Apple’s closely-knit software ecosystem and interoperability are two of its USPs, and the same is the case for its email app, Apple Email. It's good, it does what you expect an email client to do but only does that, leaving you wanting more. So today, we decided to have an objective showdown of email clients to find the best email app for iPhone. 

And what makes this blog your go-to source for deciding the best email applications for iPhone (IOS)? We will evaluate the email clients based on what you want, including built-in features, integrations, pros and cons, pricing, and licensing. 

By the end of this article, you will be able to find a good email app for iPhone that will enhance your user experience and provide useful productivity features tailored to your individual needs.

Let’s get started:

The Importance of Choosing the Right Email App for iPhone

HBR finds that an average professional spends 28% of their workday glued to their email. Regular folks, at the other end, spend anywhere between just under an hour to up to five hours on their email, and most people open it multiple times a day:

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Moreover, finding the right match can help you optimize your productivity, improve workflow quality when handling high email volumes. Also, it will empower you to minimize friction by allowing quick organization with features like focused inboxes, smart filters, and quick actions while displaying a unified view that reflects your work style. 

That’s a LOT. This calls for an immediate shift to the best email app for iPhone that’s made just for your needs.

15 Best Email Apps for iPhone (IOS) in 2024

Let’s compare the popular Mac email clients on an apple-to-apple basis:

1. Apple Mail

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The out-of-the-box Mail app for iPhone offers convenient iCloud integration and basic custom mailboxes for organizations with every standard feature one can imagine. Like any proprietary software, it comes with few power user features for business use and limited customization beyond themes. However, with the hallmark Apple panache, Apple Mail does simplify things and sparks joy.

Pros:

• Tight OS integration 
• Smart spam filtering
• Fast spotlight search

Cons:

• Lacks advanced features like snooze or send later
• Storage constraints with free iCloud mail

Pricing: Free. Included with your Apple device.

2. Microsoft Outlook for Mac

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Outlook brings the typical productivity-focused features to iPhone through its calendar integration, tasks pane, and collaboration features like @mentions and the latest AI-powered Copilot. On the downside, it comes with a steep learning curve and a predominately business-focused feature set that’s not needed (or deemed counterproductive) by many users.

Pros:

• Integrated calendar, OpenAI-powered Copilot and tasks pane
• Conversation view threads messages
• Business collaboration features

Cons:

• Steep learning curve
• Lacks integration outside Microsoft ecosystem

Pricing: Free. Included with Microsoft 365 subscription.

3. Airmail

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Airmail is another popular contender in the list that stands out for its speed, customizability via add-ons and actions, and deep integration with third-party apps like file storage and task managers.  

Pros:

• Lightning-fast performance
• Highly customizable workflows
• Extensive third-party integrations

Cons:

• Steeper learning curve
• Must pay to unlock some features

Pricing: Free version available. Pay $9.99 yearly to upgrade.

4. Spark

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Want to add some Spark? Go for Spark if you want to improve your email experience through smart sorting features like Priority Inbox and integrations with other collaboration apps. It's an eye candy for teams.

Pros:

• Sorts by priority 
• Integrates with other work apps
• Free and paid team plans

Cons:

• Requires sharing metadata
• Mobile-centric design

Pricing: Free. $6.39 per month for teams.

5. Mailspring

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Looking for an open-source iPhone email client? Mailspring shines bright here with its speed and customization features like themes while offering goodies like snooze and send later in the paid version.

Pros:

• Very fast search and sorting
• Highly customizable themes
• Useful features even in the free version

Cons:  

• Lacks calendar integration 
• No iOS app

Pricing: Free. Pro version $8 per month. 

6. Thunderbird for Mac

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Thunderbird offers expanded IMAP/POP capabilities supporting diverse accounts. But the dated interface and complexity can create usability issues for some.

Pros:

• Open source with community support
• Supports a wide array of protocols
• Highly customizable 

Cons:

• Dated user interface
• Steep learning curve for setup

Pricing: Free

7. Neo

Neo provides an easy-to-use Mac native email client with snooze, send later, templates, and integrations with other apps like chat and file storage. It is one of the most feature-loaded Mac email apps and, without a second thought, the best-looking business-focused iPhone email app. 

Pros:

• Intuitive, visually appealing iPhone app
• Productivity enhancers like snooze  
• App integrations 

Cons:

• No calendar 
• iOS users need separate app

Pricing: Basic features free. Premium features start at just $1.75/month

8. Kiwi for Gmail

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Want to use Gmail on your iPhone with some extra punch? Kiwi helps Gmail users manage the volume and clutter in their inboxes with focused views, quick filters, and offline access via caching. But this is only useful for Gmail accounts. 

Pros:

• Streamlined Gmail experience
• Enhanced productivity features
• Offline caching for remote access

Cons:  

• Gmail accounts only
• Confusing tiered pricing

Pricing: Free with account limits. Premium account starts at $39

9. Postbox

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Postbox simplifies inbox management for heavy email users through features like topics, reminders, enhanced searching, and email templates alongside a user-friendly design.

Pros:

• Simple, visually appealing interface
• Easy organization with topics
• Quick custom searches

Cons:

• Unified views require purchasing Premium
• No invoice features

Pricing: Basic version $49 one-time. Premium $145 one-time.  

10. Newton Mail

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Newton offers deep customization like themes alongside unique productivity features including scheduling shares and mail merge sending from contacts. Its subscription model has an uncertain future.  

Pros:

• Highly theme-able interface 
• Unique features like mail merge and sharing
• Scheduling shares 

Cons:

• Uncertain future roadmap
• Steep learning curve 

Pricing:  $49.99 per year

11. Polymail 

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Polymail is known for enhancing team collaboration through features like shared inbox, @mentions, and notifications while supporting major individual inbox providers like Gmail. But collaborative features require a Premium account, and it might not fit the bill if you dig deeper into Apple ecosystem interoperability- it’s native contacts integration. Also, it stores your data on servers, something you need to watch out for.

Pros:

• Shared inbox and @mentions   
• Link sharing and tracking
• Email automation 

Cons:

• Collaborative features require purchasing Premium
• Substantial cost per user

Pricing: Starts at $10/month basic.

12. MailMate

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MailMate instantly appeals to technical users with its robust keyboard controls, Markdown composing, and highly customizable rules around organizing, filtering, and threading email. But the very same product persona can deter casual users since it may appear to them that MailMate has a dated UI, to say the least.

Pros:

• Extensive keyboard shortcuts
• Power user-focused rule customization  
• Markdown formatting option

Cons:

• Fairly dated UI  
• Steep learning curve

Pricing: $50 one-time purchase. Sweet, isn’t it?

13. Spike 

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Spike is designed to simplify unwieldy email threads into easily digestible chat-like conversations while allowing seamless collaboration and sharing of messages- something that makes it an instant Yay or Nay.

Pros:

• Chat-style conversational view 
• Integrated collaboration tools
• Schedule and undo send 

Cons:

• No traditional email headers
• Free version lacks some key features

Pricing: Free personal. $6/$9 monthly business tiers per user. 

14. Unibox

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Unibox consolidates communication with each contact into a single chronological view, removing constant inbox switching. But some may prefer organization by subject or date.

Pros:

• Single unified inbox
• Chronological conversation view  
• Aggregates multiple accounts

Cons:

• Dated-looking interface
• Can lose the sense of urgency

Pricing: Free

15. Superhuman

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Superhuman provides a fast, keyboard-driven email experience with sleek interfaces optimizing workflows through features like instant search, send later, reminders, and read receipts. But the premium pricing makes it better suited for demanding business roles.

Pros:

• Lightning-fast keyboard shortcuts
• Schedule sends and reminders
• Read receipt tracking

Cons:

• Expensive subscription cost
• Limited compatibility beyond Gmail

Pricing:  $30 per user per month.

Choosing the Right Email App for iPhone

The optimal email app matches seamlessly with your existing accounts and tools while offering the right blend of enhancements tailored to your needs around efficiency, organization, and collaboration without superfluous features that increase complexity. 

Assessing priorities around unified views, grouping methods (by contact, topic, etc.), productivity enhancers (snooze, send later), and team functionality (shared inboxes, chat-style communication) will point toward the best solution. 

Testing functionality with free trial versions can validate the right choice for the best email applications for iPhone based on actual experience with the customized workflows for your use case rather than a generalized ranking methodology.

Optimization for Performance, Customization, and More

While selecting the right software, optimizing configuration and settings enables the application to augment existing habits and techniques best. Customization options allow personalization matching individuals' or teams' specific requirements.

Review permission settings around data and analytics sharing depending on internal policies. Finally, utilizing help documentation and user forums permits unlocking the full potential of newly incorporated and unfamiliar capabilities. Also learn about creating an email address without phone number to optimise your time without breaching security concerns.

Wrap Up

Explore moving beyond default mail clients to realize expanded productivity, efficiency, and customization from a solution purpose-built for consolidating unwieldy inboxes and streamlining communication workflows. 

Airmail, Spark, Mailspring, and Spike scored highly for integrating third-party apps into enhanced business workflows while supporting convenient multi-inbox access. Polymail and Spike facilitate collaborative team efforts through shared inboxes. For Gmail-exclusive power users, Kiwi excels. But if you want the goodness of all iPhone email apps for a bargain price, especially for business use cases, Neo is the way to go. 

Choosing the correct solution hinges on accurately assessing must-have features against business use cases and team dynamics to determine the highest value choice. With custom configuration, any 15 high-performing iPhone email apps help users master expanding inboxes.