mu4e vs Mutt
mu4e: Email client that runs inside GNU Emacs, built on the mu Maildir indexer and search tool.
Mutt: Long-running text-mode email client with IMAP, POP3 and SMTP support, configured through a muttrc file.
Differences
- mu4e is a mail client that runs inside Emacs; Mutt is a full-screen terminal client.
- Only Mutt has built-in IMAP, POP3 and mbox.
- mu4e has mouse support; Mutt does not.
- mu4e has calendar support; Mutt does not.
- Mutt has Vim-style keys; mu4e does not.
- mu4e is written in Emacs Lisp (mu4e), C++ (mu); Mutt in C.
- Configuration: mu4e uses Emacs Lisp in init.el, and Mutt uses muttrc text file.
Side by side
| mu4e | Mutt | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Runs inside Emacs | Full-screen terminal interface |
| Language | Emacs Lisp (mu4e), C++ (mu) | C |
| License | GPL 3.0 or later | GPL 2.0 or later |
| Latest version | 1.14.3 | 2.4.2 |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Through WSL | Through WSL |
| BSD | Native | Native |
| Android | Through Termux | Through Termux |
| IMAP | Through a separate tool | Yes |
| POP3 | Through a separate tool | Yes |
| SMTP | Yes | Yes |
| JMAP | No | No |
| Maildir | Yes | Yes |
| mbox | No | Yes |
| notmuch | No | No |
| OpenPGP | Yes | Yes |
| S/MIME | via Emacs MML | Yes |
| OAuth2 sign-in | via script | via script |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Search | Xapian full-text index with mu query syntax | built-in patterns; server-side IMAP search |
| 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 | via contexts | Yes |
| Offline use | full; reads a local Maildir synced by mbsync or OfflineIMAP | with isync or OfflineIMAP; IMAP header and body cache |
| Calendar | replies to invitations with mu4e-icalendar | No |
| Contacts | address completion from indexed mail | via query_command with abook or khard |
| Vim-style keys | No | Yes |
| Configuration | Emacs Lisp in init.el | muttrc text file |
Which to choose
Choose mu4e for
- Full-text search over all local mail through mu's Xapian index.
- Works offline, since all mail lives in a local Maildir.
- Uses Emacs message mode, so PGP/MIME, S/MIME and Org mode links are available.
Watch out for
- No built-in IMAP; needs mbsync or a similar sync tool, so setup spans several config files.
- Requires Emacs and some Emacs Lisp to configure.
- No native Windows build, and Arch packages it only in the AUR.
Choose Mutt for
- Packaged by major Linux distributions, Homebrew, FreeBSD, OpenBSD and Termux
- Conservative releases that rarely break existing muttrc files
- Built-in PGP/MIME, S/MIME and Autocrypt
Watch out for
- No notmuch, NNTP or scripting support (NeoMutt has these)
- Configuration is a text file with hundreds of options and no setup wizard
- HTML mail needs an external viewer set up in mailcap
Questions
What is the difference between mu4e and Mutt?
mu4e is a mail client that runs inside Emacs; Mutt is a full-screen terminal client. Only Mutt has built-in IMAP, POP3 and mbox. mu4e has mouse support; Mutt does not.
Which runs on Windows, mu4e or Mutt?
On Windows, mu4e runs through WSL. On Windows, Mutt runs through WSL.
See also: mu4e alternatives, Mutt alternatives.