keyboard-first ## Alternatives - [Mutt](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mutt): Small text-based mail client for Unix systems. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mutt-vs-neomutt) - [aerc](https://toolgpa.com/tools/aerc): Terminal email client with Vim-style keys and git-email support. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/aerc-vs-neomutt) - [Thunderbird](https://toolgpa.com/tools/thunderbird): Free, open-source email app for Windows, macOS, Linux and Android. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/neomutt-vs-thunderbird) - [Mailspring](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mailspring): Open-source desktop email client for Mac, Windows and Linux. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/mailspring-vs-neomutt) - [Claws Mail](https://toolgpa.com/tools/claws-mail): Lightweight GTK email and news client, free under the GPL. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/claws-mail-vs-neomutt) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://neomutt.org - https://neomutt.org/feature - https://neomutt.org/distro Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/neomutt Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).