Mimestream pricing, plans and what you get

Mimestream costs $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year for one person, and a Group plan costs the same per seat (Mimestream pricing). There is no free plan: you get a fully working 14-day trial with no credit card, and after it ends you need a subscription to keep using the app.

Prices as of November 2026, from Mimestream's own pages. Prices are in US dollars, and "Sales tax or VAT may apply."

Mimestream plans at a glance

The pricing page has an Annual and a Monthly switch. Yearly billing costs $49.99, against $59.88 for twelve months at $4.99.

Plan	Monthly	Yearly	What it includes	Limits
Individual	$4.99	$49.99	All your Google accounts; free sharing with immediate family	Up to 5 devices
Group	$4.99 per seat	$49.99 per seat	Everything in Individual, plus centralized billing and seat management	Seats you buy; soft cap from 10 seats

All of this comes from the pricing page and the group licensing page. There is no higher tier and no AI add-on to pay for.

Is Mimestream free?

No. Mimestream has a free trial, not a free plan. The FAQ says "We have a fully functional 14-day free trial that doesn't require a credit card. After the trial period ends, you will have to purchase a subscription to continue using the app" (pricing).

The app also stops when a paid plan ends. "If your subscription expires and you don't renew it, the app will de-activate after your expiration date." Your Gmail stays in Gmail, since Mimestream is a client for it.

Is there a Mimestream lifetime license or one-time purchase?

No. The FAQ says "a subscription license is the only purchase option available for Mimestream" (pricing). The subscription licensing page answers "Is there a lifetime subscription?" with "No, we do not offer a lifetime subscription."

It also says what Mimestream recommends if a subscription doesn't suit you: "we recommend Apple Mail: it's already built into macOS and is totally free to use!"

Why does Mimestream charge a subscription?

Mimestream says the subscription pays for running costs that a one-time price can't cover (subscription licensing):

• The Gmail API. Mimestream talks to Gmail through Google's API, not IMAP. It has "a limited fleet-wide API usage quota from Google", and "Google has announced that later in 2026, project-wide usage above a basic allowance will be billed."
• Push. It runs its own "Mimestream Private Push service to deliver fast notifications of new email," which has hosting costs.
• macOS updates. The app is built with Swift and SwiftUI, which change with each macOS release.

It gives the Gmail API as the reason for no lifetime plan: "If something like this ever happened with the Gmail API, it would be untenable for us to honor previous lifetime commitments." The page also says Mimestream is "a small, bootstrapped company".

Can I buy Mimestream on the App Store?

No. "We have decided to initially focus on direct sales only" (pricing FAQ). Mimestream says this lets it price the app lower and sell group licenses. The direct version is still sandboxed, notarized by Apple and signed with its Developer ID. Renewal invoices come from its reseller, Paddle.

Is there a Mimestream family, team or student discount?

Family sharing is free, and groups pay the normal price per seat. Mimestream's pages list no student discount.

• Family. You can share an Individual license with "partners, children, and parents living in the same household." The 5-device limit still applies to the whole license (pricing FAQ).
• Groups. A group has one admin, who doesn't have to use a seat. You can add members by hand, by CSV, or let anyone at your company's domain join. With 10 or more seats, the group can go over its seat count and has 30 days to fix it. Extra seats are billed prorated; seat cuts take effect at the next billing cycle (group licensing).

How do I cancel Mimestream, and can I get a refund?

You cancel in Mimestream's licensing portal, and you get a refund only on yearly plans. The steps from the pricing FAQ:

1. Open the licensing portal.
2. Click the Billing tab.
3. Click Cancel on your plan.

"You'll retain access to the app for the remainder of the subscription period you already paid for."

The refund rule depends on the plan: "For annual plans, we offer full refunds within 30 days of purchase or renewal." "For monthly plans, we do not offer refunds, but you can cancel your subscription at any time." To ask for a refund, email support@mimestream.com.

Mimestream sends "a renewal reminder email 30 days before automatically renewing an annual subscription", so a yearly renewal shouldn't surprise you. It sends no reminders for monthly plans.

Is Mimestream worth it?

It is worth it if all your mail is Gmail and you want a native Mac app. It says "Made for Mac. Optimized for Gmail." and "Built for Apple Silicon" (Mimestream). Its search is "Gmail-backed", and it stores "your data and tokens on your device", connecting "directly to the Gmail API, without going through any intermediary sync service."

Yearly billing has two extra pluses. It is the only plan with a refund window, and it gets you into the iPhone and iPad beta at once. The iOS beta page says the beta needs an active plan with "At least six months paid", and "Annual plans qualify right away." It needs iOS 26 or later, and spots are limited.

It is not worth it if you have an iCloud, Outlook or Yahoo account. Mimestream adds Gmail accounts only, at any price.

Alrighty and other options next to Mimestream

If price or Gmail-only is the problem, these are the apps to compare. For the full list, read Mimestream alternatives.

Alrighty. A mail app for Mac, Windows and Linux that takes Gmail through the Gmail API, as Mimestream does, plus iCloud and Outlook, all in one inbox. Price: a 14-day trial with no card, then a Free plan or Pro. Free has a small monthly AI allowance and no sorting into groups; Pro has both. Like Mimestream, it keeps your mail, its search index and your sign-ins on your Mac. Search runs on the Mac and matches meaning as well as words, across every account at once. Stop mail ends a sender's mail in one action. Limits: no iPhone app, no calendar, and no Yahoo or other IMAP accounts. Its AI features send the emails they read through Alrighty's server to OpenAI and other model companies. See Alrighty vs Mimestream and the features.

Spark. A free plan with unlimited accounts, including iCloud and Outlook, and Plus at $10 a month or $99 a year. See Spark pricing and Mimestream vs Spark.

Canary Mail. A free plan on 2 devices, or $36 a year for Growth. See Canary Mail pricing.

Apple Mail. Built into macOS, and the app Mimestream itself points to if you don't want a subscription.

Questions

What happens to my license if I go over 5 devices?

The Individual license covers up to 5 devices, and family sharing doesn't raise that number (pricing FAQ). You manage your active devices in the licensing portal.

Can my family member see my email if I share my license?

No. Mimestream says sharing "does not share access to your email account." It may let them into the licensing portal, where they can manage the license's billing settings and active devices (pricing FAQ).

Can I join the iPhone beta during the free trial?

No. The iOS beta page says "Your plan counts toward the beta once your first payment goes through." On a yearly plan you can join right after that first payment.

Who sells Mimestream?

Mimestream, LLC makes the app (Mimestream). Payments go through its reseller, Paddle, which sends the renewal invoices (pricing FAQ).