Schedule an email in Apple Mail on Desktop
Scheduling an email in Apple Mail on desktop is built into the compose window. To get started, follow the standard steps for writing your email:
- Open the Mail app on your Mac.
- Click New Message to compose a new email.
- Enter your recipient, subject, and message as usual.
- Instead of clicking Send, click the dropdown arrow next to the Send button.
- Pick a suggested time or choose Send Later.
The Send Later option will bring up a new menu that lets you set exact time and date requirements. You can select any time and date that works best for your needs.
You'll know you've done it right when you open your app and see your scheduled message in your Send Later folder.
From there, you can open the scheduled message to edit its content or adjust the delivery time to reschedule it. If you want to cancel it, simply delete the message from the Send Later mailbox.
💡 Note: The email scheduling feature in Apple Mail is available starting with macOS Ventura 13. It is not supported on macOS Monterey 12 or earlier, so users on older systems will need to use a third-party email app like Outlook or Spark.
The feature continues to be supported in newer versions, including macOS Sonoma 14, macOS Sequoia 15, and macOS 26 Tahoe.
Schedule an email on iPhone's Apple Mail App
Scheduling emails in Apple Mail on iPhone is built into the Send button. To schedule a message, follow these steps:
- Hold down the Send button and wait for a menu to pop up.
- Select the time from the menu options or choose Send Later if none of the default options work.
- Pick a specific date and time that fits your needs.
Much like the Mac version, you'll know you've done it right when you see a dedicated Send Later folder. You can also edit and delete your mail from that same folder.
If you have Apple's Handoff set up, you can edit or delete the scheduled email from either device (regardless of where you started).
💡 Note: Email scheduling in Apple Mail is available starting with iOS 16. Earlier versions do not support this feature.
Take Control of Your Time and Inbox with Clean Email
Scheduling emails helps you send messages at the right time, but it doesn’t solve what happens before or after, like managing follow-ups, clearing outdated drafts, or handling bulk messages.
Clean Email complements Apple Mail by helping you organize and act on large volumes of emails efficiently. With features like bulk actions and advanced filtering, you can quickly find responses to your sent emails, clean up old threads, or group similar emails and manage them in one go—something Apple Mail doesn’t handle well at scale.
Clean Email is available for macOS and iPhone so you can manage your Apple Mail inbox on the go.
Schedule an email in Apple Mail - FAQs
Can you set a timer for an email to send in Apple Mail?
Yes. Apple Mail lets you schedule emails by setting a specific date and time using the “Send Later” option. The message will be sent automatically at the scheduled time.
Will a delayed email still send if Apple Mail is closed?
Yes. Scheduled emails are handled through Apple’s Mail servers, so they will send even if the app is closed. Your device does not need to stay active.
Will a scheduled email in Apple Mail send without the internet?
No. An internet connection is required to schedule and send the email. If you're offline, the message won’t be queued until you're reconnected before the scheduled time.
