Top meli Alternatives: Find Your Ideal Terminal Mail Client
meli is an experimental terminal mail client designed for configurability and extensibility. While it offers unique features like threading, plain text configuration, and IMAP/Maildir/mbox support, its pre-release, unpolished, and unstable nature means many users seek a more robust or feature-rich alternative. Whether you're looking for greater stability, a more polished user interface, or a broader feature set, there are several excellent meli alternative options available.
Top meli Alternatives
If meli isn't quite hitting the mark for your email management needs, you're in luck. The market offers a diverse range of email clients, from comprehensive personal information managers to lightweight, conversation-focused applications. Here are some of the best alternatives that provide a more stable, feature-rich, or user-friendly experience compared to meli.
Thunderbird
Thunderbird is a free, open-source, and cross-platform email client widely regarded as a strong meli alternative. Available on Mac, Windows, Linux, and BSD, it boasts extensive features including plugin extensibility, IMAP/POP3 support, an integrated RSS reader, encryption, and calendar integration, making it a powerful and customizable option for managing your mail.
Microsoft Office Outlook
Part of the Microsoft Office Suite, Outlook is a comprehensive personal information manager that integrates email, calendar, contacts, and tasks. This freemium meli alternative is available across Mac, Windows, Web, Android, and iPhone, offering robust features like Exchange integration, shared calendars, unified inbox, and smart attachments, catering to users needing an all-in-one productivity tool.
eM Client
eM Client is a full-featured email client with a modern, user-friendly interface for Mac and Windows. As a freemium meli alternative, it stands out with its integrated calendar, tasks, contacts, and chat functionalities, along with features like automatic backup, built-in translation, encrypted email, and support for IMAP and POP3.
Evolution
Evolution is a free and open-source personal information management application for Linux and BSD. It provides integrated mail, calendaring, address book, and task list functionality, making it a robust meli alternative for users seeking a comprehensive desktop environment solution with features like CalDAV, Exchange support, and integrated spam protection.
Mailbird
Mailbird is a commercial email client for Windows, positioning itself as an all-in-one communication platform. This meli alternative offers a clean design and integrates with various apps like Asana, Dropbox, Slack, and Trello, alongside features such as undo send, multiple account support, and a unified inbox.
Apple Mail
Apple Mail is a free email client bundled with macOS, iPhone, and iPad, offering a seamless experience for Apple users. As a native meli alternative for Mac environments, it provides rich text editing, UI customization, and support for Exchange, CalDAV, and CardDAV, making it a reliable choice for those deeply integrated into the Apple ecosystem.
OpenProject
While primarily an open-source project management software with features like Gantt charts and Kanban boards, OpenProject (freemium, web, self-hosted) includes email tracking. Although not a direct meli alternative in the same category as a dedicated mail client, its email tracking capabilities might appeal to teams looking for integrated communication within their project workflows.
Claws Mail
Claws Mail is a free, open-source, and lightweight email client (and news reader) available for Windows, Linux, and BSD. This meli alternative focuses on quick response and easy configuration, featuring content filtering, plugin extensibility, and support for IMAP, making it an excellent choice for users prioritizing speed and simplicity over extensive graphical features.
Postbox
Postbox is a commercial email application for Mac and Windows designed to help organize work life. This meli alternative offers a powerful yet elegant interface with features like Exchange support, multiple account support, integration with cloud services like Box.com and Dropbox, an integrated RSS reader, and tabbed interface, making it a feature-rich choice for productivity-focused users.
Geary
Geary is a free and open-source email application built around conversations, primarily for the GNOME 3 desktop on Linux, Chrome OS, and BSD. As a straightforward meli alternative, it focuses on a clean experience with support for multiple accounts, Gmail integration, IMAP, and SMTP, making it ideal for users who prefer a minimalist, conversation-centric email client.
Choosing the right email client depends heavily on your specific needs, whether that's robust features, an open-source model, cross-platform compatibility, or a simple, conversation-focused interface. We encourage you to explore these meli alternative options to find the perfect fit for your workflow and preferences.