Top 8 Best Email Clients for Linux in 2023
Emails can be managed from the internet browser, but what if you could do the same with a much-improved GUI and more features? This is no longer a fuss because the app stores are flooding some amazing Email Clients or software, and their features are perfect. Which ones are ranked in the top 8 and are available on Linux?
This guide is all about the top-ranked Email Clients in Linux and a brief description of their features. The list includes the following.
We’d start the brief about the features and “How to install.”
Thunderbird
Thunderbird comes from the Mozilla Foundation, the parent company of Firefox, and is the most widely used Email client. It is pre-installed in almost all Linux distros, cross-platformed, and packs these in-demand features.
- Built-in calendar facility to schedule event reminders
- End-to-end GPG/PGP encryption that provides excellent security
- Fast and user-friendly interface
- The smart folder that sets up multiple emails addresses
- Email and web searching
- Thousands of themes to choose from for customization
- Built-in large file management, attachment reminder, Activity manager, and much more
It comes pre-installed in most of the Linux distros and can be installed using either one of these if it isn’t.
$ sudo apt install thunderbird #For Debian/Ubuntu $ sudo dnf install thunderbird #For Fedora $ sudo pacman -S thunderbird #For Arch Linux
The interface is tabbed and has many exciting features ready to use.
Evolution
The most mature and stable email client for the GNOME environment is Evolution. It is the best alternative to Microsoft Outlook but with more features like creating a task list, memos, a virtual folder, open-sourced, and many others. This is more like a two-in-one email client that can also be used as a manager, while the salient features include the following.
- All in one inbox to use multiple email accounts
- Support for IMAP, POP3, and other related protocols
- Group mail for faster communication
- Dark theme
- Cross-platformed and comes with solid security
- Frequent updates add more features regularly
It can be installed using either one of these commands per your distro.
$ sudo apt install evolution #For Ubuntu $ sudo dnf install evolution #For Fedora $ sudo pacman -S evolution #For Arch Linux
Although free, some premium features require a subscription for business users, and here’s how it looks.
Geary
Geary is the best combination of a simple look with a touch of modern aesthetics. It’s a fast and lightweight email client that’s optimised for the GNOME desktop environment but works with others as well.The features of Geary may need additions, but it currently packs the following.
- Quick setup
- Fast, efficient, and easy to operate
- Feels good with any GNOME Desktop environment
- Stylish interface with basic but functional features
Depending on your distro, it can be installed through the following commands.
$ sudo apt install geary #For Ubuntu $ sudo dnf install geary #For Fedora $ sudo pacman -S geary #For Arch Linux
KMail
If you’re a user of the KDE environment, then KMail is what you need because it was initially developed for it. The email search with a filter makes it unique and can be integrated with Kontact. There’s an intelligent address book that allows your contacts and their email addresses to be easily managed. The other features of KMail include the following.
- Importing and exporting emails
- Built-in spell checker (may be needed to activate)
- Excellent email searching with different filters
- Supports GPG / PGP / S / MIME for email encryption and other security features
- It can be integrated with other Kontact components for added functionality
It is pre-installed in most KDE Desktop environments. Still, it can be installed using one of these commands if not.
$ sudo apt install kmail #For Ubuntu $ sudo dnf install kmail #For Fedora $ sudo pacman -S kmail #For Arch Linux
The interface looks good, but something’s a bit off there.
Blue Mail
Blue Mail has a gorgeous interface with a twist of a modern look; I mean, look at those themes. The contacts are organized in clusters, and you can create groups for broadcast messages. An interesting feature filters the emails showing only the real people while hiding the newsletters or other spam and the only drawback is that it isn’t open-source. The other features of Blue Mail include the following.
- A solid, secure, cross-platformed, fast, and efficient email client
- Unified inbox to view emails from multiple accounts in one inbox
- Built-in calendar to help you remember the important dates with alerts
- Advanced security with end-to-end encryption
- Powerful email filtering system for efficient communication
You can install it using the snap by executing this command.
$ sudo snap install bluemail #For Linux Distros with snap Activated
The GUI also looks impressive and has an app for Android and iPhone.
Claws Mail
The Claws Mail is an email client on Linux with many plugins to increase functionality. It is open-source, secure, fast, lightweight, and available on all major platforms. There is a built-in PDF viewer to ensure that you don’t need other software. The other features of Claws Mail include the following.
- A total of 40 themes for customization
- Built-in mail archiving
- Modular-based GUI makes it relatively better when using
- New functionalities are added through the plugins
- Secure and efficient
Since there’s no official repository, users must install it from the official source.
ElectronMail
ElectronMail is one of the most popular email clients you can use on Linux as it is highly secure, stores the emails on your system’s hard drive, and shows the notifications from the system’s tray. It has a simple interface but doesn’t stop the users from keeping it away from them due to the following features.
- Highly advanced end-to-end encryption with a master password
- Built-in calendar, Contacts management, VPN, and much more
It can be installed through the snap using this command.
$ sudo snap install electronmail #For Linux Distros with snap Activated
The interface feels premium, and I just loved the color contrast.
Mutt
Mutt is an email client that can only be operated on the terminal screen, so if you’re a command-line lover, this is for you. It is easy to use and supports colors, attachments, and much more. The latest update was released on November 12, 2022; more can be read here. The rest of the features include the following.
- A complete command-line-based email client
- Fast and highly efficient in terms of working and size
- POP3, IMAP, SMTP, OAUTHBEARER support, and much more
It can be installed using either of the following commands (depending on your distro).
$ sudo apt install mutt #For Debian/Ubuntu $ sudo dnf install mutt #For Fedora $ sudo pacman -S mutt #For Arch Linux
It has no GUI, and everything is done on the command-line interface, as seen below.
These were all the email clients.
Conclusion
Choosing the right email client could be a fuss as some have fancy colors, and some have simple interfaces. This guide has compiled a list of the top 8 email clients you can use on Linux, including a brief description of their features and a glimpse of their GUI.