Best free Gmail clients in 2026
Written by Niels Segers, last updated October 14, 2026, prices checked October 14, 2026
Gmail is free, but its own app isn’t the only way to read it. Maybe you want fewer emails competing for your attention, a desktop app, more AI help, or one inbox for several accounts. A different Gmail client can give you that while your mail stays in your Gmail account.
Not every client is free in the same way, though. Some keep the whole app free and charge for AI, others limit how far back you can search, and some only run on certain devices. So we compared seven of the best free Gmail clients and checked every plan and price on the vendor’s own pages.
How we reviewed these Gmail clients
We looked at each client across the things that matter most when you choose a free Gmail client:
- •The free plan: What do you actually get for free? We only count real free plans, not trials. Every client also has to connect to your Gmail account directly and keep your mail in Gmail, so services you forward your mail to don’t count.
- •User-friendliness: How easy is it to set up and learn?
- •Feature-richness: How well does it handle Gmail labels, filters, and a busy inbox?
- •Privacy: Where does your mail go, and what does the company say it does with it?
- •Free customer support: Where can you get help without paying?
No single client wins at everything, so we’ll be upfront about where each one shines and where it falls short.
TLDR? Here are our top picks for free Gmail clients:
- 1.Mejl, the Gmail client at mejl.cc. Splits your mail into focused views you can read one at a time and clear.
- 2.Gmail: Already where your mail lives, with nothing to install or set up.
- 3.Shortwave: AI search and an AI assistant built on top of Gmail.
- 4.Spark: Many accounts in one unified inbox, in native desktop and phone apps.
- 5.Thunderbird: A free, open source desktop client, and the only one here for Linux.
- 6.Apple Mail: The built-in app for people who only use Apple devices.
- 7.Canary Mail: A low-cost AI upgrade, with one license for every device.
All free Gmail clients at a quick glance:
| Gmail client | Email accounts | Search | AI on the free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mejl | Several, one at a time | Your whole Gmail mailbox | Sorting for 10 emails a day |
| Gmail | Several, each its own inbox | Whole mailbox, 15 GB storage | Summaries; writing help in the US |
| Shortwave | Several, no unified inbox | Last 90 days | Limited, on a basic model |
| Spark | Unlimited, unified inbox | No stated limit | Preview with 1 month of history |
| Thunderbird | No limit | Stored on your device | None |
| Apple Mail | Several, with All Inboxes | No stated limit | Apple Intelligence on supported devices |
| Canary Mail | Unlimited, on 2 devices | No limit | Inbox prioritization |
1. Mejl
Mejl is the Gmail client we build at mejl.cc. It’s a separate app that connects to your Gmail account, not an extension that runs inside Gmail. Mejl splits your mail into focused views, such as work, newsletters, or receipts, so you can read one kind of mail at a time and bring its unread count back to zero.
Mejl free plan
| Email accounts | Search | AI on the free plan |
|---|---|---|
| Several, one at a time | Your whole Gmail mailbox | Sorting for 10 emails a day |
Mejl’s free plan is the whole Gmail client, with no time limit and no credit card. You get focused views, unlimited Gmail filter rules, and AI sorting by description for 10 emails a day. If you want more AI automation, Mejl Plus costs $4.99/month or $44.99/year. It removes the daily sorting limit and adds thread summaries, writing tools, and reply suggestions.
User-friendliness
You sign in with Google and your mail opens in Mejl on the web, iOS, or Android. There’s nothing to import, because Mejl reads the mail already in Gmail. On the web, a command menu and keyboard shortcuts help you move through your inbox without the mouse, and the getting started guide covers the rest.
Feature-richness
Each focused view is a Gmail label with its own unread count. You decide what goes where with Gmail filter rules that match senders, subjects, or phrases, or you describe what belongs in a view and let sorting by description apply the label. When you write, you can use snippets and improve selected text. Mejl doesn’t have a combined inbox across several Google accounts; you switch between them.
Privacy
Mejl reads your mail from Gmail when it needs to show it or run a feature, and your mail and labels stay in Gmail. We don’t sell Google user data or use it for advertising or to train generalized AI models. Our AI requests require zero data retention and don’t allow prompt training. The privacy policy has the details.
Free customer support
Mejl is a small, independent product. You can get help for free in the help center or by sending us a message.
2. Gmail
Gmail is where your mail already lives. It’s free with every Google account, works in any browser and on iOS and Android, and since January 2026 it includes basic Gemini features at no cost.
Gmail free plan
| Email accounts | Search | AI on the free plan |
|---|---|---|
| Several, each its own inbox | Whole mailbox, 15 GB storage | Summaries; writing help in the US |
Gmail is free with every Google account, which includes 15 GB of storage shared with Drive and Photos. AI Overview thread summaries are free everywhere, while Help Me Write and Suggested Replies are free in the US. If you run out of space, Google One starts at $1.99/month for 100 GB, but that plan doesn’t add Gemini in Gmail. AI Inbox and Proofread need a paid Google AI plan.
User-friendliness
Most people already know Gmail, so there’s nothing to learn or set up. If you like working from the keyboard, note that Gmail’s keyboard shortcuts are off by default. You turn them on under Settings, then See all settings.
Feature-richness
Gmail has real labels, and filters can send mail to a label, archive, delete, star, or forward it. The inbox sorts mail into five fixed categories: Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates, and Forums. You can turn categories on or off, but you can’t create your own. Snooze removes an email from your inbox until the time you choose.
Privacy
Your mail is stored on Google’s servers. Google says it doesn’t train its foundational AI models, including Gemini, on your personal emails, and that Google ads aren’t based on your personal data in Gmail.
Free customer support
Free users get the Gmail Help Center and the Gmail Help Community. Both are self-service.
3. Shortwave
Shortwave is a Gmail client built around AI. It connects natively to Gmail and Google Workspace, lets you ask an AI assistant about your mail, and groups threads into splits and bundles.
Shortwave free plan
| Email accounts | Search | AI on the free plan |
|---|---|---|
| Several, no unified inbox | Last 90 days | Limited, on a basic model |
Shortwave’s free plan limits search to the last 90 days, for both standard and AI search, and adds a “Sent with Shortwave” signature to your mail. AI runs on a basic model with a limited usage quota. Pro costs $18/month, or $14/month billed yearly, and adds unlimited search history and a larger AI allowance. Business plans start at $30 per seat a month.
User-friendliness
Shortwave works with Gmail and Google Workspace accounts. Other providers only work if you connect them to Gmail first. Keyboard users get a command palette and a full shortcut reference, so the app is quick to learn if you already use Gmail shortcuts.
Feature-richness
Labels sync with Gmail. Splits turn labels into inbox tabs, bundles group threads into a single inbox item, and delivery schedules control when a label’s mail arrives. On the free plan, splits, bundles, and delivery schedules are basic only, and AI inbox organization and AI filters need a paid plan. Free users still get instant AI replies and summaries, AI-powered snooze, and todos.
Privacy
Shortwave syncs your mail through its own servers in Google Cloud and encrypts it at rest and in transit. It says your email content is never used to train third-party AI models, and that it doesn’t show ads or sell your data. Besides Google Cloud, it lists OpenAI, Anthropic, and Pinecone as its only service providers.
Free customer support
Support isn’t part of the free plan. The in-app support form is for paid plans, but anyone can email Shortwave’s support team.
4. Spark
Spark from Readdle is an email app for macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android. It handles Gmail next to other providers and puts every account in one unified inbox, even on the free plan.
Spark free plan
| Email accounts | Search | AI on the free plan |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited, unified inbox | No stated limit | Preview with 1 month of history |
Spark’s free plan includes unlimited email accounts and a unified inbox. Its AI assistant is a limited preview that only sees one month of email history, and you get five AI meeting notes in total. Spark Plus costs $10/month or $99/year and adds the full AI assistant, AI drafting, proofreading, summaries, and translation, plus priority support. Pro costs $20/month or $199/year.
User-friendliness
Spark has native apps on every major desktop and phone platform. Its Command Center lists actions with their keyboard shortcuts, and the free plan offers three inbox layouts: Simple List, Unread Cards, and Focused List. On the US App Store, Spark has a 4.6 rating from about 83,000 reviews.
Feature-richness
Spark supports Gmail labels, but it can’t apply them automatically. You set that up with Gmail filters, and Spark syncs the result. Its Smart Inbox separates priority mail from the rest, and snooze, set aside, send later, and reminders are all free.
Privacy
Spark says your data is mainly processed on your device. Shared emails and send later run on its servers, and recent emails stay there for 4 hours. Readdle says it doesn’t sell your personal information or use your data to train AI models. Its AI features use providers such as Azure OpenAI, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, which may keep inputs for up to 30 days.
Free customer support
Free users get self-service support through Spark’s help center. Priority support is part of Spark Plus.
5. Thunderbird
Thunderbird is a free, open source email client for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. It’s the only client on this list with a Linux app.
Thunderbird free plan
| Email accounts | Search | AI on the free plan |
|---|---|---|
| No limit | Stored on your device | None |
Thunderbird is free, with no paid plan for the email app. It’s funded by user donations. There’s no AI built in, and its experimental AI add-on is no longer in testing. Thundermail, a separate paid mailbox service from the same team, isn’t needed to use Gmail.
User-friendliness
Thunderbird connects to Gmail over IMAP. It’s a classic desktop app with folders, toolbars, and context-sensitive keyboard shortcuts, so it takes more getting used to than a web client. There’s no iOS app yet.
Feature-richness
Thunderbird shows Gmail labels as folders, so a message with two labels appears in two folders. It has message filters, a Quick Filter toolbar for narrowing down a folder, and unified folders across accounts. It also includes a calendar and contacts.
Privacy
Thunderbird stores and processes your mail and address book locally on your device. It says it doesn’t collect personal data, sell ads in your inbox, or train AI on your conversations. It does send telemetry, which you can turn off.
Free customer support
Support is the Mozilla Support knowledge base and its community forum. There’s no paid support tier.
6. Apple Mail
Apple Mail comes with every iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Add your Google account and your Gmail shows up next to iCloud and any other accounts, with an All Inboxes view across them.
Apple Mail free plan
| Email accounts | Search | AI on the free plan |
|---|---|---|
| Several, with All Inboxes | No stated limit | Apple Intelligence on supported devices |
Apple Mail is free and has no paid plan. Its AI features come from Apple Intelligence, which is included at no cost but needs a supported device, such as an iPhone 15 Pro or later.
User-friendliness
There’s nothing to install. On a Mac, you choose Mail, then Add Account, and pick Google. If you already use Apple devices, Mail works the way the rest of the system does.
Feature-richness
Apple Mail shows Gmail labels as folders. On iPhone, Mail sorts your inbox into Primary, Transactions, Updates, and Promotions, though categories aren’t available in every country. On a Mac, you can set up rules. Apple Intelligence adds priority messages, inbox and thread summaries, and Smart Reply.
Privacy
Apple says many Apple Intelligence models run entirely on your device. Requests that need a server go to Private Cloud Compute, where Apple says data is never retained. Mail Privacy Protection hides your IP address and loads remote content privately.
Free customer support
Free users get Apple Support online and the Apple Support Community.
7. Canary Mail
Canary Mail is an email app with an AI copilot for macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android. One license covers all your devices.
Canary Mail free plan
| Email accounts | Search | AI on the free plan |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited, on 2 devices | No limit | Inbox prioritization |
Canary’s free plan supports unlimited email accounts on up to 2 devices, with no storage limit beyond your email provider’s. It includes AI inbox prioritization, but the AI copilot, writing help, summaries, and rules need a paid plan. Growth costs $36/year (about $3/month), billed yearly only. Pro+ costs $100/year.
User-friendliness
Canary has setup guides for adding a Gmail account, and it looks and works the same on every platform. It doesn’t publish a keyboard shortcut guide in its help center.
Feature-richness
Canary supports Gmail labels, including several labels on one message, and snooze. Rules and filters are only included with paid plans. The unified inbox can’t be turned off, which suits people who want everything in one place but not people who keep their accounts apart.
Privacy
Canary says your data is stored on your device and never shared with third parties. Push notifications briefly store your address, credentials, sender, and subject on Canary’s server, which deletes them after delivery. Its prioritization models are trained and stored on your device, and its cloud AI providers don’t use your data to train their models.
Free customer support
Free users get the help center, a website chatbot, a ticket form, and email support. Priority support is part of Pro+.
We hope this guide helps you pick the right free Gmail client. This article is written by Mejl, the Gmail client that splits your inbox into focused views. Mejl is free to use, and you don’t need a credit card to start.
Coming from a specific client? Read our Superhuman alternative and Notion Mail alternative guides.