Comparison of e-mail clients

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section is missing citations or needs footnotes. Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (December 2006)

The following tables compare general and technical information between a number of e-mail client programs. Please see the individual products articles (if they have one) for further information. This article is not all-inclusive or necessarily up-to-date.

Contents 1 General 2 Release history 3 Operating system support 4 Protocol support 4.1 Authentication support 4.2 SSL and TLS Support 5 Features 5.1 Messages features 5.2 Database, folders and customization 5.3 Templates, scripts and programming languages 6 List of e-mail clients 6.1 Graphical 6.2 Text-based 6.3 Web-based 6.3.1 Online 6.4 Historical 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

[edit] General

Basic general information about the clients: creator/company, license/price etc.

e-mail program	Creator	Cost (USD)	Software license
Alpine	University of Washington	Free	Apache License
Citadel	citadel.org	Free	GNU GPL
Claws Mail (formerly Sylpheed-Claws)	the Claws Mail team	Free	GNU GPL
Cone	Courier Mail Server developers	Free	GNU GPL
Courier (formerly Calypso)	Micro Computer Systems, Inc., continued by Rose City Software	Free (as of version 3.5)
Elm	Dave D. Taylor, Sydney Weinstein, Bill Pemberton, Michael Elkins, Kari Hurtta	any	Elm
Eudora	Qualcomm	Free (Light), Free (Pro, with ads)	*Next release will be Penelope, free-open based on Mozilla Thunderbird
Eureka Email	Sean O'Connor	Free (Shareware)/$20 (Full version)
GroupWise	Novell	Included with GroupWise mailbox license
Gnus	Gnus team	Free	GNU GPL
KMail	KDE	Free	GNU GPL
Kerio WebMail	Kerio Technologies	Part of Kerio MailServer
Lotus Notes	Lotus Software / IBM
Mail	Apple Inc.	Part of Mac OS X
Mailsmith	Bare Bones Software	$75 incl. SpamSieve
nmh/MH	RAND Corporation	Free	BSDL
Microsoft Entourage	Microsoft	Part of Microsoft Office for Mac
Microsoft Office Outlook	Microsoft	Part of Microsoft Office, $109 stand-alone
Mozilla Mail & Newsgroups	Mozilla Foundation	Free, part of Mozilla Application Suite	MPL, MPL/GNU GPL/GNU LGPL tri-license
Mozilla Thunderbird	Mozilla Foundation	Free	MPL, MPL/GNU GPL/GNU LGPL tri-license
Mulberry	Cyrus Daboo (previously Cyrusoft International, Inc./ISAMET	Free (as of version 4.0.5)	??? (old versions), Apache License
Mutt	Michael Elkins	Free	GNU GPL
Netscape Messenger 9	Netscape Communications	Free	MPL, MPL/GNU GPL/GNU LGPL tri-license
Novell Evolution	Ximian	Free	GNU GPL
Open-Xchange	Open-Xchange	Free	GNU GPL
Opera Mail	Opera Software	Free, Part of Opera
Outlook Express	Microsoft	Part of Microsoft Windows
Pegasus Mail	David Harris	Free
Pine	University of Washington	any	Pine License
PC Pine	University of Washington	any
i.Scribe / InScribe	Memecode	Free/$20
SeaMonkey Mail & Newsgroups	SeaMonkey Council	Free, part of SeaMonkey	MPL, MPL/GNU GPL/GNU LGPL tri-license
Sylpheed	Hiroyuki Yamamoto	Free	GNU GPL/GNU LGPL
The Bat!	RitLabs	$45
THOR	Ultima Thule Software	Free
Turnpike	Thus PLC (Demon Internet)	£15 + VAT [as of 2007-11, about $36]
Windows Live Mail	Microsoft	Free
Windows Mail	Microsoft	Part of Microsoft Windows
YAM	YAM Open Source Team and contributing authors	Free	GNU GPL
Zimbra	Zimbra	Free	MPL on server and ZPL (attribution clause) on client

[edit] Release history

A brief overview of the release history.

Client	First public release		First stable release		Latest stable release
					This section contains information about computer software currently in development. The content may change as the software development progresses.
	Date	Version	Date	Version	Date	Version
Alpine	November 2006	0.8	December 2007	1.00	December 2007	1.00
Citadel	1987	?	1988	1.00	September 2007	7.20
Claws Mail (formerly Sylpheed Claws)	May 2001	0.4.67	January 2005	1.0.0	Dec 17, 2007	3.2.0
Eudora	1988[1]	?	1988[1]	?	October 11, 2006	7.1 (Windows), 6.2.4 (Mac OS X)
Eureka Email	November 2002	1.0	November 2002	1.0	March 2005	2.2
Lotus Notes	1989	1.0	1989	1.0	February 2008	8.0.1
KMail	?	?	?	?	October 16, 2007	3.58
Mail	?	?	?	?	February 11, 2008	3.2 (919/919.2)
Mailsmith	May 8, 1998	1.0	May 8, 1998	1.0	March 3, 2005	2.1.5
nmh/MH	1979	?	?	?	?	1.2 / 6.8.4
Mozilla Mail & Newsgroups	December 7, 1998	"Preview"	March 19, 1999	M3	April 21, 2006	1.7.13
Mozilla Thunderbird	July 28, 2003	0.1	December 7, 2004	1.0	February 26, 2008	2.0.0.12
Microsoft Entourage	?	?	?	?	?	Office 2008 for Mac
Microsoft Office Outlook	1997	97	1997	97	January 30, 2007	12.0.4518.1014
Mulberry	September 20, 1996	1.0	September 20, 1996	1.0	February 21, 2007	4.0.8
Mutt	1995	?	?	?	June 9, 2007	1.4.2.3
Netscape Messenger 9	November 15, 2007	9.0a1	-	-	-	-
Novell Evolution	11 May 2000	0.0	3 December 2001	1.0	28 May 2007	2.10.2
Open-Xchange	?	?	?	?	April 2006	0.8.2
Opera Mail	September 1996	2.1b1	December 1996	2.1	April 3, 2008	9.27
Outlook Express	1996	3.0	?	?	October 25, 2001	6.0
Pegasus Mail	1990	?	1990	?	July 16, 2006	4.41
Pine	January 15, 1992	2.00	January 15, 1992	2.00	September 28, 2005	4.64
i.Scribe/InScribe	1999	1.00	?	?	November 2005	1.88
SeaMonkey Mail & Newsgroups	September 15, 2005	1.0a	January 30, 2006	1.0	November 30, 2007	1.1.7
Sylpheed	January 2000	0.1.0	December 2004	1.0.0	December 24, 2007	2.4.8
The Bat!	March 1997	1.0 Beta	March 1998	1.00 Build 1310	April 23, 2008	4.0.24
Thor	October 1993	1.0	1992	?	28 February 1999	2.6
Turnpike	?	1.0	?	?	23 May 2006	6.06
Windows Live Mail	?	?	?	?	?	?
Windows Mail	?	?	?	?	November 8, 2006	6.0.6000.16386
YAM	1995	1.0	1995	1.0	23 December 2007	YAM 2.5
Zimbra	November, 2005	Beta	March, 2006	3.5	February 2008	5.0.2
Client	Date	Version	Date	Version	Date	Version
	First public release		First stable release		Latest stable release

[edit] Operating system support

The operating systems on which the clients can run natively (without emulation).

	Microsoft Windows	Mac OS X	Linux	BSD	Unix	DOS	AmigaOS MorphOS
Alpine	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Citadel	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Claws Mail (formerly Sylpheed Claws)	Yes†	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Correo	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Courier	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Elm	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Eudora	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Eureka Email	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Gnus	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Kerio WebMail	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
KMail	via cygwin	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Lotus Notes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Mail	No	Included	No	No	No	No	No
Mailsmith	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
nmh / MH	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Microsoft Office Outlook	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Microsoft Entourage	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Mozilla Mail & Newsgroups	Terminated (1.7.13)	Terminated (1.7.13)	Terminated (1.7.13)	Terminated (1.7.13)	Terminated (1.7.13)	No	No
Mozilla Thunderbird	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Mulberry	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Mutt	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes [2]	No
Netscape Messenger	Terminated (4.80)	Terminated (4.80)	Terminated (4.80)	Terminated (4.80)	Terminated (4.80)	No	No
Netscape Messenger 9	Terminated (9.0a1)	Terminated (9.0a1)	Terminated (9.0a1)	Terminated (9.0a1)	Terminated (9.0a1)	No	No
Novell Evolution	Yes (beta)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Opera Mail	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Outlook Express	Included (up to XP)	No	No	No	No	No	No
Pegasus Mail	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Pine	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Terminated (3.96) [3]	No
i.Scribe/InScribe	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
SeaMonkey Mail & Newsgroups	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Sylpheed	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
The Bat!	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Turnpike	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Thor	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Windows Live Mail	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Windows Mail	Included (Vista)	No	No	No	No	No	No
YAM	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Zimbra	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
	Microsoft Windows	Mac OS X	Linux	BSD	Unix	DOS	AmigaOS MorphOS

^  The windows port of Claws-Mail currently lacks SSL support and IMAP support.

[edit] Protocol support

What e-mail and related protocols and standards are supported by each client.

Client	POP3			IMAP4	SMTP	NNTP	LDAP		IMSP	ACAP	Feeds				iCalendar
	fetch all messages	selected by filter	selected by user				v2	v3			RSS 0.91	RSS 1.0	RSS 2.0	ATOM
Alpine	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Claws Mail (formerly Sylpheed Claws)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	No	Yes †	Yes †	Yes †	Yes †
Courier	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Eudora	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Gnus	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	?
KMail	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No †	Yes	?	?	?	No †	No †	No †	No †	No †
Kerio WebMail	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	No	No	No	No	Yes
Lotus Notes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes †	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Mail	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Mailsmith	Yes	?	Yes	No	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	No	No	No	No	No
Mozilla Thunderbird	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial	?	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes †
Mulberry	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes
Mutt	Yes	No (possible with POP3 browser)	No (possible with POP3 browser)	Yes	Yes	No (slrn looks alike)	Partial (resolve real names through NSS)	?	?	?	No	No	No	No	No
Opera Mail	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Microsoft Entourage	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Microsoft Office Outlook	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	?	?	Yes †	Yes †	Yes †	Yes †	Yes †
Novell Evolution	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	No	No	No	No	Yes
Outlook Express	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	No	No	No	No	No
Pegasus Mail	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Pine	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
i.Scribe/InScribe	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes †	Yes †	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Sylpheed	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Thor	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
TheBat!	Yes	Yes †	Yes †	Yes	Yes	Yes †	Yes	No	No	No	Yes †	Yes †	Yes †	Yes †	No
Turnpike	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Windows Live Mail	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Windows Mail	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
YAM	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Zimbra	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Client	fetch all messages	selected by filter	selected by user	IMAP4	SMTP	NNTP	v2	v3	IMSP	ACAP	RSS 0.91	RSS 1.0	RSS 2.0	ATOM	iCalendar
	POP3						LDAP				Feeds

• ^  KDE supports Newsgroups (NNTP) by the use of KNode
• ^  KDE supports feeds by the use of Akregator
• ^  KDE supports iCal by the use of KOrganizer
• ^  Studio Blog Reader is one RSS reader application for Lotus Notes. Lotus Notes version 8.x introduced a native RSS reader.
• ^  Support of feeds is available in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007.
• ^  Microsoft Outlook support of iCalendar varies by version.
• ^  Selective Download filters can skip/delete messages on POP3 server based on header (sender, recipient, subject, etc) information, this doesn't require to retrieve the full message body from the server.
• ^  Message Dispatcher allows the user to decide which messages should be retrieved, deleted or skipped based on the header information (sender, recipient, subject, etc) displayed to the user.
• ^  iCalendar is supported with an extension.
• ^  RSSyl plugin is required to read RSS and ATOM in Claws Mail.
• ^  vCalendar plugin is required to handle iCalendar in Claws Mail.
• ^  The BAT! requires MyGate plugin installed for handling NNTP.
• ^  The BAT! requires rss2mail or rss2pop3 plugin installed for handling RSS and ATOM.
• ^  i.Scribe/InScribe requires a plugin to handle LDAP.

[edit] Authentication support

Client	Regular		MSN (NTLM) browser login	Compuserve (RPA)	MD5 APOP †	CRAM-HMAC †			DIGEST-MD5	with hardware token PKCS#11	Biometric	SMTP Auth †	SSL/TLS Client Certificate
	LOGIN	PLAIN				MD5	SHA1	RIPEMD
Alpine	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Claws Mail (formerly Sylpheed Claws)	Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes †	?	Yes	Yes
Courier	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes
Eudora	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	?
Gnus	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	Yes	?
KMail	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	?
Kerio WebMail	Yes	Yes	?	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes
Lotus Notes	Yes	?	Yes	No	No	No	?	?	?	Yes	No	Yes	?
Mail	Yes	Yes	Yes †	No	Yes	Yes †	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	?
Mozilla Thunderbird	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No [1]	No	No	Yes	Yes
Mulberry	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes
Mutt	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	1.5.15	Yes
Novell Evolution	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	?
Opera Mail	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Microsoft Entourage	Yes	No	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Microsoft Office Outlook	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	?
Outlook Express	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	?
Pegasus Mail	Yes	?	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Pine	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
i.Scribe/InScribe	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Sylpheed	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No