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Thunderbird vs Thunderbird for Android

Learn how Thunderbird and Thunderbird for Android differ in their key features, development activity, technology stack and community adoption, so you can decide which of these email clients is best for you.

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Thunderbird

Desktop email client that combines multiple accounts, calendars and contacts in one app, with a unified inbox, tagging, and no ads or data collection.
216stars+50(+30%)

Last 30 days

Screenshot of Thunderbird

Thunderbird for Android

Android email client from the Thunderbird project with unified inbox, multiple account support, OpenPGP encryption, and no ads or data tracking.
14,138stars+25(+0.2%)

Last 30 days

Screenshot of Thunderbird for Android

Detailed Comparison

Both Thunderbird and Thunderbird for Android have their unique strengths and serve similar purposes effectively. Consider your specific needs regarding popularity, growth, activity, maturity, licensing and features when making your decision.

Thunderbird for Android wins
Community & Popularity

Thunderbird for Android significantly outpaces Thunderbird in community adoption with 14,138 stars compared to 216 stars on GitHub. This 65.5x difference suggests Thunderbird for Android has a much larger and more active community. In terms of developer contributions, Thunderbird for Android has 2,863 forks, indicating strong developer engagement.

Thunderbird wins
Growth Momentum

Thunderbird is growing faster, adding 50 stars in the last 30 days (+30%) against adding 25 stars for Thunderbird for Android (+0.2%). Thunderbird is the smaller project of the two, so it is closing the gap rather than extending a lead.

Comparable
Development Activity

Both projects show recent activity, with Thunderbird last updated 1 day ago and Thunderbird for Android 4 days ago.

Thunderbird for Android wins
Project Maturity

Thunderbird for Android has been in development longer, starting 16 years ago, compared to Thunderbird which began 1 year ago. This 14.9-year head start suggests Thunderbird for Android may have more mature features and established processes.

Comparable
Licensing

The projects use different licenses: Thunderbird is licensed under MPL-2.0 while Thunderbird for Android uses Apache-2.0. Consider the licensing requirements when choosing for your project.

Comparable
Use Cases & Features

Both tools serve similar use cases in Email Clients.