At one point Mozilla stopped supporting the program, though they changed their minds and the Thunderbird 59 beta was released in February of 2018. Strong open-source community support and troubleshooting.Ĭons: Occasional spotty support and updates. All it asks for are your name, e-mail address and password to add an e-mail account.Ībility to create a personalized e-mail address.

Does not require users to know advanced terminology for e-mail settings. It is also an excellent option for anyone with multiple e-mail accounts from multiple hosts to manage their e-mail all in one place. In short, Thunderbird's future is unknown.Īside from that unfortunate reality, Thunderbird is an excellent alternative to Microsoft Outlook. If that happens, however, it's very possible the program could see substantial changes or a drop in quality. While Mozilla has said they will keep Thunderbird and a new beta was just launched in early 2018, their wavering support of the program is a worrying sign for users looking to adopt Thunderbird, especially businesses hoping to integrate it into their operations.Įven if support from current developer Mozilla does cease, other developers have expressed interest in picking it up. The non-profit has made it clear that they would prefer to stop supporting Thunderbird in order to devote more resources to Firefox. The largest downside to Thunderbird is Mozilla's wavering support of the project. The interface itself is a little dated, but perfectly serviceable and highly customizable. Because it is open source, there is a large support community that can help users who are having issues. Thunderbird is available for Windows, Mac OS and Linux. Like Gmail and Outlook, it searches for words like 'attachment' and reminds you to attach a file if you forgot to do so. It also enables a number of add-ons that add additional functions, such as a calendar, to Thunderbird. These include smart folders, tabbed e-mail, powerful search tools and a simple e-mail setup wizard. However, the program retains key features. Thunderbird has not had substantial new features added in several years.

It has many of the same features as its counterparts for the best price - free. Overall Opinion: Thunderbird is a powerful e-mail client and an excellent alternative to paid, premium products.

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