Searching for Postbox Alternatives? See Why Mailbird Shines

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Author: Michael Bodekaer
Published on October 13, 2022   •   Last updated on May 29, 2025

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IMPORTANT NEWS: On October 22, 2024, Postbox announced that it has been acquired by eM Client. This marks the end of Postbox’s lifecycle. The app will no longer be sold or developed, meaning there will be no further updates, security patches, or new features. But this doesn’t mean you need to stick with an obsolete app, especially for something as vital as your email. Mailbird steps in to fill the gap—and more.

This article compares Postbox and Mailbird, illustrating why the latter option is your best email client solution—now and into the future.

What Is Postbox?

Postbox email client (sometimes misspelled as Post Box) is a desktop app for Mac and PC that allows you to manage both IMAP and POP email accounts from almost any service provider in one place.

Key Features

Postbox users especially appreciate it for the following features:

• Unified inbox. You can view and use several accounts in one inbox. You can also choose which account you are sending an email from in the compose window.
• Server support. It supports IMAP and POP servers for incoming messages and SMTP servers for outgoing messages.
• Mail list unsubscribe. There's a quick link to unsubscribe from newsletters and marketing emails for messages that use the attribute "List-Unsubscribe."
• One-click archive. There's a button that quickly removes any message from the inbox and to an Archive folder.
• Email tracking. Postbox supports this feature (called Read Receipts in their interface), but it is not always available and depends on the specific email service a recipient uses.
• Integrations. Postbox integrates with about 15 popular apps, such as Zapier, Evernote, and Asana.
• Keyboard shortcuts. The Postbox application offers a complete set of hotkeys so you can handle emails faster using keyboard combinations. It also supports Gmail's standard set of shortcuts.
• RSS and newsgroups. An RSS reader keeps track of your favorite topics within the app's interface.

Pricing

The lifetime license for Postbox mail is $79 per user, an average price for an email client. If you'd like to save, they have sales regularly, so you can get a discounted price if you wait. There's also a 30-day free trial, so you can make sure the price is worth paying.

But beware of extra charges. For example, if you want more than a light or dark theme, you'll have to pay $8 or $12 for custom theme packs. Tech support requests are also not included in the lifetime subscription, and you'll have to pay an extra $8 per each request.

So, Postbox has a handful of benefits and isn't the most expensive email client. But there are plenty of reasons people look for a substitute, even after paying for a lifetime license.

So, what's the deal?

7 Review-Based Reasons Users Search for Postbox Alternatives

Let's face it; if you're paying for a product, you want it to work. A glitch here and there is okay if the company deals with it in no time.

On closer inspection of Postbox email and the feedback from long-term users, you'll see that some aspects of the app are so annoying that they forget about paying for the license and look for an alternative.

Let's review the key points we took from numerous Postbox reviews seen on Capterra, G2, and other popular platforms.

1. The app requires extensive onboarding.

Postbox claims to be fast and easy to use, but you may need a guide to start using it. When you first launch the app, you're already met with obstacles:

• Adding accounts

If you're using Postbox for Mac, you'll find it in Preferences from the main menu, which isn't intuitive. The Windows version isn't much better. To access the Accounts menu, you'll have to click the File menu > New > Mail Account—this is common terminology for Office programs but not email apps.

• Non-standard function buttons

There are a few buttons in the bottom left corner. One of them looks like a Preferences menu, and here you can add a new account, add or delete groups, and open Account Settings using it.

Another button opens the focus pane, but it looks like an exit sign. Wouldn't you hesitate to click it on the off chance you'll end up signing out of your account?

• Making sense of confusing elements

The Postbox email app has folders, which—if you're familiar with Gmail—are the same as labels in Google. You can use them to organize messages.

So, where does the confusion come in? Well, you might think clicking the All Folders button would show you all messages organized by folders. Instead, you get a blank screen and wonder what the feature is for.

Another interesting bit is the Assign Topic button. You may think it's for tagging emails, say, for better search. But you don't get to see the list of these topics and searching by any you did assign doesn't give a precise result.

Here's a user complaining about the topic tags:

2. It offers poor labeling and inbox organization.

If you're viewing emails from all accounts, there's no way of telling if a message belongs to a specific folder. The same goes for the search function.

You can only see the assigned folder or topic when you view the message.

This may render your folder organization pointless unless you use the folders for filtering. However, Postbox doesn't have a function for creating rules or automatic filters.

Here's more information on Postbox's performance:

3. Its technical support is pricey and often unhelpful.

The Postbox app is diligent about releasing new themes but not updating the functionality. Updates take a while, so if there's a bug, you're stuck with it for a long time.

Users also reported (it was not just a single Postbox review) a bug that needed fixing from the client's side — after a major upgrade, whitelists didn't merge, so users had to do the work over again.

Additionally, if you have a tech support request, they will charge you $8 for each ticket. But even then, users say that the support isn't great.

Here's a review to prove it:

4. Postbox doesn't support Microsoft Exchange.

While the app does support IMAP, it's not a sufficient substitute. If IMAP is blocked externally, you won't be able to use your Exchange accounts.For many uses, this is a deal breaker.

5. No export functions for existing email accounts.

If you used a POP account with another email client on your desktop, there's no easy way of exporting it to Postbox mail. You could physically transfer a backup to the app's storage, though finding the location is challenging.

6. Lack of integrations.

Postbox only offers 15 integrations, and they don't include popular ones like Grammarly or Google Workspace. It supports a few task managers, such as Asana and Todoist, that could hardly replace a calendar feature, but it also lists Wunderlist as an integration, even though the app was discontinued back in 2020.

7. Postbox lacks certain features.

The Postbox app doesn't offer cool features that many desktop and webmail clients have, such as email snooze, the ability to schedule an email, undo send, or even a calendar.

A major annoyance is that using Postbox requires extensive onboarding. You're likely to waste time looking for standard features and must-haves like a Snooze or Send Later button.

Postbox may be a good substitute for email clients like Thunderbird or Windows Mail. But if you want more straightforward and efficient email management, there are better alternatives, especially if you want a more convenient way of handling more than one account.

The app has decent benefits, but for many users, its drawbacks are too serious.

Why is Mailbird the best Postbox alternative?

Mailbird is a clean, clutter-free, and flexible PC- and Mac-based email client. It can turn your inbox into a powerful productivity workspace and solves many common problems experienced by Postbox users—from the app itself to customer and technical support.

Key Features

Mailbird is more than an email client. In addition to popular and commonly used email features, Mailbird gives users the option of turning their email client into a personal workspace where many apps can be accessed directly from their inbox.

Although Postbox and Mailbird share many of the same basic features that are available on most email apps, Mailbird outshines Postbox in several key areas:

Intuitive and customizable interface

Purchasing a Mailbird license gives you access to both Windows and macOS versions of the app so you can use Mailbird on your PC and Mac without additional charges.

Native Apple Silicon support

Unlike Postbox, Mailbird has native support for both Intel- and Apple Silicon-based Macs. The lack of native Apple Silicon support is often a sore spot among Postbox Mac users.

Intuitive and customizable interface

Mailbird’s customizable interface allows you to select a theme and color scheme to match your own personal style, preferences, and personality. Features and settings are also located exactly where you’d expect to find them, allowing you to be effective right from the beginning.

Seamless onboarding

Although Mailbird does include a very quick and easy-to-understand onboarding process, the app is simple enough to grasp even without it. Unlike Postbox’s convoluted and sometime’s confusing interface, you can start using Mailbird right away.

Unified inbox

Although Postbox does allow users to add multiple accounts, it’s not easy to manage them. Mailbird, however, gives you the option of managing multiple email accounts in one centralized inbox, streamlining message management and workflow. You can then use email folders to organize and categorize all your messages to suit your needs.

This is one of the most highly sought-after and appreciated features of Mailbird:

Snooze email

The snooze feature allows you to temporarily “hide” messages from appearing in your inbox and have them automatically reappear at a time of your choosing. This is particularly important when you’re in the middle of an important task and don’t want to be distracted by a messy inbox.

Quick undo send

If you forgot to include something important in your email, or maybe you changed your mind about sending it entirely, you can easily hit the Unsend button to cancel the send. You can configure the unsend time for up to 30 seconds

Email tracking

This feature gives you useful information about which email recipients opened your messages and when they did so. Email tracking is especially useful when sending an email to a large group of people. By quickly finding out who opened your message, you’ll have a better idea of who you need to follow up with.

Unsubscribe button

If you no longer want to receive email from a mailing list, clicking the unsubscribe button can help you keep your inbox clean. This is especially helpful since most mailing list messages bury their unsubscribe link at the bottom of the message in a very small and hard-to-see font.

Advanced search

Mailbird gives you a powerful search tool that helps you quickly locate any file or attachment—no matter how many messages you have in your inbox.

Account-based signatures

With Mailbird, you don’t need to settle for a single email signature. Instead, the app lets you create unique email signatures for each of your email accounts. So, you can tailor them to the account and even customize them for specific occasions or campaigns.

Frequent updates

As part of a commitment to app stability and security, Mailbird frequently and regularly issues security patches and critical updates to ensure the app and users’ data remains safe from new online threats.

Postbox users, on the other hand, frequently complain about the lack of regular updates. Even when bugs are identified by the user community, it often takes a long time for them to be patched—if at all.

Multi-language support

Mailbird is localized into 17 languages, so you likely won't have to use the English version.

Friendly and efficient support

Postbox users repeatedly complain (on various websites and social media channels) about the lack of response when trying to reach support personnel to handle technical problems. Mailbird’s technical and customer service team, on the other hand, is often praised by customers who say they received fast and efficient resolution.

App integrations

Mailbird gives you the unique ability to turn your email client into a customized productivity workspace. This allows you to access your favorite third-party apps, such as Google Calendar, Facebook, and Todoist, directly from your inbox.

Integrations are no longer a nice-to-have addition to the core features of an email client. They’re now a necessity for anyone who values their time, and users agree:

You can install Mailbird for a free trial period and test how the integrations perform. Just note that you need a registered account with these apps.

Affordable prices and multiple options

Mailbird offers a free option and a competitively priced Premium plan to suit various personal and professional needs. Premium is available as a yearly subscription or a one-time purchase, and Mailbird often provides discounts and promotions to help users save even more.

SPECIAL OFFER: To help current Postbox users transition away from the soon-to-be obsolete email client, Mailbird’s offering a promotional rate to valid Postbox license holders.

Regular, non-Postbox users can see current pricing information on Mailbird’s website.

Conclusion

Mailbird offers a more intuitive user experience, seamlessly handles multiple email accounts in a unified inbox, and includes extensive app integration possibilities.

To try Mailbird:

1. Download and install the app.
2. Follow the on-screen instructions.
3. Add additional accounts and/or app integrations as needed.

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About the Author:
Michael Bodekaer

Founder, Board Member
Michael Bodekaer is a recognized authority in email management and productivity solutions, with over a decade of experience in simplifying communication workflows for individuals and businesses. As the co-founder of Mailbird and a TED speaker, Michael has been at the forefront of developing tools that revolutionize how users manage multiple email accounts. His insights have been featured in leading publications like TechRadar, and he is passionate about helping professionals adopt innovative solutions like unified inboxes, app integrations, and productivity-enhancing features to optimize their daily routines.

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