What is an Email Client? And Do I Really Need One?
An email client is a program on your computer or an app on your phone that helps you manage your emails.
You can use it to send, receive, and organize your emails. Unlike email through a web browser, a basic email client lets you access and manage your emails — even offline. It’s also handy if you have multiple email accounts since it brings all your emails together.
If you need an email client for work or have a recommendation to use one, dive into the rest of this article to discover the difference between webmail and email, what is email software, how it works, and how it can streamline your digital communication.
What is an Email Application?
An email application or an email client is software that helps manage your emails. For example, the Apple Mail App or Gmail App. This email program provides a user-friendly interface to interact with your email account, making it easier to send, receive, and organize email messages.
Here are the most used email client technical terms to help you understand this post in detail:
- MUA (Mail User Agent): This is the actual email program that you use, such as Thunderbird, Gmail, etc.
- MTA (Mail Transfer Agent): This is the server that routes emails between different mail servers.
- MDA (Mail Delivery Agent): This server receives emails from the MTA and stores them in the recipient’s mailbox.
- SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol): This protocol is used to send messages from your client to the email servers.
- IMAP(Internet Message Access Protocols): This keeps the emails on the server and synchronizes them across devices.
Types of Email Clients
Here are the main types of email clients based on their platform and functionality.
| Type | Example |
|---|---|
| Desktop email client | Microsoft Outlook Mozilla ThunderbirdApple Mail eM client |
| Web-based email client | GmailYahooOutlook.comProtonMail |
| Mobile email clients | Gmail AppMicrosoft Outlook AppApple Mail App |
| Command line email clients | Mutt (Linux)Alpine (Unix/Linux) |
| Enterprise email clients | IBM NotesZimbra Desktop |
| Minimalistic email clients | SylpheedClaws Mail |
Accessing Email: Webmail vs. Email Client
Does this scenario sound familiar? You open your browser, type in the Gmail website, and log in to check your emails. This common practice is webmail: accessing email via a web browser. It’s common for concerns, such as “Is webmail safe?” Or “is being a Gmail client a better option?”
Managing your emails is fairly simple, whether you have an email management virtual assistant or not. You can manage them through an email client.
Let’s learn about webmail pros and the benefits of using email clients.
| Feature | Email Webclients | Email Client |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | Accessible from any device with a web browser. | A program you install on your computer or an app on your phone. |
| Setup Requirement | No setup required, just your email ID and password. | Involves an initial setup where you input your email ID, password, and maybe additional settings. |
| Email Storage | Your emails stay on the email provider’s server. | You can download emails on your device and access them offline. |
| Managing Multiple Email Accounts | You may have to log in to each account separately | Each inbox is separate but accessible from the same program. |
| Integration | May integrate with other services offered by the email provider, like Google Drive for Gmail. | Can often integrate with various apps and services. |
Here’s a scenario: Imagine you have three different email accounts for personal use, work, and your side hustle. You need a simple email client to access all information in a single space.
With webmail, you’d probably have one tab open for each email account, going back and forth between them, or keep logging in and out to check each one.
With an email client, all three inboxes live harmoniously in one program, saving you time and the hassle of juggling multiple tabs. It also makes it easier to search for a client email address under different inboxes.
Web-based Email Examples
While email client apps are gaining popularity, web-based email programs are used by a significant population.
What Is an Example of an Email Client?
You probably already have an email client on at least one of your devices. Windows computers come with Windows Mail, Android devices use the Gmail app, and iOS devices have Apple Mail.
These free email clients let you send, receive, and organize emails. For example, you can download emails from Gmail in bulk by clicking on the “Download all” button.
These programs offer basic to advanced functionality, like folder creation and spam protection, and usually use mail access protocols that retrieve email messages by clients.
But if you want more features, there are other options. For Windows, you might like Microsoft Outlook; for Android and iOS, the same Microsoft Outlook app or Spark Email are good choices. These options offer more features, such as advanced search and integrated calendars, but often at a cost.
We’ll review a few robust email clients and compare their perks in a later section.
Related reading: 10 best email clients for Mac in 2025
Is Gmail an Email Client?
There are different email clients, but Gmail is a full-fledged email service which of the function also includes an email client. It has a sleek email user interface; think of it as the post office. It has three main components: the server that stores your emails, the client that allows you to interact with them, and the email security protocol that ensures smooth communication between the client and server.
Now, Gmail lets you access your emails in two ways: via webmail or the client version on your phone or tablet. The webmail version operates through your web browser, while the client version is an app you download.
Email Clients and Navigation
Both the webmail and email client versions let you send and receive emails and prevent gmail spam. However, the client version comes with a few features that the email web client version lacks. For example, if you’re wondering, “Can I email different recipients from a single platform?”, an email client allows it.
You can manage multiple email accounts from different providers all in one place and access your emails offline. It also syncs with your phone’s contact list. The webmail version can’t do this as seamlessly since it doesn’t have the same access to your device’s functionalities.
Related reading: 6 best email clients for Windows in 2025
Can You Use an Email Client With Any Email Address?
You can use email client programs with almost any email service, including Gmail or Yahoo Mail. When you input a valid email address and server settings into the email client, it connects to your email service’s server. This is possible because email operates using standardized protocols throughout the internet.
That said, even simple email clients may have certain restrictions based on the email client usage. Sometimes, a company might have its own email system that only works within its network or with a specific email client. In this situation, you can only connect the company’s addresses to your email client.
Do Email Clients Have Any Downsides?
While a mail email program offers plenty of benefits, they’re not without downsides. Here are the most common ones:
- Learning curve: Email clients are slightly different from webmail, especially if you have multiple accounts. Getting the hang of the organization and productivity features will take a while.
- Setup: You’ll need to input server settings and account credentials, unlike webmail, which you can access just by typing in a URL. Although this setup process is a one-time hassle, it’s essential.
- Syncing: If the email client doesn’t sync properly with the email server, your messages, folders, or settings might not update as you’d expect.
- Space: Email clients and the downloaded emails take up space on your device, unlike webmail, which doesn’t use up your local storage.
How Do Email Clients Work?
It’s common to ask yourself, “Is email software the same for personal and business use?” It really depends on your requirements and usage.
When you compose a new email and hit the “Send” button, a whole process kicks off behind the scenes to ensure your message reaches its destination.
Here’s a brief breakdown of what happens:
- Client to server: Your email client hands over the email to your email server.
- Server lookup: Your email server identifies the recipient’s email server using the domain name of the email address (the part after the ‘@’).
- Email transmission: Your email server sends the email to the recipient’s email server.
- Recipient server acceptance: The recipient’s email server accepts the email and stores it.
- Recipient notification: The recipient gets notified that a new email has arrived.
- Email access: The recipient opens their email client, which retrieves the email from their server, allowing them to read it.
Email programs use multiple messaging protocols to operate smoothly. These protocols are essentially rulebooks that dictate how email messages get sent, received, and accessed.
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
SMTP is the protocol for sending emails from your client to your server or between servers. It makes sure your email gets to the recipient’s email server.
It operates by finding the recipient’s email server, initiating a conversation with it, and then transferring the email data.
However, SMTP only has one job: sending emails; it doesn’t help you retrieve or store them.
Internet Mail Access Protocol (IMAP)
When you open your email client, IMAP fetches the emails from the server. It also keeps track of which emails you’ve read, deleted, or marked as important across all your devices. This way, you’ll have a synchronized email experience.
Post Office Protocol version 3 (POP3)
POP3 is an older, simpler version of IMAP that doesn’t provide the same multi-device synchronization. By default, it downloads emails to your device and deletes them from the server. So, you won’t have a multi-device experience with POP3. For example, if you check your email on your phone, those emails won’t be available on your laptop.
Email Protocols Enable Offline Access
Email clients can access your messages in offline mode using POP3 or IMAP.
With POP3, since the emails are downloaded to your device, you can access them anytime without an internet connection.
With IMAP, on the other hand, email clients fetch the email headers first. And if you open an email, they retrieve its body content. So, when you’re offline, you can view your inbox and open the most recent emails. Many clients also let you reply to emails or draft new ones, and once you’re back online, everything syncs with the server.
Webmail vs. Email Client Security
Email client security depends on many factors and it’s tricky to say one is always more secure than the other. However, the table below defines the security features of webmail and email client.
| Feature | Webmail | Email Client |
|---|---|---|
| Encryption method | It uses HTTP for secure communication. | It supports SSL/TLS for secure email protocols. |
| Two-factor authentication | It’s available and mandatory for many providers. | It depends on the email service and not the client itself. |
| Phishing protection | Providers usually offer built-in phishing detection. | It usually relies on the user’s judgement and external tools. |
| Attachment scanning | Automatically scanned for viruses and malware by the provider. | It depends on the email client and separate antivirus software. |
| Data privacy | It’s controlled by the provider and is subject to their policies. | It usually has more control over privacy, especially if self-hosted. |
| Account recovery | It’s centralized by the provider. | It depends on the email service. |
Are Email Clients Secure?
Like any piece of software, email clients can have vulnerabilities. But if you stick to applications from reputable companies, you’re on the safe side. These companies are more likely to prioritize email security, and if any issues arise, they usually fix them quickly.
Using an email client isn’t inherently more or less secure than checking your email through webmail, but the security concerns can be different. With webmail, your primary concern is picking a strong password. But choosing an email client, you should also consider how it stores and transmits information.
The client must encrypt information, such as passwords and messages on your device. Encrypted email scrambles the information so that if malware somehow lands on your device, it can’t read your emails or steal your passwords.
Using secure transmission protocols is equally important. Without these protocols, attackers can intercept, modify, or reroute your emails. Two such protocols are IMAP TLS and SMTP SSL, which encrypt the communication between your email client and the server. This way, eavesdroppers can’t understand what’s being exchanged even if they manage to intercept it.
Finally, you, the sender, also play a critical role. Follow these tips to make sure you don’t accidentally compromise your email security:
- Lock your computer whenever you step away from it.
- Have an up-to-date antivirus installed on your device.
- Set strong passwords for your email client and operating system.
- Be wary of suspicious emails; these often have generic greetings, unexpected attachments, or come from unfamiliar senders urging you to click on a link.
Email Client Programs and Spam Protection
The best email clients have built-in spam filters that catch unwanted emails and store them in a separate folder away from your main inbox.
How do these filters work? Here are a few of the most common methods:
- Low reputation domains: Spam filters keep lists of known spam and safe domains and email addresses. Emails from these blacklisted sources go straight to the spam folder.
- Email content and structure: Spam filters peek inside the email to find suspicious phrases, like “win the lottery.” Plus, spam emails often have weird formatting or coding.
- Email headers: Every email contains important hidden information called metadata. Email servers use this metadata to authenticate and deliver messages to the right recipients. If an email’s metadata looks suspicious or lacks headers, the spam filter will flag it as spam.
Advanced spam filters also learn new tricks by looking at what new spam looks like. You can improve these machine learning algorithms by marking unwanted emails as spam. You can even tell your spam filter what you think is spam by setting your own rules. For example, you could set up a rule to send all emails containing the word “lottery” to the spam folder.
At Campaign Refinery, we’re 100 percent against spam. We don’t allow low-reputation senders to use our service and require domain authentication before sending any emails. Plus, our strict policy against cold email requires senders to obtain consent from all individuals on their lists.
Which of the Following is an Email Client?
If you’ve decided that an email client can be a helpful tool, the next step is finding one that fits your needs. To help you get started, we’ve picked several robust options.
And to make things easier, we’ve created a quick snapshot of each email client to help you compare them in a glance.
| * | Microsoft Outlook | Mozilla Thunderbird | Apple Mail | Spark Mail | Canary Mail |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best For | Business | Open source | Apple devices | Clutter-free experience | AI productivity |
| Pricing | Free + Subscription | Free | Free | Free + Subscription | Free + Subscription |
| Calendar | Yes | Yes | Yes | Limited | Limited |
| Tasks | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Customization | Moderate | High | Low | Moderate | Low |
| Mobile version | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Security | High | Moderate | High | Moderate | High |
Microsoft Outlook
Best for: Professional and business users
Pricing: Included with Microsoft 365 subscription — starting at $19.99 per year with a free edition
Since people started using emails, Microsoft Outlook has been a big name in email, even before Gmail came around. It’s undergone multiple transformations since then. Today, it comes in two flavors: one that you can install on your device and another web-based one that lets you handle multiple email accounts from your browser, mixing the idea of webmail and email clients together.
You can use Outlook on Windows, Android, and Mac. Besides helping you with emails, it has a to-do list and a calendar you can share with your teammates. It also pairs up nicely with other Microsoft Office apps and Microsoft SharePoint, so sharing documents and working together is a breeze.
If you opt for the paid version, you get access to one of the best AI email assistant called Copilot. It can automatically create responses for you to speed up your work and suggest words while you’re typing.
Microsoft Outlook Pros
- Robust security and spam protection.
- Manage your schedule, contacts, and to-dos in one place.
- Seamless integration with other Microsoft Office programs.
Microsoft Outlook Cons
- The desktop version is only available with a subscription.
- New users might find the extensive features overwhelming.
- The mobile version isn’t as feature-packed as the web or desktop versions.
Mozilla Thunderbird
Best for: Open source enthusiasts
Pricing: Free
Mozilla Thunderbird is a free, open-source email client, meaning it’s not owned by a for-profit company. Instead, a team of volunteers develops and maintains Thunderbird. This is good because you don’t have to pay for it, but the downside is there’s no customer support if you run into issues.
Thunderbird works on Windows, Linux, and Mac, and if you’re good with tech, it has everything you’d expect from an email app: unified inbox, spam filters, tasks, contacts, and calendars. The team recently redesigned the user interface to make it more friendly for non-technical users.
What makes Thunderbird stand out is that you can make it your own. You can change how it looks and add a bunch of extra features through an extensive library of add-ons. You’ll find an extension for everything related to email, from filters and calendars to security and even automatic translation. You can also connect Thunderbird to other services, like Dropbox, Google Calendar, and even WhatsApp, through these extensions.
Pros
- Robust security.
- Extensive library of add-ons.
- Open-source and funded by user donations.
Cons
- No mobile or web-based version.
- Integrations are only available through third-party extensions.
- Non-technical users may have a hard time with the initial configuration.
Apple Mail
Best for: Mac OS users
Pricing: Free with Mac OS
Apple Mail is a basic email client that comes pre-installed on Apple’s operating systems — macOS and iOS. Apple Intelligence in Mail uses an on-device language model with 3 billion parameters, yet is pretty easy to set up. You’ll get started as soon as you input your email address and password.
The functionality is somewhat limited, but it covers the basics. It has a unified inbox feature, which lets you see all your emails from different accounts in one place. You can search, sort, and filter your emails to manage your inbox better. Plus, it integrates well with other Apple apps like the calendar, contacts, and reminders.
The standout part about Apple Mail is its clean look. It has a minimalist design, which makes navigation simple and keeps you free from distractions as you handle your emails.
Another special feature of Apple Mail is its Privacy Protection. When you turn this feature on, it hides your IP address from the people who send you emails. It also sends your emails through a proxy server, which means senders can’t tell whether you’ve opened their emails. This way, your email activity stays protected from prying eyes — and email marketers!
Pros
- Minimal setup.
- Solid spam and junk mail filter.
- Seamless integration with other Apple apps and services.
Cons
- Doesn’t have some of the basic features.
- Customization options are on the leaner side.
Spark Mail
Best for: Users who want a clutter-free inbox
Pricing: Free — Premium version starting at $4.99 per month
If you’re on the hunt for an email app that cuts out all the fuss, Spark Mail is a solid pick. You can get it on Mac and Windows. Unlike many other email apps, Spark skips on stuff like task management and notes and focuses only on making email easier.
It has a tidy layout with various view choices, a bunch of keyboard shortcuts for quicker actions, and several ways to sort your emails. The Smart Inbox feature automatically tucks away less important emails, like email marketing newsletters and sales deals, into a separate folder. It also detects and blocks spam mail. This way, your main inbox stays less cluttered. Plus, you can set reminders for your email chats and pin important ones to the top of your window, so they’re easy to find.
Pros
- GDPR-compliant — your usage data stays private.
- Team collaboration features, including inbox sharing and shared storage.
- Built-in AI assistant that helps you compose emails and summarize conversations.
Cons
- Limited calendar integration.
- The free version has modest functionality.
Canary Mail
Best for: AI enthusiasts
Pricing: Free — Premium version starting at $20 per year
Canary Mail is an AI-focused email client that works on all the major operating systems. The AI assistant drafts your emails and prioritizes your inbox. It’s pretty skilled at detecting promotional and junk emails and lets you trash them in bulk. And if you’re tired of newsletters, you can unsubscribe with just one click.
Besides your AI copilot, you get the standard inbox management and organization features available in most clients. You can schedule emails to send later, pin important conversations so they stay at the top, and snooze the less important ones to check later when you’re not busy.
Pros
- Built-in AI assistant.
- Advanced encryption.
- Clutter-free user interface.
Cons
- Calendar functionality is limited.
- Doesn’t offer extensive integration of customization.
Emails Sent By Campaign Refinery Always Land in the Inbox
Campaign Refinery is an elite email marketing service with a strong focus on deliverability — making sure our customers’ emails go straight to the primary inbox.
Want to know more? Feel free to check out our services and apply to join our client family.
We’re also serious about battling spam. We had the right spam mechanisms in place even before Google’s new standards were announced. So, you can be sure your emails keep reaching their destination in 2025 and beyond.
We’re also thrilled to share a cool guide we’ve made on ensuring email deliverability.
Our Inbox Formula gives you step-by-step help to make sure your emails get seen, covering domain authentication, warming up your domain, and avoiding spam traps. Following the principles in the guide has helped many of our clients double or even triple their results in a short time.
You can grab your copy of the Inbox Formula right away.
Have fun managing your emails with your email client!
FAQ
What is client based email?
A client-based email is also known as an email client, where you use a software application installed on your computer or mobile device to access and manage your emails.
Email software definition
Email software refers to any application or program that helps you send, receive, and organize emails. The software also helps you manage your contacts and support attachments and offers integration with calendars and task management tools.
Best business email client
Selecting the right business e-mail clients is crucial for streamlined and professional business communication. Some of the top-rated best email clients for business are Microsoft Outlook, Mailbird, ProtonMail, and Spark.
What are the common email clients?
Apple Mail, Gmail, and Microsoft Outlook are common personal and business email clients that are available as webclients, too.
What are the best webmail clients?
Here are the best web mail clients:
- Gmail,
- Outlook.com,
- YahooMail,
- AOL Mail,
- Zoho Mail,
- Fastmail.
Which one of the following protocols allows email clients to download their messages from an email server?
POP3 is a protocol that allows email clients to download their messages from the email server. POP3 downloads emails from the server and deletes them from the server after download.
