# Alternatives to NeoMutt The terminal mail power tool. NeoMutt ranks #15 of 22 in Email clients, with an Alt Score of 68. It is licensed under GPL-2.0, free and available on Linux and macOS. 7 of 11 checklist rows are verified against a public source. Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/neomutt/ Category: Email clients ## Where NeoMutt stands out - **Keyboard-first shortcuts** — 5 of 19 apps with a verified answer have this ## Overview - **Who it's for**: Command-line users and power users who manage email in a terminal and prefer keyboard-driven, scriptable workflows over a graphical mail client. - **What you get**: NeoMutt is a fork of Mutt that bundles many long-maintained community patches (like the Sidebar) into one actively developed client. It supports IMAP, POP3, and local mailbox formats (Maildir, mbox, MH), integrates with notmuch for tagging and search, and is highly configurable via its own scripting/config syntax and color themes. - **How it works**: You configure NeoMutt through a text config file (muttrc) specifying accounts, keybindings, and display options, then run it in a terminal to browse a message index, read and compose mail using keyboard shortcuts, and pipe messages to external tools (e.g., for HTML rendering, PGP/GPG signing, or editors) as needed. ## Profile - **License**: GPL-2.0 (verified 2026-07-12) - **Pricing model**: Free (verified 2026-07-12) - **Starts at**: ? - **Platforms**: Linux, macOS - **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 | [Shortwave](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/shortwave.md) | 68 | Proprietary | Web, macOS, Windows, iOS | | 15 | [Postbox](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/postbox.md) | 63 | Proprietary | macOS, Windows | | 16 | [Mimestream](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/mimestream.md) | 60 | Proprietary | macOS | | 17 | [Aqua Mail](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/aqua-mail.md) | 55 | Proprietary | Android | | 18 | [Superhuman](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/superhuman.md) | 55 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | | 19 | [Geary](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/geary.md) | 50 | LGPL-2.1-or-later | Linux | | 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 | NeoMutt | 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 | GPL-2.0 | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | | Platforms | Linux, macOS | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Web | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | Windows | macOS, iOS | | Protocols (IMAP / POP3 / JMAP / Exchange) | Yes | 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 | | PGP / encryption support | Yes | 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 | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Calendar integrated | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | | Multiple identities/aliases | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Keyboard-first shortcuts | Yes | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial | ## Sources Sources for NeoMutt. Each alternative is sourced on its own page. - **License**: GPL-2.0 — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 2, June 1991” - **Pricing model**: Free — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “the GNU General Public License is intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change free software--to make sure the software is free for all its users.” - **Platforms**: Linux, macOS — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “FreeBSD” - **Status**: active — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “Release 2026-06-16” - **Protocols (IMAP / POP3 / JMAP / Exchange)**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “NeoMutt has IMAP support and has the ability to work with folders located on a remote IMAP server.” - **PGP / encryption support**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “NeoMutt supports encrypting and signing emails when used interactively” - **Conversation view**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “A thread is a group of messages which all relate to the same subject...organized into a tree-like structure where a message and all of its replies are represented graphically.” - **Offline mode**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “NeoMutt has POP3 support and has the ability to work with mailboxes located on a remote POP3 server and fetch mail for local browsing.” - **Rules & filters (local)**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “The score commands adds value to a message's score if pattern matches it.” - **Multiple identities/aliases**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “The alternates command lets NeoMutt know what addresses you consider to be yourself.” - **Keyboard-first shortcuts**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-12) - Quote: “NeoMutt is a text-based application which interacts with users through different menus which are mostly line-/entry-based or page-based.” --- Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/