Hi all. I'm just curious as to any current thoughts & experiences that anyone has had with Betterbird vs Thunderbird. Is it Betterbird really better?
I'm currently using Evolution without any major issues but I'm not enamored with it's overall look or some it's email handling methods. I'm very familiar with Thunderbird, like it & am considering installing it for comparison but just learned about Betterbird so I figured I'd ask for anyone's input on experiences with it. Any thoughts, suggestions or questions would be appreciated. Thank you.
I’ve mostly been using BB but I find the two very similar with no big differences.
I do find that BB is prone to crashing when I go to a message in my unified inbox, right click it and choose open in new tab, then click on the new tab to read the message, the whole BB just closes and I need to do over. It doesn’t happen every time and I don’t know what makes the difference.
When I am reading through my inbox messages(after opening the first one in new tab) I wish there was a “next message” button or a down arrow. If I don’t want to delete or move the current message to a folder, I have to go back to inbox and then open the next message in a tab.
Not much difference between BB and TB. Updates seem more frequent with BB and they claim to fix bugs faster. I too couldn't get on with Evolution. Another vote for BB.
Hi NickS & banger and thanks for your input. I went ahead and installed BB and so far no issues, will use it & compare it with Evo, but suspect BB will be the BB!
I will always be an Evolution user. I've had zero issues on setting up any email accounts.
A client I installed LMDE 7 for last year had been an Outlook user and was very impressed with Evolution I installed for them.
Thought I would use Brave A.I. via Mojeek to see what it came back with (different to what has been reported here):
" Betterbird is considered superior to Thunderbird by many users due to its focus on stability, performance, and user experience improvements. It is a soft fork of Thunderbird, meaning it closely follows Thunderbird's development while incorporating exclusive bug fixes , new features , and enhanced usability that Thunderbird may not include for months or years.
Key Advantages of Betterbird:
Bug Fixes and Stability : Betterbird integrates critical bug fixes from Thunderbird’s Bugzilla reports faster than Mozilla, reducing crashes and improving reliability. For example, issues like "minimize to extensions" not working in Thunderbird 137 were fixed in Betterbird months earlier.
Improved Features : Betterbird includes long-requested features such as:
Multi-line message view for better inbox visibility.
Vertical tabs and colored account labels for easier management of multiple email accounts.
Smarter attachment handling , with attachments displayed at the top of messages and the ability to reattach recent files without searching.
Advanced search capabilities , including regular expressions and complex filtering , which are not available in Thunderbird.
Better User Experience : The interface is more polished, with improved Compose window layouts , quote collapsing , and message threading . It also offers a system tray tooltip that shows new messages and folders—especially useful for Linux users.
Faster Updates and Support : Betterbird releases updates more frequently than Thunderbird, with prompt fixes for issues that arise. The developer actively responds to user feedback and submits patches upstream to benefit Thunderbird.
Compatibility : Betterbird is fully compatible with Thunderbird profiles, allowing users to run both simultaneously and switch without losing data.
Developer Philosophy:
The Betterbird team emphasizes open-source values and user-centric development . They submit all changes back to Thunderbird, aiming to improve the broader ecosystem. As noted in reviews, Betterbird is often described as “Thunderbird on steroids” — preserving the familiar interface while removing rough edges and adding quality-of-life upgrades.
While some users report concerns about higher system requirements (4GB RAM recommended) and a cluttered interface , the consensus across multiple sources is that Betterbird delivers a more stable, feature-rich, and polished experience than Thunderbird, especially for power users who rely on email daily.
I tried Evolution initially when I started using Zorin and it was good & worked well enough. The one main problem I couldn't resolve was when sending an email it would always put two sent emails in the Sent folder. That was one reason I switched to Betterbird, it doesn't do that.
Do you have any suggestions as to how to stop it from putting two sent emails in the Sent folder?
That is strange. I have never had that issue. I never save anything locally:
" Evolution shows two copies of the same sent message because it is configured to save a copy of sent emails both locally and on the email server , while the server (e.g., Hotmail/Outlook, Gmail, or another IMAP provider) also automatically saves a copy in its own Sent folder.
This results in duplicate entries — one from Evolution and one from the server.
Key Causes and Fixes:
IMAP Accounts : Most common cause. IMAP syncs sent emails to the server, but Evolution may also save a copy locally or in a different folder.
Duplicate Save Settings : Evolution might be set to save sent messages to both the server's Sent folder and a local folder (like "On This Computer/Sent").
How to Fix:
Open Evolution → Edit → Preferences → Mail Accounts .
Select your email account → Edit .
Go to the Defaults tab.
Look for the "Sent Messages Folder" setting.
Uncheck the box labeled "Save sent messages to the Sent folder"if you only want the server to handle it .
Alternatively, ensure it points to only one location (e.g., the server’s Sent folder, not both).
Save changes.
Tip : If you use Gmail or Outlook, these services already store sent emails. Disabling Evolution’s copy saves space and avoids duplicates.
Additional Notes:
Some users reported duplicate messages due to incorrect SMTP port settings (e.g., using 587 instead of 465 with SSL), which can cause repeated send attempts.
Check your SMTP settings under the account’s Sending Options tab to ensure the correct port and encryption (STARTTLS or SSL) are selected.
This issue is well-documented and commonly resolved by adjusting the Sent Messages Folder setting in Evolution’s account preferences.
Tip : If you use Gmail or Outlook, these services already store sent emails. Disabling Evolution’s copy saves space and avoids duplicates.