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Cone vs Alpine: catalog facts
Cone	Alpine
Free Free open-source software.	Free Free to download and use.
Linux, Command line	Windows, Linux, Command line
Multiple IMAP and POP3 accounts plus local maildirs Built-in editor with spell checking	Lightweight keyboard-driven terminal interface Complete documentation built into the program
Text-only interface Images and PDFs need external viewer programs	Text-only interface with no rich HTML rendering Releases are infrequent
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License not stated	License: Apache-2.0
No account needed	No account needed
Works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 1, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.