Mailbird vs. Thunderbird – Which We Prefer

We live in a time where having a reliable email client is crucial to operate a business. At the same time, using social media is becoming integral to our professional success. That makes Mailbird an excellent email client to use because you can integrate all your socials apps with it. There are also many other advantages of using Mailbird, both in a professional and a personal setting.

Thunderbird is another great email client, and people are often torn between these two options. They are both very versatile, but Thunderbird is available for both Mac and Linux in addition to Windows. Mailbird is exclusive to Windows for now, even though people would like to see it on other platforms as well.

Let’s see how the two options compare in a few significant categories.

User Interface Comparison

Thunderbird is made by the creators of the prominent web browser Mozilla Firefox, and both Firefox and Thunderbird are in competition for the top spot in their respective markets. But in terms of user-friendliness, Thunderbird still has a long way to go.

The main upside of using Thunderbird is that it’s easy to see what every button does, and going through a long list of emails doesn’t take long because they are all clearly distinguishable. But in spite of its interface rework, Thunderbird can still be frustrating to use. It takes some time to set it up because you need to choose every setting manually.

Mailbird is much easier to set up and you can start using it right away. All you need to do is to input your login credentials, and then decide if you want to use remote folders for your mail or if you prefer to keep your mail on your PC.

Thunderbird is more cluttered overall, while Mailbird saves space with icons, which are a breeze to use when you get the hang of it. It does not have a tabbed view like Thunderbird, so you need to view emails one at a time. There are three reading panes: horizontal, vertical, and also a third-party pane, which can be used for social media apps.

Functionality Comparison

Contacts

Mailbird takes the cake once more thanks to its UI. It has a superior Contact Manager, so you can sync contacts more easily and even import them from Google. Contact info is easily accessible and you can get your contacts’ pictures from Facebook as well.

Thunderbird uses an Address Book which only lets you import your Outlook contacts (Outlook Express included). You can also add contacts via .txt files.

Filtering

Although spam will always exist, you can use filters to get rid of it – as long as you are using Thunderbird. This is a great feature which might have been inspired by Outlook, and it lets you customize your filters as you please, choosing appropriate actions for various senders or email subjects.

Unfortunately, Mailbird still has no filtering system, so Thunderbird is the clear winner in this category.

How Many Accounts Do You Get?

One of the main differences between these two email clients is that you can get as many free accounts as you want with Thunderbird, while Mailbird limits this function to premium users. The way it works in Thunderbird is that you get unlimited mailboxes, which are in fact folders, and you can manage them with a click of a button.

It is worth mentioning that Mailbird does not overprice their services, and you get many perks in addition to unlimited accounts, such as commercial use, priority support, etc.

Sending Email Attachments

Both email clients warn you if you try to send an attachment that is too large. Thunderbird offers a neat additional feature in terms of attachments. Instead of sending or forwarding mail with an oversized attachment, you can upload it to a Firelink.

Once you do that, a direct link to your file will be added to the body of your email. This is a very useful in-app option which saves time and prevents you from worrying if the file will fit the email format.

Additional Differences

There are some minor differences and additional features, which can also impact your decision about which client suits you better.

Snooze Emails

A great exclusive Mailbird Pro feature is rescheduling emails using the snooze option. Don’t have time to respond to emails right away? Snooze them and reply to them all at once instead of one by one. Thunderbird, unfortunately, does not offer this feature.

Ad Placement

The trial version of Mailbird is free forever. However, there are downsides to it. Namely, you often get popup ads to upgrade to premium and there is always a banner letting you know you should upgrade at the bottom of the screen. There are no ads in Thunderbird, nor does it ask you to upgrade.

The Bird Is the Word

Both Mailbird and Thunderbird are amazing email clients and both have their ups and downs. If you are an avid ad hater, maybe stick to Thunderbird. In case apps like Facebook or Slack are important to you, integrate them into your mail with Mailbird.

It is up to you to decide which one suits you better. Tell us about your choice in the comment section!