Alternatives to NeoMutt

A fork of Mutt that gathered decades of scattered patches into one maintained terminal mail client. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as NeoMutt.

  • aerc

    A terminal email client with vim-style keys, an embedded terminal for composing, and first-class support for git email workflows.

    FreeOpen sourcemacOSLinuxCommand line

    aerc is an MIT-licensed terminal client with vim-style keys, an embedded compose terminal, asynchronous IMAP and JMAP, and tooling for git patch workflows.

  • Himalaya

    Manage mail accounts through a command-line client.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinuxCommand line

    Himalaya is a command-line mail client under MIT or Apache-2.0 that also runs on Windows, supporting several mail protocols and local mailbox formats.

  • meli

    A configurable terminal email client written in Rust with IMAP, Maildir, notmuch and JMAP support.

    FreeOpen sourcemacOSLinuxCommand line

    meli is a Rust terminal client with IMAP, Maildir, notmuch, JMAP and mbox support and sane default configuration, though its developers describe it as experimental.

  • Alpine

    A terminal email program descended from Pine, with its full documentation built into the program.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsLinuxCommand line

    Alpine is a simple menu-driven terminal client descended from Pine, with built-in documentation and Windows builds, but no rich HTML rendering and infrequent releases.

  • mu

    A Maildir indexer and search tool with mu4e, an email client for GNU Emacs.

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxCommand line

    mu with mu4e moves email into GNU Emacs with fast Maildir indexing and search, but works only with Maildir and needs mail fetched separately.

Also worth comparing

These listings name NeoMutt as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.

  • alot

    A terminal mail reader built on the notmuch indexer, with a command-prompt-driven interface.

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxCommand line

    NeoMutt is a full terminal client with built-in IMAP and notmuch tag support, so it can fetch mail itself rather than relying on separate tools like alot does.

  • Claws Mail

    A fast, keyboard-driven email client that loads a hundred thousand message folder without thinking about it.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    NeoMutt moves to a terminal interface on macOS and Linux with Notmuch tags and compressed folders, but has no Windows build and requires writing a configuration file.

  • MailMate

    A keyboard-driven IMAP email client for macOS with Markdown composition and advanced search.

    FreemiumProprietarymacOS

    NeoMutt is a free open-source keyboard-driven terminal client for macOS and Linux, but it needs a hand-written configuration and an external HTML viewer.

  • Mutt

    A text-based email client that runs in the terminal on Unix-like systems.

    FreeOpen sourcemacOSLinuxCommand line

    NeoMutt is a Mutt fork that bundles long-scattered patches, adding notmuch tags, compressed folders and a forgotten-attachment warning with the same keybindings.

  • Pop

    Compose and send email from the terminal.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinuxCommand line

    NeoMutt is a full terminal mail client that needs a written configuration file first and has no Windows build, under GPL-2.0.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.