Best email app for multiple Gmail accounts on a Mac

The best email app for multiple Gmail accounts on a Mac is Alrighty if you want every Gmail account in one inbox, one search across all of them, and less junk in each. Mimestream is the pick if all your accounts are Google and will stay that way. Apple Mail is the free choice. Spark and Canary put unlimited accounts in one inbox for free and also run on Windows and Android. Thunderbird and Mailspring are free desktop apps for many accounts.

If you have two or more Google accounts, say a personal Gmail, a side project and a work account, you know the routine: click your profile picture, pick another account, wait for the tab to reload, and miss the mail that came in on the account you weren't looking at. Google gives you a few ways around this, and one of them, POP fetching, is going away. This page covers Google's own options first, then the Mac apps that end the switching.

How we checked

We read Google's help pages and each app's own pricing, help and privacy pages on November 8, 2026, and every fact links to its source. For each app we noted how many Google accounts it takes, whether it shows them in one inbox, whether one search covers them all, and where it keeps your Google sign-in. Alrighty is our app, and it's listed first.

Can you see multiple Gmail accounts in one inbox?

Not in Gmail on the web. Gmail shows one account per tab. Google lets you "sign in to multiple accounts at once" and "switch between accounts without signing out and back in again" (Google), but each account still has its own inbox. To read several Gmail accounts in one list on a Mac, you need either forwarding inside Gmail or a mail app.

Gmail's Multiple inboxes setting doesn't combine accounts. It splits one account's inbox into sections, and for each section you "Enter the search criteria you want to add" (Google). Every section still comes from the account you're signed in to.

Google's own ways to manage multiple Gmail accounts

These cost nothing and need no new app. Each one solves part of the problem.

The account switcher

Sign in to each account once, then pick one from your profile picture at the top right (Google). It's quick, but you see one inbox at a time, and you have to remember to check the others.

One thing to know: when you're signed in to several accounts, Google "might apply settings from your default account," and "In many cases, your default account is the one you signed in with first" (same page). That's why links from Docs or Calendar sometimes open in the wrong account.

Chrome profiles

A Chrome profile keeps "bookmarks, history, passwords, and other settings" separate, and Google suggests profiles for keeping work and personal accounts apart (Google). Click the profile icon at the top right of Chrome, then Add Chrome profile. Each Gmail account then opens in its own profile, with no default-account mix-ups. It's still one inbox per window, though.

Forwarding one Gmail account into another

You can forward everything from one Gmail account to another. In the account you're forwarding from, open Settings, See all settings, then the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab, and add the address. Google sends "a verification link to the address," and once you confirm it, forwarding starts. Google recommends you "Keep Gmail's copy in the Inbox" of the original account (Google).

To reply from the forwarded address, add it under Send mail as. Google lists "Another Gmail address" as an address you can send from, up to 99 in all (Google).

The catch: you read everything in one account, but your search, labels and filters are split. Old mail stays in the original account, and a forwarded message is a copy.

POP and Gmailify: being removed

For years the other route was Check mail from other accounts, which pulled mail into Gmail over POP. Google says "Gmail will no longer support checking emails from third-party accounts through POP," and the option "will no longer be available in Gmail on your computer." Google lists Gmailify among the features it will "start removing support for." For POP, "After the first quarter of 2026, this feature no longer supports new users," and "Existing users can still use the feature until January 2027" (Google).

Google's page talks about third-party accounts and doesn't say whether fetching from another Gmail account counts. Either way, don't set up a new POP fetch now. Google points to forwarding instead, or to adding the account in the Gmail app on a phone. Google also says that starting January 2027, "Send as" stops working for third-party addresses, but "This change does not affect Google Workspace aliases or other Gmail addresses you own" (Google).

Mac apps for multiple Gmail accounts at a glance

App	Price	Gmail accounts	One inbox for all	One search for all	Your Google sign-in is kept	Other accounts
Alrighty	14-day trial, then Free or Pro	Several, each with Sign in with Google	Yes	Yes, on your Mac	On your Mac	iCloud, Outlook
Mimestream	$49.99/yr or $4.99/mo	"multiple Gmail accounts"	Yes, or separate	Gmail-backed	On your Mac	None
Apple Mail	Comes with macOS	Yes	Not stated	Any or all mailboxes	Not stated in Mail's guide	iCloud, Exchange, other
Spark	Free; Plus $99/yr, Pro $199/yr	"unlimited email accounts"	Yes	Not stated	Token on Spark's servers	iCloud, Outlook, Yahoo, IMAP
Canary Mail	Free; $36/yr or $100/yr	"Unlimited Mail Accounts"	Yes	Not stated	Your device, except push	iCloud, Outlook, IMAP
Thunderbird	Free	Providers not named on its home page	Yes	Not stated	Your Mac	Any IMAP
Mailspring	Free; Pro $8/mo or $85/yr	Yes, but not Advanced Protection	Not stated	"Across all accounts"	Your Mac	iCloud, Microsoft 365, IMAP

Alrighty: best for several Gmail accounts plus iCloud or Outlook

Alrighty is a desktop mail app for Mac, Windows and Linux that puts all your accounts in one inbox. Add each Gmail account with Sign in with Google, or with an app password. Alrighty talks to Gmail through Google's Gmail API. Every account you add lands in the same list, so mail to your work address and your personal one sit side by side, and nothing waits behind a tab you forgot to open.

• One search across every account. Search runs on your Mac and matches what you mean as well as the words: "when is my flight" finds the airline's confirmation in whichever account it landed. Ask a question and get the answer, with the emails it came from.
• Stop mail in every account. Two Gmail accounts usually means two sets of newsletters. One click on a sender unsubscribes in every way the message offers, archives their mail, and moves new mail from them out as it arrives.
• Clean up. It lists the senders you probably don't want, such as scams, cold outreach and newsletters you never open, so you can stop them all at once.
• Your AI in all your accounts. Claude, ChatGPT's desktop app, Codex, Cursor or a local model can read and search every account once you turn it on with Connect AI, and can work in a window you watch. Nothing sends until you click Send.

Where your mail goes. Your mail stays with Google. Alrighty keeps its copy and its search index on your Mac. Your Google sign-ins stay on your Mac, encrypted with a key from your system's keychain, and no Alrighty server holds them. AI features, such as suggested replies and Clean up, send the emails they need to Alrighty's server, which asks an AI model (OpenAI's for answers and replies). Signed in, opening a reply starts a suggested draft by itself.

Price. A 14-day trial with no card, then a Free plan or Pro.

What it can't do. On a Mac, it needs Apple silicon. There's no iPhone or web app. It takes Gmail, iCloud and Outlook accounts only, so no Yahoo or other IMAP. It has no calendar, so Google Calendar stays in your browser. It's new, with no long track record yet.

Pick it if you're tired of the account switcher, and you want every Gmail account, and any iCloud or Outlook account, in one inbox with one search.

Mimestream: best if every account is Google

Mimestream is a Mac app made only for Gmail. It says "Mimestream supports multiple Gmail accounts," and you can "View all of your inboxes together, as one unified inbox," or keep them apart. Profiles let you "Keep work and personal accounts separate," each with its own notification schedule (Mimestream).

Where your mail goes. It "only stores your data and tokens on your device" and connects "directly to the Gmail API" with no sync service in between (same page). Search is "Gmail-backed," so it runs on Google's servers.

Price. $49.99 a year or $4.99 a month, after a 14-day trial with no credit card. There's no free plan (pricing).

What it can't do. It takes Google accounts only. If you add an iCloud or Outlook account later, see our Mimestream alternatives.

Pick it if all your accounts are Gmail and you want an app built only for Gmail, with its own profiles for work and personal.

Apple Mail: best free app for a few Gmail accounts

Apple Mail comes with macOS and adds "iCloud, Gmail (Google), Exchange, school, work, or other" accounts (Apple). Add each Google account in turn and they all show in Mail's sidebar. Search can cover any or all mailboxes (Apple).

The catch with several accounts. Search covers only the selected mailbox until you choose to search all of them. Search depends on your Mac's Spotlight index, and when that breaks, Mail misses mail you can see. Our Apple Mail search guide has the fixes.

Pick it if you want free and built in, and you only need to read and reply.

Spark: best for unlimited Gmail accounts on every device

Spark's free plan includes "unlimited email accounts," and it runs on Mac, iPhone, Windows and Android (pricing). Plus is $99 a year and Pro is $199 a year.

Where your sign-in goes. For Gmail, Spark says "we store an application-specific token," so it doesn't hold your password, and some features "require our server-side email processing to work" (Spark). Each Google account you add is one more token on Spark's servers.

Pick it if you need every Gmail account on your phone too. Our Spark alternatives cover the apps that keep sign-ins on your Mac.

Canary Mail: best free unified inbox across devices

Canary's free plan lists "Unlimited Mail Accounts" and a unified inbox, on up to 2 devices. Growth is $36 a year and Pro+ is $100 a year, with no monthly billing (pricing). It runs on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Windows and Android.

Where your mail goes. Its privacy policy says your account information is "stored on your device and is never transferred to our servers." For push notifications, it "will temporarily store your email address, credentials, sender, subject line."

Pick it if you want a free plan with many Gmail accounts and an app on your phone as well.

Thunderbird: best free, open-source choice

Thunderbird is free and open source on Mac, Windows and Linux, and lets you "Manage all accounts separately or in a unified inbox" (Thunderbird). Its privacy notice says messages "are stored and processed locally on your device," and sign-ins are "exchanged for OAuth tokens." It sends usage telemetry to Mozilla until you opt out.

Pick it if you want free, open source, and you don't mind setting things up yourself.

Mailspring: best free app with search across accounts

Mailspring supports "Gmail, iCloud, Office 365, FastMail, Outlook.com, Yahoo!, and IMAP/SMTP," with "Lightning-fast search across all accounts" (Mailspring). It's free on Mac, Windows and Linux, and Pro is $8 a month or $85 a year (pricing).

A Gmail catch. Its FAQ says "Google's Advanced Protection blocks IMAP clients like Mailspring." If one of your Google accounts uses Advanced Protection, that account can't connect.

Pick it if you want free, cross-platform, and your Google accounts don't use Advanced Protection.

How to choose

• Several Gmail accounts plus iCloud or Outlook, one search, less junk: Alrighty.
• Only Google accounts, now and later: Mimestream.
• Free and built in: Apple Mail.
• Every account on your phone too: Spark or Canary.
• Free and open source: Thunderbird.
• Free, with Yahoo or Fastmail as well: Mailspring.
• No new app, just fewer tab switches: forward one Gmail account into another, and add it under Send mail as.
• Each account in its own web window, not a mail app: see our Wavebox alternatives and Kiwi for Gmail alternatives.

If your accounts are a mix of iCloud, Gmail and Outlook rather than mostly Gmail, our list of the best email apps for multiple accounts compares free-plan limits across all three. For Gmail on a Mac in general, see is there a Gmail app for Mac.

Questions

How do I check two Gmail accounts at the same time?

In a browser, sign in to both and switch with your profile picture, or open each in its own Chrome profile. To see both in one list, forward one into the other, or use a Mac mail app with a unified inbox, such as Alrighty, Mimestream, Spark or Canary.

Is Gmail's "Check mail from other accounts" going away?

Yes. Google says Gmail will stop checking mail from third-party accounts over POP, and the option disappears from Gmail on the computer. New users lost it after the first quarter of 2026, and existing users can keep it until January 2027. Google is removing support for Gmailify as well.

Can I merge two Gmail accounts into one?

Google offers no merge. The closest is forwarding all mail from one account to the other and adding the old address under Send mail as, so you can reply from it. Old mail stays where it was, so a mail app that searches both accounts at once is often simpler.

How many Gmail accounts can I add to a Mac mail app?

Spark lists "unlimited email accounts" on its free plan, and Canary lists "Unlimited Mail Accounts." Mimestream says it supports multiple Gmail accounts. Alrighty sets no limit on how many Gmail, iCloud and Outlook accounts you add. Google lets you send as up to 99 addresses from one Gmail account.

Does Chrome's account switcher open links in the wrong account?

It can. Google says that with several accounts signed in, it may apply settings from your default account, which is usually the one you signed in with first. Separate Chrome profiles avoid this, because each profile is signed in to one account.