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The Mozilla Foundation has recently reallocated resources toward the development of its open-source email client, Thunderbird, while also expanding its Android offerings through the acquisition of K-9 Mail. However, both reinvestment and acquisition demand financial backing.
Although Thunderbird remains free and open-source, this does not preclude the Mozilla Foundation from monetizing the project. To that end, the foundation has now unveiled Thundermail, a native email service, along with Thunderbird Pro, an enhanced subscription-based suite—both requiring paid subscriptions for access.
For Mozilla, offering Thunderbird as a standalone open-source client has proven insufficient in the face of competition from integrated giants like Google’s Gmail and Microsoft Outlook, which function both as clients and as hosted email services. In contrast, Thunderbird historically lacked a native service component.
Google and Microsoft benefit from tightly controlled ecosystems that can enforce vendor lock-in or introduce subtle incompatibilities, thereby deterring users from embracing third-party alternatives. As a result, standalone email clients struggle to remain competitive.
To address this imbalance, Mozilla has introduced Thundermail, a fully-fledged email service akin to Gmail. Built atop the open-source Stalwart software stack, Thundermail currently offers email functionality, with plans to incorporate contacts and calendar support in the future—effectively transforming it into a more holistic alternative similar to Microsoft’s Outlook.
The service is hosted under the domains Thundermail.com and tb.pro, and users can now register for the beta waitlist. Once the service officially launches, registrants will be notified and able to create personalized email addresses under these domains.
Meanwhile, Thunderbird Pro encompasses a full suite of productivity tools:
- Thunderbird Appointment, a scheduling utility;
- Thunderbird Send, a file-sharing tool seen as a revival of the defunct Firefox Send;
- and Thunderbird Assist, an AI-powered assistant based on the Flower AI platform, which promises privacy-focused features reminiscent of Apple’s private cloud computing model.
Notably, Thunderbird Appointment and Thunderbird Send can be self-hosted, allowing users to retain full control over their data—a compelling option for those who prioritize privacy and security.
Pricing for Thundermail and Thunderbird Pro has not yet been disclosed. Initially, these services will be offered free of charge to Thunderbird community contributors, while others will require a paid subscription. Mozilla also hints at the possibility of offering limited free tiers in the future to attract new users and eventually convert them into paying subscribers.
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