Best Shortwave Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 apps from email clients ranked against Shortwave on the same published basis.
- 1Shortwave vs Mozilla Thunderbird
- 2Shortwave vs Zoho Mail
- 3Shortwave vs Spark Mail
- 4Shortwave vs eM Client
- 5Shortwave vs Spike
- 6Shortwave vs Mailbutler Smart Assistant
- 7Shortwave vs Mailspring
- 8Shortwave vs Newton Mail
- 9Shortwave vs Canary Mail
- 10Shortwave vs Epistles Mail
- 11Shortwave vs Airmail
- 12Shortwave vs Velo
- 13Shortwave vs Dove
- 14Shortwave vs Saymail
- 15Shortwave vs EmailOps
- 16Shortwave vs Twobird
- 17Shortwave vs MailMate
- 18Shortwave vs Mailbird
- 19Shortwave vs Ferry Email
- 20Shortwave vs InkMail
Shortwave alternatives compared
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mozilla Thunderbird | 9.6 | Free plan | Free | Android, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 2 | Zoho Mail | 8.4 | Free plan | $0.08/mo | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 3 | Spark Mail | 8.2 | Free plan | $8.25/mo | Android, iOS, Mac, Windows |
| 4 | eM Client | 8.2 | Free plan | $3.33/mo | Android, iOS, Mac, Windows |
| 5 | Spike | 8.1 | Free plan | $4/mo | Android, iOS, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 6 | Mailbutler Smart Assistant | 8.1 | Free plan | $7/mo | Android, Browser, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 7 | Mailspring | 8.0 | Free plan | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 8 | Newton Mail | 8.0 | Free plan | $5/mo | Android, iOS, Mac, Windows |
| 9 | Canary Mail | 8.0 | Free plan | $3/mo | Android, iOS, Mac, Windows |
| 10 | Epistles Mail | 8.0 | Free plan | $2.92/mo | Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 11 | Airmail | 7.7 | Free plan | $2.50/mo | iOS, Mac |
| 12 | Velo | 7.6 | Free plan | Free | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 13 | Dove | 7.6 | Free plan | $20/mo | Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android |
| 14 | Saymail | 7.6 | Free plan | €3.25/mo | Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android |
| 15 | EmailOps | 7.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 16 | Twobird | 7.4 | Free plan | Free | Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android |
| 17 | MailMate | 7.3 | Free plan | $10/mo | Mac |
| 18 | Mailbird | 7.3 | Free plan | $5.75/mo | Windows, Mac |
| 19 | Ferry Email | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | Windows, Mac |
| 20 | InkMail | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Windows |
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Questions about Shortwave alternatives
What is the best alternative to Shortwave?
Mozilla Thunderbird, number 1 in email clients with a score of 9.6 out of 10. The others here: Zoho Mail, Spark Mail, eM Client and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to Shortwave?
Mozilla Thunderbird is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 20 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Is there an open-source alternative to Shortwave?
Yes: Mozilla Thunderbird.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked free-and-open first: a usable free tier and open-source code, then the platforms it runs on and its documentation.