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It was in the year 2017 when Microsoft stopped the official support to its Windows Essential 2012 Suite of products. Since then all major software components under the Windows Essential Suite including Windows Live Mail did not receive any update. However, you can still get a glimpse of Windows Live Mail running it because the old version is still functional but with limited features and functionalities. Due to the lost support and outdated security features, Windows Live Mail is no longer in demand and many users are looking for a more reliable platform with the most recent security updates.
Since the last update, Live Mail is on a steady road of deprecation and with the lack of direct support of email servers like Hotmail aka Outlook.com it has even become worse for Live Mail to even keep up with the competition. Users admired Live Mail because of its simplicity and ability to sync messages and other mailbox data at one place. However, the vintage email client can be replaced by more advanced platforms.
List of best Windows Live Mail alternatives
In this write up, we have compiled a list of some best Windows Live Mail alternatives that can easily meet the modern day requirements.
- Microsoft Outlook
MS Outlook is a proprietary email client designed and developed by the Microsoft. The tool comes bundled with the MS Office Suite. Outlook allows you to work with unlimited accounts and manage items like messages, contacts, calendar events, notes, etc. It provides a comparatively more secure platform to share messages, and performs advanced operations.Deploying Outlook requires purchase of the licensed version, and a Microsoft account to access the services. It will cost you around $129.99 to get the MS Office licensed version, which contains Outlook and other office components. The tool is supported by platforms like Windows, Mac, and Android.
- Thunderbird
Designed and maintained by the Mozilla Corporation, Thunderbird is an open source desktop-based email client application. Thunderbird supports wide range of extensions, newsfeeds and chat features.You can download and install Thunderbird on your machine without paying a single penny. Moreover, it supports major operating systems like Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.
- Postbox
Postbox is much like the Thunderbird, except for the fact that you have to pay nearly 40 dollars to purchase the full version of the software. The interface, however, resembles more of the Apple Mail client and functionalities are almost same as Thunderbird.Postbox allows users to organize emails, contacts and other crucial data the way they desire. Also, it has an interactive GUI and a simplified structure which makes the tool even more remarkable.
- Mailbird
Mailbird is a Windows-based email client that basically has two versions, namely, Mailbox Lite with limited functionalities and Mailbird Pro with advanced features. You can download the Lite version free of cost whereas the Pro-version comes with a price. Unlike other email clients, Mailbird supports a much wider set of integrations with third-party clients which makes data transfer even more convenient.
- eM Client
Just like the Mailbird, eM client also has a free version and a paid one. The free version allows limited access like the number of email profiles one can add is confined to two only, whereas the paid version provides unrestricted access to all features and functionalities. Also, you can use the paid version for commercial purposes.The main factor behind the popularity of eM client is that when you first launch the application, it will give you a list of import options to import data from your previous platform. The client also supports major messaging services like Google, Facebook and Jabber. The interface is quite simple and sober which makes email management even more convenient.
How to Move from Windows Live Mail to Outlook?
The above mentioned email clients are the most popular alternatives for Windows Live Mail. However, if you don’t want to try all of these to look out for the best one and want a straight forward recommendation, then Outlook is the best alternative for Live Mail. Moreover, you can convert your Windows Live Mail emails directly to PST format using a reliable converter. There are a bunch of converters available online that can help you migrate your Live Mail mailbox data to Outlook’s PST format. The resultant PST, therefore, can be imported to Outlook without any hustle.
You can use Kernel for EML to PST converter to convert your EML/EMLX files directly to PST, MSG and Office 365. The emails in Windows Live Mail are saved in the EML files. So, when you want to move from Windows Live Mails to Outlook, then you need to convert EML file to PST files. This EML converter is the perfect solution for this cause. It will choose the content from the EML file and show their preview to you. After checking the preview, you can save all information in the PST file.
The software maintains the structure of emails from EML and helps to adopt the Outlook structure.
Here is how the home interface of the tool looks like:
Wrapping Up
Microsoft stopped the official support for its Windows Essential Suite years ago, of which Windows Live Mail is an integral part. Many users are looking for a comparable email program but with up-to-date features and functionalities. The aforementioned alternatives for Windows Live Mail meet the modern day requirements. However, if you prefer Outlook over other alternatives, you can use EML converter to convert your EML files to PST to access in Outlook.