7 Best Microsoft Outlook Alternatives
With its default brown interface and same old features, it is likely that you have gotten bored with the all too familiar Microsoft Outlook. If you are an Outlook user, you might be looking for an alternative program with a better feel and look. We have gathered 7 such alternative which, in our opinion, are the best FREE replacements for Outlook. Read on and see which entry in our list suits your needs best.
1. Thunderbird
Thunderbird, one of Mozilla’s projects, is a wonderful alternative to Microsoft Outlook. Not only does it have a Windows version, but it also has separate version for Mac and Linux operating systems. Coupling the ease of webmail with a tiny memory footprint and download size (the Windows version weighs 6MB), Thunderbird is one of the best email clients currently available. Thunderbird lets users not only download their messages on their computer, but access multiple email accounts in the same window. Having built-in support for Hotmail, Gmail, and Yahoo, this email client serves most of us free-email users quite well. All those features combined with its sleek interface make Thunderbird the first entry in our list.
Do you remember Outlook Express, the slightly better looking version of Microsoft Outlook? Windows Live Mail is a free email client from Microsoft which in actuality is the successor of Outlook Express. In Windows Live Mail we see a much enhanced Outlook Express that is ready to compete with many non-free email clients currently in the market. It supports emails accounts of Hotmail, Gmail, and Yahoo Plus; all email servers that offer SMTP and POP3 support are also supported by Windows Live Mail. Perhaps the best (and most convenient) feature of Windows Live Mail is its smooth integration with other Windows Live products such as Messenger and Calendar. If you are looking for something to complement your presently installed Windows Live products, then Windows Live Mail is the way to go.
If you are a Yahoo free email user, you will find that not all email clients support the free version of Yahoo i.e. they usually only support Yahoo Plus (the paid version of Yahoo mail). Zimbra Desktop is Yahoo’s own email client which bridges that gap and lets users check their Yahoo (free) email without having to open their internet browser. Apart from supporting Yahoo, Zimbra also syncs emails, contacts, and calendars with Gmail. Any POP or IMAP email account can be accessed including AOL and Hotmail. The program caters to a wide audience and has different versions for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems.
4. SeaMonkey
SeaMonkey is freeware program for Windows, Mac, and Linux that tries to help the user do all activities within one application. With SeaMonkey not only do you get an email client but also a browser, a feed reader, an IRC chat client, and an HTML editor. Based on the Mozilla source code, the program is rock stable and functional. This application competently merges many functions into itself without compromising on any features. Additional functionality can be added anytime because like most browsers today, SeaMonkey supports add-ons.
Another free email client, FreeMailCommander offers its users a lot of functions. It supports SMTP, POP3, and IMAP4 email servers. Without compromising on any features, FreeMailCommander has been designed to be a tiny email client that is very light on your system’s resources; it can even be stored and run from a USB flash drive. This client is the best option for you if are a laptop owner.
6. eM Client
eM Client is a complete communication client for Windows operating systems. It is free and besides letting us check our emails on IMAP, POP3, and SMTP servers, eM Client also lets us send instant messages, and setup our calendars. We can import contacts into eM Client from our Skype account, transfer files using the integrated support, or access any calendar based on CalDav protocol. All those features can be neatly sorted out to suit your preferences because eM Client has a highly customizable interface.
7. PegasusMail
PegasusMail was there when email clients were just starting out. Over the years a lot of additions and improvements have been introduced into Pegasus, keeping it one of the most used emails clients by computer users. It has native support for SMTP, POP3, IMAP4, LDAP, and PH servers therefore a lot of free email users can check their emails with Pegasus (including Gmail). The application uses very less system resources and has built-in support for plug-ins. The client comes in English, French, German and Italian language interfaces.
