Alternatives / Canary Mail
Looking for an open source Canary Mail alternative? We compared 4 open source email tools by license, encryption, and scope. Macro Mail is the closest AI email client, Tuta and Twake Mail are mail services, and Inbox Zero works alongside Gmail or Outlook.
Written by Maxime DERAME
Last updated:
| Alternative | Best for | License |
|---|---|---|
| Macro Mail | Keyboard-driven AI email workspace | AGPL-3.0 |
| Inbox Zero | Automation on top of Gmail or Outlook | AGPL-3.0 |
| Tuta | Encrypted email (clients open) | GPL-3.0 client |
| Twake Mail | On-premises JMAP mail with PGP | AGPL-3.0 |
We looked for open-source tools that improve how you handle email like Canary Mail. We verified each project's license, recent activity, stars, and platforms in its repository, and note which are not standalone clients. See our methodology for the full criteria.
Macro Mail is a keyboard-driven email client that combines email, chat, tasks, and AI agents in one workspace. Twake Mail is a professional email client from LINAGORA with PGP, JMAP, and AI-assisted responses, deployable on-premises.
Tuta offers end-to-end encrypted email, calendar, and contacts with quantum-resistant security. Only its clients are open source, so it is not fully self-hostable.
Inbox Zero works with Gmail or Outlook to automate sorting, draft replies, bulk unsubscribe, and block cold email. It is not a standalone client, and paid plans start at $18 per user per month.
Macro Mail, Twake Mail, and Inbox Zero are AGPL-3.0. Tuta's client is GPL-3.0.
All four had commits within days or weeks of this update.
Canary Mail is a proprietary client with paid plans, processing your mail with its AI on its servers. Open-source options let you see the code and self-host, but they split the job across tools.
Inbox Zero is an AGPL-3.0 open-source AI email assistant that works on top of Gmail or Outlook, adding AI-drafted replies, bulk unsubscribe, cold email blocking, attachment filing, and email analytics. It is not a standalone replacement for your email client. Paid plans start at $18 per user per month with a 7-day free trial, and self-hosting is available.
Pricing: Free to self-host; hosted plans start at $18 per user per month.
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.
AGPL-3.0 email client and workspace combining multiple accounts and a unified inbox with chat, documents, tasks, CRM data, shared search, attachment search, AI drafting, and agents. The project states that it can be self-hosted under its license.
Pricing: Open-source self-hostable project; hosted 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 Mail | Email client | AGPL-3.0 | Yes | Closest replacement |
| Inbox Zero | Email automation | AGPL-3.0 | Yes | Cleaning up inboxes |
| Tuta | Email service | GPL-3.0 clients | No (service) | Privacy |
| Twake Mail | Email client | AGPL-3.0 | Yes | Organizations |
Want an AI-first email client
Macro Mail combines email, chat, tasks, and AI agents.
Want to tame a Gmail inbox
Inbox Zero sorts mail, drafts replies, and blocks cold email.
Want encrypted email
Tuta is end-to-end encrypted with open-source clients.