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Topic: Software

Missing Mozilla Thunderbird? Here are five email alternatives

Summary: Mozilla has put Thunderbird out to grass, halting development on the venerable desktop email client. Here are five multi-platform, open-source alternatives for fans looking for a replacement

Ben Woods

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EudoraOSE (Open Source Edition)

EudoraOSE is a free-to-use derivative of the Eudora mail client that uses Thunderbird code with additional code, features and UI elements from Qualcomm's Eudora client.

It supports multiple syncing of accounts, and is available on Windows, Mac and Linux. It has a number of advanced features, such as message redirection, comprehensive session restore, advanced attachment handling and content display controls.

It also offers handy options like 'group selection' and 'type-to-select' for quickly finding and retrieving messages.

Screenshot: Ben Woods/ZDNet

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Topics: Software, Open Source

About

With several years' experience covering everything in the world of telecoms and mobility, Ben's your man if it involves a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or any other piece of tech small enough to carry around with you.

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15 comments
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  • Outlook

    Im using Outlook 2010 and works like a charm, all my pop and hotmail accounts in one app :)
    DJK2
    Reply 1 Vote

  • Opera is not open source,

    it is, however, free and multi-platform.
    wizard57m-cnet
    Reply Vote

  • Thunderbird hasn't gone anywhere.

    People complain about Mozilla making too many changes to Firefox,
    people complain about Mozilla making too little changes to Thunderbird... I am not jumping ship just because they're not going to be making changes to their mail client anymore! It works fine the way it is.
    Meshuggah24
    Reply Vote

    • Exactly

      It took me a while to find such an amazing email client as Thunderbird is. There seems to be quite a bit of misinformation in this regard. The reality is that Thunderbird will continue receiving software updates, just only of the SECURITY type. That's no problem. The latest version is 17.0.3...which just occured over the last two weeks.

      The only angle I'm looking for are "OTHER" email clients since I always like to keep things fresh...and to keep myself aware of what's out there. In the end, Thunderbird will continue as my main email client, and it doesn't appear that Mozilla will be fully halting development any time soon...
      GSystems
      Reply Vote

  • Pegasus Mail is still around.

    Web based email has killed its popularity, but Pegasus Mail is still around as well. Although its development seems to be glacial. 5.0 has been in development for a long time, but hasn't shown up yet.

    The Bat! also seems to still be around. Never tried it, but it was popular back in the day.

    Personally, I still despise web based email, even though I use it. To this day, I still don't know of a single web based email client that can match all of the features of the more sophisticated offline clients. It was promised, but never happened.
    CobraA1
    Reply Vote

    • AGREED!

      Absolutely. Web-based email just isn't enough...especially when, like many people, you have more than one email account. It doesn't matter how many "application tabs" and "bookmarks" you make, nothing beats the automation of an email client with the right, baseline features. Period.
      GSystems
      Reply Vote

  • mailwasher alternative

    Is there an alternative to Mailwasher out there that checks your mail from multiple accounts and deletes any you don't want before you download messages onto your computer.

    I don't like the new version I am still using the old 6.5.4 pro version when it was a one off fee before it became a yearly subscription.
    peter-m-stanley@...
    Reply 1 Vote

  • You forgot Windows Live Mail?

    It's not Open Source, is only for Windows but it is free and is excellent on Windows XP (Windows Live Mail 2009) or Vista/Win7/Win8 (Windows Live Mail 2011).

    Mozilla Thunderbird would get my third vote after Windows Live Mail in second place and Outlook (2010) in first place. Nothing beats Outlook for PIM.

    Agreed about Webmail not being a patch on an Offline Mail Client. Hotmail and Gmail have perfectly okay interfaces (and I use them when I have to) but they don't come close to Outlook/Windows Live Mail/Thunderbird for features or efficiency.

    Use IMAP, Exchange ActiveSync (if possible) or the Hotmail Connector in Outlook and e-mail is sync automatically from offline mails apps to webmail too.

    Besides Webmail has only become popular because there's no setup involved (ironically offline e-mail apps are still popular on smartphones and tablets), which is odd because any modern e-mail app just requires your username and password too.
    bradavon
    Reply Vote

    • WLM

      Used WLM for years before finally getting fed-up with the lack of features. I didn't even realize how limited WLM was until I ventured over to Thunderbird. One thing that initially caused me to look elsewhere was the poor handling of desktop notifications. Meaning that my main email account was the only one that induced a notification and the pop-up left a lot to be desired. This didn't make sense to me given how Outlook handled this operation just fine.

      As time went on, I realized that my other email accounts were not getting the same treatment as my main account, and those did not receive a pop-up...only that mail icon in the System Tray/Notification Tray. Being that I spend a ton of time at my computer, it didn't make sense that after receiving an email that I then had to go search through all of my email to find which one actually received the message. Not to mention that once you click the icon, it goes away, regardless of whether or not you actually opened the email...so the icon comes back again during the next cycle.

      Although WLM is very easy to use, I strongly encourage you to move up to Thunderbird to have a more complete, efficient email experience...but that's just my nickel...
      GSystems
      Reply Vote

  • Mailbird Alternative Email Tool

    It is a shame that Thunderbird is ceasing any further development. In addition to the 5 alternatives, another alternative is Mailbird for Windows users, and it should be a lot cleaner and simple for those of you who like the design of Mac, but the usability of Windows. Beta sign up notifications are at www.getmailbird.com
    Andrea Loubier
    Reply 16 Votes

  • Evolution for Linux users

    I used Evolution until i moved in 2009 to Thunderbird. I guess Evolution is still worth of try. Zimbra is of course another one.

    However, i won't be worry about Thunderbird. I guess they still continue to send security updates for Thunderbird in future.
    Matsi66
    Reply 2 Votes

    • Evolution

      Evolution was grounded some time ago because it will accumulate messages - does not handle rules properly that "MOVEs" messages. But has this been solved then great. TB has not been maintained the last 3 years, it has been hacked to pieces by incompetence and lingered with inconsistencies in the iSql interface. It looses messages - just the opposite of Evolution.

      It is sort of arguing which pest is worse, making Opera and Seamonkey worth looking at.
      knuthf
      Reply Vote

  • EudoraOSE is dead

    This article loses some credibility when it mentions EudoraOSE as an alternative to Thunderbird. Firstly, EudoraOSE is based on Thunderbird and secondly EudoraOSE has not been updated (as far I can see) for more than a year. It's not a viable alternative to Thunderbird.
    smithberry
    Reply Vote

    • EudoraOSE is dead

      EudoraOSE is still at 1.0, is still based on the now very old Thunderbird 3.x and has not had an update since it was first released in 2010. I have been using it for about a year and find that its UI has some very annoying bugs. Its basic functionality seems to work and it has not lost or screwed up any email messages. But the lack of interest in development sure looks like it has no future and should not have been included as one of the alternatives.

      Also, the article should have addressed ease and accuracy of conversion from Thunderbird to one of the replacements.
      acetoo
      Reply Vote

  • Beware of eM Client

    I've used eM Client primarily for over a month, and I have found that it is beta quality software and not a good alternative to Microsoft Outlook. Its developers prefer features and marketing hype over quality. Don't be surprised if you lose data, miss appointments, see hundreds of error messages and find their representatives getting defensive and ignoring important customer feedback.
    Poobah1
    Reply Vote
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