KMail vs Roundcube

KMail8.9Visit Roundcube8.7Visit

Higher score KMail #5 in Email Clients 8.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 4 features Visit KDE

vs

Roundcube #7 in Email Clients 8.7/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 4 features Visit Roundcube

• KMail fits best

  Linux users wanting a mature open-source client

• Roundcube fits best

  Self-hosters wanting a dependable open-source webmail base

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Side by side

Feature	KMail 8.9/10 Visit ↗	Roundcube 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.9	8.7
Ranking	#5 in Email Clients	#7 in Email Clients
Best for	Linux users wanting a mature open-source client	Self-hosters wanting a dependable open-source webmail base
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Free plan	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Desktop	Self-hosted
Platforms	Linux	Web
Support	Email, Live chat, Community, Docs	Community, Docs
Integrations	4 integrations	1 integrations
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features KMail 4/4 · Roundcube 0/4
Unified inbox	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Offline access	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Scheduled sending	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Calendar tools	✓ (best)	—
Specs
App coverage	Desktop	Web
Account limit	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Supports IMAP, POP3, SMTP and Microsoft Exchange OpenPGP, PGP/MIME and S/MIME support Offline access, filtering, search and scheduled sending	Free, open-source deployment on a web server IMAP folders, search, threading, identities, and address books Plug-in API with PGP encryption support
Cons	Available on Linux rather than across multiple operating systems Unified mailbox requires a plugin disabled by default Desktop-focused app coverage	No native mobile applications Calendar features are third-party additions Multiple-account support is a third-party addition
Our verdict	KMail is an open-source desktop email client developed within the KDE community. It is designed for Linux users who want a configurable application for managing multiple mail accounts locally. The client supports IMAP, POP3, SMTP and… Read the review →	Roundcube is a browser-based, multilingual IMAP email client for people and organizations that want to host their own webmail. Its application-like interface covers message composition and management, MIME and HTML messages, responsive… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• KMail — where it wins

  • Supports IMAP, POP3, SMTP and Microsoft Exchange
  • OpenPGP, PGP/MIME and S/MIME support
  • Offline access, filtering, search and scheduled sending

  Where it doesn't

  • Available on Linux rather than across multiple operating systems
  • Unified mailbox requires a plugin disabled by default
  • Desktop-focused app coverage

• Roundcube — where it wins

  • Free, open-source deployment on a web server
  • IMAP folders, search, threading, identities, and address books
  • Plug-in API with PGP encryption support

  Where it doesn't

  • No native mobile applications
  • Calendar features are third-party additions
  • Multiple-account support is a third-party addition

• KMail8.9/10 · Free plan

  A mature, configurable Linux email client with broad protocols and offline access.

  Visit KDEFull verdict →
• Roundcube8.7/10 · Free plan

  A focused, free webmail base for self-hosters who need core IMAP tools.

  Visit RoundcubeFull verdict →