Open Source Thunderbird Alternatives for Linux

There are many alternatives to Thunderbird for Linux if you are looking for a replacement. The best open source Linux alternative is Betterbird. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Thunderbird and many of them are open source and available for Linux so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source Linux alternatives to Thunderbird are Evolution, SeaMonkey, Mailspring and Penguin Mail.

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Most Thunderbird alternatives are Email Clients, but you can also narrow the list to Calendar Apps or Contact Managers. Other popular filters are iPhone, Linux, Open Source, Android and Windows. You can also filter for EU-based alternatives if you prefer software from the European Union.
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Alternatives
Thunderbird alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. Betterbird icon
     95 likes

    Betterbird, a soft fork of Mozilla Thunderbird, improves user experience with advanced features, bug fixes, security patches, and multi-row descriptions similar to Outlook. Compatible with multiple platforms and can be used alongside Thunderbird, sharing the same profile.

    45 Betterbird alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2021

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Chocolatey
    Good alternative?
     
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    7
  2. Evolution icon
     214 likes

    Evolution is a personal information management application that provides integrated mail, calendaring, address book and task list functionality.

    79 Evolution alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2009

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • S/MIME
    • GNOME
    • OpenPGP
    Good alternative?
     
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    5
  3. SeaMonkey icon
     251 likes

    Web-browser, advanced e-mail, newsgroup and feed client, IRC chat, and HTML editing in one application. Itis built on the open source Mozilla Gecko engine, the same code which underlies Thunderbird and is the base for the Firefox browser.

    199 SeaMonkey alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2009

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • PortableApps.com
    Good alternative?
     
    |
    4
  4. Mailspring icon
     118 likes

    Boost your productivity and send better email with Mailspring, a beautiful, fast email client for Mac, Windows, and Linux. Mailspring is free to use and an optional pro version adds read receipts, send later, reminders and more.

    59 Mailspring alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2017

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Arch Linux
    • Fedora
    • Ubuntu
    Good alternative?
     
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    8
  5. Pelton icon
     17 likes

    Free, open-source client for Windows, macOS, and Linux, offering local email storage and search online or offline, privacy-focused with no telemetry or third-party servers, IMAP and SMTP support, intuitive interface, and multiple account support.

    23 Pelton alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • New

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  6. Claws Mail icon
     107 likes

    Email and news client on GTK+ foundation featuring quick performance, extensible plugins, secure protocols, advanced filtering, strong folder and contact management, lightweight design, powerful search, customizable interface, multi-language support, and encryption.

    75 Claws Mail alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2009

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    Good alternative?
     
    |
    9
  7. Aerion icon
     13 likes

    Modern open-source email client supporting unified inbox, IMAP/SMTP, Gmail and Outlook with OAuth2, conversation threading, rich text TipTap composing, CardDAV contact sync, tracking removal, dark mode, color themes, vim-style shortcuts, and a detachable window.

    56 Aerion alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2026

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Good alternative?
     
  8. Geary icon
     110 likes

    Geary is an email application built around conversations, for the GNOME 3 desktop.

    56 Geary alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2012

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • GNOME
    • Flatpak
    • Linux Mobile
    Good alternative?
     
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    4
  9. Mailpile icon
     118 likes

    Mailpile is a modern, fast web-mail client with user-friendly encryption and privacy features. The development of Mailpile is funded by a large community of backers and all code related to the project is and will be released under an OSI approved Free Software license.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2013

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    • OpenPGP
    Good alternative?
     
  10. KMail icon
     49 likes

    KMail is the email component of Kontact, the integrated personal information manager of KDE. Kontact is a personal information manager and groupware software suite for KDE. It supports calendars, contacts, notes, to-do lists, news, and email.

    60 KMail alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2009

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    Good alternative?
     
    |
    1
  11. Sylpheed icon
     61 likes

    Sylpheed is a simple, lightweight but featureful, and easy-to-use e-mail client (mailer, MUA).

    51 Sylpheed alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2009

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • PortableApps.com
    Good alternative?
     
    |
    2
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