Mozilla Thunderbird vs Betterbird
Two of the top three email clients, compared rule by rule on published facts.
In short
- Mozilla Thunderbird has 88 points and Betterbird 78, 10 apart on our email clients rules.
- Mozilla Thunderbird earns more on mail and accounts and systems and upkeep; Betterbird earns more on nothing.
- Cost of a year: Mozilla Thunderbird $0, Betterbird $0.
Mozilla Thunderbird88/100 #1 of 10
Best for: People who want a free, open-source client with built-in encryption.
Betterbird78/100 #2 of 10
Best for: Thunderbird users who want more control over how mail is listed, sorted and searched.
Points by group
| Group | Mozilla Thunderbird | Betterbird |
|---|---|---|
| Mail and accounts of 27 | 23 | 15 |
| Calendar and contacts of 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Privacy and encryption of 28 | 24 | 24 |
| Systems and upkeep of 15 | 11 | 9 |
| Price of 21 | 21 | 21 |
| Total | 88 | 78 |
Rule by rule
What each vendor publishes, and the points it earns. Sources are on each product page.
| Rule (points) | Mozilla Thunderbird | Betterbird |
|---|---|---|
| Account types (12) | IMAP, POP3, Exchange, Gmail and Microsoft 365 sign-in 12 | IMAP, POP3 6 |
| Unified inbox (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Mail tools (8) | Scheduled send, Templates 4 | Templates 2 |
| Filters and rules (3) | Yes 3 | Yes 3 |
| Built-in calendar (6) | Yes 6 | Yes 6 |
| CalDAV and CardDAV (3) | Yes 3 | Yes 3 |
| OpenPGP (7) | Yes 7 | Yes 7 |
| S/MIME (6) | Yes 6 | Yes 6 |
| Blocks tracking pixels (4) | Not published 0 | Not published 0 |
| Open-source apps (6) | Yes 6 | Yes 6 |
| Mail stays on your device (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| Other systems (10) | macOS, Linux, Android 6 | macOS, Linux 4 |
| Released in the last year (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| No ads in the app (3) | Yes 3 | Yes 3 |
| Free plan (6) | Yes 6 | Yes 6 |
| Cost of a year (12) | $0 12 | $0 12 |
Mozilla Thunderbird
Thunderbird suits people who want a free client with a unified inbox, calendar and built-in OpenPGP and S/MIME. Mail stays on your device, per its privacy policy. The catch: Exchange access covers email only, and the vendor pages do not list snooze or undo send.
Betterbird
Betterbird suits people who like Thunderbird and want extra list, search and layout options without paying anything. It is open source and says it collects no telemetry. The catch: its own pages say little about account types, Gmail or Microsoft sign-in, and Exchange, which are inherited from Thunderbird, and it has no phone app.
Both products are scored by the same rules: how we score email clients.