Is there a Gmail app for Mac? Every option in 2026
Updated October 2026
No. Google makes Gmail apps for iPhone, iPad and Android, but not for the Mac. You can give Gmail its own window and Dock icon with Safari's Add to Dock, add your Gmail account to Apple Mail, or use a Mac app made for Gmail. Here's how they compare.
Free: Gmail in its own window
On macOS 14 Sonoma and later, Safari can turn Gmail into a web app:
- Open mail.google.com in Safari and sign in.
- Choose File › Add to Dock, then click Add.
- Open Gmail from the Dock and sign in again: web apps keep their own cookies, separate from Safari.
- For notifications, turn on desktop notifications in Gmail's settings and allow them when the web app asks. It can then show notifications and a badge on its Dock icon.
In Chrome, choose ⋮ › Cast, save, and share › Create shortcut instead.
You get everything Gmail has, for free. You give up what a native Mac app adds: Mac menus and shortcuts, Quick Look for attachments, and a look that matches your other apps. It also shows one account at a time.
Free: Apple Mail
Apple Mail comes with every Mac and connects to Gmail with a Google sign-in. It handles every kind of account in one place. Gmail's labels are the catch: Mail shows each one as a folder, so the same message can appear several times and Archive needs setting up. Our guide Apple Mail and Gmail walks through the fixes.
Mac apps made for Gmail, compared
| App | Price, October 2026 | Accounts | Your mail on its servers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mimestream | $49.99 a year or $4.99 a month, 14-day trial | Gmail and Google Workspace | No |
| Spark | Free; Plus $99 a year; Pro $199 a year | Most providers | For some features: send later, sharing, recent mail for four hours |
| Canary | Free; Growth $36 a year; Pro+ $100 a year | Most providers | Not by default |
| Outlook for Mac | Free | Most providers | Yes, by default it syncs Gmail through Microsoft's cloud |
| Thunderbird | Free | Most providers | No |
| Lambda Mail | Free during the beta; pricing comes with the launch | Gmail and Google Workspace | No |
Prices from each app's own pricing page on October 28, 2026. What each app keeps on its servers is in our guide Which Mac email apps keep your mail on their servers?
- Mimestream is the best-known Mac app made only for Gmail. It's built on Gmail's own API, so it has Gmail's categories, filters, snooze and undo send. It's subscription only.
- Spark and Canary handle many kinds of accounts and add AI features, such as summaries and AI replies.
- Outlook is free and a good fit if you also use Microsoft accounts. When you add Gmail, choose “Sync directly with Google” if you'd rather your mail not go through Microsoft's cloud.
- Lambda Mail is ours: a Gmail app you can make look your way, with no servers of ours and no AI. It's in beta, so it does less than Mimestream today. No unified inbox, snooze or scheduled send yet.
If you used Notion Mail: it shut down on September 22, 2026, though some 2026 lists still include it.
Which one to pick
- You want it free and simple: Gmail in a Safari web app.
- You have several kinds of accounts: Apple Mail, or Spark or Canary if you want AI features.
- You want the most complete Gmail features on a Mac: Mimestream.
- You want Gmail to look and feel your way: Lambda Mail.
Lambda Mail, in short
Lambda Mail is built with SwiftUI and AppKit, not a web page in a window. It keeps attachments in a tray under each message, lets you change every color, the font, the density and the text size, and archives the way Gmail does. Your mail goes from Google to your Mac and nowhere else.
It works with Gmail and Google Workspace on macOS 14 and later, and the beta is free. iCloud and Outlook are on the roadmap.
More guides
Sources, read October 2026: Apple, Use Safari web apps on Mac; Google, Chrome shortcuts and Add Gmail to another email client; pricing pages of Mimestream, Spark and Canary; Microsoft, Outlook for Mac and Microsoft Cloud; Engadget, Notion Mail is shutting down.