mu4e

Linux

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Freedom report

One barScore 5.1

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Runs widely1 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedThinly documented

mu4e is ranked #124 of 143 in email clients on Freedom251. It runs on Linux. There is a free plan.

mu4e plans and pricing

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mu4e Free GNU Emacs email client · GPLv3 · requires mu and Maildir djcbsoftware.nl · 12 Oct 2026

Compared on email clients

App coverage: desktop
Unified inbox: Yes
Offline access: Yes
Calendar tools: Yes

Best mu4e alternatives

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The record

What it does: mu4e is an email client for GNU Emacs, built on the mu email search engine, for searching, reading, replying to, moving, and deleting Maildir messages.
Search: The interface is search-based, using queries instead of folders.
Speed: The interface is optimized for quick common actions, and heavy actions run asynchronously so they do not block Emacs.
Contacts: Address auto-completion uses contacts found in the user's messages.
Customization: Users can extend mu4e with custom actions and their own Emacs Lisp snippets.
Encryption and signing: The manual lists support for signing, encrypting, and decrypting messages.
Mail retrieval: mu4e works on a Maildir that can be updated by tools such as offlineimap, mbsync, or fetchmail.
Sending mail: Sending mail uses Emacs's smtpmail package, configured for the user's SMTP provider.
Integrations: The manual documents integration with Emacs facilities including Org-mode, desktop notifications, DBus, Dired, and iCalendar.
Requirements: The mu project installation instructions say mu4e requires Emacs version 28 or later to build its documentation.
License: mu4e is Free Software licensed under the GNU GPLv3.
Download: mu4e is included in the mu source package, which is available from GitHub; some Linux distributions provide pre-built mu packages.
Support: The project directs bug reports and feature requests to its issue tracker and provides a mu-discuss mailing list.
Platform limitation: The mu project's Windows support is described as experimental and not supportable by its maintainers due to lack of specific expertise.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Email Clients in 2026#124 of 143

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Sources

djcbsoftware.nl/code/mu/mu4e.html· checked 12 Oct 2026
djcbsoftware.nl/code/mu/mu4e/· checked 12 Oct 2026
github.com/djcb/mu· checked 12 Oct 2026
djcbsoftware.nl/code/mu/· checked 12 Oct 2026