Your Email Addresses: POP or IMAP?
The best choice for your email account is not always straightforward. Here is a comparison of IMAP & POP features to help you decide what kind of account you need.
Bizazz email hosting clients can mix & match: some email addresses using POP (POP plans are cheaper) and some using IMAP.
Key takeaways
- You pay for storing emails on someone else's mailserver. More GB = higher cost
- IMAP accounts store all email folders on the mailserver (not just the recent incoming mail). So they need much more storage than POP accounts.
- IMAP is ideal where several people use one email address. Everyone can see replies, as well as all incoming mail.
- You can manage emails on your own local device (desktop, phone etc) using email software such as Thunderbird, and/or log in via your browser (webmail).
- For a POP account, webmail only shows recently arrived emails. But for an IMAP account, webmail shows ALL inboxed, sent, draft, archived etc emails, no matter which device they were sent from.
Busting myths
Everyone uses IMAP these days.
* IMAP is popular, however POP offers advantages over IMAP for many users. Choose what works for you, not what some self-appointed 'expert' tells you.
Choose either POP or IMAP individually for each email address that you have, depending on how you want to use that address.
IMAP is the only option for smartphones.
* Often IMAP is the default option; but POP is available. Search online for phone 'POP email setup' instructions for your phone brand & model.
With a POP account, you download incoming emails once and then they're gone from the mail server. You can't check new emails from your phone as well as your desktop, laptop etc.
* True many years ago, & on some hyper-IMAP-oriented email services which we won't name here. There's a handy POP setting in most mail software that allows you to keep new emails for a while after you first download them. A week or two, or longer: you decide how long you need.
You can check for urgent emails from your phone while you are away for a few days; then you can still download these emails on your work PC when you get back to the office.
Email storage on mail servers is unlimited and free.
* When someone offers you unlimited free anything as a business proposition, you smell a rat! Email servers are a finite resource; managing a mail server takes considerable time & expertise. Email hosts including the famous Big Tech corporates are NOT public charities. If your mail host doesn't charge you, they make $ from your emails in other ways. It's wise to find out how.
Some providers that once offered 'unlimited' free storage don't any more. We & many others have said for years that this was just a starter offer to get you dependent on their services & to get your data on their servers.
Keep storage costs down by clearing out unwanted emails.
You have to log in to the email account from your browser to use your IMAP email address.
* No.
Some people run their IMAP accounts completely online, logging in via their browser to see older emails or to compose and send mail, as well as collect new emails. This method is called webmail.
You can manage your IMAP account(s) through mail software such as Thunderbird on your device (eg laptop).. a.
- Via webmail, you only log into a single email account at a time. If you have >1 IMAP account, it's much faster to work from mail software on your device. Your mail software lets you see at glance which accounts have new mail, unfinished drafts etc.
- If you have both POP and IMAP accounts, it's practical to manage them all together from your own device.
- If your Internet connection is unreliable, you can keep your emails accessible.
| Feature | POP | IMAP |
| Mail Storage | Incoming emails are downloaded from mail server to local device(s). All mail folders are stored permanently on your own device, not on the server Mail server holds recently arrived emails & it holds already-downloaded mail if you ask it too: up to the limit of your server mailbox's capacity Uses up storage space on local devices. Your mail software compacts files to save space | Kept on mail server, accessible for multiple users from multiple devices. All mail folders are stored permanently on the mail server. They keep growing, unless you cull unneeded mail and download & archive old data Option: also store mail on local device(s) using your preferred mail software |
| Access | All downloaded emails, drafts & sent mail are always accessible on your local device; no need to log in to online account If you can't access your device: you can use webmail to check for new emails | (1) Webmail: go online and sign into account; &/or (2) Use mail software on your own computer |
| Privacy | Emails are stored only on your own device(s). Security is fully under your control Apart from the most recent incoming emails: no 3rd party provider stores or can access your emails, nor can they pass them on to others (legally or not) | Emails are stored on a 3rd party mail server, subject to Australian privacy law & other laws Your webmail account is password-protected If you only use webmail, other users of your computer can't read your mail (unless they can sign in to your mail account) |
| Backup | Mail server daily backups cover only recently arrived emails that are still stored in the server mailbox User is responsible for backing up other mail folders | Mail server daily backups include all your mail folders: sent mail, drafts & other folders, not just incoming mail |
| Syncing | Send/Receive from your local device's mail software which connects to the mail server Mail sent from one device (eg your laptop) will not be copied to another (eg your phone); bcc yourself to keep all sent mail on every device If you accidentally delete a good email from your phone, it's still on your desktop |
Changes are instantly synced across all devices that access mail, eg folder creation, draft emails, sent emails If any staff member deletes a file or folder, you lose it from your device too. You can save precious files to Local Folders to avoid this |
