Thanks to technological advancements, it is quite easy to communicate with people all over the world by using emails.
One of the popular email service providers that we have is Mail-in-a-Box. However, users encounter issues such as complex setup processes, the presence of bugs, and software compatibility issues.
Not to mention, it has an archaic user interface and its $12 per month price tag are good reasons to seek a better alternative.
So, in this post, I will show you the 15 best Mail-in-a-Box alternatives.
Best Mail-in-a-Box Alternatives
1. iRedMail
iRedMail and Mail-in-a-Box are very similar; they are both open source mail servers. Both platforms support webmail via Roundcube.
With iRedMail, you can build a mail server using CentOS, Debian, Ubuntu, Red Hat, OpenBSD, and FreeBSD. Hence, you can do more with iRedMail as Mail-in-a-Box is based on just Ubuntu.
Setting up iRedMail is simple as the software admins have already done the hard work. There’s also standby professional support in case you need help. iRedMail is also very secure as it employs TLS encryption with SSHA512 or BCRYPT passwords.
The mail server allows you to connect as many mailboxes as you would need. It comes with built-in anti-spam and antiviruses including SpamAssassin and ClamAV.
iRedMail Pricing
iRedMail is free but to enjoy the best features of the Mail-in-a-Box alternative, you need iRedAdmin Pro. It’s a web admin panel to manage the iRedMail server. It comes with extra features like activity log, throttling, and domain-level admins.
The available pricing options include:
- 1-Year Plan: $499
- 2-Year Plan: $699
- 3-Year Plan: $899
All plans renew at $250 per year.
2. Mozilla Thunderbird
Thunderbird is a free and open-source email application that combines the latest technology to ensure faster and secured email services. It is quite easy to customize and set up.
As an open-source email service application, Thunderbird is updated frequently as it takes advantage of third-party evaluation and security scanning tools.
Its features include a main account setup wizard, add-on manager, one-click address book, smart folders, and robust privacy. There are also search and tabs tools in place like tabbed email, message archive, and quick filter toolbar.
Just like Mail-in-a-Box, Thunderbird has a spam detector, but most of its other features and templates are not available on Mail-in-a-Box.
Another interesting feature is the Thunderbird Look and Feel. It allows you to change themes to suit day and night. Apart from the light and dark themes, more themes are available as add-ons.
While Mail-in-a-Box can be installed on a cloud server, Mozilla Thunderbird is available for download on Windows, macOS, and Linux devices.
3. Postbox
This is a powerful and lightning-fast app for managing all your emails. It works with any POP or IMAP account, including Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo, AOL, Office 365, Outlook, Fastmail, ProtonMail, and other popular email service providers.
Postbox and Mail-in-a-Box are both desktop-focused email clients. You can only install Postbox on Windows and macOS devices. Nevertheless, Postbox is a great alternative if you enjoy modern features.
The email app has a host of message triage, email organization, email management, composition, search, system, and safety & security features. You can view emails in tabs with a browser, group your email accounts, and save emails to the Favorite Folder for quick access.
If you want to do more, you can count on this Mail-in-a-Box alternative as it has a host of integrations. You can connect Postbox to third-party services like MailChimp, Slack, ZenDesk, Asana, and Evernote to name a few.
Postbox Pricing
You can test this Mail-in-a-Box alternative for free for 30 days. To continue using after that, you must purchase a Lifetime License which costs $49 per user. You only pay once and you can use your license on multiple devices you own.
4. Zoho Mail
Zoho Mail is a Mail-in-a-Box alternative that is suitable for small business and large enterprise users. Its features ensure the privacy and security of your data, easy migration of emails and calendars, and marketing automation.
With Zoho Mail, business owners can create a domain for their business and customize email addresses for users. It comes with a fully customized CRM solution and offers campaigns, forms, and surveys.
Notably, Zoho Mail has over 45 in-house and third-party integrations that facilitate a robust experience. Furthermore, it provides 24/7 support in case you need help.
Zoho Mail Pricing
Signing up with Zoho Mail is free. However, its subscription is only free forever for up to five users. Zoho Mail has four premium subscriptions, unlike Mail-in-a-Box which has only one monthly pricing i.e. $12 per month.
The three premium pricing plans include:
- Mail Lite – $1 per user/month for 5GB per user and $1.25 per user/month for 10 GB per user, all billed annually.
- Mail Premium – $4 per user/per month, billed annually. It has a 15-day free trial and no credit card is required.
- Workplace Standard – $3 per user/per month when billed annually and $4 per user/per month when billed monthly.
5. Microsoft Outlook
Here is a popular application that integrates email, calendar, and contacts. This is a reliable alternative to the Mail-in-a-Box program that is suitable for both personal and professional users.
It allows you to easily send, receive and manage emails, schedule email sending, integrate and organize contacts, organize your activities and tasks, schedule meetings, and track appointments like Mail-in-a-Box.
This Microsoft software uses top enterprise-grade mechanisms to ensure users’ privacy and security. Its features include smart filters, swipe gestures, keyboard shortcuts, and calendar sharing.
MS Outlook ensures data encryption for email both in the mailbox and after the mail has been sent. It also supports email apps like Gmail, iCloud, and MS Office apps: Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Plus, it is available for iOS and Android platforms.
MS Outlook web version is free, but if you want to go premium there are paid subscriptions offered that come with Microsoft 365.
Explore the best alternatives to Outlook.
6. Airmail
Airmail is another Mail-in-a-Box alternative that targets mobile users. More specifically, this is an ideal alternative if you use Apple products as it only supports iOS, iPad, and macOS. Airmail won the Apple Design Award in 2017.
With Mail-in-a-Box, you can connect with almost any webmail, SMTP/IMAP server. However, Airmail lets you connect with many popular email services including Gmail, iCloud, Exchange, Yahoo, and Outlook. You can still connect to IMAP-POP3.
Airmail comes with intuitive features including support for multiple accounts, smart inbox, unified inbox, snooze email, send later, and privacy mode. As an exclusive app for iOS devices, it works seamlessly with iOS widgets, Siri, customizations, and other features.
With the iPad app, you enjoy interesting features like the specific iPad layout, split-screen support, drag and drop, and pencil sketcher if your device supports it. You can also use this Mail-in-a-Box alternative with your Apple Watch.
Airmail Pricing
Airmail comes with many free features. To access the pro features, you can subscribe to any of the following plans:
- Airmail Pro Monthly: $2.99 per month
- Airmail Pro Yearly: $9.99 per year
- Airmail for Business: $49.99 (one-time payment)
7. eM Client
eM Client is another Mail-in-a-Box alternative that helps you to manage your email, enhance email communication, and increase productivity. It is suitable for individuals, teams, and enterprises.
Interestingly, eM Client integrates calendars, tasks, contacts, and instant messages, unlike Mail-in-a-Box.
It is compatible with over 20 applications including iCloud, Google Workspace, Mailfence, MDaemon, OneDrive, Kario, and Dropbox.
Its email features include instant translation, message encryption, spell-check, templates and signatures, tags, and email rules. It also includes cloud storage support and snooze, which is available on Mail-in-a-Box.
eM Client Pricing
While Mail-in-a-Box is a premium web-based email application, eM Client is available for Windows and macOS devices. Conversely, eM Client comes with both free and premium plans inclusive of a 30-day money-back guarantee. Their pricing includes:
- Free (for individuals) – $0
- Pro (for individuals) – $24.95 (one-time payment)
- Pro (for companies) – $109.95 (one-time payment)
8. Spike
Spike is popular as an email app for mobile devices – iPhone and Android. However, as a Mail-in-a-Box alternative, it works for Mac and Windows computers. Mail-in-a-Box and Spike are very different as the former is a mail server for mainly desktop and webmail.
If you use your email mainly for work, Spike is an ideal Mail-in-a-Box alternative to consider as the app is very collaborative.
With Spike, you can connect with any team, no matter the size, and work together. Currently, more than 150,000 teams use Spike including that of popular companies like Shopify, Fiverr, Zoom, Zillow, and Sephora.
Some of Spike’s top features include a smarter inbox, dynamic notes, LiveChat, task manager, and reminders.
Spike Pricing
You can start using Spike email for free. However, you need to pay a subscription to enjoy all the app’s features. The pricing plans available include:
- Solo Plan: $15 per account per month ($12 with annual payment)
- Team Plan: $10 per account per month ($8 with annual payment). This plan supports a minimum of two business accounts.
- Business Plan: $7 per account per month. This plan supports a minimum of five business accounts.
9. ProtonMail
ProtonMail is a secure email service that was founded in 2013, the same year as Mail-in-a-Box, and it is based in Switzerland. It is noteworthy for being free and open-source.
Unlike other Mail-in-a-Box alternatives, ProtonMail has strong email encryption protocols, and it incorporates the latest technologies to ensure that users work faster. When it comes to security, users’ privacy is protected in accordance with Swiss privacy laws.
Its features include encrypted contacts, calendar and drive, business email, ProtonVPN, and IMAP/SMTP Bridge. This makes it different from Mail-in-a-Box that integrates with only iCloud and Gmail. It is also free to download on iOS and Android mobile devices.
With ProtonMail, you don’t have to worry about ads or your email being shared with, accessed, or decrypted by unauthorized individuals. Also, you can sign up without using your personal data.
Although ProtonMail is free for users, if you require custom domains, extra storage, and addresses, you can opt for their premium pricing plans.
10. TypeApp
TypeApp is a feature-rich Mail-in-a-Box alternative that makes email management more efficient and productive. The platform features a unified inbox, smart push, universal access, reminders, and a lot more.
Unlike Mail-in-a-Box, TypeApp isn’t exclusively self-hosted. It supports all the major email providers.
You can also use TypeApp to run email protocols like IMAP, Exchange, and POP3 and you can use as many accounts as you want. The mail client app is more popular for Android and iOS mobile devices but there’s also a desktop version for Windows, Linux, and Mac.
A unique feature of this Mail-in-a-Box alternative is the Smart Email Clusters. This helps keep your inbox clean by sorting and grouping similar emails together while highlighting the most important ones.
Also interesting is that you can use it even when offline. You’re safe with TypeMail as all data you send and receive is encrypted. Just like Mail-in-a-Box, TypeApp is free to use.
11. Edison Mail
Edison Mail is a multi-email app that allows users to access all their email accounts all in one app and make the most of their inboxes.
It has an email assistant that makes use of smart folders to organize emails and takes care of little details like flight information, destination weather, directions, suggested unsubscribes, and refund alerts.
Edison Mail has great email management features and supports integrations like Google Workspace and iCloud, like Mail-in-a-Box. Also, it flawlessly integrates with Outlook, Yahoo, Office 365, IMAP, etc. It is also available for download on Apple Store and Google Play.
This application secures emails from getting tracked and prevents spam by blocking read receipts. No ads are displayed, and your privacy is protected with topmost priority.
Most Mail-in-a-Box alternatives do not have an undo send feature but with Edison Mail, you can unsend a sent mail. You can also customize snooze and make use of swipe controls, which are similar features that are found on Mail-in-a-Box.
12. Front Mail
If you mainly use Mail-in-a-Box to keep up with your customer, you can enjoy a more seamless interaction with Front Mail. Front Mail doubles as an email and CRM platform. Top companies like Shopify, MNX, and Better.com make use of Front Mail.
Front Mail’s interface is more intuitive and user-friendly than that of Mail-in-a-Box. You can set up automations to make workflow a lot easier and the CRM delivers insights to stay updated with your performance.
Real-time collaboration is one of the major advantages of Front Mail over Mail-in-a-Box. You can easily share and view messages, comments, inboxes, drafts, and more. Thanks to the rules, triggers, and templates, you can respond to customers a lot faster.
Another advantage of Front Mail over Mail-in-a-Box is the integrations. You can natively integrate with a host of third-party apps or build your own.
Front Mail Pricing
You can subscribe to Front Mail as a growing business, small team, or large enterprise. The plans include:
- Starter Plan: $19 per user/month. This plan supports a minimum of two users and is billed annually
- Prime Plan: $49 per user/month. This plan supports a minimum of five users and is billed annually
- Enterprise Plan: custom pricing
13. Mailbird
Here is another noteworthy mention on our list of the best Mail-in-a-Box alternatives.
Mailbird integrates with several and social media apps like Google Calendar, Asana, Dropbox, Evernote, Slack, Twitter, WhatsApp, WeChat, and Facebook, which is a lot when compared to that of Mail-in-a-Box.
When it comes to providing 24/7 support, reading emails with speed, searching through attachments, customizing layouts with free color themes, and managing emails and contacts from multiple accounts, Mailbird offers all these services.
In fact, you get support in 17 different languages. However, Mailbird doesn’t offer filters to help sort inboxes.
With the Mailbird Shortcut feature you can easily create, archive, send, and reply to messages. Other Mailbird features include LinkedIn lookup, custom sounds, and a dark theme.
Mailbird Pricing
Mailbird has two premium pricing plans with a 14-day money-back guarantee;
- Personal – $3.25 per month, billed annually
- Business – $4.92 per month, billed annually, and $99.75 forever
14. Gmail
Gmail is by far the most popular and most used email client in the world. Like Mail-in-a-Box, it’s free to use and you can log in to other mail clients via the Gmail app. You can log in to Yahoo Mail, iCloud Mail, Outlook, Hotmail, Live, and other IMAP accounts.
As a Google product, Gmail works seamlessly with other Google products, most especially Google Chat and Google Meet. This gives it a major advantage over Mail-in-a-Box. In addition, Gmail supports all major operating systems and is accessible via the web.
Gmail works seamlessly with tools from third parties too and you can use the email app even when you’re offline. With industry-led encryption, Gmail is one of the safest mail clients. You also enjoy features like AI smart composition, nudge, undo sent mail, confidential mode, and email snoozing.
While Gmail is free to use, Gmail Workspace is premium. Gmail Business allows you to use custom email domains and has more integrations than the standard Gmail.
15. myMail
myMail is an alternative to Mail-in-a-Box that is ideal for mobile devices.
This application allows users to manage emails, secure emails, and also protect personal data. This is a functionality similar to Mail-in-a-Box. It supports corporate email servers and automatically sets up POP, IMAP, and SMTP settings for host domains.
Additionally, myMail allows you to create, preview, forward, read, and reply emails. It is mobile-friendly, enables fast communication, and you can view and add attachments. However, its layouts, designs, and some other actions are not customizable.
This email client supports different email apps including Gmail, AOL, Exchange, iCloud, Yahoo, and Hotmail. Its major features include real-time push notifications, menu icons, contacts, email signature, ActiveSync protocol, and email threads, but it lacks a unified inbox view.
You can have different email accounts on myMail and manage them all. Its interface is user-friendly and the navigation bar on the right side of the application allows you to switch from one email account to the other.
Final Thought
There you have it! Our list of the 15 Best Mail-in-a-Box alternatives.
While most of them are free, others are available at relatively affordable prices, when compared with Mail-in-a-Box.
By using any of these email services applications, you can manage your emails and communicate with people, without the hassles of dealing with technical issues.
