Email remains the killer information and communications technology. Email volume shows no sign of diminishing, despite the increasing popularity of collaborative messaging tools.

Messages are exchanged between hosts using the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol with software programs called mail transfer agents, and delivered to a mail store by programs called mail delivery agents, frequently referred to as email clients.

Email clients offer a variety of features. Many email clients offer a slew of features, some stick with just the basics. At the end of the day, what is important is that you find an email client that offers what you need, it is reliable, and works well on your computer. Thunderbird is widely regarded as an exceptional open source desktop email client, especially on Linux. It is highly customizable, has a rich set of features, and is geared for both novices and professional users. My only real disaffection with Thunderbird is that it can feel a bit sluggish on inexpensive hardware. If you are looking for an alternative first-rate graphical email client that works with limited system resources, you have come to the right place.

Here is our take on the finest lightweight and user-friendly graphical email clients that can be widely used from beginners to power users. They are all released under an open source license.

Lightweight Email Clients Sylpheed Client also based on the GTK+ GUI toolkit Claws Mail Powerful, user-friendly, fast and full-featured mail client based on GTK+ Geary Lightweight mail client for GNOME that is written in Vala Trojitá Qt-based IMAP email client

Return to our complete collection of recommended free and open source software including our latest additions.

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