Microsoft Outlook Alternative
Microsoft Outlook can either come with the Microsoft Office package or be purchased separately. While Outlook has a lot of features, there are reasons to use something else. It can be large and unwieldy, it lacks support in some significant areas and it can be expensive.
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Mozilla Thunderbird
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Our first alternative comes from Mozilla, the makers of the Firefox web browser. Like Outlook, it supports POP3 and IMAP email formats and can support multiple accounts. Thunderbird has a several advantages over Outlook. First, it is free. Second, it can support RSS and Newsgroups. Those two features don't exist in any form in Outlook. Another great feature of Thunderbird is that, much like Firefox, user created add-ons are supported. So you can customize Thunderbird and make it exactly the browser that you would like it to be. If there is a downside, it is that it doesn't have a built-in calendar. However, even this can be resolved with the add-ons. There are multiple calendar options that can be installed on Thunderbird, including one that will work with Google's calendar.
Eudora
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Eudora also supports multiple accounts as well as POP3 and IMAP. Additionally, it has some customization options that might help make your workday go a bit faster. For example, you can select music from your own library. You can use this music to let you know when mail has arrived. You can even set the mail to show up for individual users or mailing lists. It works very much like the ringtones on your phone. Additionally, Eudora manages your email, letting you know who has sent to you and to whom you have sent messages. It then compiles this information into viewable statistics. Plus, if you are already using Outlook, Eudora will import all of your contacts. The ad-supported Eudora is free.
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Zimbra
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This option from Yahoo! is a complete, and free, email service. It not only manages your POP3 and IMAP email like Outlook does, but it can import your email from Yahoo!, AOL and Google's Gmail. It has a full-featured calendar and allows you to read your emails even while offline. Plus, it has powerful search capabilities for your email and documents.
Evolution
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If you are stuck using Outlook because your company has an exchange server, there is even an alternative for you. Evolution is an open-source email program that has been on the Linux Operating System for years. Now it is also available for Windows. Just like Outlook, it has a calendar, contacts, task list and memos. With this you can connect to an exchange without having to pay for Outlook. Evolution is free.
Which One to Select
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Every client has different features that might suit your needs. If you must connect to an Exchange server, then Evolution is the choice for you. If you have a lot of accounts on Yahoo! or Google Gmail in addition to your work email, Zimba is a great choice. Eudora is a solid pick if you like the idea of adding a little fun to your day in addition to having a very good email client. Thunderbird is perfect for those that like a lot of customization.
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