Decent, lightweight alternative to Windows Mail?

[Frick]

So Windows Mail, which is not great, is being replaced by Outlook, which is even more not great. Ads in the Start Menu I'm more or less indifferent to, because I don't really use it, but ads that look like a mail? No. So, any good recommendations for alternatives? Preferebly ones with simial UIs? I've tried Thunderbird and I dislike the UI a lot. It tries to look like Outlook, and I'm not into it.

It's for work BTW, and the mail providers webmail is ... shit, so that is why I need a client.

 

[Shrek]

I think it is possible to stick with Mail despite the continual hankering to move to outlook.

 

[Selaya]

thunderbird?
not sure whether that counts as lightweight tho

 

[Frick]

I think it is possible to stick with Mail despite the continual hankering to move to outlook.

It'll die soon enough. Today it just switched to Outlook without prompting. I could switch back, but they've said for ages that in 2024 Mail will be gone.

 

[Shrek]

I seem to recall that support will continue, but I could be recalling wrongly.

 

[Night]

Maybe you should give Thunderbird another go, you can customize the UI. However yes, it's quite raw and simple, take it or leave it. I actually prefer it over Outlook mostly because of that, and it's more intuitive and more straightforward to use than Outlook. Another alternative I can think of would be BlueMail (Windows). I liked it on my phone but I had issues with notifications, so I switched to Samsung Email.

 

[Frick]

thunderbird?
not sure whether that counts as lightweight tho

Exactly.

 

[Shrek]

I seem to recall that Thunderbird needs a paid add-on for talking to an exchange server, but again I could be recaling wrongly.

 

[Night]

I seem to recall that Thunderbird needs a paid add-on for talking to an exchange server, but again I could be recaling wrongly.

Nope.

 

[Bill_Bright]

So Windows Mail, which is not great, is being replaced by Outlook

I don't use Windows Mail (I use the full MS Office version of Outlook) so replacing Windows Mail does not bother me.

What does bother me is at the same time Windows Mail is being replaced, the Windows Calendar (accessed by clocking on the System Tray clock) is being replaced by that Outlook too. And it does not appear to be a choice we can opt out of. It is happening.

I typically defend Microsoft as they are so often falsely, or unjustly accused of this or that. But not this time. This is being shoved down our throats whether we want it or not.

 

[Onasi]

Lightweight? There are none, I am afraid. One possible option would be to unironically use The Bat! in year of our Lord 2024. It still works, it still is supported, it still will look like a Win 2000 program, but it’s an option.

 

[Frick]

I don't use Windows Mail (I use the full MS Office version of Outlook) so replacing Windows Mail does not bother me.

What does bother me is at the same time Windows Mail is being replaced, the Windows Calendar (accessed by clocking on the System Tray clock) is being replaced by that Outlook too. And it does not appear to be a choice we can opt out of. It is happening.

I typically defend Microsoft as they are so often falsely, or unjustly accused of this or that. But not this time. This is being shoved down our throats whether we want it or not.

Take that feeling and apply it across the entire OS for an idea how people feel about Windows 11 specifically and Microsoft in general. Add to it people trying to convince you that you are wrong, and that the removalf of the calendar is in fact good and that you'll just have to accept it!

Anyway, might give Thunderbird another go. Will explore some other options and report back with findings.

 

[BSim500]

Anyway, might give Thunderbird another go. Will explore some other options and report back with findings.

I don't know if OEClassic is good enough for work, but for personal use it's one of the few where "Actually Lightweight" isn't BS.

 

[Frick]

I don't know if OEClassic is good enough for work, but for personal use it's one of the few where "Actually Lightweight" isn't BS.

Well my work needs are mails with like five different people, so not complicated, which is why I want lightweight stuff. I don't even need folders. Will try that out.

 

[Jfat69]

I tried Thunderbird but it was very slow. I use the free version of Spark Desktop which is quite fast and reasonably light weight. https://sparkmailapp.com/

 

[Bill_Bright]

Not sure lightweight is that much of an issue anymore. Most computers, even budget computers have a decent amount of CPU and RAM resources. Plus, particularly since W7, Windows is very good at managing resources so when the application is "idle", Windows puts it in the background so it uses even less resources. So, at least IMO, lightweight is not a factor, unless disk space is very limited. Then it is time to buy more disk space.

If you really want to go as light as possible - stick with a web based email like gmail.

Take that feeling and apply it across the entire OS for an idea how people feel about Windows 11 specifically and Microsoft in general.

No. That's just Windows/Microsoft bashing for the sake of bashing. Outlook replacing Windows Mail and Calendar is MS pushing Outlook out to all - including W10 users.

 

[Frick]

No. That's just Windows/Microsoft bashing for the sake of bashing. Outlook replacing Windows Mail and Calendar is MS pushing Outlook out to all - including W10 users.

And what are they doing with Windows 11, and what are they doing with all those UI changes people hate?

 

[Bill_Bright]

???

Do you not understand the topic of this thread YOU started? You are just going off on another, biased anti-Microsoft W11 rant that really has nothing to do with Windows Mail or Outlook.

And for the record, not everyone hates W11 UI.

Time for me to move on.

 

[Frick]

???

Do you not understand the topic of this thread YOU started? You are just going off on another, biased anti-Microsoft W11 rant that really has nothing to do with Windows Mail or Outlook.

And for the record, not everyone hates W11 UI.

Time for me to move on.

Just tried to make you understand people. I guess it didn't work.

 

[Solaris17]

Thats enough.

if you want light clients many have already been said. If things like calendars dont bother you. maybe

Mailspring | The best free email app

Mailspring: The open-source, extensible email app for Mac, Linux, and Windows with open tracking, link click tracking, contacts enrichment data and more.

www.getmailspring.com

is a good fit. but the new thunderbird is probably worth a shot.

 

[cvaldes]

I don't know why people are moaning about Thunderbird performance. It works fine on two wimpy Windows PCs I own. One is an ultrabook with an Intel Core i5-1035G1 CPU (Ice Lake, 4 cores, 8 threads), 8GB RAM. The other is a $170 mini PC with an Intel N100 (Alder Lake-N, 4 efficiency cores, 4 threads), 16GB RAM.

And it's F-R-E-E. Try it out. If you don't like it, just uninstall it.

I also use Betterbird on both of the aforementioned systems as well.

And I've been running Thunderbird for years on whatever Mac I've owned.

There are plenty of other free or inexpensive mail clients. Just make sure to carefully read the privacy policies for each application before you enter your e-mail account credentials.

 

[PLAfiller]

Goupwise or Microfocus, not sure how it was called. It's paid, but it's really cheap as far as I know. Lacks some stuff that you may like in other clients, but gets the job done.

 

[Jfat69]

Thats enough.

if you want light clients many have already been said. If things like calendars dont bother you. maybe

Mailspring | The best free email app

Mailspring: The open-source, extensible email app for Mac, Linux, and Windows with open tracking, link click tracking, contacts enrichment data and more.

www.getmailspring.com

is a good fit. but the new thunderbird is probably worth a shot.

Thunderbird is crap, stop recommending it unless you used it lately.

They are the perfect example why open source doesn't mean anything anymore

 

[Solaris17]

Thunderbird is crap, stop recommending it unless you used it lately.

They are the perfect example why open source doesn't mean anything anymore

I did, the new thunderbird looks and works much better than it did before. It may not be as lightweight as windows mail, but its the next best serious contender after outlook proper. Pre facelift thunderbird is a no go.

 

[Belfaborac]

I swapped to Mailbird a couple of years or so ago and am very happy with it. Pretty lightweight, especially if you don't make use of any of the add-ons such as integration with Google Calendar, Skype, Teams and whatnot. Worth a whirl.