Comparison between MS Outlook and Thunderbird. Which is Best for You?

Previously, we have talked about Free and the best alternative to MS Office. When you are setting up an office with minimal cost and lesser investment, definitely, you would be looking for some ways to minimize your cost and look for a better software solution. Let us find out best alternative to  MS Outlook and Lotus Notes email solutions.  Emailing has become an integral part of modern office work. Without email, the office cannot run. There are multiple paid and free solutions to manage office emailing. however, prominent are MS Outlook and Lotus notes. But, there is another excellent solution to emails using your domain. 

Yes, we are talking about Mozilla Thunderbird. Mozilla Thunderbird is a free and open-source cross-platform email client, news client, RSS and chats client developed by the Mozilla Foundation. The project strategy was modeled after that of the Mozilla Firefox web browser. It is installed by default on Ubuntu desktop systems. Initially, it was released in 2004. Some of the best features of Mozilla Thunderbird emailing client are.

Main Features of Thunderbird

• Easier to get started. Wizard-based emailing setup.
• Personalized emailing addresses. 
• One click address book
• Attachment Reminder
• Multiple Channel Chat
• Tabbed Emailing concept
• Search the Web in the client itself
• Quick Filter toolbar. 
• Added searching tools.
• Messages Archive Mechanism.
• Integrated Activity Manager
• Robust privacy and does not track.
• Protection from Phishing
• Best one feature is that it is a Free and Open source tool. 
• Many More Features.

Main Features of MS Outlook

• Faster Email Processing
• Email Attachment Reminder
• Work Offline
• Manage Rules and Alerts
• Free Import Export Facility
• Support Microsoft Exchange Server
• Ribbons & Navigation Bar
• Inter-Communication
• Shortcuts\ Hot Keys
• Inbox Clean Up Tool
• Customized Calendars
• A new message can be composed with 
• "Request a Read Receipt or 
• "Request Delivery Report"
• Tracking Feature
• Altered Contacts
• Social Connectivity

Let us compare Mozilla Thunderbird (version 62) and MS Outlook (2016)

Comparison

Main Feature	Mozilla Thunderbird (52)	MS Outlook (2016)
Owned by	Mozilla	Microsoft
Initial Release	2004	Outlook for MS Doc in 1992
Commercials	Free and Open Source	Paid and Closed Source
Cross Platform Availability	Supports Windows, MacOS, Linux, BSD, Unix	Supports Windows and Mac
Supported Windows Version	XP SP3, Vista, Wind7,8,8.1,10	Windows  7 SP1, 8,8.1, 10
Flash Memory Portability Support	Supported. Runs on Flash USB memory without installation	Needs to install the client on the machine before use.
Support for sharing a profile between Windows and Linux	Supported	Not supported
Add-Ons	More than 1200 Add-ons is available. Complex to manage the add-ons	Proprietary add-ons.
Mail file management	Supports one large file per mailbox. Individual file per message	Supports one large file (.pst)
Language Supporting	Supports 100 Languages. 59 languages are fully localized and 41 are partially localized.	Supports 96 languages in language interface pack.
Supports immediate changing of languages on the fly	Yes. You can change on the fly	Additional purchase needed
Supporting MAPI (MS Exchange Server Protocol)	No. But possible through an add-on	Supported well
Encrypted Email	Partial. However, several methods available to protect email (weak to strong)	Supported
Deployment Method	On-Premises	On-Premises and also available on SaaS Model (Online)
Active Sync Support	Via Proprietary Birdie Sync add-on	Supported
Integrated Development Environment	Not Supported	Supported
User Interface Customizable	Customizable via the use of themes. Can change like Outlook look and feel using an add-on	Available as a third-party paid extension.
Supporting touch screen device on Desktop	Not supported	Supported. However, slightly adjusted.
Version for Mobile OS	Not available	Outlook App
Online Cloud version	Not available	Outlook Web Apps with reduced functionality.
Spell Checker multi-language	Supporting 130 Language. Auto Spell Check	Limited. Requires additional purchase.
Send large attachment	Supported. Inbuilt support for Box, Hightail	Not supported
Unified Inbox (Single)	Supported for multiple POP	Not supported
Unified Folders	Supported	Not Supported
Mail Merging	Supported via mail merge Add-On	Same version on outlook and MS Office needed
File Size internal restriction	No Limit for IMAP folders. 4 GB Limits for POP stored folders	Default 50 GB. Can be increased in window registry.
Delay sending Email feature	Not Supported. However, Supported with Send Later Add-on	Supported
Email Tracking (Read date and time)	Not supported. However, supported through add-on	Supported
Follow-up Attribute	Not Supported	Supported
Native Document preview	.txt, .pdf	.txt, .pdf, .doc, .xls, .ppt, .odt, .ods
Email Voting	Not Supported	Supported with Voting button
Edit received mail messages and subjects	Supported via add-on	Supported
Email category separation	Not supported	Supported
Connect Calendar to MS Exchange Server	Through add-on	Support
Showing address book attributes like Birthday etc	Supported via add-on	Supported
Connect to Google Calendar	Supported through add-on	Supported
Auto-detect mail information in emails	Supported	Not Supported
Chat / IM / VOIP support	Supported	Partial (Skype)
Auto Add contacts to address book	Supported	Via add-on
Adding Notes	Plain text supported	Supported with editing options
Search Option	Name or email when using default Address Book name. Extensive search when using an add-on like card book	Name, email, telephone number, address, notes
LDAP address book support	Not supported	Supported
Attaching Files to Contacts	Not Supported	Supported
Rich Text editing in Field	Not supported	Supported
Viewing option of addresses	Supported through add-on	Supported
Showing social post from social networks	Not supported	Supported
Task Module	Supported	Supported
Chat Network	Facebook Chat Google Talk Twitter Yahoo	Skype for Business

Summary

Some of the features which are available in MS Outlook are not supported in Thunderbird. However, most of them are not even valuable for an office. Especially startup does not really need all those features. Out of these features, some of them can be complemented with other open source tools. Overall, it is a good option to use the Thunderbird as emailing client. Open source and free to use. 

Please leave comments with your thoughts.

https://www.knowledgemax.in

Subscribe My Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/knowledgemax1