alot vs nmail

alot: Terminal mail reader written in Python that works on a local notmuch database, with tag-based search and threads.
nmail: Terminal email client for Linux and macOS with an Alpine-like interface and built-in IMAP and SMTP.

Differences

Only alot has built-in Maildir and notmuch.
Only nmail has built-in IMAP and SMTP.
On Windows, alot runs through WSL and nmail is not available.
On BSD, alot runs natively and nmail is not available.
alot has mouse support; nmail does not.
alot has OpenPGP; nmail does not.
nmail has OAuth2 sign-in; alot does not.
alot has Vim-style keys; nmail does not.
alot has multiple accounts; nmail does not.
alot has threaded views; nmail does not.
alot is written in Python; nmail in C++.
Configuration: alot uses INI-style config file plus optional Python hooks, and nmail uses ~/.config/nmail/main.conf key=value file.

Side by side

	alot	nmail
Interface	Full-screen terminal interface	Full-screen terminal interface
Language	Python	C++
License	GPL 3.0 or later	MIT
Latest version	`0.12`	`v5.16.4`
Linux	Native	Native
macOS	Native	Native
Windows	Through WSL	No
BSD	Native	No
Android	No	No
IMAP	Through a separate tool	Yes
POP3	Through a separate tool	No
SMTP	Through a separate tool	Yes
JMAP	No	No
Maildir	Yes	No
mbox	No	No
notmuch	Yes	No
OpenPGP	Yes	No
S/MIME	No	No
OAuth2 sign-in	No	Yes
Threads	Yes	No
Search	notmuch queries	local cache index and server search
HTML mail	via mailcap, e.g. w3m -dump	converted to text, or opened in an external browser
Mouse	Yes	No
Multiple accounts	Yes	No
Offline use	always; reads a local notmuch database	local SQLite cache; offline mode and send queue
Calendar	No	No
Contacts	via an external lookup command such as abook, khard or notmuch address	address book built from messages
Vim-style keys	Yes	No
Configuration	INI-style config file plus optional Python hooks	~/.config/nmail/main.conf key=value file

Which to choose

Choose alot for

Tag-based searches through notmuch instead of folders
Full PGP/MIME signing and encryption
Python hooks for custom behavior and formatting

Watch out for

Needs separate tools to fetch mail (mbsync) and send it (msmtp)
No direct IMAP, POP3 or SMTP support
No S/MIME support

Install alot

Choose nmail for

Built-in IMAP and SMTP with setup wizards for Gmail, iCloud and Outlook
Local cache, address book and outgoing queue can be encrypted
Compose HTML mail using Markdown

Watch out for

One account per running instance
No threaded view and no PGP or S/MIME
Linux and macOS only; no Debian or Fedora package

Install nmail

Questions

What is the difference between alot and nmail?

Only alot has built-in Maildir and notmuch. Only nmail has built-in IMAP and SMTP. On Windows, alot runs through WSL and nmail is not available.

Which runs on Windows, alot or nmail?

On Windows, alot runs through WSL. On Windows, nmail is not available.