Mailstrom alternatives, matched to each job it does

The best Mailstrom alternative is Alrighty if you use iCloud, Gmail or Outlook and want the senders you clear out to stay gone, from inside the mail app you read in. Clean Email is the closest match to Mailstrom's bulk tools, with apps for iPhone, Android, Mac and the web. Trimbox suits Gmail users who want one click per sender. Cleanfox and Unroll.me are free, and both are run by NielsenIQ. If all your mail is Gmail or Outlook.com, their own search and Sweep do Mailstrom's biggest job for free.

People leave Mailstrom for two reasons. It's paid only, and the tools that keep the inbox clean after the first big sweep (Block, Chill, Expire and saved rules) only run while you subscribe. Most alternatives lists name other cleaners and stop there. This page sorts the alternatives by Mailstrom's jobs instead, so you can see which one replaces the part you used.

How we checked

We read Mailstrom's home page, pricing page, FAQ and privacy policy on November 4, 2026, along with each alternative's own pages and App Store listings. Every fact about another company links to its source. Where a vendor's page didn't state something, we say so. We did not test the tools. Alrighty is our app, and it is listed first. For a side-by-side of every cleanup tool, see the best email cleaner app. For the delete step alone, see the best app to bulk delete emails.

What Mailstrom does, and what you need to replace

Mailstrom calls itself "a web-based email client that allows you to take bulk actions on your inboxes" (FAQ). It groups related mail into bundles so you can delete, archive or move hundreds or thousands of messages at once. Its home page sets it against AI: "Unlike 'artificial intelligence' algorithms that try to guess what you think is important, Mailstrom is a power tool that amplifies your human intelligence" (Mailstrom).

List the jobs you used before you pick a replacement.

• Bulk delete, archive and move. The core job. Every plan has "Unlimited email removal" (pricing).
• Block. It "removes the selected messages from your inbox," and "creates a rule so that future messages that match will be automatically filtered out." The rule can match a sender, a mailing list or a subject. "This feature is only available to subscribers" (FAQ).
• Chill and Expire. Chill takes mail out of the Inbox and returns it on a date you pick. Expire removes a sender's or a list's mail after a time you choose. Both are for subscribers only.
• Unsubscribe. In the Mailing Lists tab, it sends "an unsubscribe request email to the list owner," or opens the list's web page in a new tab when there's no address.
• Saved rules. A Move can be saved to "apply whenever a message arrives." Also for subscribers only.

What it can't do. Its FAQ says it can't yet organize folders other than the Inbox. It works only over IMAP, so a POP account or an Exchange server without IMAP can't connect.

The jobs to replace. If you used Mailstrom once to clear a backlog, any tool here does it, and Gmail does it for free. If you kept paying for Block and rules, you need a tool that stops new mail too. Few cleaners do that outside your mail app.

What does Mailstrom keep, and what does the trial cover?

Mailstrom reads your mail on its servers. Its FAQ says it "downloads certain information about your email messages including the subject line and other metadata," and "Mailstrom also has access to the contents of your emails." It "only stores subject lines and metadata on its servers," and uses the contents when you display an email.

• Passwords. For Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo it connects "via OAuth2, so we never have your password" (Mailstrom). For other accounts it stores IMAP passwords "using 256-bit salted AES encryption." iCloud needs an app-specific password.
• Use of your data. Its privacy policy says it "does not use any user-supplied data for the purpose of serving ads" and "does not share information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes." It also lets third parties such as Google place cookies on the service "to provide relevant advertising to you."
• After you delete your account. "We will keep your data for up to three months to facilitate easy restarting of your account," unless you email privacy@mailstrom.com.
• The trial. It needs no card. Mailstrom takes "a snapshot of the messages in your inbox," loads only the latest 5,000 if you have more, and lets you "delete, archive or move 25% of your messages." To do more, you subscribe.

Mailstrom is run by 410 Labs, Inc. The prices are on its pricing page: Basic is $9 a month or $59.95 a year for 1 account and up to 10,000 emails. Plus is $14 a month or $99.95 a year for 3 accounts and up to 250,000 emails. Pro is $29.95 a month or $199.95 a year for 20 accounts and no size limit. There is no free plan.

Mailstrom alternatives at a glance

App	Price	Accounts	Runs on	Where your mail is read	AI
Alrighty	14-day trial with no card, then Free or Pro	iCloud, Gmail, Outlook	Mac (Apple silicon), Windows, Linux	Your computer; Clean up sends a few per sender to its server	Clean up and reply drafts on when signed in; your own AI off until you connect it
Clean Email	Free up to 1,000 messages; paid plans for 1, 5 or 10 accounts	Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud, AOL, Fastmail, IMAP	iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, web	Metadata on its servers; bodies when you preview	Only if you connect an AI assistant
Trimbox	Free for 10 unsubscribes; in-app purchases	Gmail for the extension and web app	Chrome extension, web, iPhone, iPad	On your device, it says	AI writing assistant in the extension
Cleanfox	Free	Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, Hotmail, iCloud, AOL	iPhone, iPad, web	Its servers; data from your shopping mail goes to customers	None seen
Unroll.me	Free	Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo, AOL, Outlook	Web, iPhone, Android	Its servers; data from your shopping mail goes to customers	None seen
Gmail and Outlook.com	Free	Their own accounts	Web	No new company	Not used for this
Mailstrom	$9 to $29.95 a month	Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, AOL, iCloud, IMAP	Web	Subject lines and metadata on its servers	None

Alrighty: best Mailstrom alternative inside your mail app

Alrighty is a mail app for Mac, Windows and Linux that puts iCloud, Gmail and Outlook accounts in one inbox. Mailstrom is a separate web tool you visit to clean. Alrighty does the cleanup in the app you read mail in, and its strongest part is the job Mailstrom charges a subscription for: keeping a sender out after the sweep.

• Stop mail, in place of Block and Unsubscribe. One click on a sender unsubscribes you in every way the message offers: one-click, an email to the list, or the list's web page. It archives their mail and moves new mail from them out as it arrives. That is Mailstrom's Unsubscribe and Block in one action.
• Filters, in place of saved rules. A filter stops a kind of mail that comes from a new sender each time, like cold sales. You describe it in your own words or set rules. New Inbox mail that fits moves to Archive before the list shows it. Mail from people you wrote to is never moved.
• Clean up, in place of the bundles. 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.
• Delete. In any list, check messages, Shift-click a range, or check all, then click Delete. Mail goes to Trash.
• Safe unsubscribing. It only contacts senders whose mail passed DMARC and wasn't marked as spam, so a scammer doesn't learn your address is live.

Price. A 14-day trial with no card, then a Free plan or Pro. There are no ads on any plan.

Where your mail goes. Your mail stays with iCloud, Google or Microsoft. Alrighty keeps its copy and its search index on your computer. Your passwords and tokens stay on the computer, encrypted with a key from your system's keychain, and no Alrighty server holds them. Clean up sends each sender's address, three facts the receiving mail server found, and up to 3 of their newest emails (2,000 characters each) to Alrighty's server, which asks an AI model to sort them. Its privacy page names OpenAI, Together AI and TypeSafe AI as the model companies it uses. A described filter asks an AI model through the same server, and only while you're signed in. Signed out, nothing goes to Alrighty's server.

AI, if that's why you chose Mailstrom. Alrighty uses AI where Mailstrom refuses to. Clean up's sender list comes from a model, and while you're signed in, it sorts senders in the background and opening a reply starts a suggested draft. Stop mail and rule-based filters act on the sender or the rule you pick. Connecting your own AI is off until you turn it on.

What it can't do. There is no iPhone or web app. It takes iCloud, Gmail and Outlook accounts only, not Yahoo, AOL, Fastmail or other IMAP. It has no tool to delete by date or size, and nothing like Chill or Expire. It's a full mail app, so you switch apps to use it, and it's new, with no long track record.

Pick it if you use iCloud, Gmail or Outlook and you paid for Mailstrom mostly to keep senders out after the cleanup.

Clean Email: closest to Mailstrom's bulk tools

Clean Email does most of what Mailstrom does, and on more devices. It "works across iPhone and iPad, Android, Mac, and the web" (Clean Email). Its bulk actions include "trash, move, label, archive, permanent delete, block, keep newest, mute, star," and it finds large and old mail (Clean Email).

• In place of Block and rules. Auto Clean applies rules to incoming mail, such as archiving social notifications or mail past an age. That's the closest match here to Mailstrom's Expire and saved rules.
• In place of Unsubscribe. "Clean Email will send unsubscribe requests on your behalf," and can block lists that ignore those requests.
• In place of Chill. Its subscription tools offer "Read Later, Pause, or Keep Newest."

Price. A free account lets you "clean up to 1,000 email messages at no cost to you," and a 14-day Premium trial needs no card (help). Screener, Auto Clean and the Unsubscriber are Premium features. Paid plans cover 1, 5 or 10 accounts; our Clean Email alternatives page lists the amounts.

Where your mail goes. Like Mailstrom, it indexes your mailbox on its servers. Its privacy policy says it "accesses email metadata, including sender and recipient details, subjects, dates, folders, labels," and retrieves a message body when you open a full preview. It says "We will never sell or rent your email address."

What it can't do. It's a cleaner, not your mail app, so you still clean in one place and read in another. Its rules, like Mailstrom's, are part of the paid plan.

Pick it if you liked Mailstrom's bulk tools and rules and want them on your phone too.

Trimbox: best for Gmail, one sender at a time

Trimbox is a narrower tool. It finds the mailing lists in your inbox so you can unsubscribe, and "Trimbox lets you delete all of the past emails from a sender with just 1 click" (Trimbox). It says "None of your email data ever leaves your device," which is the opposite of Mailstrom's server model.

Price. Its site shows no price. The App Store listing says unsubscribes are "free for your first 10; unlimited with subscription," with in-app purchases from $4.19 to $89.99.

What it can't do. The download page marks both the extension and the web app "(for Gmail only)." It works by sender, with no bundles by subject, date or size, and nothing like Chill or Expire. The App Store listing says the app can "Block spam emails," but doesn't say how.

Pick it if you're on Gmail and a few hundred senders make up most of your mail. Our Trimbox alternatives page covers what its privacy policy says beyond the email data.

Cleanfox: free, if the data model is fine with you

Cleanfox is free where Mailstrom is paid. "Cleanfox is 100% free. There are no subscriptions, no trial periods, and no hidden fees" (FAQ). It finds newsletters and lets you swipe to keep them, delete the old mail, or delete it and send future mail to Trash. Its App Store listing names "Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, iCloud, AOL."

How it's paid for. Its FAQ says: "we sell data for statistical research purposes related to e-commerce." Cleanfox is made available by AC Nielsen SAS, "a NielsenIQ company," and its privacy notice says it collects "copies of and information from the commercial email messages you receive."

What it can't do. It has no rules, no folders and no bundles beyond newsletters. Its FAQ says that, rather than unsubscribe, "we have decided to opt for the automatic deletion of your unwanted newsletters." The app runs on iPhone and iPad; on a computer you use the website.

Pick it if you only want newsletters cleared, for free, and you accept the panel. Our Cleanfox alternatives page has the full policy and how to opt out.

Unroll.me: free, with a daily digest

Unroll.me lets you "block unwanted emails, keep the ones you want, and rollup the rest into a single daily digest" (Unroll.me). The Rollup is the nearest thing here to Mailstrom's Chill: mail you want later, out of the Inbox now.

How it's paid for. Unrollme LLC is "a NielsenIQ company," the same group as Cleanfox. Its privacy notice says "we will collect copies of and information from the commercial email messages you receive."

What it can't do. It does no bulk delete by date, size or subject. It manages subscriptions only.

Pick it if you want a digest for free and accept the panel. Our Unroll.me alternatives page covers its data history and how to delete your account.

Gmail and Outlook.com: the free way to do Mailstrom's biggest job

If you used Mailstrom once to clear years of backlog, your provider's own tools may be enough.

• Gmail. Search for the mail with from:, older_than:2y or larger:10M (Google), select all the conversations that match, and delete. To keep a sender out, block them: how to block a sender in Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail has the steps.
• Outlook.com. Select a message and use Sweep to remove all mail from that sender, or keep only the latest.

What they can't do. Each works on its own provider's mail only. Neither unsubscribes in bulk from old mail at once, and neither knows which senders you never open. The steps, and why deleted mail still fills your storage for 30 days, are in our bulk delete guide.

Pick them if you have one account and need one big sweep, not a subscription.

How to leave Mailstrom

Cancel the plan, then delete, then revoke.

1. Cancel your plan, so you aren't charged again. Block, Chill, Expire and saved rules are listed as subscriber features, and Mailstrom's pages don't say what happens to them after you cancel.
2. Delete your Mailstrom account. Its privacy policy says it then keeps your data "for up to three months." To have it removed sooner, email privacy@mailstrom.com and ask.
3. Remove its access to Gmail. Open your Google Account's linked apps page, choose Mailstrom, then Remove access. For Outlook or Yahoo, remove it from that account's connected apps. If you gave it an iCloud app-specific password, delete that password.
4. Check your folders. Mail you Chilled sits in a folder called [Mailstrom]/Chilled/ in your own mailbox, and expired mail in [Mailstrom]/Expired (FAQ). Move what you want back to the Inbox.

How to choose

• iCloud, Gmail or Outlook, and you want senders to stay gone: Alrighty.
• Mailstrom's bulk tools and rules, on your phone too: Clean Email.
• Gmail only, one click per sender, with nothing on a server: Trimbox.
• Free newsletter cleanup, and the data panel is fine with you: Cleanfox.
• A free daily digest of the lists you keep: Unroll.me.
• One big sweep of one account, free: Gmail's search or Outlook.com's Sweep.

When the cleanup is done, read how to stop marketing emails for the stores that keep coming back. See what Alrighty does about unwanted mail on its features page.

Questions

Is Mailstrom free?

No. Mailstrom has a free trial with no card, but no free plan. The trial loads a snapshot of up to your latest 5,000 inbox messages and lets you act on 25% of them. Plans cost $9, $14 or $29.95 a month for 1, 3 or 20 accounts.

Does Mailstrom read my emails?

It stores subject lines and other metadata, such as sender and date, on its servers. Its FAQ says it also "has access to the contents of your emails," which it uses when you display an email. Its privacy policy says it does not use your data to serve ads.

What happens to my Mailstrom rules if I cancel?

Mailstrom's pages don't say. Its FAQ lists Block, Chill, Expire and saved rules as features for subscribers only. Mail it already moved stays in your own mailbox, so check the [Mailstrom] folders for Chilled and Expired mail before you go.

Is there a free alternative to Mailstrom?

Gmail's search and Outlook.com's Sweep delete in bulk for free. Cleanfox and Unroll.me are free, paid for by data from your commercial email. Clean Email cleans up to 1,000 messages free, and Alrighty has a Free plan after its 14-day trial.

Does Mailstrom work with iCloud?

Yes. Its FAQ gives the iCloud IMAP and SMTP settings and says you need an app-specific password from Apple. Alrighty, Clean Email, Cleanfox and Unroll.me also take iCloud. Trimbox's extension and web app take Gmail only.