Local AI. AES-256 encryption. Zero cloud dependency. A beautifully crafted, free email client that puts your privacy first.
Four pillars that make Nova Mail fundamentally different from every other email client.
All data stays on your device. No cloud servers, no telemetry, no analytics. Your emails, contacts, and AI processing never leave your machine. Built on SQLite with encrypted backups.
Powered by Ollama and LM Studio. Summarize threads, get smart replies, detect meetings, analyze tone, triage your inbox, fix grammar, and translate — all running locally on your hardware.
Military-grade AES-256-GCM encryption for emails and backups. RSA-OAEP key exchange for end-to-end encrypted messaging. PBKDF2 key derivation with scrypt password hashing. Credentials stored in the OS keychain, never in plain text.
Process emails one at a time with Focus Mode. Automate your workflow with rules, templates, scheduled send, snooze, and a keyboard-driven command palette.
Every AI feature runs on your machine via Ollama or LM Studio. No API keys, no subscriptions, no data leaving your device.
AI-powered thread summaries that capture key points across entire conversations.
Three contextual reply suggestions generated instantly for any email.
AI helps draft and complete your emails based on context and intent.
Auto-classify by priority and sentiment. Focus on what matters most.
Detect professional, friendly, aggressive, or neutral tones in emails.
Grammar and spelling correction powered by local language models.
Translate incoming or outgoing emails to any language, offline.
AI-powered spam scoring that analyzes content patterns locally.
Automatically identifies meeting requests and extracts details.
AI-powered morning summary of your inbox highlights.
Search your inbox using plain English queries parsed by AI.
Understand the emotional tone behind received messages.
Light, dark, and system themes. 9 accent colors. Adjustable density (compact, normal, spacious). Configurable sidebar, message list, and AI panel widths.
Comprehensive shortcuts: C to compose, R to reply, E to archive, J/K to navigate. Cmd+K command palette for instant access to any action.
Inbox-zero workflow: process one email at a time with quick actions. Keyboard-driven with progress tracking. Eliminates distraction.
Right or bottom reading pane. Configurable preview lines (0, 1, 2). Collapsible sidebar. Resizable panels throughout.
Desktop notifications, dock badge, sound alerts. Per-account muting. Snooze and scheduled send alerts. Non-intrusive toasts.
Virtual scrolling for massive lists. React Query caching. Debounced search. Lazy folder loading. SQLite with FTS5 indexing.
Password-protect the entire app with scrypt hashing
Military-grade AES-256-GCM + RSA-OAEP key exchange
Credentials stored in macOS Keychain
AES-256-GCM encrypted export/import
No cloud database, everything on-device
No tracking, no analytics, no data collection
How Nova Mail stacks up against the most popular email clients.
| Feature | Nova Mail | Apple Mail | Outlook | Gmail | Canary Mail | Thunderbird |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Privacy & Security | ||||||
| 100% Local / Offline | ✓ | Partial | × | × | × | ✓ |
| AES-256 Email Encryption | ✓ | × | Paid | × | ✓ | ✓ |
| App Lock / Password | ✓ | × | × | × | ✓ | × |
| OS Keychain Integration | ✓ | ✓ | × | × | ✓ | × |
| Encrypted Backups | ✓ | × | × | × | × | × |
| Zero Telemetry | ✓ | Partial | × | × | Partial | ✓ |
| AI Features | ||||||
| Local / Private AI | ✓ | × | × | × | × | × |
| AI Email Summarization | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | × |
| Smart Reply Suggestions | ✓ | × | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | × |
| AI Compose / Drafting | ✓ | × | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | × |
| Tone Analysis | ✓ | × | ✓ | × | × | × |
| AI Email Triage / Priority | ✓ | × | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | × |
| Meeting Detection | ✓ | × | ✓ | ✓ | × | × |
| AI Translation | ✓ | × | ✓ | ✓ | × | × |
| Grammar / Spell Fix (AI) | ✓ | × | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | × |
| AI Daily Digest | ✓ | × | × | × | × | × |
| Natural Language Search | ✓ | × | × | ✓ | × | × |
| AI Spam Scoring | ✓ | × | × | ✓ | × | × |
| Feature | Nova Mail | Apple Mail | Outlook | Gmail | Canary Mail | Thunderbird |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Productivity & Workflow | ||||||
| Focus Mode | ✓ | × | ✓ | × | × | × |
| Command Palette (Cmd+K) | ✓ | × | × | × | × | × |
| Snooze | ✓ | × | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | × |
| Scheduled Send | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | × |
| Email Rules / Filters | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | × | ✓ |
| Email Templates | ✓ | × | ✓ | ✓ | × | ✓ |
| One-Click Unsubscribe | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | × |
| Read Receipts / Tracking | ✓ | × | ✓ | × | ✓ | × |
| Account Groups | ✓ | × | × | × | × | × |
| Smart Categories | ✓ | × | ✓ | ✓ | × | × |
| Interface & Customization | ||||||
| Dark Mode | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom Accent Colors | ✓ | × | × | × | ✓ | × |
| Density / Compact Mode | ✓ | × | ✓ | ✓ | × | ✓ |
| Flexible Reading Pane | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Resizable Panels | ✓ | × | ✓ | × | × | ✓ |
| VIP Contacts | ✓ | ✓ | × | × | ✓ | × |
| Pricing | ||||||
| Cost | Free | Free | Free / $6.99/mo | Free | $2.49/mo | Free |
| AI Features Cost | Free (Local) | Free (Apple Intelligence) | $30/mo (Copilot Pro) | $19.99/mo (Gemini) | $2.49-9.99/mo | N/A |
| Open Source | ✓ | × | × | × | × | ✓ |
| Cross-Platform (Desktop) | ✓ | × | ✓ | Web Only | ✓ | ✓ |
Feature coverage across major categories (out of features tested).
| Category | Nova Mail | Apple Mail | Outlook | Gmail | Canary Mail | Thunderbird |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Privacy & Security | 6/6 | 2.5/6 | 1/6 | 0/6 | 3.5/6 | 3/6 |
| AI Features (12 tested) | 12/12 | 1/12 | 8/12 | 8/12 | 5/12 | 0/12 |
| Productivity (10 tested) | 10/10 | 3/10 | 8/10 | 6/10 | 4/10 | 3/10 |
| UI Customization (6 tested) | 6/6 | 3/6 | 4/6 | 3/6 | 4/6 | 5/6 |
| TOTAL | 34/34 | 9.5/34 | 21/34 | 17/34 | 16.5/34 | 11/34 |
Only client scoring 100% on privacy. Zero telemetry, local-only storage, encrypted backups, E2EE, and app lock — no competitor matches this combination.
15 AI features, all running locally. No API keys, no monthly AI fees, no data sent to the cloud. The only client with fully private, fully free AI.
Command palette, focus mode, account groups, AI daily digest, local AI spam scoring, and encrypted backups are exclusive to Nova Mail.
100+ features. 15 local AI capabilities. AES-256 encryption. Zero cloud dependency. One free, open-source email client.