Bandwidth Load for IMAP Vs. POP3
Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) and Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) offer two of the industry standard methods for receiving email messages. Most Internet service providers (ISP) and email hosts offer both options for delivering mail. When bandwidth is an issue, such as on limited cellphone data plans, it's worth considering which service provides better bandwidth control.
Other People Are Reading
-
Difference Between POP3 and IMAP
-
Before deciding which mail protocol will best suit your needs, consider the fundamental differences between the two protocols. POP3 is designed to offload email to the client whenever he requests it. This means that no mail -- except for that which is unread -- is stored locally on your computer and kept off the mail server. IMAP mail protocol downloads the text of mail messages to your computer, but leaves a copy on the server. The benefit for POP3 is that the server does not have to maintain as much storage, while IMAP storage of email ensures a proper backup in the event your local hard drive fails.
Direct Bandwidth Comparison
-
IMAP uses less bandwidth than POP3 you check your when email. This is because IMAP only downloads basic information about the subject, sender and status (read or unread) of the emails, and waits until you specifically request the full text of an email before downloading the remainder of the text. POP3, however, immediately downloads any messages that are present, which includes the full text and any attachments.
-
Organizational Bandwidth
-
IMAP may ultimately prove more bandwidth-intensive than POP3 when multiple administrative tasks are performed. Once a POP3 client has downloaded messages, their organization or deletion uses no bandwidth. Since IMAP messages are stored on the server, all functions -- including moving to a different folder, deleting them, changing the status or even marking them as junk mail -- results in a consumption of some bandwidth.
Other Considerations
-
Bandwidth may not be an issue if other factors affect your choice of mail protocol. Since IMAP merely synchronizes mail from the server with a client, its possible to have your email available from multiple computers -- whether using a client, or accessing a webmail interface. Since POP3 downloads the messages, those archived messages are then unavailable to you unless you choose to store a copy on the server or access your email only from the computer that houses your POP3 client. Speed is also a concern when comparing the two services -- slower Internet connections may make it difficult to access messages via IMAP, even if that message has already been read. The speed of POP3, however, is only limited by the processor speed of the computer running the client.
-
References
- Photo Credit Medioimages/Photodisc/Photodisc/Getty Images
