Top 6 Best Gmail Apps for Mac in 2024

Elevate Your Gmail Experience to the Next Level

Around 2 billion people worldwide use Gmail on a regular basis. Some are perfectly happy with the official Gmail apps, available for modern web browsers, iOS devices, and Android devices. Some, however, crave more functionality, better performance, and advanced email tools.

These Gmail power users can elevate their email experience to the next level by using the best Gmail desktop apps for Mac, such as those described in detail in this article. With these apps, you can use Gmail to its full potential and get more done in less time.

Best Apps for Gmail on Mac

Quick comparison of the best Gmail apps for Mac:

The top 6 best apps described below can be installed on any modern Mac and used as alternatives to the default Gmail experience. Each Mac Gmail app has its own strengths and weaknesses, so we recommend you check out all of them and decide which one meets your needs the best.

1. Canary Mail

Price: Free plan with limited features, Premium starts at $20 per user per year

Canary Mail addresses the limitations of traditional Mac email clients by providing solutions to productivity gaps and design shortcomings. Critical features of Canary Mail include seamless encryption for enhanced user security and a suite of productivity tools, including read-tracking and snooze functions.

It offers a minimal server footprint, prioritizes data privacy, has universal IMAP support for seamless integration with various email services, and has a stunning design tailored for an intuitive and modern user experience.

Privacy and security are paramount in Canary Mail, ensuring minimal server interaction and zero storage of personal data on third-party servers. The integration of cutting-edge AI technologies, such as Copilot, an AI writer for streamlined email composition, further enhances user experience while prioritizing privacy through local data processing.

2. Mimestream

Price: free during beta

Mimestream is the best Gmail app for Mac because it combines everything you love about this service provider with the convenience and power of a native Mac app.

Unlike regular email clients, Mimestream supports only one email service: Gmail. Because this Gmail app for Mac doesn’t attempt to be a Jack of all trades, it leverages the full power of both Gmail and macOS to deliver an instantly familiar experience and a wealth of extra features to boot.

For example, Mimestream lets you easily work with multiple Gmail inboxes, set up email signatures, work with aliases, use keyboard shortcuts, create server-side filters, quickly unsubscribe from unwanted subscriptions, and more.

When you also take into consideration its ease of use, it’s not difficult to see why it’s the best way to use Gmail on Mac computers.

3. Boxy Suite

Price: $39 a year

Gmail shines the most when you use it in conjunction with other apps from Google, such as Calendar, Keep, and Contacts. Boxy Suite recognizes this and provides a dedicated, focused environment where for the aforementioned Google apps.

Boxy Suite is designed to be as beautiful and pixel perfect as Apple’s own apps, and it integrates with macOS just as well. This Gmail app for Mac can intelligently pre-load your mail accounts in the background to ensure that emails always load in the blink of an eye.

Check out our comparison of Gmail vs Apple Mail app to learn the differences between these products.

4. Kiwi for Gmail

Price: free for personal use

If you love Google’s app ecosystem but don’t like that all the best apps, such as Google Mail, Docs, Sheets, and Slides, are available only in the web browser, then Kiwi can be the solution you’ve been looking for.

This Gmail app for Mac is basically a standalone interface for Google Mail and Google’s Office Suite. It comes with a powerful engine that makes it easily possible to use multiple accounts without any conflicts. Unfortunately, this and many other features are available only in business versions of the app, which can cost up to 58.99 a year.

5. Mail for Gmail

Price: Free

Mail for Gmail is just like some of the best email apps for Android because it’s straightforward, easy to learn, and well-integrated. In fact, it’s basically the Gmail web app you know in the form of a desktop app.

Just like all well-made macOS desktop email clients, this app can display native system notifications when you receive a new message or add a badge dock icon with an unread email counter. Not many other noteworthy extra features are supported, however, because the developer wants to keep things simple. It’s hard to complain, though, considering that Mail for Gmail doesn’t cost anything at all.

6. MailMate

Price: $49.99

When advanced Mac users are asked how to get a Gmail app on Mac, they often recommend MailMate, a sophisticated email client for macOS whose long list of features includes everything from cryptographic encryption/signing (OpenPGP and S/MIME) to automatic signature handling to flexible integration with third party applications.

MailMate supports all IMAP-based email services, so you can use it not just with Gmail but also with Outlook, Yahoo Mail, Yandex, and others. Just know that it takes some time to learn its ins and outs, so don’t let the steep learning curve discourage you.

How to Choose the Right Gmail App for Mac

Choosing the best app for Gmail on Mac can be an enjoyable activity, but it can also be a major time sink. To ensure that it’s the former and not the latter, you should keep in mind the following selection criteria and disregard all Gmail Mac apps that don’t meet them:

• Price: There’s no shortage of the best Gmail apps for Mac, but just because an app is great doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s affordable. Of course, price is one of the most important criteria when choosing any product, including software applications. We recommend you set a concrete budget and avoid exceeding it.
• Compatibility: Even the best email client for Mac can’t help you enjoy a better Gmail experience if it isn’t compatible with your Mac. That’s why you should always check if your version of macOS is officially supported, and the same goes for your system architecture (Intel versus M1). The only exception is web-based Gmail apps for Mac because they can run fine on any Mac with a modern web browser.
• Features: The best email clients for Gmail on Mac are packed with useful features whose purpose is to help users manage their inboxes better. In some cases, their features overlap with the best Gmail cleanup tools, such as Clean Email (more about it later in this article), which are designed to make it easier for users to achieve and maintain clean inboxes.
• Ease of use: Your Gmail app for Mac should make your life easier, and that’s possible only if it’s easy to use. The last thing you want is to spend money on an app that’s so unintuitive that you end up making a mistake because of it, resulting in the loss of important email messages.
• Target audience: The best Gmail client for Mac doesn’t necessarily have to be the best client for you. Some client applications are aimed at advanced users who regularly rely on advanced features, such as email filters, while others are geared toward regular email users who are looking for a Gmail desktop app for Mac that would make it easier to read and reply to email messages.

There are many excellent Gmail Mac desktop apps, so there’s no reason to waste your time with those that don’t meet your needs well.