Spark Mail alternatives that keep mail on your Mac
Spark runs some features on its own servers and stores IMAP logins there. These Mac mail apps connect straight to your provider instead.
By Emmett Miller
The best Spark alternative is Alrighty if you want iCloud, Gmail and Outlook in one inbox with your mail and logins kept on your Mac, plus one-click ways to stop unwanted mail. Canary is the closest match to Spark on Windows and Android. Apple Mail is the free choice, Mailspring and Thunderbird are free and connect straight to your provider, and Mimestream is the pick for Gmail only.
People leave Spark for a few reasons: the price of Plus and Pro, AI they didn't ask for, or where their mail goes. That last one is the one most lists skip, so we start there.
How we checked
We read each app's own pricing, help and privacy pages on November 2, 2026, and every fact links to its source. For each app we noted what it costs, which accounts it takes, and above all where it processes your mail and your logins. Alrighty is our app, and it's listed first.
What Spark does with your mail
Spark is open about this on its privacy page, and it's worth reading in its own words:
- Some features "require our server-side email processing to work," and "Spark requires the server-side processing to send you push notifications."
- For Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo, Spark stores "an application-specific token," so it doesn't have your actual password.
- For "AOL, Exchange and custom IMAP accounts, this access token is your email login and password." Spark says it encrypts the password in its database, and calls an app-specific password "a must for iCloud accounts."
- It runs on Google Cloud, and deletes encrypted notification data "in 4 hours after sending a notification."
None of this is hidden, and Spark explains why it does it. But if you'd rather no company's servers hold your mail logins, you want an app that connects from your Mac straight to your provider.
The alternatives at a glance
| App | Price | iCloud, Gmail, Outlook | Where your mail and logins are kept |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alrighty | 14-day trial, then Free or Pro | All three | Your Mac |
| Canary Mail | Free; $36/yr or $100/yr | All three | Your device, except push on phones |
| Apple Mail | Comes with macOS | All three | Your Mac |
| Mailspring | Free; Pro $8/mo or $85/yr | All three | Your Mac, except Pro metadata |
| Thunderbird | Free | Any IMAP account | Your Mac |
| Mimestream | $49.99/yr | Gmail only | Your Mac |
| Spark | Free; Plus $99/yr, Pro $199/yr | All three | Spark's servers for some features |
Alrighty: best Spark alternative for iCloud, Gmail and Outlook
Alrighty is a mail app that takes iCloud, Gmail and Outlook accounts in one inbox and keeps them on your Mac. It also runs on Windows and Linux. Your sign-ins stay on your Mac, encrypted with a key from your system's keychain. No Alrighty server holds them.
- Stop mail. Spark's Gatekeeper screens new senders. Alrighty goes after the senders already in your inbox: one click unsubscribes in every way the message offers, moves their mail out, and keeps their new mail out.
- 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.
- Search that finds what you remember. It runs on your Mac and matches what you mean as well as the words: "when is my flight" finds the airline's confirmation. Ask a question and get the answer with the emails it came from.
- The AI you choose. Claude, ChatGPT's desktop app, Codex, Cursor or a local model can read your mail and work in a window you watch. Nothing sends until you click Send. Alrighty's own AI features send only the emails they need to its server, which passes them to an AI model (OpenAI's for answers and replies).
Price. A 14-day trial with no card, then a Free plan or Pro.
What it can't do. Spark runs on iPhone and Android. Alrighty has no iPhone or web app, and takes iCloud, Gmail and Outlook accounts only.
Pick it if you use Spark on a Mac and want your logins and mail kept there, with better tools for junk.
Canary Mail: closest to Spark across devices
Canary runs on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Windows and Android, like Spark. Its free plan lists "Unlimited Mail Accounts" and a unified inbox, and paid plans are $36 or $100 a year (pricing). Canary also offers 1-Click Unsubscribe.
Where your mail goes. Canary's privacy policy says your account details and mail are "stored on your device and is never transferred to our servers." The exception is push on iPhone and Android, where it "will temporarily store your email address, credentials."
Pick it if you need Spark's cross-platform reach with less on the vendor's servers.
Apple Mail: best free alternative
Apple Mail comes with macOS and adds "iCloud, Gmail (Google), Exchange, school, work, or other" accounts (Apple). It lets you unsubscribe from mailing lists "directly in Mail" and block up to 3,000 senders (Apple).
The catch. Search depends on your Mac's Spotlight index and can miss mail you can see. Our Apple Mail search guide has the fixes.
Pick it if you mainly used Spark's free plan and want free and built in.
Mailspring: best free app that skips the vendor's servers
Mailspring says "your email goes straight from your mail provider to your machine, not through our servers," and that it supports "Gmail, iCloud, Office 365, FastMail, Outlook.com, Yahoo!, and IMAP/SMTP" with a unified inbox (Mailspring). It's free on Mac, Windows and Linux, and Pro is $8 a month or $85 a year (pricing).
What to know. Pro features such as read receipts and link tracking do contact Mailspring's servers. And it's IMAP only: its FAQ says Exchange Web Services and ActiveSync aren't supported, though Microsoft 365 is.
Pick it if you want free, cross-platform and direct, including Windows and Linux.
Thunderbird: best free, open-source alternative
Thunderbird is free and open source on Mac, Windows and Linux, with "all accounts separately or in a unified inbox" (Thunderbird). Its privacy notice says your messages "are stored and processed locally on your device and never sent to us." It does send Mozilla telemetry about how you use the app.
Pick it if you want open source and full control.
Mimestream: best if all your mail is Gmail
Mimestream "only stores your data and tokens on your device" and connects "directly to the Gmail API, without going through any intermediary sync service" (Mimestream). It's $49.99 a year after a 14-day trial with no credit card (pricing). It works only with Google accounts. If you have iCloud or Outlook too, see our Mimestream alternatives.
Pick it if you're Gmail only and on a Mac.
How to choose
- iCloud, Gmail and Outlook on a Mac, logins kept on your Mac, less junk: Alrighty.
- Spark's reach on Windows and Android: Canary.
- Free and built in: Apple Mail.
- Free, direct, and for Yahoo or other IMAP accounts: Mailspring or Thunderbird.
- Gmail only: Mimestream.
If you used Spark for send later, templates or read receipts, our Mailbutler alternatives cover those features. Spike and Edison Mail come up next to Spark too: see our Spike alternatives and Edison Mail alternatives.
For a side-by-side of the two apps, see Alrighty vs Spark.
Questions
Does Spark store my email password?
For Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo, Spark says it stores an application-specific token, not your password. For AOL, Exchange and custom IMAP accounts, it says the stored access token "is your email login and password," encrypted in its database.
Is there a free alternative to Spark?
Apple Mail is free with macOS. Mailspring and Thunderbird are free apps, and Canary has a free plan with unlimited accounts. Alrighty has a Free plan after its 14-day trial.
Which Spark alternative works on Windows?
Alrighty, Canary, Mailspring and Thunderbird run on Windows as well as Mac. Apple Mail and Mimestream are Mac apps.
Why does Spark need its own servers?
Spark says push notifications and some of its features "require our server-side email processing to work." It deletes encrypted notification data from its servers 4 hours after sending a notification.