We are in 2022, and many things have improved since email was launched.
Most humans operate on social media apps, with “DM” being a thing.
Even though Google Duo, WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, Facebook, and many such names have somewhat taken control of our lives, they require a few processes to use.
No matter what kinds of apps debut in the future, email is here to stay!
As I have mentioned, applications have taken over, and sending an email is simply the process of selecting apps to send emails is complex.
The default mail apps used worldwide are Gmail, Apple Mail, and other built-in apps.
But clearly, people want more. Thus this article.
There are better apps to deal with your cluttered inbox.
When it comes to iPhones or the whole Apple ecosystem, the selection of apps gets interesting.
I get it – most people will use the default app, but for those who want more than an email client, you are at the right place.
Following are some of the best mail apps for the iPhone.
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15 Best Mail Apps for iPhone
Remember that these apps are not web apps or just some apps that will help you sort out your inbox.
The following apps are full-fledged email clients. They will access your mail accounts, send and receive emails, and do more.
These apps support Gmail, iCloud Mail, Yahoo Mail, POP, and IMAP accounts.
1. Microsoft Outlook
If you want the best balance between features and usability, Microsoft’s Outlook email app is the one for you.
It supports most email services – except for POP3 accounts – you don’t have to have an Outlook account to use the app entirely. Just punch in your email and password, and you are good to go.
If you are under the impression that Outlook mobile is similar to its desktop offering, you are wrong.
The mobile app is highly functional, customizable, and has excellent file management that supports thorough search.
Oh yes, it also has a built-in calendar.
This means that you can easily attach files and schedule meetings.
Something called a ‘Focused Inbox’ gathers all the important mail.
Another inbox is the opposite, where all other unimportant emails are stored.
Hats off to the robust search functionality, which helped me find a 5-year-old invoice for financial record purposes.
If you are a fan of theming your apps, you will feel right at home while using this email client.
All in all, Outlook is an excellent mail client, which is only bogged down by a petite widget selection and how sometimes it lags when you are inundated with emails.
Main features
- Enterprise-grade security.
- Built-in calendar.
- Easy search
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Offers heavy customization
- Robust Search features.
Cons
- No widget to view recent emails.
- Lags a bit.
Widget: Can only compose and search emails. The calendar widget is also included.
Price: Free for consumer usage from the iOS App Store.
2. Gmail
Well, well! Gmail is the second-best email client for iPhone, and here’s why.
This app brings the known web experience in a compact form. There aren’t massive restrictions as to how the app performs.
Gmail supports Gmail (duh) and iCloud, Yahoo, Outlook, and IMAP.
You will be happy to hear that the app works with Google’s other essential services like Docs, Drive, and Sheets.
As for customization, you can set the three modes which decide how you view your emails – Default, Compact, and Comfortable. I prefer Compact as it lets me view more emails.
The best feature about Gmail is its three separate inboxes: Primary, Social, and Promotions. Seriously, you’d thank Google for not displaying promotional in your primary inbox.
Again, the app isn’t bothered about widgets for iOS, but if you are okay with opening the app, go ahead and hit the download link.
Main features
- Schedule emails.
- It allows you to drag emails between tabs.
- Send and request money.
- Get notifications for specific emails.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Pure Google experience.
- Separate tabs for primary, social, and promotional emails.
Cons
- Not much customization.
- No widget to view recent emails.
Widget: Can only compose and search emails.
Price: Free
3. Yahoo Mail
Yahoo has been the default client for many people for over 30 years. So naturally, it will be a part of any list with the best email clients.
The app has an elegant UI that helps in dealing with messy emails.
To use the app, you’ll need a Yahoo account. So, if you are new to Yahoo (WHAT!!???), skip to the next app.
The perks of having an account is a space of 1TB free cloud storage.
It will be years before you run out of storage, storing your important documents.
The swipe gestures are intuitive, but they can be better.
I love that you can unsubscribe from pesky emails in a few taps.
So, what’s bad? Well, to begin – no iCloud support. On an iPhone. Eesh.
And Yahoo somehow decided that it needs a premium tier.
You are free to decide!
Main features
- Today view.
- Unsubscribe from unwanted newsletters.
- View all your travel information in one place.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Fast and easy to use.
- ‘Today view’ is an excellent feature.
Cons
- Paid features are free in other mail apps.
- No iCloud email support.
Widget: View recent emails.
Price: Free; $3.49 per month or $12 per year for Yahoo Mail Pro.
4. HEY email
HEY is an appropriate name for an email client that aims at teams and offices.
To use HEY Email, you’ll need to create an account, which is acceptable for teams.
The app has garnered many positive reviews, and its design might be one of them.
HEY lets you create your custom email address
As HEY is tied to an email service, it is not for users who simply want to manage their email.
The spotlight feature of HEY email is the screener functionality (premium, unfortunately) which helps you decide what to do with emails you receive the first time.
It costs $99 per year, a steal for big teams and companies.
You get email screening, read receipt blocking, reply later reminders, and a focused inbox similar to Outlook.
Main features
- Screen your emails.
- Naturally-grouped mails.
- Unfollow any thread.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- ‘Reply Later’ button.
- Push notifications are off by default.
Cons
- Hefty price tag.
- Corporate-focused.
Widget: View recent emails.
Price: $99/year
5. Canary
Canary is for those who prefer encrypted emails; the only app to do so!
It automatically encrypts all your emails.
You won’t have to sign up for an account so that you can use any existing email accounts.
Yes, Canary emphasizes privacy, but it doesn’t compromise anywhere else. You can use this elite email client to deal with day-to-day emails.
Remember that whoever you are emailing will need an email client that can decrypt PGP.
If that’s not the case, you’ll have to send them an unencrypted email if you want them to be able to read it.
The settings that are scattered throughout the app give an Apple Mail vibe. More on the app later.
I hate that I can’t use Canary in light mode if my device is in dark mode.
It works with all the major email providers and protocols except POP.
It costs $20, but this will be a one-time fee, unlike other apps. And it will be worth it.
Main features
- End-to-end encryption.
- Biometric lock.
- Extremely easy to use.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Full PGP Support.
- On-Device fetch.
- Free 30 days trial.
Cons
- No light theme if your device is in a dark mode.
- Design gets mundane after a time.
Widget: View and compose emails.
Price: $20
6. BlueMail
With Blue Mail, you can easily manage unlimited email accounts. It’s not an exaggeration.
If you use several accounts, the color-coding feature will come in handy for differentiating.
The app has elegant UI elements and functions that make it an easy recommendation.
It’s great that at least one email client has a group emailing option.
Blue Mail’s smart push notification makes every-day mailing less annoying.
There’s something called ‘People Toggle’ that lets you customize your inbox and how you view your list.
Another nifty feature is avatars, logos of the company that sends you mails. Tapping on these avatars will display all your conversations.
You won’t feel blue while using this email client.
Main features
- Mark messages to handle later.
- Set reminders for ‘marked’ messages.
- Plan events on your calendar.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Unlimited email accounts.
- Superb design.
Cons
- Synchronization takes time.
- Lags when opening mails.
Widget: No widgets.
Price: Free.
7. Edison Mail
If you want the fastest email client, look further than Edison Mail. It’s swift!
It is a power-packed email client that includes features like customizable swiping, snoozing emails, and an ‘Undo Time Window’ that lets you stop emails on their way. The time is between 3-15 seconds.
It supports significant email accounts, including iCloud, Google, Outlook, Yahoo, Exchange, and IMAP.
Edison Mail is free for general use, but Edison Mail+ lets you explore their new OnMail email system and a new email address if you want more out of it.
This app’s other nifty feature is the Assistant.
It will automatically categorize messages for you to make them easier to find.
Edison Mail is one of the best email clients for your iPhone.
Main features
- All your settings are synced across your devices.
- It supports major email accounts, and it lets you manage all your mail accounts effortlessly.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Easily switch between inboxes.
- Personalized sound and vibration settings.
Cons
- Costly subscription costs.
- Search issues related to emails.
Widget: View recent emails and compose new emails.
Price: $14.99 per month or $99.99 per year.
8. Spark Mail
If there’s no spark between you and your email app, then best check out Spark Mail, which will re-imagine how you send emails.
Spark Mail makes email easy, swift, and enjoyable.
If you rely heavily on email clients for your communication, then you’ve found the perfect app.
Spark Mail has a feature known as ‘Smart Inbox that consolidates all your emails in one place from all your email accounts.
It also categorizes them all.
Its quick replay feature will come in handy when you hurry.
The best feature that I found is ‘templates’ that let you pile stock responses and send them anytime.
I love how pinning mails have become an important feature, and Spark didn’t shy away from adopting it.
As the company’s tagline says, “Love your email again,” you’ll fall in love with the app.
Main features
- You can comment on emails.
- Great pre-written emails to send quick emails.
- Set reminders to follow up on important emails.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Personalized widget, sidebar, and swipes.
- Modern design.
Cons
- Sync issues.
- Known privacy-related problems.
Widget: View recent emails and compose new emails.
Price: Free; $6.39 per user a month for the Premium team plan.
9. Newton Mail
Newton Mail squeezes more out of an ordinary email app.
Multiple account support is a thing now, and Newton Mail has it. And it works as advertised.
If you have too many email accounts and want to view all of the emails in one glance, then the unified inbox will be a savior for you.
Newton Mail includes read receipts, so you know your employee got the no-holiday email.
If unwanted newsletters are a pain in the neck, you can quickly unsubscribe to those with a single tap.
You can also undo send, get a daily recap on essential emails, and schedule drafted emails.
The third-party service integration including Trello, Dropbox, Evernote, etc., is the cherry on the cake.
If you want even more features from Newton Mail, consider its robust subscription model, which costs $49.99 a year.
Main features
- Read status for every sent email.
- Offers 2-factor authentication.
- Save attachments to various cloud storage services.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- One-click unsubscribe.
- Fantastic meeting-schedule feature.
Cons
- A hefty price tag for limited features.
- Bugs after updates.
Widget: View recent emails and compose new emails.
Price: 14 days free trial, then $50 per year.
10. Twobird
Twobird is an excellent email client for iPhone.
It hits two birds with one stone – one app that handles emails in an elegantly designed UI and features that make you want to shift.
This new app from the team of Notability brings new features to this email client that can’t be seen in any other apps.
The app will remove signatures, introduction, etc., to help you read the main body of the email.
This email app has reminders and collaborative notes embedded. How awesome!
Twobird is an entirely free app – yes, you read that right! No free trial, no monthly or annual subscription. Or no hidden “pro” variant.
It is perfect then, right? It has its flaws.
The major one is the omission of iCloud and IMAP accounts. So, you can only add Google and Microsoft’s email accounts.
Bummer, just as the app was starting to grow on me. But if you only use those two accounts, you are good to go!
Main features
- Simplistic yet modern design.
- Your mails, notes, reminders, and calendar are in one app.
- True black dark-mode, which helps to view emails at night.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Fabulous design.
- Clean user-interface.
Cons
- No iCloud email support.
- Limited customizations.
Widget: No widgets.
Price: Free.
11. Proton Mail
The developers of ProtonMail proudly mention that the app is protected by Swiss privacy law.
This means that this is one of the most secure email clients globally.
ProtonMail is basically an open-source email client made by CERN and MIT scientists.
As for security, it utilizes unique end-to-end encryption for all your emails. In simple English, the feature means that the message is encrypted from the sender’s end and can only be decrypted from the one who received the said mail.
If you need more reasons to use ProtonMail, here we go: You can lock sent emails with passwords that can have an expiration date if you want.
This super-secure mail client is a beauty with brains. Its design is easy on the eyes and features.
The latter include auto-reply, remote logout, mail filters, etc.
Main features
- Create accounts without giving any personal information.
- Send and receive emails that are end-to-end encrypted.
- Optimized to organize emails better.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Most secure email app.
- Automatic end-to-end encryption.
Cons
- Limited CC/BCC options.
- Tricky delete options.
Widget: No widgets.
Price: $59.99 per year.
12. Unibox
As the name suggests, Unibox lets you organize and view multiple emails in one place.
You can refer to Unibox as a people-centric service that organizes your emails by the sender.
The app’s user interface is snappy and easy to look at. It can’t be said for every email client on the App Store.
Unibox is a bit short-handed regarding features, but those already a part of the app are fabulous.
My favorite feature is that the app can compose emails without opening new windows.
You don’t have to create an account to use Unibox; it works with your default emails.
Speaking of which, the app supports both IMAP and custom IMAP protocols.
Main features
- Let’s concentrate on the actual communication.
- Provides two additional views containing all files you exchanged with the other individual.
- You can read and write emails in the same window.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- View messages and conversations in all your accounts.
- Intuitive mailing features.
Cons
- Hard to recover deleted emails.
- Has had scrolling issues.
Widget: No widgets.
Price: $4.99 per year
13. Airmail
Airmail is touted to be one of the best macOS email clients, and it’s said so due to its powerful features.
And now, iPhone users get a taste of the same experience in a smaller package.
The standalone iPhone app works well, but you can take Airmail’s full advantage by using the Mac app.
Airmail syncs all your preferences, so you don’t have to sweat over it.
If customization is your thing, then Airmail is your best bet.
You can choose which swipe does what, control notifications, and integrate well-known services such as Bear Notes, OmniFocus, Dropbox, etc.
These features are bound to make mailing fun again!
Main features
- It lets you add numerous email accounts.
- You can filter out newsletters and other distractions without any hassle.
- Allows you to block tracking pixels and prevents images from loading automatically.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Powerful ‘Sort and Filters’ features.
- Save email templates.
Cons
- Too many customizations.
- Sometimes doesn’t notify new emails.
Widget: View recent emails and compose new emails.
Price: $4.99
14. Apple Mail
No, I did not forget Apple’s mail client, which was named Mail. Not surprising!
So, why is it on this list and that too on the fourteenth number?
My reasons are valid. While many articles will put Apple Mail on the top of their list, I wouldn’t, as it has a long way to go!
People use Mail to stay in the Apple ecosystem, but that didn’t help mitigate its abysmal reputation.
Don’t get me wrong – Mail is an easy-to-use email client that lets you add iCloud, Gmail, Outlook, AOL, Exchange, or any other IMAP or POP services.
This is the most rudimentary email client on this list, but it can mean different things to different people.
But that’s where we bid adieu to the good part.
The app is not fancy, and its VIP Inbox is pretty bad. And Apple is still not doing anything.
What also doesn’t do anything well – is Apple Mail’s thread notifications.
I can go on and on and criticize this app, but it won’t matter to individuals who just want to organize their emails.
Main features
- The ability to share files with other Apple users.
- Great for those in the Apple ecosystem.
- This app works with Gmail, iCloud, AOL, Yahoo, and Microsoft Exchange.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Send unlimited messages to anyone.
- Built-in app.
Cons
- Not many features.
- Limited widget features.
Widget: View recent emails; can’t compose new emails.
Price: Free
15. myMail
Lastly, we have myMail developed by MGL MY.COM.
This is a secure, simple, fast email client with a sleek user interface.
Its most basic yet powerful feature is its ability to import contacts from all your existing mail apps.
Manage multiple accounts hassle-free by virtue of myMail.
I like its feature that lets you set quiet time for each account. Extremely helpful for users with a plethora of email accounts.
Personalized notification is a great feature that filters your mail based on the email address, social network, domain, or even folders.
myMail is still a tad bit buggy, and I can’t say when it will be fixed, but you can look over this flaw with its significant pros.
Main features
- You can select when you want to receive push notifications.
- Best app at focusing on what’s important.
- Make notifications private.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- More personal and visual inbox.
- Profile pictures of your contacts to your message.
Cons
- Buggy app.
- Limited customization.
Widget: View recent emails; can’t compose new emails.
Price: Free.
FAQs
What is the best free email app for iPhone?
Outlook, Gmail, Twobird, Spark Email, Apple Mail, etc., are some of the best free email apps for iPhone.
Should I use Gmail or Apple Mail?
The Gmail and Apple Mail apps can be used as long-term email apps. But it depends on your usage. Apple’s Mail app has a widget that lets you view recent emails, while Gmail’s widget only lets you compose. Moreover, Gmail has Smart Compose, Smart Reply, and add-ons like Tasks.
Which are the safest email apps for iPhone?
Canary, Proton Mail, Apple Mail, etc., are the safest email apps for iPhone.
Is Apple’s mail app secure?
Yes, Apple’s Mail app is safe and secure. There’s a ‘Mail Privacy Protection’ feature that protects your privacy by preventing email senders from learning information about your Mail activity. Moreover, the feature hides your IP address, so senders can’t determine your location.
How good is ProtonMail?
ProtonMail is known to be the world’s largest secure email service as it provides end-to-end encryption and some great security features that keep your emails private.
Conclusion
For many of us, calendars, messages are personal. So are email apps.
Your apps and services are tied to your emails, and managing them should not be a headache.
Let’s make use of some great apps from the App Store.
Electronic letters/emails or emails are a digital hub of communication, and the apps mentioned above help us handle our mess.
All the apps do a fantastic job, but it depends on your expectations. Spark and Canary give an Apple Mail vibe, so do check it out.
Emails are meant to be a form of communication, not another service to give you headaches. So, try various apps and settle for the one that makes your digital life tick!
