Email App Review: Spark Mail

Let’s face it: Your email is probably one of the most used apps on your phone. That’s why you should really take the time to find the email client that works best for you!

Really good email apps don’t just allow you to read and reply these days; instead, they come with a multitude of features to help you manage your (likely overflowing) inbox.

While some of the clients that may come automatically installed on your device — Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail, for example— are often fine, they aren’t necessarily great.

That’s where Spark Mail comes in. With a suite of extra features and a unique take on what exactly an email client can do for you, this could be just what you’re looking for!

What is Spark Mail?

Spark Mail is an email client. That means that it’s not responsible for actually running the email account that you use, but simply gives you a better way to look at that email account.

With 14 million users and cross-platform availability — including mobile apps for Android and Apple — it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll be able to run the client on your device.

Targeted at the email power user— whether you’re running your own business or just need to process a high volume of email— Spark Mail may be a good choice for you.

Spark Mail Features

Spark Mail has some awesome and innovative features to streamline your email experience:

1. Personalized Home Screen

When you open up Spark Mail, you’re greeted with a quick summary of the emails you’ve received since your last session, and a suggested plan to read through them.

This gets rid of the analysis paralysis many experience when presented with an inbox overflowing with unread emails!

2. Smart Inbox

Spark will automatically separate your emails into three categories: personal, newsletters, and notifications.

It will also make sure that emails from actual people show up at the top of your inbox. This makes it easier to find that one really important email about your latest project or client.

3. Gatekeeper

Spam is the bane of any email user’s existence. You don’t want to know about the latest “miracle cure” or bankroll a foreign royal — you want to read your emails!

Spark Mail takes a very active approach to spam prevention.

The first time that someone emails you, Spark prompts you to accept or block any further communication.

No longer do you have to work through a complicated series of menus to block an address, or rely on automated spam filters — you can do it yourself!

Spark also allows you to unblock senders if you’ve made a mistake. Alternatively, if this service isn’t for you, you can always turn off the Gatekeeper function entirely.

4. Collaborative Inboxes

One of Spark Mail’s big draws is that it allows you to work as a team to compose emails.

This is a huge pro for businesses large and small, where multiple people may need to be involved in the emailing process.

Rather than an endless stream of CC’ing, you can get it all done in one email!

Access is determined by you, so you can either offer your whole team access to an email draft or just a select few.

5. Parity Features

Spark Mail doesn’t skimp on the modern conveniences offered by larger clients, either.

Reminders and nudges around emails you’ve received, scheduling, snoozing, and switching between email signatures all feature in its interface.

Spark + AI

Spark Mail uses AI in several ways to enhance user experience and productivity:

Spark +AI: This feature uses Azure OpenAI integration to understand and generate human-like language. It’s like having a personal assistant who can understand what you’re saying and help you communicate better.

Email Generation and Editing: Spark +AI can help you generate email responses or new emails faster and edit text. It can generate text in multiple languages.

AI Summarization: Spark +AI can summarize large emails and threads. This allows users to read large threads faster.

Quick Replies and Adding Extra Content: Spark +AI can generate quick replies and add extra content for creating a perfect email.

Rephrasing Text: Spark +AI can rephrase text.

Expanding and Shortening Email Content: Spark +AI can expand and shorten the email content.

Changing the Tone of the Email: Spark +AI can change the tone of the email, whether you want to go friendly or more formal.

Proofreading: Spark +AI can proofread for fixing grammar and spelling errors.

Spark Mail Reviews: What Do People Think of It?

Spark Mail has its pros and cons, like most email clients.

Interestingly, it seems to polarize its user base — either you love it, or you hate it!

In the past, some users raised security concerns around how Spark Mail interacts with your email address, especially on OSX and iOS.

However, their policies aren’t substantially different to any other third-party email client.

Like any third-party client, there is more risk involved than using the default client provided by your email provider.

Many people love Spark, particularly on Apple, for its integration with swiping controls. However, the user interface is also quite polarizing.

Spark recently released a new version of its email client, version 3.0. Many people who upgraded from the previous version were unhappy with the UI changes, but there are also those who think they’re a step in the right direction.

Overall, it seems that existing Spark Mail users are mostly onboard with the UI changes.

Any disgruntled users seem to be a result of simply changing from an older UI to a newer one and feeling unfamiliar with it, rather than the new experience being actually poor.

Spark Mail Pricing

Spark Mail has three pricing tiers.

💰 The Free tier is — as the name suggests — free! That means you can get started using the interface as soon as you like with no initial investment.

However, the free tier is very feature-limited, and doesn’t allow the use of many of the significant features we’ve talked about above.

💰 The Premium Individual tier comes in at $4.99 each month, billed annually.

This lands you all the key features you need as a solo user, as well as giving you a limited increase in functionality when using the platform in small teams.

💰 The Premium Team tier comes in at $6.99 per user per month, also billed annually.

This is the most fully-featured tier of the product, and you won’t be left wanting for any extra features.

Spark Mail Pros and Cons

Pros

👍 Try for free – The Free tier means that you can see whether the user interface is right for you without committing fully.

👍 Excellent compatibility – Cross-platform compatibility and synchronization means you can use it like any of the major native email apps.

👍 Great for teams – Team integration is a game-changer for businesses or organizations that need to manage various emails through various people.

👍 Excellent spam controls – Active spam prevention with Gatekeeper gives you more control over your mail.

Cons

👎 UI may be off-putting – The user interface seems to be polarizing, so you’ll either love it or hate it.

👎 The best features are paid for – Many of the key selling points of the app aren’t available at the free tier, so you’ll need to pay for the really innovative and useful features.

👎 Potential security issues – Like any third-party client, Spark Mail is less secure than a traditional client.

The Bottom Line: Should You Use Spark Mail?

Spark Mail excels at many things, but in particular its ability to allow teams to collaborate on emails is a big draw.

If you’re working in a team to write emails and contact people, Spark Mail is a great option for you!

The price point is definitely an obstacle, but if you’re willing to front up for it to give your team better collaborative access then this is the option for you.

Spark Mail is also great for people who have a lot of mailing lists that they are signed up to, but still want to make sure that personal emails are finding their way through the clutter.

In particular, it’s a great client for Apple devices, having been an Editor’s Choice in the App store.

If you’re not in the above categories but are liking the sound of the app, you can always give it a go on the free version!