Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

OfflineIMAP VS Gmvault

Compare OfflineIMAP VS Gmvault and see what are their differences

OfflineIMAP logo OfflineIMAP

OfflineImap synchronizes email between an IMAP server and a MailDir or between two IMAP servers.

Gmvault logo Gmvault

Backup the emails in your Gmail account.
  • OfflineIMAP Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-16
  • Gmvault Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-10-25

OfflineIMAP features and specs

  • Synchronization
    OfflineIMAP provides excellent support for synchronizing emails between a remote server and a local maildir. This ensures that your emails are easily accessible offline and the local copy remains consistent with the server.
  • Flexibility
    It offers flexible configuration options, allowing users to customize their syncing setups, such as choosing specific folders to sync and setting various syncing parameters.
  • Open Source
    Being an open-source tool, it benefits from community contributions, transparency in development, and the ability for users to modify the source code as per their needs.
  • Compatibility
    OfflineIMAP is compatible with various email servers that support the IMAP protocol, making it a versatile choice for different environments.

Possible disadvantages of OfflineIMAP

  • Complex Configuration
    The tool can be difficult to configure for newcomers due to its detailed and numerous options, which might be overwhelming for someone who isn't experienced with email configurations.
  • No GUI
    OfflineIMAP lacks a graphical user interface, which can make it less user-friendly, especially for those who prefer or require a visual setup process.
  • Limited Support
    As an open-source tool, professional support options can be limited compared to commercial alternatives, which might be a drawback for users needing immediate assistance.
  • Performance Issues
    Some users report performance issues with large mailboxes, where the synchronization process can become slow or resource-intensive on the client machine.

Gmvault features and specs

  • Open-Source
    Gmvault is open-source software, which means you can inspect, modify, and enhance it according to your needs.
  • Cross-Platform
    It is compatible with multiple operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux.
  • Automated Backups
    Gmvault allows for automated email backups, which can be scheduled to run at regular intervals.
  • Data Privacy
    Since the data is stored locally, you have complete control over your email backups and privacy.
  • Restoration Flexibility
    You can restore emails to Gmail or other IMAP servers, providing flexibility in data management.

Possible disadvantages of Gmvault

  • Command-Line Interface
    Gmvault primarily operates via a command-line interface, which may not be user-friendly for non-technical users.
  • Setup Complexity
    The initial setup can be complex and may require technical knowledge and effort, especially for those new to command-line tools.
  • Limited Support
    Being open-source, it may have limited official support, meaning users will mostly rely on community support and documentation.
  • Dependency on Gmail
    Gmvault is tailored for Gmail, so its usefulness is limited if you need to back up email from other providers.
  • No Graphical User Interface
    The absence of a graphical user interface (GUI) can be a disadvantage for users who prefer visual interactions over text commands.

Analysis of Gmvault

Overall verdict

  • Overall, GMVault is a reliable tool for Gmail backup and recovery. It is especially beneficial for those looking for a scriptable and configurable solution. However, users should be comfortable with command-line tools, as GMVault is primarily a command-line utility.

Why this product is good

  • GMVault is considered a good choice for those looking to back up and restore their Gmail data due to its robust features. It allows for automatic, regular backups and can handle large volumes of email efficiently. It's useful for users who need to ensure their email data is secure and easily retrievable.

Recommended for

    GMVault is recommended for tech-savvy users, system administrators, and businesses that require comprehensive email backup solutions. It's also suitable for individuals who prefer having an offline backup of their Gmail data.

OfflineIMAP videos

mutt Email + OfflineIMAP and msmtp - See your email offline!

More videos:

  • Review - Now You Can Auto-Configure Mutt and OfflineIMAP!

Gmvault videos

Episode 133 - GMVault: Backup You GMail Account

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to OfflineIMAP and Gmvault)
Email Management
35 35%
65% 65
Monitoring Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Email Migration
100 100%
0% 0
File Management
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using OfflineIMAP and Gmvault. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Gmvault seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 9 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

OfflineIMAP mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of OfflineIMAP yet. Tracking of OfflineIMAP recommendations started around Mar 2021.

Gmvault mentions (9)

  • Backing up gmail emails
    I use GMvault for doing this and I'm quite happy with it. Unfortunately, it's not actively maintained anymore and out of the box, it doesn't work properly thanks to some annoying changes that Google has made to Oauth, but fortunately, there's plenty of documentation on GitHub for how to fix it. I have GMvault set up to run nightly using a cron job on my NAS. Source: about 2 years ago
  • local gmail backup
    With gmvault you can download and sync. http://gmvault.org/ it saves in .eml format, I assume you could use a locally installed web mailer for accessing the emails? Source: about 2 years ago
  • local gmail backup
    I used this until I didn't need it any more, worked perfectly for a long time: http://gmvault.org/. Source: about 2 years ago
  • recommendations for archiving gmail locally for search?
    I recommend to look in gmvault http://gmvault.org/ . Source: almost 3 years ago
  • When You Get Locked Out of Your Google Account, What Do You Do? (2021)
    It's a good idea to use something like gmvault [0] to ensure you have regular downloads of your mail corpus locally. [0] http://gmvault.org/. - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing OfflineIMAP and Gmvault, you can also consider the following products

imapsync - Console-based utility for migrating IMAP mailboxes.

MailStore - MailStore Home - A 100% free single-private-user desktop solution

isync (mbsync) - mbsync is a command line application which synchronizes mailboxes.

Fetchmail - The Fetchmail Project

Got Your Back - Got Your Back (GYB) is a command line tool that backs up and restores your Gmail account.

MigrationWiz - MigrationWiz provides on-demand mailbox migration services through a fully automated cloud-based...