Software Alternatives & Startups

Roundcube VS Gmail

Compare Roundcube VS Gmail and see what are their differences

Roundcube logo Roundcube

Web-based IMAP email client

Gmail logo Gmail

Gmail is available across all your devices Android, iOS, and desktop devices. Sort, collaborate or call a friend without leaving your inbox.
  • Roundcube Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-18
  • Gmail Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-02-13

Roundcube features and specs

  • Open Source
    Roundcube is free and open-source software, allowing for extensive customization and improvements by the community.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    It offers a modern and intuitive webmail interface that is easy to use for users of all technical levels.
  • Extensibility
    Roundcube supports plugins, enabling the addition of new features and functionalities tailored to specific needs.
  • Security
    The platform includes multiple security features such as built-in protection against XSS and CSRF attacks, ensuring a safer email experience.
  • Localization
    It supports multiple languages, making it accessible to users globally.

Possible disadvantages of Roundcube

  • Dependency on External Email Server
    Roundcube requires an external email server to function, which may be a drawback for users seeking an all-in-one solution.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running Roundcube can be resource-intensive, impacting the performance of low-end servers.
  • Complex Setup
    Initial installation and configuration can be complex, requiring technical expertise and familiarity with server management.
  • Limited Mobile Support
    Roundcube's interface is not fully optimized for mobile devices, which may affect the user experience on smartphones and tablets.
  • Maintenance
    Regular updates and maintenance are necessary to ensure security and functionality, which can be time-consuming.

Gmail features and specs

  • Generous Storage
    Gmail provides a large amount of free storage (15GB shared with Google Drive and Photos), allowing users to store a significant number of emails without frequently needing to delete old ones.
  • Integration with Google Services
    Gmail is seamlessly integrated with other Google services like Google Drive, Google Calendar, and Google Docs, enhancing productivity and ease of use.
  • Powerful Search Functionality
    Gmail’s advanced search functionality allows users to quickly and efficiently find specific emails using keywords, filters, and operators.
  • Spam and Virus Protection
    Gmail’s robust spam filter and virus protection features help in keeping your inbox safe from malware, phishing attacks, and unwanted emails.
  • Customizable Email Management
    Gmail offers various tools for organizing emails, such as labels, filters, and custom tabs, enabling users to manage their inbox efficiently.
  • Cross-Platform Accessibility
    Users can access Gmail from any device with internet connectivity, including via web browsers and mobile apps for both Android and iOS.
  • Offline Access
    Gmail offers offline access, allowing users to read, respond to, and search their emails without an internet connection.
  • Feature-Rich Interface
    Gmail’s interface includes features like smart compose, email scheduling, integrated chat, and video calls, making it versatile for both personal and professional use.

Possible disadvantages of Gmail

  • Privacy Concerns
    As a Google product, Gmail’s handling of personal data is subject to the company’s data policies, which might raise privacy concerns among some users.
  • Advertisements
    Free Gmail accounts come with targeted ads that appear in the inbox, which some users may find intrusive or annoying.
  • Complexity for New Users
    The wide array of features and customization options can be overwhelming for new users who may find it difficult to navigate and utilize all the functionalities effectively.
  • Dependence on Internet
    Though offline access is available, many Gmail features require an active internet connection to function optimally.
  • Synchronization Issues
    Some users may experience occasional issues with email synchronization across multiple devices, leading to delays or loss of recent email updates.
  • Limitation on Attachments
    Gmail has a per-email attachment size limit of 25MB, which might be restrictive for users needing to send larger files via email.
  • Potential for Over-reliance
    Given its extensive feature set and integration with other Google services, users might become overly reliant on Gmail, making it difficult to transition to other platforms if needed.

Analysis of Roundcube

Overall verdict

  • Roundcube is a solid choice for those looking for a customizable and reliable webmail solution. Its open-source nature makes it a preferred option for developers and organizations seeking a cost-effective and adaptable solution.

Why this product is good

  • Roundcube is a popular web-based email client known for its user-friendly interface and rich feature set. It is an open-source application, which allows customization and flexibility for various use cases. With a robust plugin environment, Roundcube can be extended to fit specific needs, and it supports standards-compliant email protocols such as IMAP. Additionally, its responsive design ensures accessibility across different devices.

Recommended for

    Roundcube is recommended for small to medium-sized organizations, educational institutions, and individuals looking for a versatile and user-friendly webmail client. It is especially suitable for those who require an open-source solution that can be tailored to specific needs through plugins and custom development.

Roundcube videos

Siteground Webmail Review: Login Access Email Account and Roundcube Overview

More videos:

  • Review - Roundcube Webmail 2018 Review, Free Download For Windows

Gmail videos

QUITTING GMAIL - alternatives for email, calendar, contacts

More videos:

  • Review - Manage Multiple Email Accounts in Gmail - Save Time!
  • Review - The New Gmail - Everything You Need To Know

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Roundcube and Gmail)
Email
20 20%
80% 80
Email Clients
16 16%
84% 84
Enterprise Communication
25 25%
75% 75
Self-hosted Email
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using Roundcube and Gmail. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Roundcube and Gmail

Roundcube Reviews

Top 15 Self-hosted open-source free web-based email clients
RoundCube features LDAP connection, address book management, IDNA and SMTPUTF8 support, share/ global IMAP folders, import/ export options, threaded message listing and more.
Source: medevel.com
15 Best iRedMail Alternatives 2021
Roundcube also offers many of the functions you can find on iRedMail including message searching, folder manipulation, multiple sender identities, support for the external SMTP server, import/export, and unlimited messages and users.
Top 10 Webmail Clients in 2021
RoundCube RoundCube Webmail is a PHP webmail client that will work with a MySQL or Postgres database. One appealing feature it brings is the ability to skin the application-style user interface using XHTML and CSS 2. The app is a multi-language IMAP client whose features include MIME support, address book, editable folder search and spelling check, and it works in your web...
Source: www.plesk.com
5 open source webmail clients for browser-based email
I really like Horde's mobile UI, and the mail client was pretty easy to install separate from the rest of it. SquirrelMail and RoundCube are challenging to use on a mobile device. RoundCube has a supposed mobile plugin but I could not get it to work.
Source: opensource.com

Gmail Reviews

  1. marksachintha
    · CEO at ShiftX ·
    Best Email Service I have ever used.
    Pros:    No need email hosting|Can create groups/channels like slack
    Cons:    Doesn't work with outlook
  2. Phil_is_ill01
    Great user interface, and ease of use. Not sure about the privacy though.

    Very happy with its offers, it has a full suite of tools. Also the user experience is great. I am not sure about the privacy though. I am not confident enough to use it for sending and receiving confidential documents.

    Competitors: Mailfence, ProtonMail
    Pros:    Huge storage space|Mobile app|Easy to use|Organisation
    Cons:    Security|Privacy|Data protection and security
  3. Marta Garcia
    Not good mail in terms of privacy and security

    I used to use Gmail until 4 months ago. I was really happy with this mail, it is easy to handle and, being a Google member, there are many tools available to use. However, I started to learn about the security and privacy offered by Google, which is NONE. We are selling our information and personal data to a technological giant and, many times, we are not even aware of it.

    This is why I deleted all but one of my Google-related accounts. As most people are still not aware of this, when working or contacting certain people for the first time, it is essential to do it through Gmail.

    Today, there are a few alternatives to solve this lack of privacy. After doing an intensive search and reading comments, I decided to get an account with Mailfence and, honestly, I'm very happy with their service. It's an easy to use email, with end-to-end encryption, digital signatures, calendar, document saving capabilities, ... I really recommend it for all those who are starting in the world of privacy and security. The best thing is that you can create a free account and, if you are happy with the service or need more storage space, you can switch to a paid account.

    I hope my opinion helps everyone, especially those who are thinking about whether it is really worth giving all our information in exchange for a free email.

    Competitors: Mailfence

10 Best Alternatives to Microsoft Outlook to Try in 2023
Gmail also offers a number of powerful search features that make it easy to find specific emails. For example, you can search for emails by sender, subject, or keyword, and Gmail will return all relevant results.
Source: mysignature.io
11 Top Outlook Alternatives to Try
Google Workspace users can create email addresses with a custom domain, like [email protected], while Gmail users can only make Gmail.com addresses. Google Workspace offers shared drives and more storage space.
Source: kinsta.com
Superhuman vs. Gmail: A Tale of Two Email Experiences
In contrast, Gmail caters to a broader audience, offering basic email services (vanilla Gmail) and integration with the Google Workspace suite. This entails the use of Google Mail, Google Calendar integration, limited keyboard shortcuts, Docs, Sheets, messages (via Gmail's chat feature), and more!
Source: tatem.com
ProtonMail Compares Apple to Mafia, Says App Was Forced Into In-App Purchases in 2018
Yen believes Apple's 30 percent fee harms privacy-centric apps because it's difficult for a paid app to compete with free apps like Gmail while also having to pay ‌App Store‌ frees.
Moving away from GMail
But my GMail address can be lost for many reasons, many unrelated to GMail itself. I guess you can get the address suspended for spamming or doing other things, I'm not particularly worried about that. However, ToS violations of any kind, across other Google products, can lead to a ban on your account and implicitly, on your GMail address. There are many examples: reselling...
Source: rolisz.ro

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Roundcube seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 17 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.

Roundcube mentions (17)

  • Ask HN: Who Is the Best Paid Email Provider? Why?
    I’m also a happy Migadu customer, and I have never had to interact with their support. I use it for most of my domains, except for a few that are work-related. For Webmail, I have been meaning to try https://roundcube.net You can try it out at https://www.pikapods.com/apps#email to see if this works for you. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Proton Mail says Outlook for Windows is Microsoft's new data collection service
    I have tried several, and liked none of them. I'm currently on Geary, but it's lacking in functionality, and it has things like search results being a bit different upon each of my searches. Starred messages cannot be shown on top. Eyeroll. I think Evolution and Thunderbird are the top contenders, and of the self-hosted ones, Roundcube. https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Geary https://roundcube.net/. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Universal Inbox / Email Client
    You could try a standalone email client like Mozilla's Thunderbird, or if you're experienced running a web server, you could check out something like Roundcube. I suppose you could even run it locally if you're familiar with PHP and/or Docker. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Thunderbird 115 Supernova Preview: The New Folder Pane
    What I really miss is a "web companion" for Thunderbird, basically something like https://roundcube.net/ or https://www.horde.org/apps/webmail, but a bit more powerful and with better UX. I'd like to use a Google Addressbook within such app, for example (there is a completely outdated plug-in for RoundCube). Another important thing would be powerful and fast search. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
  • I Want To Serve My Email Locally From My Linux Server With a Web-Based Interface
    Alternatively if you want to keep what you have I wouldn't recommend using the SoGO even though it's the nicest and most modern option. Mainly because it's a full groupware client and will require a lot of configuration. Instead using Roundcube is probably your best option. Source: almost 4 years ago
View more

Gmail mentions (0)

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

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Roundcube and Gmail, you can also consider the following products

Rainloop - RainLoop is a web based email client.

Microsoft Outlook - Organize your world. Outlook’s email and calendar tools help you communicate, stay on top of what matters, and get things done.

Zimbra - Zimbra is trusted by over 500 million users to increase productivity with a complete set of collaboration tools while maintaining total control over security and privacy.

ProtonMail - Secure email with absolutely no compromises. Get your free encrypted email account today.

Mailpile - Mailpile is a modern, fast web-mail client with user-friendly encryption and privacy features.

Zoho Mail - Zoho Mail is a secure, encrypted, and enterprise-ready email solution, a suite of apps tailor-made for your organization's needs.