Outlook VS Thunderbird email clients

[Rob Whisonant]

If you use multiple email accounts, what do you prefer and why? Outlook or Thunderbird?

I have been using Thunderbird for years but am considering moving to Outlook since I pay for Office 365 each year.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Ron Killian]

I use to use Outlook a LONG time ago. Don't even remember why. For the longest time now I've used web based emails, yahoo, gmail and hotmail. Mainly for access from anywhere if needed. Though that could probably be done with the ones you mentioned?

I keep racking my brain as to why I stopped using Outlook. I think a big reason is the last Office I bought, Outlook was not included.

Well, why did I reply to this, I am of no help.

How does Thunderbird work? I've heard it mentioned so often.

 

[Rob Whisonant]

Rob Whisonant

Thunderbird is a desktop client that let's you access ALL of your email accounts. Here is a link to it.

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/

Outlook of course does the same. But Outlook has a Android app. Thunderbird does not.

That is one reason I am thinking about changing.

 

[ulterios]

ulterios

There is an app for Thunderbird but I have no idea if it's any good since I haven't tried it yet. The link is below for it.

http://download.cnet.com/Mozilla-Thunderbird-Portable/3000-2367_4-10526818.html

I personally have always used Thunderbird and prefer it over the other email clients. I have tried many different ones and I just like TB the best. I also am not a fan of using outlook due to sharing of my information with MS. Not that it's a big deal but if I can keep my information as much to myself as possible I would prefer that. MS doesn't need to know all my email addresses, where my emails come from and who I send them to. I just prefer the standalone type client like TB.

 

[Rob Whisonant]

Rob Whisonant

Thanks for letting me know about this app. Did not know about it. Seems great for when you are using another computer you don't own. To bad it does not run on Android.

The main reason I am looking at Outlook again is because they have a desktop program, an android app and web based access.

I fully understand your privacy concerns.

 

[ulterios]

ulterios

I haven't even check it out, someone sent me the link because I said something about a mobile app. I thought it might be an Android but didn't look into it yet.

Have you tried any of the Android email clients? kaiten is one that I use and it's one of the top email clients. Maybe one to check and see if it fits your needs.

 

[Ron Killian]

Ron Killian

Thanks for the link. So I can use it for ally my gmail accounts, yahoo and hotmail, plus website emails? Right now I have most of my sites emails going to gmail. Just to keep more in one place. Or I can do it all with thunderbird?

But it's by Mozilla. I mostly use Firefox, but honestly it seems be getting slower and more unresponsive all the time. I usually need to restart it once a day. Chrome and Opera don't have those problems.

 

[Rob Whisonant]

Rob Whisonant

Yes, both Thunderbird and Outlook can do that.

 

[ulterios]

ulterios

Since you like Firefox but are seeing it slow down you might want to check out another Firefox based browser. Comodo Ice Dragon is a real good one you might want to check out. It's by Comodo, the people who issue many of the SSL's and it's very secure.

If you want a change and are looking for speed then you can check out SRWare Iron. It's a chromium based browser like Google Chrome but it's way faster and doesn't use your personal data like Chrome does.

 

[Ron Killian]

Yes, both Thunderbird and Outlook can do that.

Thanks. That would be handy because gmail limits how many accounts you can have.

Since you like Firefox but are seeing it slow down you might want to check out another Firefox based browser. Comodo Ice Dragon is a real good one you might want to check out. It's by Comodo, the people who issue many of the SSL's and it's very secure.

If you want a change and are looking for speed then you can check out SRWare Iron. It's a chromium based browser like Google Chrome but it's way faster and doesn't use your personal data like Chrome does.

Well, I was a fan for a long time. As I mentioned, it's been getting slow for me, freezing, and I often have to restart it. And that is not because I have 30 tabs open. Shouldn't be my PC because chrome and opera work fine.

appreciate the suggestions. I will checked them out. I downloaded another one that is suppose to be good, Aviator, but have not tried it yet. Think it's more for privacy though.

 

[ulterios]

ulterios

I was a fan for as long as I can remember myself then was looking for something faster when having many tabs open. That's when I switched to Iron as my main browser after testing dozens of browsers.

I was still using Firefox as one of my other browsers (always have 3-4 open at all times with 1 main, Iron) until recently when it kept crashing on me at the worst possible times. Hopefully some updates can improve the stability. I know it's not my PC because I tried it on my two top spec systems and get the same results. Oh well, maybe one day I can return to the fox!

 

[Ron Killian]

Ron Killian

Yep, same here, Firefox often crash, freezes up and goes slow. Least you can restore the last sessions, so it's not a big loss when it does crash.

Hey we are hijacking Robs thread now. Sorry.

 

[virtubox]

To answer to Rob, I was using Outlook but it require too much RAM to run 24/24 and I have never used the calendar feature.
So I have tried Thunderbird, and even with extensions, I don't really find it better than outlook. And finally, by browsing Alternativeto (I really recommend this website), I have found Opera Mail, a lightweight email client, with a RSS feed reader integrated and multiple imap and pop account support ( I have 20+ email addresses)



And I have also tried the new Opera browser and it's really good too :
- included ad-block
- bookmark & tabs manager
- free vpn
- extensions and customization

 

[Liam]

Liam

I tried Opera Mail myself but just didn't like the interface as much as I liked Thunderbird so I switched back. Maybe if I was to have given it more time I would have gotten to like it better but as of now Thunderbird is my first choice.

 

[dbs00]

I'm using Thunderbird with ~ 15 emails in it. Its installed on a 128 GB SSD ( C://) . Atm ~ 30 gb are logs and history files for it. Need to clear it doh... Will make searching for old emails a hassle

 

[kingcool52]

I didn't even know about Thunderbird before reading this post, to be honest. After searching it up it seems that it is a very good alternative to Outlook especially considering it is free. The problem with Outlook is that you need Microsoft Office and that can be quite pricey for individuals and small businesses. It's not a huge price but if you're not making a lot of revenue, every penny counts. I like the chat function that comes with Thunderbird. I would definately recommend using Thunderbird unless you already have and pay for Microsoft Office.

 

[Unknown]

If I can join the discussion, here are my two cents and my opinion. I have tried using both, Thunderbird and Outlook and I have to give the edge to Outlook. It's simply the better emailing option... my favorite is still Gmail though.

Why is Outlook better than Thunderbird? Well, Outlook has more functions, it has better overall design and visibility. I don't know if this is still the case but Thunderbird used to receive far less updated than Outlook and was, therefore, less reliable.

I just love the overall feel of Outlook and the different integration with other things like PayPal. Makes things so much easier