Alrighty vs Thunderbird for Mac

Pick Thunderbird if you want a free, open-source app with mail, calendar and contacts, accounts beyond iCloud, Gmail and Outlook, and no AI at all. Pick Alrighty if you have iCloud, Gmail and Outlook accounts, and you want unwanted mail stopped in one click, search that finds what you mean, and Claude or ChatGPT working in your mail. Both run on Mac, Windows and Linux.

Thunderbird is a good app, and for many people it's the right one. This page compares the two for a Mac user, using Mozilla's own home, privacy, system requirements and release pages, as of November 2026. Alrighty is our app.

Alrighty vs Thunderbird at a glance

	Alrighty	Thunderbird
Macs	Apple silicon	Apple silicon or Intel, macOS 10.15 or later
Other platforms	Windows, Linux	Windows, Linux, Android
Accounts	iCloud, Gmail, Outlook and Microsoft 365 only	Not limited to named providers; Exchange through EWS since version 141
Calendar and contacts	No	Yes
Price	14-day trial with no card, then Free plan or Pro	Free, donations optional
Open source	No	Yes
Where mail is kept and searched	Your computer	Your device
Unwanted mail	Stop mail, Clean up, Filters, phishing checks	Filters
AI	Your own AI off until you connect it; reply drafts and Clean up run when signed in	None

Is Thunderbird good on a Mac?

Yes, and it runs on older Macs than Alrighty does. Thunderbird 159's system requirements ask for "macOS 10.15 or later" on an "Intel x86 or Apple Silicon processor." Version 159.0 came out on October 27, 2026 (release notes), so it's kept current.

On a Mac, Alrighty needs Apple silicon. It downloads a search model of about 350 MB the first time it opens. Both apps also run on Windows and Linux.

Is Thunderbird really free? What is Thundermail?

Thunderbird the app is "Free forever," with optional donations (Thunderbird). Thundermail is something else: a paid email service from the Thunderbird team, bundled with Appointment and Send. On tb.pro the Early Bird plan is $6 a month billed yearly, and it's in beta for people on the waitlist. You don't need it to use Thunderbird.

Alrighty has a 14-day trial with no card, then a Free plan or Pro. The Free plan has a small monthly AI allowance and no sorting into groups. Pro's price isn't set yet. Alrighty can't add a Thundermail account, because it takes only iCloud, Gmail and Outlook.

Which accounts does each support?

Thunderbird takes more. It lets you "Manage all accounts separately or in a unified inbox," and when you add one, it looks up the server settings: "your email domain may be sent to Mozilla's configuration database" (privacy notice). Exchange arrived through EWS in version 141. Mozilla's Exchange page says "Microsoft Graph will be available in the future" and Exchange calendar and address book "will follow at a later date."

Alrighty takes three providers, each the way the provider prefers. iCloud uses an app-specific password. Gmail uses Sign in with Google or an app password, through the Gmail API. Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live and Microsoft 365 use Sign in with Microsoft, through Microsoft Graph. It can't add Yahoo, AOL, Fastmail, a work IMAP server or a POP account.

If one of your accounts isn't iCloud, Gmail or Outlook, stop here: Thunderbird can hold it and Alrighty can't.

Does Thunderbird have a calendar? Does Alrighty?

Thunderbird does. Its home page says you can "Access all your messages, calendars, and contacts in one fast app." Alrighty is mail only, with no calendar or contacts app. You'd keep your calendar in Apple's Calendar or another app.

How does each deal with spam and newsletters?

Thunderbird gives you filters and leaves the decisions to you. Its home page says "Filter and organize the way you like." Mozilla's pages we read don't describe an unsubscribe or block-sender button, so stopping a newsletter means finding its unsubscribe link, or writing a filter for it.

Alrighty's first job is ending mail you don't want:

• Stop mail. One action ends a sender's mail, without writing a filter. It unsubscribes in every way the message offers (one-click, an email to the list, or the list's page), archives their mail, and moves their new mail out as it arrives.
• Safe for scam mail. It unsubscribes only from senders whose mail passed DMARC and wasn't marked spam, so a scammer never learns your address is live.
• 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.
• Filters for new senders. Some mail comes from a new address each time, like cold sales. Describe it in your words or set rules. Rules match on your computer. A described filter asks an AI model through Alrighty's server, signed in only. Mail from people you wrote to is never moved.

Alrighty doesn't hold back first-time senders. Their mail lands in your Inbox until you stop them, and stopped mail goes to Archive, not Junk. Thunderbird's filters are a general tool for sorting any mail. Alrighty's tools do one job: ending mail you don't want.

Which has better search?

They search differently. Mozilla's pages we read don't describe Thunderbird's search, so we won't rate it. Alrighty's search runs on your computer and matches meaning as well as words: "when is my flight" finds the airline's confirmation, even if the email never says "flight." One search covers every account, and you can ask a question and get the answer with the emails it came from. The answer is the part that leaves your computer: the emails it reads go through Alrighty's server to OpenAI.

If search is what sent you looking, our best email search app page covers more options.

Does Thunderbird have AI? Is Alrighty's AI on by default?

Thunderbird has none. Its home page says "We don't collect personal data, sell ads in your inbox, or secretly train AI with your private conversations," and the 159.0 release notes list no AI features. If you want a mail app with no AI, Thunderbird is the honest answer, and our email apps without AI page lists others.

Alrighty has AI, and not all of it waits for you:

• Your own AI. Claude, ChatGPT's desktop app, Codex, Cursor or a local model can read and search your mail through a server on your computer. It's off until you turn it on with Connect AI. That AI can work in a window you watch, and nothing sends until you click Send.
• Suggested replies. When you're signed in, opening a reply starts a draft in your voice by itself. It's always a draft, and you send it.
• Clean up. When you're signed in, it sorts senders in the background, sending each sender's address and up to 3 of their newest emails to Alrighty's server.

These send the emails they read through Alrighty's server to OpenAI and other model companies. Signed out, nothing goes to Alrighty's server, and search and phishing checks still run on your computer.

Which is more private?

Both keep your mail on your computer, and each sends some data out. Thunderbird says "your email messages, and your account's address book are stored and processed locally on your device." It also says "Thunderbird sends telemetry about your interactions with Thunderbird to us," and links to steps to turn it off. Sign-in goes "directly between Thunderbird and the respective service provider," and passwords are "exchanged for OAuth tokens" (privacy notice).

Alrighty keeps its copy of your mail and its search index on your computer, and your passwords and tokens stay there, encrypted with a key from your system's keychain. Usage and crash data go to PostHog by default, never mail content, and Share usage data in Settings turns it off. Its AI features are the real difference: Thunderbird sends no mail to an AI company, and Alrighty's AI features do when you're signed in.

What does Thunderbird do better?

• It's free and open source, with no paid plan for the app.
• It runs on Intel Macs and older macOS.
• It has a calendar and contacts.
• It isn't limited to three providers. It looks up settings for your domain in Mozilla's database, and it adds Exchange.
• It has an Android app, Thunderbird Mobile. Its mobile page mentions no iPhone app, and Alrighty has none either.
• It has a long history, where Alrighty is a new app with no long track record.

Which should you pick?

• iCloud, Gmail and Outlook, with junk stopped in one click: Alrighty.
• Search that finds an email by what it's about: Alrighty.
• Claude or ChatGPT reading your mail, with Send left to you: Alrighty.
• Free and open source, no AI: Thunderbird.
• Calendar and contacts in the same app: Thunderbird.
• An Intel Mac or an Android phone: Thunderbird.
• An account that isn't iCloud, Gmail or Outlook: Thunderbird.

For apps beyond these two, see our Thunderbird alternatives and best free email apps for Mac. See everything Alrighty does.

Questions

Can I move from Thunderbird to Alrighty without losing mail?

For iCloud, Gmail and Outlook accounts, yes. That mail lives with your provider, so Alrighty downloads its own copy when you add the account. Mail in Thunderbird's Local Folders or a POP account lives only on your computer, and Alrighty can't import it.

Can I use Thunderbird and Alrighty at the same time?

Yes. Both read the same iCloud, Gmail or Outlook mailbox, so a message you archive in one is archived in the other. You can keep Thunderbird for your calendar and other accounts and use Alrighty for those three.

Does Thunderbird work on Apple silicon Macs?

Yes. Thunderbird 159 lists Apple silicon and Intel Macs, with macOS 10.15 or later. On a Mac, Alrighty needs Apple silicon.

Is there a Thunderbird app for iPhone?

Mozilla's mobile page lists Thunderbird for Android on Google Play and F-Droid, and doesn't mention an iPhone app. Alrighty has no iPhone app either, so with either one you'd use another app on your iPhone.