Alternatives / Apple Mail
Looking for an open source Apple Mail alternative? We compared 3 open source email clients and platforms by license, encryption, self-hosting, and AI features. They range from an AI workspace with email to an encrypted mail service and a professional JMAP email platform.
Written by Maxime DERAME
Last updated:
| Alternative | Best for | License |
|---|---|---|
| Macro | Keyboard-driven email inside an all-in-one workspace | AGPL-3.0 |
| Tuta | Encrypted email, calendar, and contacts (hosted, only the clients are open) | GPL-3.0 client |
| Twake Mail | Professional JMAP email you can host yourself | AGPL-3.0 |
We looked for open-source tools that overlap with Apple Mail's core: reading and sending email across devices with an inbox, search, and encryption options. We verified each project's license, recent activity, stars, and self-hosting in its repository. Apple Mail is a client for your existing accounts, while these alternatives are clients, mail platforms, or workspaces, so we note what each really includes. See our methodology for the full criteria.
Macro is a workspace that includes an email client alongside docs, tasks, messages, and a CRM. Tuta is an encrypted email service with its own accounts, so you move your mail to it. Twake Mail is an email platform with a Flutter client and a backend based on Apache James, aimed at professional and on-premise use. None is a simple drop-in app for your existing IMAP accounts.
Tuta's client applications for web, desktop, Android, and iOS are open source under GPL-3.0, but the complete mail service infrastructure is not offered as a public self-hostable stack. It is a hosted service with free and paid plans, so you depend on Tuta to run it.
Macro is the closest to a fast, modern client for everyday mail, with a multi-account unified inbox, keyboard shortcuts, and shared inboxes. Twake Mail is the closest to a conventional professional mail setup, using the JMAP protocol with a client for the web, Android, and iOS, plus filtering, labels, and anti-spam on the backend.
Macro and Twake Mail are AGPL-3.0. Tuta's clients are GPL-3.0.
Macro, Tuta, and Twake Mail all had commits within days of this update. Twake Mail has a small community, with 656 stars on its client repository.
Apple Mail is a closed client tied to Apple devices, with limited features such as shared inboxes, encryption beyond S/MIME, and AI tools, and it only runs on Apple platforms. Open-source alternatives run on more platforms, can add end-to-end encryption or AI features, and let you inspect or self-host the code, at the cost of less native integration and, for some, a change of mail provider.
Hosted email service with end-to-end encrypted email, calendars, and contacts, no advertising or tracking, custom domains, and web, Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux clients. Public client source is GPL-3.0; the complete mail service backend is not available as a public self-hostable stack.
Pricing: Hosted service with free and paid plans; full server stack is not publicly self-hostable.
Macro is an AGPL-3.0 all-in-one workspace that unifies email, messages, docs, tasks, AI agents, and a CRM in one fast interface. Its email client offers a multi-account unified inbox, keyboard shortcuts, and shared inboxes, and it can be self-hosted. Email is one part of a larger product, so it is heavier than a plain mail app.
Pricing: Open source under AGPL-3.0 with self-hosting available; hosted and commercial services may be offered separately.
AGPL-3.0 professional email platform developed by LINAGORA, with a Flutter client and backend derived from and extending Apache James. It supports JMAP, IMAP compatibility, SMTP, filtering, labels, delegated mailboxes, encryption, anti-spam, self-hosting, and Twake collaboration integrations.
Pricing: Open-source self-hostable platform; mail infrastructure and operations require expertise.
| Alternative | Type | License | Self-hosted | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macro | Workspace with email | AGPL-3.0 | Yes | Teams and power users |
| Tuta | Encrypted mail service | GPL-3.0 (clients only) | No, hosted service | Privacy |
| Twake Mail | Email client and server | AGPL-3.0 | Yes | Professional JMAP email |
Want a fast, keyboard-driven inbox with AI and shared inboxes
Macro unifies email with docs, tasks, and agents in one AGPL-3.0 workspace, but it is larger than a plain mail app.
Want end-to-end encrypted email, calendar, and contacts
Tuta encrypts mail, calendar, and contacts end to end with audited clients, but the service itself is hosted.
Want to host professional email yourself
Twake Mail provides a JMAP client and a backend based on Apache James under AGPL-3.0, with on-premise deployment.