Comparison

Fastmail vs eM Client

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Fastmail

This app offers a privacy-focused email, contacts, and calendar experience with powerful tools for organization and communication. It provides features like offline access, advanced search, and customizable actions to streamline your workflow. Enjoy a secure and ad-free environment designed for efficient personal and professional use.

Highlights
  • Offline email, contacts, and calendar access
  • Powerful search with attachment indexing
  • Inbox decluttering tools (snooze, mute, block spam)
  • Customizable swipe gestures
  • Shared calendars for planning
  • Secure, private, and ad-free experience
Features
Read full description

Email, contacts, and calendars made better Fastmail gives you full control of your communication, with speed, privacy, and tools that work the way you do. The New York Times says: ”If you want something easy to use that isn’t tied to one of the big tech giants, Fastmail is a great option.” Do more with email • Stay connected anywhere – Read, draft, and search offline. • Powerful search – Find anything fast, even inside attachments. Plus, use the Search Refinement Toolbar to quickly add, remove, or adjust filters. • Declutter your inbox – Snooze emails, mute threads, block spam, and unsubscribe easily, and set up rules to automate your flow. • Stay organised your way – Use folders or labels to keep things tidy, and categorize messages without opening them. • Work smarter – Schedule or undo send, add private memos, set VIP-only notifications, and resize images in the compose window. • Custom swipes – Quickly archive, delete, or take other actions with up to four swipe gestures. Your preferences stay consistent across devices. • Easy navigation – One-tap access to mail, calendar, contacts, and settings. Customize the toolbar in Display Options, or hide it altogether. • Faster inbox actions – Select messages by tapping avatars, or using a two-finger swipe for faster multi-select. Smarter calendars • Plan together – Share calendars with family or teams. • Sync seamlessly – Works with Google, iCloud, and more. • Always in sync – Updates instantly across devices, with full time-zone support. Connected contacts • Shared or private address books – Keep context from recent conversations and meetings. Why Fastmail? • Privacy first – No ads, no tracking, no selling your data. It’s your data, not ours. • Secure and trusted – Robust encryption of your data both in transit and at rest. Passkeys and 2FA keep your email private and safe. • No lock-in – Over 20 years delivering better email. People stay because it’s better, not because it’s hard to leave. • Real support – 24/7 online help from real people, no chatbots. • Migrate in minutes – Move mail, contacts, and calendars from your old provider in minutes. Better for everyone – Fastmail supports open standards, keeping email private and usable for all.

About

eM Client

Manage emails, calendars, tasks, contacts, and notes efficiently in one application. Features AI assistance for drafting and replying, robust security with PGP and S/MIME encryption, and instant message translation. Offers advanced privacy options and seamless integration with cloud storage and online meetings.

Highlights
  • Unified inbox for emails, calendars, tasks, contacts, and notes
  • AI-powered email drafting and reply assistance
  • PGP and S/MIME encryption for secure communication
  • Instant message translation
  • Advanced privacy and mail-tracking pixel detection
  • Integration with cloud storage and online meetings
Read full description

These features include: • Super easy setup including quick import from the desktop app via QR code • AI Support for replies and email drafting • Emails, calendars, tasks, contacts and notes all in one place • Favorite, Global, and search folders to easily manage multiple accounts • Instant message translation • PGP and S/MIME encryption • Tags and Gmail labels support to sort and color-code your messages • Signatures you can choose from and assign to your accounts • QuickText: snippets of text you can quickly insert into your emails • Templates • Messages grouped into conversations • Advanced privacy options • Mail-Tracking pixel detection • Snooze • Watch for reply • Undo Send • Password protection • Online meetings integration • Cloud storage providers integration • Mobile device management (MDM) support and more

Screenshots

Fastmail4 screens
eM Client4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: eM Client at none against Fastmail's 1. eM Client also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 weeks). Fastmail's advantage is ratings volume (609 vs 51). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Fastmail sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $6.49 per month. eM Client asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Fastmail holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Fastmail has 609 ratings behind it against 51, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 49% and 48% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Fastmail ships an update every 3 weeks, eM Client every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Fastmail versus eM Client: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFastmaileM Client
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (609 ratings) — better3.7 (51 ratings)
Positive reviews48.6% of reviews — better48.0% of reviews
Number of ratings609 — better51
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.415.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB179 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFastmail Pty LtdeM Client

Customer experience

Fastmail

All ratings606 ratings
Positive67.8%
Neutral9.7%
Negative22.4%
Written reviews453 reviews
Positive48.6%
Neutral19.4%
Negative32.0%

eM Client

All ratings49 ratings
Positive61.2%
Neutral12.2%
Negative26.5%
Written reviews358 reviews
Positive48.0%
Neutral17.9%
Negative34.1%

User reviews

Fastmail

From 609 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and efficient
  • 🔒 Secure and private
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 🔥 Excellent email service
  • 💯 Great customer support

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy app with frequent crashes
  • 🔍 Lacking offline support
  • 🔀 Confusing navigation and UI
  • 🔋 Poor battery life
  • 💤 Slow app performance

eM Client

From 51 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Reliable and customizable
  • 🔒 Great privacy and security features
  • 👍 Clean and intuitive interface
  • 🚀 Smooth and fast performance
  • 👍 Seamless sync between desktop and mobile

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Slow email sync and loading issues
  • 🐛 Unreliable push notifications and badge counts
  • 🐛 Inconsistent behavior compared to other email apps
  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches, especially in the initial release
  • 🔋 High battery consumption

Bugs and requests

Fastmail

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Blank screen on app launch
  • Notification badges not updating correctly
  • Delayed email delivery
  • Unreliable swiping gestures
  • Disappearing toolbar buttons

Requested features

5 requests
  • Offline email access
  • Customizable notification sounds
  • Integration with native iOS apps
  • Dark mode support
  • Multiple account management

eM Client

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Emails not sending immediately
  • Drafts not visible or editable
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between folders
  • Trouble signing in to multiple Google accounts

Requested features

6 requests
  • Calendar integration
  • Improved background refresh and sync
  • Custom notification sounds
  • Ability to sort emails by sender
  • More customization options
Show 1 more
  • Actions from notifications (archive, mark as read, etc.)

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Fastmail

Subscriptions1
  • Fastmail Monthly Plan$6.491 Month
None

eM Client

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Fastmail free?
Fastmail is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is eM Client free?
eM Client is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Fastmail or eM Client?
Fastmail is rated higher. Fastmail averages 3.9 out of 5 from 609 ratings, while eM Client averages 3.7 from 51 ratings.
Do Fastmail or eM Client have ads?
Neither Fastmail nor eM Client shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Fastmail or eM Client?
Fastmail ships an update every 3 weeks, and eM Client every 10 days. Most recently, Fastmail was updated on November 6, 2026 and eM Client on November 3, 2026.

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