Why is Mailbird the best alternative to Outlook?

Change is good, even for your Email.

Many users are trying to avoid finding an alternative to Outlook because they remember the long and complicated path to actually mastering the App with all of its features.

And even then, the majority of people use Outlook to “only” manage their Emails and maybe their tasks or calendar and ignore all the rather “complicated” features and functionalities.

Well, we have good news for you. There is light at the end of the tunnel with a new era of the modern email client, that is Mailbird.

With Mailbird, you experience a clean, sharp interaction with managing your online communication. It’s super easy to use. We promise that you will master the application within 5 minutes. Mailbird enables users of any age, as well as non-tech savvy people to learn how to use it fast, and to do so with ease and enjoyment. Mailbird is the best alternative to Outlook and an all-around great email experience.

“I’ve purchased Mailbird for my old mother as well, as it’s easy to use. She’s not in anyway computer savvy, but last weekend I actually got an email from her – the first ever, imagine my (very pleasant) surprise! For me Mailbird is a keeper – easy to use and most importantly easy to configure!! My 80 year old mom is a testament to that.” Lars – May 12, 2015

We will be looking at the following areas and to see if Mailbird is the best alternative to Outlook for you too:

1. Layout and UI
2. Most Popular Features
3. Cost

1. Layout  and User Experience

Outlook is known for its cluttered and “out-dated” layout and UI, making it rather complicated for new and even existing users to handle the software.

Sure, if you use a piece of software on a daily basis you eventually learn how to get around it – in fact that’s even the case with rocket science, but is that the best utilization of your time? Software and apps in 2015 should be intuitive enough to not have a learning curve, so spending a few days unraveling the mystery of using an email client seems like we’re technologically pushing you back to the early 2000s.

Simplicity, a clean user interface (UI), an intuitive user experience (UX) and speed are the main reasons why people try Mailbird, enabling them to master it in less than 5 Minutes (not days!).

User Experience

User experience is essentially all the small little details that you don’t recognize consciously but intuitively guide you to use the software.

Mailbird has many such small elements. Let’s look at some examples –

Example #1 – Let’s say you’re a Dropbox user and you activated the Dropbox app from Mailbird AppStore. Apart from looking at your Dropbox app by clicking on the Dropbox icon in the bottom left, the only other place you’ll find it is when you’re composing a new email or replying to one. It shows up like this –

Non-intrusive Dropbox icon to attach files from Dropbox

Dropbox in Mailbird compose window

And when clicked upon, opens Dropbox file explorer for you to select files to be attached

Example #2 – You might think, Mailbird does not offer as many features and functionalities as Outlook, otherwise the Inbox and menu would look the same, right? That is not quite correct.

Instead of filling the interface with lots of buttons and options, we hid them to show up on certain user actions. If you look at how emails are stacked in Mailbird, it looks just like any other email program, but when you hover over the profile picture of an email message, an action bar shows up on top which makes it easier for you to deal with it.

You can even click on the profile picture of an email message and it will show you all the emails you’ve exchanged with the person.

Quick Action Bar in Mailbird

Inbox – Outlook

Layout and UI

In Mailbird, you can customize the layout and color theme, personalizing your Inbox.

Pick your favourite colour

8 different Layout Options – Pick your favourite

2. Most Popular Features

In order to find the perfect replacement for their current email client, people tend to only look for ones that have exactly the same features as their current email client, regardless of whether or not those features will actually be used.

Mailbird has integrated the standard features that users know from Outlook and also offers special Mailbird-only features that have not yet been implemented by any other email client: quick preview of attachments, speed reader, LinkedIn lookup, snooze and many others.

The majority of these are already available in Mailbird’s free version – Mailbird Lite.

Let’s have a look at the most popular features:

[ws_table id=”2″]

Integration with Third Party Apps

Additional features that differentiate Mailbird from other email clients include the integration of a variety of popular apps, turning Mailbird into a true all-in-one communication hub, combining Email, Messaging, Task Management, Calendar and Video Meetings in the most effective way possible for the user.

Mailbird’s all-star developer team continues to add and improve these features requested by you. Think Mailbird needs a certain feature to convince you to switch? We have Mailbird Feature request forum where you can submit your request.

Imagine working like a productivity machine through your email, while also being able to jump on a call without having to switch browsers or to another application. It’s not just convenient but also way more efficient. In Mailbird, as the best alternative to Outlook, you have all your communication power tools in one place.

Featured Apps Include:

• Messaging Apps, like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp.

• Task Management, Apps and Tools like Todoist, Moo.do, Evernote and Asana, can easily be activated in your Mailbird AppStore.

• Video Meeting Apps, such as Appear.in and Veeting Rooms allow you to easily jump on a call or virtual Meeting, without having to leave your Inbox.
  

  Talk to anyone by creating video chat rooms in Appear.in

  Veeting Rooms – Have a virtual Meeting without leaving your Email Client.

• Calendar App,  Google Calendar gives you a nice overview of your upcoming appointments and enables you to schedule appointments from your Mailbird.

  Sunrise Calendar – plan your day from your Inbox.

3. Cost

Outlook runs at $110 which is pricey for “just” an Email Client.

Mailbird, on the other hand has 3 different pricing options to choose from. Depending on the number of accounts and your actual Email needs, Mailbird has the perfect plan for you which include:

1. Mailbird Lite: Free for up to 1 account
2. Mailbird Pro: $1 / month paid annually or $12 / year  (incl. all future updates)
3. Mailbird Pro Lifetime: $45 once  (incl. all future updates)

Mailbird gives you a 30 day free Pro Trial when you install Mailbird for the first time. This is a great chance to find out why Mailbird Pro is worth that $1 a month.

Still have questions before downloading it? Our team is always there to help you out. Shoot us an Email or tweet us @mailbird.

We are ready to help you and to answer every single one of them. That’s the great value that comes with Mailbird: direct responses and feedback to help you through your email, communication and communication management needs.

Excited to make the switch to the best alternative to Outlook? Simply start downloading Mailbird! You’ll freaking love it.

Update: We have launched our Mailbird Import feature, that makes it even more simple to switch over from Outlook. Find all the details on how to “auto-magically” start importing your accounts here.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in June 2015 and has been revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.