Airmail has been around since the early days of Mac email clients, and it earned its reputation the hard way: a decade of adding integrations, custom actions, and settings until it became the client power users reach for when they want total control. If you have ever mapped a swipe gesture to "send to Things," you know the appeal.
We are not here to say that is wrong. We are here to say it is a different bet than the one STAMP makes.
What Airmail is, in one sentence
Airmail is a deeply customizable macOS and iOS email client with app integrations (Things, OmniFocus, Trello, Slack, dozens more), custom swipe actions, and granular settings for nearly every behavior in the app.
If you have a specific workflow in mind and want the client to bend to it exactly, Airmail is built for that.
What STAMP is, in one sentence
STAMP is a triage-first email client with one opinion baked in: most of your inbox does not need your attention today, and the app's job is to prove that automatically, classifying everything on-device.
The difference is not depth of features. It is who decides what matters, you configuring rules or the app classifying automatically.
The bets, side by side
| Dimension | Airmail | STAMP |
|---|---|---|
| Primary bet | Total customization fits any workflow | Automatic triage removes the need to configure one |
| Setup | Rules, swipe actions, integrations, themes | Connect accounts, classification starts working |
| Classification | Manual rules you build | On-device automatic urgency and VIP detection |
| Integrations | Dozens of third-party app hooks | None currently, focused scope |
| Account types | Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, IMAP, Exchange | Gmail, Workspace, Outlook, 365, iCloud, Fastmail, Proton Bridge, IMAP/SMTP |
| Pricing | One-time or subscription, tiered | $9/month, $79/year, $199 lifetime |
Where Airmail wins
Three places Airmail is genuinely stronger.
- Third-party integrations. If your workflow depends on sending an email straight to Things or Trello with a swipe, Airmail has built that muscle for a decade. STAMP has none of it.
- Granular control. Every notification, swipe, and theme setting is adjustable. If you like tuning software until it fits you exactly, Airmail rewards that time investment.
- Longer track record. Airmail has shipped for macOS and iOS for over ten years. That maturity shows in edge-case handling across obscure IMAP servers.
If those three are what you value, Airmail is the right choice today.
Where STAMP wins
Three places we are confident we are better.
- Zero-configuration triage. Airmail's rules are powerful but you have to build them. STAMP's classification works the moment you connect an account, no rule-writing required.
- On-device privacy by default. STAMP's urgency and VIP scoring runs locally, nothing sent to our servers for classification. Airmail's rules are local too, but they are static filters, not a model that learns what "urgent" looks like in your actual inbox.
- Simplicity as the feature. Airmail's settings menu has dozens of screens. STAMP has almost none, because the app is supposed to make the decisions a rule-builder would otherwise make for you.
What we won't pretend
If you have already built out a mature Airmail setup with custom rules for every sender pattern you care about, that setup works, and there is real switching cost in giving it up. STAMP will not replicate a bespoke rule engine you spent years tuning. It replaces the need for one with automatic classification, which is not the same thing as matching it feature-for-feature.
A simple test
Ask yourself how much time you have spent configuring your current email client versus using it. If you enjoy the configuring and it genuinely saves you time, Airmail's approach is working. If you set up rules once, forgot half of them, and still manually triage every morning, the rules were never doing the real work.
Who should pick which
Pick Airmail if you have a specific multi-app workflow, you like fine-grained control, and you are willing to spend setup time to get exactly the behavior you want.
Pick STAMP if you want the inbox to sort itself without you building rules, you care about on-device classification, and you would rather the app have an opinion about what matters than configure that opinion yourself.
Both are legitimate philosophies for a power-user Mac email client. We just think most people do not actually want to be a rule-engine administrator for their own inbox.
Where to go from here
See recent releases on the changelog, or check pricing and the founding window.
See for yourself. hello@stamp.email