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One of the best parts of being in the Android ecosystem is the sheer volume of apps on the Play Store. While some users may see it as overwhelming, we would rather look at this situation in a positive light — there are a lot of amazing applications for us to try. Be it camera apps, podcast apps, games, music, or email apps, there are a lot of options to choose from.

By default, most Android users send and receive emails using the Gmail app. We totally accept that the built-in Gmail app on your Android phone is amazing, but we’ve been testing some alternative email clients that were impressive in their own ways. We found all types of email apps — ones that were ultra-secure, some with tons of personalization, some with stunning design, and even one that supports 20 languages. We tried them all to compile this list of the best ones, so dive right in.

Nine

Nine is one of the most popular email apps on Android. It cares about users' privacy and doesn't store email data on its servers. The app connects to your email servers and downloads data directly to your device. In terms of providers, it supports everything from Gmail to Microsoft Exchange Server. It also provides Direct Push Synchronization with Exchange ActiveSync.

Other features include the ability to select folders for which to enable push notifications, sync tasks and calendar, conversation mode, and a lot more. Nine is free to download, but you'll need a $14.99 license to use the app after a two-week trial period.

Aqua Mail

Aqua Mail is another great email app for Android. It offers several customization options, allowing users to personalize how the app looks and operates. Additionally, you get support for 20 languages. Similar to Nine, Aqua Mail doesn't store your email data on its servers. You can also use pretty much any of your email accounts with the app, including Gmail, Exchange, IMAP, or POP3-enabled servers.

Other Aqua Mail features include Smart Folders, contacts and calendar sync, Android Wear support, email backup/ restore via cloud storage services, and widgets. Aqua Mail is free to download and use, but you can opt for the Pro version to remove ads and get advanced features. Some of these features include support for unlimited accounts, push for Exchange, and unlimited aliases.

Spark

Spark is made for email power users. It intelligently prioritizes emails to help you focus on the important stuff. The same smartness is present in its notifications, and it'll only ping you about the emails from people you know. Other great features include intelligent search, quick replies, email scheduling, snooze emails, and more.

The app also allows you to collaborate with your team on emails, which you won't see in many email apps. You can have shared drafts, private team comments, and shareable email links. Additionally, Spark works with all major email providers. It's free to download and use, but a premium subscription unlocks more features.

Outlook

Microsoft's Outlook email app is an entirely free option that works with Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft 365, Outlook.com, Gmail, and Yahoo Mail. It doesn't include a lot of options, but you get simplicity and a good design. You get three tabs -- email, search, and calendar to keep things straightforward. Integrations for Microsoft products, like Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and OneDrive are also present.

Outlook also comes with a feature called Focused Inbox that can pre-sort your emails to highlight essential emails. Threading support and add-ins for popular third-party services are available as well.

Microsoft Outlook Developer: Microsoft Corporation
Price: Free
4.5
Download

FairEmail

FairEmail is an open-source email client that values your privacy. It works with all major email service providers, but you won't get access to the non-standard protocols, such as Microsoft Exchange Web Services and Microsoft ActiveSync. You get support for unlimited accounts, a unified inbox, conversation threading, push notifications, and material design.

The app doesn't store your email data on its servers. Also, there are no advertisements or analytics of any kind. Its free version is quite feature-rich, but you can buy the Pro version to get several advanced features.

Gmail

Like Microsoft's Outlook app, it may feel like the Gmail app is only meant for Gmail users, but it can be your email client for non-Gmail providers as well, like Outlook.com, Yahoo Mail, IMAP, and POP3-enabled servers, Exchange and Office 365, and more.

Given Gmail's home-field advantage, it comes preinstalled on an overwhelming majority of Android devices. So it's also the easiest to get on board with. You don't have to go looking for another app in the Google Play store. Thanks to Google's search capabilities, you get an excellent search feature on the app. All things said, some people may not want to use the app over privacy concerns, and the amount of data Google collects.

Gmail Developer: Google LLC
Price: Free
4.2
Download

K-9

K-9 Mail is one of the oldest email clients for Android. It kind of disappeared into the background over the last few years, but it made a return to form in July this year with a redesign. K-9 is open-source and privacy-friendly, two things that a lot of XDA readers appreciate. It also supports pretty much every email service provider.

Some of the K-9 features include per account notifications, unified inbox, push IMAP support, dark theme, OpenPGP encryption support, and local as well as search-side search. K-9 is free to download and use. There are no ads or in-app purchases.

K-9 Mail Developer: K-9 Dog Walkers
Price: Free
3
Download

Edison Email

Edison is another decent email app out there. By default, it stores commercial messages, like emails related to shipment tracking, purchases/receipts, and entertainment. But you can opt out of data sharing and delete any stored data. Edison is fast and supports pretty much all email services and providers. Additionally, you get a focused inbox feature, like Outlook, that highlights essential emails.

The app also allows you to unsubscribe from junk emails and block tracking pixels easily. A built-in AI assistant can search for stuff, like bills, tickets, travels plans and more, to tell you about upcoming meetings, due dates, and more. Edison Mail is free to download and use and doesn't include any ads. There are some in-app purchases for additional features.

MailDroid

Like K-9, MailDroid is also a veteran of the Google Play store. The app cares about your privacy and acts as a pure email client, meaning there's no MailDroid server storing your emails before delivery to your phone. It also supports all major email services and servers, including Microsoft Exchange. But you won't get ActiveSync support.

MailDroid features include custom mail rules, calendar integration, cloud storage support to store attachments, themes, spam filter plugin, and more. OpenPGP and S/MIME support is available as well. It's free to download and use with ads. There's a Pro version as well that removes ads and adds some new features.

Blue Mail

If you’re a geek for customization options, then Blue Mail is the email app that you’re looking for. The app features smart push notifications and group emailing, and you can customize the notifications for each mail account you connect to the app. You can personalize notification sounds, what details are shared in the notification banners, LED colors, and vibration patterns, plus you can organize each inbox differently. The best part is the ease of setup — we got our Gmail account connected and running in 4 taps.

Besides Gmail, Blue Mail also supports Yahoo, Outlook, and Office 365, plus it will also let you sync with clients running POP3, IMAP, or Microsoft Exchange protocols. And since AI is all the rage, this email client also features an AI assistant called GEM AI, and we were pretty impressed with its email-writing capabilities. There’s a premium version of this app called BlueMail+ that gives you a lot more themes, priority support, and improved AI capabilities for $5 a month.

Email Blue Mail - Calendar Developer: Blix Inc.
Price: Free
4.4
Download

Proton Mail

Proton Mail is an email app from the same team that worked on the Proton VPN project, which aims to protect privacy and make the internet a more secure place. Proton Mail takes the security of your emails very seriously. As such, it offers end-to-end encryption as one of the base features of the email client.

But the backstory aside, we loved how the app is simple and straightforward, not unlike the Gmail app. You can create folders and sub-folders and design-wise, you have many themes to choose from. Proton Mail Bridge lets you connect to your mail clients, including popular ones like Outlook, Thunderbird, and Apple Mail. However, Proton Mail Bridge is only available for premium customers for $5 a month.

Proton Mail: Encrypted Email Developer: Proton AG
Price: Free
4.4
Download