5 Best Outlook Alternatives for Windows 10

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Microsoft Outlook comes by default on all versions of Windows 10 OS. The software giant is maintaining two email apps on the desktop OS. The default Mail app is aimed at touch-centric devices. Outlook desktop app is there for Microsoft 365 users. It’s confusing and the slow pace of development might encourage you to look for Outlook alternatives for Windows 10. 

Reasons to Look for Outlook Alternatives on Windows 10 

• Same old ribbon UI 
• Slow development 
• Integration with other Microsoft services (Irrelevant for those using these services)
• No feature parity among Outlook apps on other platforms
• Microsoft will eventually replace the Outlook app with the Outlook-web based client  

Best Outlook Alternatives for Windows 10

1. Thunderbird

Thunderbird is one of the best third-party email clients for Windows 10. It packs a beautiful UI with all the necessary add-ons such as Calendar, Tasks, and Chat. The iconography is spot on as well. You won’t have a hard time finding the option you are looking for, something that we can’t say about the Outlook app. 

Thunderbird is highly customizable as well. You can personalize the look with multiple theme options and add-ons. 

Pros

• Fast email experience 
• Multiple theming options 
• Open-source project 
• Built-in Do not track and remote content blocking for a secure email experience 
• Easily move among tabs to access email, calendar, tasks, and chat
• Free to use 

Cons

• The calendar UI is outdated 

Price

Free to download and use. If you like the offering, you can use the Donate button on the website. 

Get Thunderbird for Windows 10

2. Mailbird

Mailbird has nailed the email experience on Windows 10. And no, we are not throwing random statements out of the air. Mailbird is feature-rich, customizable with dozens of themes, offers a unified inbox, Speed Reader, and more. 

Mailbird’s killer feature is app integrations. You can connect popular third-party apps like Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, Google Drive, Asana, Todoist, and use them without leaving the email client on Windows. 

Pros

• Custom sounds 
• Keyboard shortcuts 
• Multi-language support 
• Customized sidebar 
• Integration with third-party social and productivity apps 
• A central Inbox experience 

Cons

• None 

Price

$49.99 as a one-time payment. You can pay via subscription as well. 

Get Mailbird for Windows 10

3. ProtonMail

Privacy advocates! This one is for you. Based in Switzerland, the company vows to protect user data with strict Swiss privacy laws. The UI is right up there with other modern email clients. It features a nice sidebar with the search bar at the top. 

ProtonMail delivers a secure environment with end-to-end encryption and no IP logs. We like the email compose add-on. It’s feature-rich and offers all the editing options you can think of. 

Pros

• Open-source project 
• Modern Inbox design 
• Security and privacy at the heart 
• Free to download and use 

Cons

• No unified inbox 
• Lack of theming options 

Price

Free to use. Pay $5 per month for custom domain and more storage. 

Get ProtonMail for Windows

4. Spike

If you are fed up with Outlook’s cumbersome UI, look no further and go with Spike on Windows 10. Spike offers the best user interface on any email client on Windows 10. Yes, there we said it. That’s not all. It comes with a unique approach to take your email experience to the next level. Allow us to elaborate. 

Spike turns your email into simple, chat conversations, so you can work and collaborate seamlessly with clients and team members – in a more natural way. At first glance, you might mistake it for Messenger or WhatsApp on Windows. 

Pros

• Priority Inbox to focus on most important emails 
• Excellent and modern UI 
• Notes integration with Google Docs like sharing functionality 
• Live collaboration
• Chat function with groups
• Task management 
• Available for all platforms 

Cons

• New users might get confused by UI and layout
• Expensive 
• No third-party apps integration

Price

The free version comes with 5GB of storage. Upgrade at $8 per month to unlock more features such as 50GB storage, 200 notes, up to 10 participants in group calls, and more. 

Get Spike Mail for Windows

5.  eM Email Client

eM offers a clean UI with all the relevant options in the sidebar and top. We like the iconography here. It’s modern-looking and plays perfectly fine with the rest of the OS. 

eM is available for both Windows and Mac and it offers useful functions such as contact management, instant messenger, RSS reader, and more. eM supports all the email services including Gmail, Exchange, iCloud, and Outlook. The search function surprised us. It’s lightning-quick and makes your workday productive. 

Pros

• Available for Windows and Mac 
• Quick search 
• High-security standards to protect user data
• Free for personal use for up to two accounts 

Cons

• The free version is very limited 

Price

30-days of free trial and after $29.99 as a one-time payment. 

Get eM for Windows 10

Which Outlook You Prefer on Windows 10

Outlook desperately needs a big revamp on Windows 10. Microsoft is certainly aware of it and working on a new web-based Outlook client for both Windows and macOS. We don’t know the exact timeline or how it will look or perform. Until then, use the mentioned apps above and improve your email experience on Windows 10. 

As for us, the TechWiser team is currently divided between eM and Spike. Mailbird is a solid option as well. Those worried about privacy should take a look at ProtonMail.