Alrighty vs Mimestream
Alrighty vs Mimestream compared on Gmail features, iCloud and Outlook support, price, search, privacy, unwanted mail and AI, from each company's pages.
By Emmett Miller
Pick Mimestream if every account you have is Gmail or Google Workspace and you want a native Mac app built around Gmail's own labels, categories and filters. Pick Alrighty if you have iCloud or Outlook next to Gmail and want them in one inbox, with unwanted senders stopped in one click and the AI you already use working in your mail.
These facts come from Mimestream's pages and ours, checked in November 2026, and each one is linked. Alrighty is our app. For a Gmail-only user, Mimestream is often the better choice, and we say why.
Alrighty vs Mimestream at a glance
| Alrighty | Mimestream | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on | Mac (Apple silicon), Windows, Linux | Mac with macOS 12 or newer; iPhone and iPad in beta |
| Accounts | iCloud, Gmail, Outlook.com and Microsoft 365 | Gmail and Google Workspace only |
| Price | 14-day trial with no card, then a Free plan or Pro | 14-day trial with no card, then $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year |
| Where mail is kept | With your provider, plus a copy and search on your computer | With Google, plus your data and sign-ins on your Mac |
| Search | On your computer, by meaning as well as words | "Gmail-backed search," on Google's servers |
| Unwanted mail | Stop mail, Clean up, Filters, phishing checks | Tracker blocking, Gmail filters |
| AI | Some starts by itself when signed in; your own AI is off until you turn it on | Apple's Writing Tools only |
Does Mimestream work with iCloud or Outlook?
No. Mimestream's supported accounts page says "Currently, Mimestream only supports adding Google (Gmail) accounts," and that "Both personal and Google Workspace accounts are supported." Its FAQ says "Future support for other services is planned, including Microsoft 365 / Outlook," with IMAP and JMAP after it. No date is given.
This is the reason most people compare the two. Alrighty takes Gmail, iCloud, and Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live and Microsoft 365, all in one inbox with one search. Gmail connects with Sign in with Google or an app password, iCloud with an app-specific password, and Outlook with Sign in with Microsoft.
Alrighty doesn't take everything either. It can't add Yahoo, AOL, Fastmail or any other provider. Our Mimestream alternatives list covers apps that do.
How much does Mimestream cost, and is there a free version?
There's no free version. Mimestream's pricing page offers one plan, Individual, at $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year, for "All your Google accounts" on up to 5 devices. Group plans cost the same per seat. The 14-day trial needs "no credit card." After it, "An active subscription license is required to use Mimestream," and "a subscription license is the only purchase option." Annual plans get a full refund within 30 days. Monthly plans get none.
Alrighty's trial is also 14 days with no card. The difference is what comes after: Alrighty has a Free plan you can keep, with a small monthly AI allowance and no sorting into groups. Pro adds both. Pro's price isn't set yet.
Which app is better for Gmail?
Mimestream, if Gmail is all you use. It's "Powered by the Gmail API" and built to use what Gmail has that other mail doesn't. Its home page lists:
- Labels with "Full support for Gmail labels, including color-coding and visibility settings."
- Inbox Categories, Gmail's own category tabs, so you can "triage the rest at your leisure."
- Filters that live in Gmail. Its release notes say filters made in Mimestream "are true server-side Gmail filters. They run even when your Mac is offline."
- Vacation responses, set from the app.
- Profiles that keep work and personal accounts apart, with an optional All profile when you want them together.
Alrighty also talks to Gmail through Google's API, but it isn't built around Gmail. It treats your Gmail account as one of the accounts in a shared inbox, next to iCloud and Outlook. If you have only Gmail and you lean on labels and categories, Mimestream is the deeper app. Our Gmail app for Mac page compares more options.
Which one finds an email faster?
They search in different places. Mimestream promises "the full power of Gmail-backed search," so your search runs on Google's servers with Gmail's rules, and it covers only Gmail.
Alrighty searches on your computer, across every account at once. It matches what you mean as well as the words, so "when is my flight" finds the airline's confirmation. You can also ask a question in plain words and get the answer, with the emails it came from. The answer is written by OpenAI, so the emails it reads go through Alrighty's server. Typing a search sends nothing. The search docs cover how it works.
If your mail is all Gmail and Gmail's search already finds what you need, Mimestream keeps it.
Where does each app keep your mail?
Both keep your sign-ins on your computer. Mimestream "only stores your data and tokens on your device" (home page), and your mail stays in Gmail. Its Private Push service, on by default on macOS 26 and later, "never receives your Google OAuth credentials and cannot read your email or see message content," according to its release notes.
Alrighty also keeps your sign-ins on your computer, encrypted, with no Alrighty server holding them. Your mail stays with Google, Apple or Microsoft, and Alrighty keeps its copy on your computer.
The gap is AI. Mimestream's only AI is Apple's Writing Tools, covered below. Alrighty's AI features send the emails they need to Alrighty's server, which asks a model company: OpenAI for answers and replies, Together AI for chat titles, TypeSafe AI for Clean up and sorting. Signed out, nothing goes to Alrighty's server.
Does Mimestream have AI?
Only Apple's. Mimestream's release notes for version 1.5.0 added "Writing Tools" from Apple Intelligence, to proofread, rewrite and change tone. That needs a Mac with Apple silicon on macOS 15.1 or later. Mimestream's home page and FAQ mention no other AI.
Alrighty has more, and not all of it waits to be asked. Signed in, opening a reply starts a suggested draft in your voice, built from up to 12 emails you sent before. Clean up sorts your senders on the server in the background. There's no single switch for both.
The AI you bring yourself stays off until you turn on Connect AI. Then Claude, ChatGPT's desktop app, Codex, Cursor or a local model can read and search your mail, Gmail included, and work in a window you watch. It can write a reply, but it can't send it. You click Send. See our Gmail MCP servers for other ways to do this with Gmail alone.
If you want a mail app with as little AI as possible, Mimestream is closer to that. Our list of email apps without AI has more.
How do they handle newsletters and unwanted mail?
Mimestream's tools are about privacy, not cleanup. It "blocks trackers from 75+ common services," and you can manage Gmail filters from the app. Its home page and release notes don't mention an unsubscribe button or a way to block a sender.
Alrighty is built to make that mail stop:
- Stop mail ends a sender's mail in one action. It unsubscribes every way the message offers, archives what they sent, and keeps their new mail out of the Inbox.
- Clean up shows you the newsletters you never open, the cold outreach and the scams, and stops them in one go.
- Filters move a kind of mail, like cold sales from a new address each time, to Archive. Write the rule in plain words or set it by hand.
- Phishing checks on your computer send a sure phishing email to Junk and flag a likely one.
It only unsubscribes from senders whose mail passed DMARC, so a scammer can't confirm your address. It doesn't hold back first-time senders. You stop the ones you don't want after they arrive.
Is there a Mimestream for iPhone?
In beta. Mimestream's FAQ says the iPhone and iPad app is in beta, needs iOS 26 or later, and is handed out through TestFlight with limited room. Annual subscribers can join, and so can monthly subscribers with six months or more of paid service.
Alrighty has no iPhone or iPad app, and none in beta. It runs on Mac, Windows and Linux.
Which should you pick?
- You have iCloud or Outlook alongside Gmail: Alrighty.
- You want newsletters, cold outreach and scams stopped, not just sorted: Alrighty.
- You want Claude, ChatGPT or a local model to read all your accounts, with you clicking Send: Alrighty.
- All your mail is Gmail or Google Workspace, and you live in labels and categories: Mimestream.
- You want Gmail on an iPhone or iPad from the same developer: Mimestream.
- You want almost no AI in your mail app: Mimestream.
The features page shows the rest of Alrighty.
Questions
Does Mimestream work with Google Workspace?
Yes. Mimestream's supported accounts page says both personal Gmail and Google Workspace accounts work. Its release notes add that address suggestions draw on your Workspace directory.
Will Mimestream add Outlook or iCloud?
Its FAQ says support for Microsoft 365 and Outlook is planned, along with IMAP and JMAP, but gives no date. iCloud isn't named on its pages.
Which macOS versions do the two apps need?
Mimestream needs macOS 12 Monterey or newer, and its latest release notes say future versions will need macOS 14. On a Mac, Alrighty needs Apple silicon. It downloads about 350 MB for its search model the first time it opens.
Can I try both for free?
Yes. Both have a 14-day trial that needs no card. When Mimestream's trial ends, you need a paid plan to keep using it. When Alrighty's ends, you keep its Free plan.