Choose Gmail on its own if you want your mail in a Google-run web service you can open from any browser. Choose Thunderbird if you want a desktop app with a unified inbox and open-source code. You don't have to choose: Google's own help page lists Thunderbird as a client that can read a Gmail account.
This search usually comes from someone who's used Gmail in a browser for years and wonders whether a desktop email app would serve them better, or the other way round. Many people aren't sure whether the two can be used together, and that's the most useful thing to clear up first. One is an email service with a web interface; the other is an app on your computer that reads email from services like it.
They aren't rivals in the way the search suggests
Google's help centre explains how to connect your Google mail to a separate mail program, with your messages and labels kept in step between the two. Its examples are Microsoft Outlook, Apple Mail and Mozilla Thunderbird.
So for most people this isn't an either-or decision. You can keep your Google address and still read it in a desktop app, and many readers end up using both: the web version on the go or on a shared computer, and the desktop app at their own desk.
The question that matters is whether a second program adds something you'd use. If you only ever have one account and you're happy in a browser tab, it may not. If you juggle several addresses or want your mail in a program on your own machine, it's worth trying.
Connecting the two without sync headaches
For personal accounts, IMAP access is permanently on, so there's no setting to hunt for. And older-style connections where a program simply stores your Google username and password are no longer supported, so follow whatever sign-in route Google's current help page describes.
Then there's the choice between IMAP and POP. Google's own explanation is that POP ties your mail to a single computer, while IMAP keeps every device in step. If you want the web version, your phone and your desktop app to show the same mail, IMAP is the one to pick.
Those two settings are the ones to get right at the start: a current sign-in route rather than a stored password, and IMAP rather than POP if you read mail on more than one device.
The same Google help page covers Microsoft Outlook and Apple Mail as well, so the sign-in and IMAP advice holds whichever desktop program you settle on. If you try one app and it doesn't suit you, nothing about your Google account has to change before you try another.
How the two compare
| Gmail | Thunderbird | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Web service | Desktop app |
| Opens in | Any browser | Windows, Linux, macOS |
| Extras | Labels, synced to clients | Calendar, contacts |
| Accounts in one inbox | Not listed | Unified or separate |
| Run by | Open-source project | |
| Founded | Not listed | 2003 |
| Funding | Not listed | Donations, free forever |
The short version: Gmail is where your mail is kept and Thunderbird is one way of reading it. The decision in front of you is whether to add a second way of reading your mail, not whether to leave your Google account behind.
When Gmail on its own is enough
- You have one address and rarely need to see anything else alongside it.
- You move between computers often and like opening your mail from any browser without installing anything.
- You're comfortable with your messages living in a Google-run service and don't need a local app.
- You organise everything with labels and are happy managing them in the browser.
If that's you, there's plenty to get out of the browser version as it stands. A list of Chrome extensions worth adding to your inbox is a good next stop.
When Thunderbird earns its place
- You've built up a system of Gmail labels and want them to appear in a desktop app too, since Google says labels sync to the clients you connect.
- You read mail on a phone, a laptop and a desk computer, and want IMAP keeping them all showing the same thing.
- Your Google address is one of several you check, and you'd like them side by side or in a single combined inbox.
- You'd rather your desktop mail program were free, open source and funded by donations.
Track record is worth a thought too. The project describes itself as founded in 2003, free forever and paid for by donations. For software you'll trust with years of mail, how a project is funded matters as much as its feature list, so read its about page for how it's run today.
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If you like the idea of a desktop app but aren't sold on this one, there's a round-up of other desktop mail apps worth a look.
What changes day to day once you add a desktop app
Adding a desktop app doesn't replace your Google account; it adds a second window onto the same mail. In practice that changes a few small habits more than anything big. You'll open an app in the morning instead of a browser tab, and it can sit open all day without getting lost among other tabs. If you look after several addresses, they'll appear together, so you stop flicking between logins.
Thunderbird also covers a calendar and contacts, so if you've been keeping those in separate places, you can try bringing them into the same program. On a borrowed or shared computer you'll still use the browser version, so it's worth staying familiar with both.
Labels deserve a moment's planning. If you sort mail with them heavily, decide early whether you'll manage them in the browser or in the app, so you're not renaming the same ones in two places and wondering which change stuck.
Setting it up step by step
- Download the desktop app onto your main computer, keeping the web version open in a tab as a reference.
- Add your Google account using the sign-in steps Google's help page currently gives, not an old password-only method.
- Choose IMAP rather than POP if you want the same messages on every device.
- Give the first sync time to finish, then check that your labels appear and that recent messages match the web version.
- Add any other addresses you use, and decide whether you prefer one combined inbox or separate views.
- Send a test message from the app and confirm it appears in your sent mail on the web.
Once those six steps check out, you can use whichever window suits the moment. If something looks wrong after a few days, such as a folder that won't update or messages that only show in one place, remove the account from the app and add it again rather than fiddling with advanced settings.
Frequently asked questions
Does Google's always-on IMAP apply to work accounts?
Google's note covers personal accounts, so ask whoever runs your work or school account.
Will deleting mail in the desktop app delete it online?
Test with an unimportant message first, then check the web version to see what happened before you tidy up in bulk.
Is POP ever the better choice?
Google's help page says POP works on a single computer, so it can suit someone who only ever reads mail on one machine, but that mail won't stay in step with your phone or the web.
Will my Google Calendar show up in the desktop app too?
Thunderbird covers a calendar and contacts, but Google's help page here is about mail and labels, so check the app's own help for connecting a calendar.
Can I stop using Gmail's web version altogether?
You can, though keeping it as a backup for when you're away from your own computer is handy.
