# Mutt vs Wanderlust

- Mutt: Long-running text-mode email client with IMAP, POP3 and SMTP support, configured through a muttrc file.
- Wanderlust: Mail and news reader for Emacs, written in Emacs Lisp, with built-in IMAP, POP3, NNTP and SMTP support.

## Differences

- Mutt is a full-screen terminal client; Wanderlust is a mail client that runs inside Emacs.
- Only Mutt has built-in mbox.
- Wanderlust has mouse support; Mutt does not.
- Mutt has S/MIME; Wanderlust does not.
- Mutt has Vim-style keys; Wanderlust does not.
- Mutt is written in C; Wanderlust in Emacs Lisp.
- Configuration: Mutt uses muttrc text file, and Wanderlust uses Emacs Lisp in ~/.wl, folder list in ~/.folders.

## Side by side

| | Mutt | Wanderlust |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Interface | Full-screen terminal interface | Runs inside Emacs |
| Language | C | Emacs Lisp |
| License | GPL 2.0 or later | GPL 2.0 or later |
| Linux | Native | Native |
| macOS | Native | Native |
| Windows | Through WSL | 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 | No |
| notmuch | No | Through a separate tool |
| OpenPGP | Yes | Yes |
| S/MIME | Yes | No |
| OAuth2 sign-in | via script | via oauth2.el |
| Threads | Yes | Yes |
| Search | built-in patterns; server-side IMAP search | IMAP server-side search; local search via mu, notmuch, grep or namazu |
| HTML mail | via mailcap and an external viewer such as w3m or lynx | via mime-w3m (emacs-w3m) |
| Mouse | No | Yes |
| Multiple accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Offline use | with isync or OfflineIMAP; IMAP header and body cache | message cache and disconnected operation |
| Calendar | No | No |
| Contacts | via query_command with abook or khard | built-in address book |
| Vim-style keys | Yes | No |
| Configuration | muttrc text file | Emacs Lisp in ~/.wl, folder list in ~/.folders |

Pages: [Mutt](https://terminalemail.com/clients/mutt/index.md), [Wanderlust](https://terminalemail.com/clients/wanderlust/index.md)