MXDeck vs Outlook for Mac
If your mail lives in Microsoft 365 or Exchange, use Outlook. It is made for that, it is free for personal use on the Mac, and MXDeck cannot open those mailboxes at all yet. MXDeck is for the other case: many mailboxes on your own domains and your own IMAP servers.
Facts about Outlook are as of November 2026 and link to Microsoft’s own pages in the sources. MXDeck is in development; nothing below says it is out.
Pick Outlook for Mac if
- You use Microsoft 365, Exchange Online or Outlook.com. Outlook signs in to them natively. Microsoft requires modern (OAuth) sign-in for Outlook.com and for Exchange Online IMAP, and MXDeck does not have OAuth yet.
- You want mail, calendar and contacts together. MXDeck is mail only.
- You need POP3 or rules. Outlook for Mac supports POP accounts and server-side rules. MXDeck has neither.
- Your team already works in Microsoft 365. Outlook is the client Microsoft builds for it, and the one your colleagues use.
One note for long-time users: Microsoft says support for legacy Outlook for Mac ends in October 2026, so the current Outlook is the one to compare.
Pick MXDeck if
- Your mailboxes are on cPanel, Plesk, ISPmanager or your own server. Outlook handles plain IMAP, but Microsoft notes that some features, such as Focused Inbox and Snooze, are only for accounts that sync through Microsoft. MXDeck is built around plain IMAP and SMTP.
- You do not want a copy of your mail in another cloud. Outlook can sync IMAP accounts to the Microsoft Cloud, which keeps a copy in Microsoft’s data centres. MXDeck has no cloud: your Mac talks to your mail servers, and to api.mxdeck.com only for DNS checks. Passwords stay in the macOS Keychain. No analytics.
- You have 10 to 30 mailboxes. Import them from a YAML or JSON file; each one is verified as it is added.
- You reply from many domains. Each message has a coloured mailbox tag, and replies always go out from the mailbox the mail came to.
- You want to know when a domain’s mail breaks. MXDeck grades every domain A to F on MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, TLS, blacklists and reverse DNS, with fix hints and a notification when a grade drops.
MXDeck is still being built. Threads, undo send, macOS notifications and a menu bar icon are in. Send later, Remind me and drafts synced to the server’s Drafts folder are coming. There is no iPhone app and no Windows version.
Feature by feature
| Feature | MXDeck | Outlook for Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Status | In development, beta for the waitlist first | Shipping |
| Price | Free up to 3 domains; paid plans from $6/month (planned) | Free for personal use; work accounts via Microsoft 365 |
| Microsoft 365 / Exchange Online | No needs OAuth sign-in, not built yet | Yes |
| Outlook.com | No needs OAuth sign-in, not built yet | Yes |
| Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo | Partial with an app password, no Google sign-in yet | Yes |
| IMAP / SMTP mailboxes | Yes | Yes since version 16.46 |
| POP3 | No | Yes since version 16.50 |
| All mailboxes in one window | Yes | Yes |
| Bulk import of mailboxes from a file | Yes YAML/JSON, each mailbox verified | No |
| Domain mail-health grade (MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, TLS, blacklists) | Yes A–F grade, alert when it drops | No |
| Rules | No | Partial server-side rules; limits for some third-party accounts |
| Focused Inbox, Snooze | No | Partial only for accounts synced through Microsoft |
| Send later | Coming | Partial with Microsoft 365 |
| Where your mail goes | Direct to your mail servers; only DNS checks via api.mxdeck.com | Direct, or a copy in Microsoft’s cloud if you sync the account there |
“No” means we did not find the feature in the vendor’s official documentation as of November 2026. “Coming” means it is being built for MXDeck and is not in the app yet.
A mixed setup
Plenty of people have one Microsoft 365 mailbox for work and twenty small domains elsewhere. Outlook for the first, MXDeck for the rest works fine: they do not get in each other’s way. If you set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC for the Microsoft 365 domain, our Microsoft 365 records guide lists the exact values, and the free mail health checker grades every domain today.
See also how to manage email for many domains and the other comparisons.
Questions
Is Outlook for Mac free?
Yes for personal use: since March 2023 Microsoft lets consumers use Outlook on macOS with no Microsoft 365 subscription. Some features, such as Focused Inbox and Snooze, need accounts that sync through Microsoft’s own service.
Does Outlook for Mac copy my IMAP mail to Microsoft’s cloud?
Microsoft documents an option to sync Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud and IMAP accounts to the Microsoft Cloud. When you use it, a copy of your mail (and, for some providers, calendar and contacts) is kept in Microsoft’s data centres.
Can MXDeck open my Microsoft 365 mailbox?
Not yet. Microsoft 365 and Outlook.com require OAuth sign-in, which MXDeck does not have. If most of your mail is there, Outlook is the better choice today.
Is MXDeck available now?
Not yet. The Mac app is in development and the waitlist gets the beta first.
Sources
Checked in November 2026.
- Microsoft: Outlook for Mac (supported account types, IMAP from 16.46, POP from 16.50, legacy Outlook support ending October 2026)
- Microsoft Tech Community: Outlook Mac for all (free for consumers; Focused Inbox, Snooze and pinning need Microsoft sync)
- Microsoft: Sync account in Outlook for Mac to Microsoft Cloud
- Microsoft: Create a rule in Outlook for Mac
- Microsoft: Modern authentication now needed for Outlook.com in non-Microsoft apps
- Microsoft Learn: Deprecation of Basic authentication in Exchange Online (IMAP and POP need OAuth)
- Microsoft: Outlook for Mac features (Unified Inbox; Send later with Microsoft 365)
One Mac inbox for all your domains. MXDeck is in development. Join the waitlist and get the beta first.
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