Gnus vs NeoMutt
Gnus: Mail and news reader built into GNU Emacs, with back ends for IMAP, POP3, local mail folders and NNTP.
NeoMutt: Full-screen terminal mail reader forked from Mutt, with notmuch, NNTP, Lua scripting and a sidebar built in.
Differences
- Gnus is a mail client that runs inside Emacs; NeoMutt is a full-screen terminal client.
- Only NeoMutt has built-in notmuch.
- On Windows, Gnus runs natively and NeoMutt runs through WSL.
- Gnus has mouse support; NeoMutt does not.
- Gnus has calendar support; NeoMutt does not.
- NeoMutt has Vim-style keys; Gnus does not.
- Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp; NeoMutt in C.
- Configuration: Gnus uses Emacs Lisp in init.el or ~/.gnus.el, and NeoMutt uses neomuttrc text file.
Side by side
| Gnus | NeoMutt | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Runs inside Emacs | Full-screen terminal interface |
| Language | Emacs Lisp | C |
| License | GPL 3.0 or later | GPL 2.0 or later |
| Latest version | 5.13 (bundled with Emacs 31.1) | 20260616 |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Native | Through WSL |
| BSD | Native | Native |
| Android | Through Termux | Through Termux |
| IMAP | Yes | Yes |
| POP3 | Yes | Yes |
| SMTP | Yes | Yes |
| JMAP | No | No |
| Maildir | Yes | Yes |
| mbox | Yes | Yes |
| notmuch | Through a separate tool | Yes |
| OpenPGP | Yes | Yes |
| S/MIME | Yes | Yes |
| OAuth2 sign-in | via plugin | via script |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Search | gnus-search: IMAP SEARCH, or notmuch, mu, mairix and other local indexers | built-in patterns; notmuch for full-text |
| HTML mail | built-in, rendered with the Emacs shr library | via mailcap and an external viewer such as w3m or lynx |
| Mouse | Yes | No |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Offline use | via the Gnus agent or local Maildir back ends | with isync or OfflineIMAP; IMAP header and body cache |
| Calendar | replies to invitations with gnus-icalendar | No |
| Contacts | via BBDB or EUDC | via query_command with abook or khard |
| Vim-style keys | No | Yes |
| Configuration | Emacs Lisp in init.el or ~/.gnus.el | neomuttrc text file |
Which to choose
Choose Gnus for
- Included with every GNU Emacs install, including native Windows builds.
- Reads IMAP directly, plus local Maildir, MH and mbox stores and NNTP newsgroups.
- Scoring, splitting and the Gnus agent allow detailed filtering and offline reading.
Watch out for
- The group, summary and article model takes time to learn.
- IMAP access runs inside Emacs, so large mailboxes can make Emacs wait.
- Configuration is Emacs Lisp spread across many variables.
Choose NeoMutt for
- Built-in notmuch support for tag-based virtual mailboxes and full-text search
- Reads Usenet over NNTP and supports Lua scripting
- Reads most existing muttrc files with few or no changes
Watch out for
- Configuration is a text file with hundreds of options and no setup wizard
- HTML mail needs an external viewer set up in mailcap
- OAuth2 needs an external token script such as mutt_oauth2.py
Questions
What is the difference between Gnus and NeoMutt?
Gnus is a mail client that runs inside Emacs; NeoMutt is a full-screen terminal client. Only NeoMutt has built-in notmuch. On Windows, Gnus runs natively and NeoMutt runs through WSL.
Which runs on Windows, Gnus or NeoMutt?
On Windows, Gnus runs natively. On Windows, NeoMutt runs through WSL.
See also: Gnus alternatives, NeoMutt alternatives.