# Alternatives to Geary

GNOME's lightweight mail app.

Geary ranks #20 of 22 in Email clients, with an Alt Score of 50. It is licensed under LGPL-2.1-or-later, free and available on Linux. 7 of 11 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/geary/
Category: Email clients

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Linux desktop users on GNOME who want a native, lightweight email client integrated with GNOME Online Accounts rather than a browser-based webmail interface.
- **What you get**: Geary is a free, open-source IMAP email client for the GNOME desktop that groups related messages into conversations instead of showing a flat inbox list. It includes fast full-text and keyword search, and a composer that supports both rich, styled text (images, links, lists) and plain, lightweight messages.
- **How it works**: You connect an existing GNOME Online Account or add an IMAP/SMTP account directly, then browse your mail as threaded conversations in the main window and reply or compose new messages using the built-in composer.

## Profile

- **License**: LGPL-2.1-or-later (verified 2026-07-12)
- **Pricing model**: Free (verified 2026-07-12)
- **Starts at**: ?
- **Platforms**: Linux
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-12)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [eM Client](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/em-client.md) | 96 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android |
| 2 | [BlueMail](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/bluemail.md) | 92 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS |
| 3 | [Canary Mail](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/canary-mail.md) | 92 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android |
| 4 | [The Bat!](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/the-bat.md) | 92 | Proprietary | Windows |
| 5 | [Apple Mail](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/apple-mail.md) | 87 | Proprietary | macOS, iOS |
| 6 | [FairEmail](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/fairemail.md) | 87 | GPL-3.0 | Android |
| 7 | [Mailbird](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/mailbird.md) | 87 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS |
| 8 | [Evolution](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/evolution.md) | 84 | LGPL-2.1 | Linux |
| 9 | [Mailspring](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/mailspring.md) | 84 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 10 | [Missive](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/missive.md) | 84 | Proprietary | Web, Windows, macOS, iOS |
| 11 | [Outlook](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/outlook.md) | 84 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android |
| 12 | [Thunderbird](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/thunderbird.md) | 76 | MPL-2.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 13 | [Spark](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/spark.md) | 71 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android |
| 14 | [NeoMutt](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/neomutt.md) | 68 | GPL-2.0 | Linux, macOS |
| 15 | [Shortwave](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/shortwave.md) | 68 | Proprietary | Web, macOS, Windows, iOS |
| 16 | [Postbox](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/postbox.md) | 63 | Proprietary | macOS, Windows |
| 17 | [Mimestream](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/mimestream.md) | 60 | Proprietary | macOS |
| 18 | [Aqua Mail](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/aqua-mail.md) | 55 | Proprietary | Android |
| 19 | [Superhuman](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/superhuman.md) | 55 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android |
| 20 | [K-9 Mail](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/k-9-mail.md) | 47 | Apache-2.0 | Android |
| 21 | [aerc](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/aerc.md) | 42 | MIT | Linux, macOS |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Email clients checklist | Geary | eM Client | BlueMail | Canary Mail | The Bat! | Apple Mail |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium | One-time | Free |
| Starts at | ? | €39.95/year | ? | $3/month | €47.95 one-time (Home Edition) | ? |
| License | LGPL-2.1-or-later | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Platforms | Linux | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Web | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | Windows | macOS, iOS |
| Protocols (IMAP / POP3 / JMAP / Exchange) | Partial | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes |
| Unified inbox | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Snooze & send later | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| Tracking pixel blocking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PGP / encryption support | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Conversation view | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Offline mode | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rules & filters (local) | ? | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Calendar integrated | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Multiple identities/aliases | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Keyboard-first shortcuts | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial |

## Sources

Sources for Geary. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **License**: LGPL-2.1-or-later — <https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/geary/-/raw/main/desktop/org.gnome.Geary.metainfo.xml.in.in> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “<project_license>LGPL-2.1+</project_license>”
- **Status**: active — <https://gitlab.gnome.org/api/v4/projects/GNOME%2Fgeary/repository/commits?per_page=1> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Note: committed_date":"2026-05-28T16:33:44.000+00:00""
- **Pricing model**: Free — <https://flathub.org/apps/org.gnome.Geary> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Note: offers":{"@type":"Offer","price":"0","priceCurrency":"USD"}"
- **Platforms**: Linux — <https://flathub.org/apps/org.gnome.Geary> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Note: operatingSystem":"linux""
- **Protocols (IMAP / POP3 / JMAP / Exchange)**: Partial — <https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/geary/-/raw/main/desktop/org.gnome.Geary.metainfo.xml.in.in> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Compatible with GMail, Yahoo! Mail, Outlook.com and other IMAP servers”
- **Tracking pixel blocking**: Yes — <https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/geary/-/wikis/Privacy-Policy> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Note: web bugs"."
  - Quote: “Images and videos in email messages that are loaded from remote third-party services are not retrieved by default, to prevent third-party tracking via these ”
- **PGP / encryption support**: No — <https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/geary/-/work_items/6> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Add support for obtaining a GPG key, etc”
- **Conversation view**: Yes — <https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/geary/-/raw/main/help/C/overview.page> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Conversations allow you to read a complete discussion without having to find and click from message to message.”
- **Offline mode**: Yes — <https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/geary/-/wikis/Privacy-Policy> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “This allows it to quickly access and display your email at all times, including when offline.”
- **Multiple identities/aliases**: Yes — <https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/geary/-/raw/main/help/C/accounts.page> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “you can add and remove additional sender email addresses, edit your email signature, and various other settings.”
- **Keyboard-first shortcuts**: Partial — <https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/geary/-/raw/main/help/C/shortcuts.page> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Geary has keyboard shortcuts for most common operations.”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/