In a somewhat unexpected but definitely interesting move, Thunderbird has introduced a new initiative called Thunderbird Pro and Thundermail. The goal? To take their popular email client beyond the desktop and into territory currently ruled by giants like Google’s Gmail and Microsoft’s Office 365.
As for the reasons behind this decision, Ryan Sipes, Thunderbird’s Managing Director of Product, explains it this way:
The Why for offering these services is simple. Thunderbird loses users each day to rich ecosystems that are both clients and services, such as Gmail and Office365. These ecosystems have both hard vendor lock-ins (through interoperability issues with 3rd-pary clients) and soft lock-ins (through convenience and integration between their clients and services). It is our goal to eventually have a similar offering so that a 100% open source, freedom-respecting alternative ecosystem is available for those who want it.
A major part of this new umbrella of services is Appointment, a scheduling tool that allows individuals to share calendar availability via a simple link. According to Thunderbird’s Managing Director Ryan Sipes, the impetus behind Appointment was user frustration with existing proprietary or overly complicated scheduling tools.
Next, Thunderbird Send emerges as an evolution of the former Firefox Send project. Although the code has undergone significant restructuring (leading some insiders to jokingly call it a “Ship of Theseus” situation), the main goal remains consistent: to enable secure and private file-sharing conveniently.
Thunderbird Assist will also be available. This experimental feature, developed in collaboration with Flower AI, offers optional artificial intelligence functionalities for users who want them while also addressing privacy concerns head-on. On devices robust enough to handle AI models locally, Thunderbird Assist processes everything on the user’s own machine.
However, for users on less powerful hardware, the development team has integrated NVIDIA’s confidential computing to keep any remote processing secure. Rest assured, those who prefer to skip AI services can continue using Thunderbird without these extras.
And now to the most exciting part—Thundermail, an entirely new email service built upon open-source software stacks, primarily Stalwart. The end goal is to provide a modern, feature-rich email system that respects users’ freedom and privacy while also matching—or outdoing—the convenience of big-name providers.
Initially, Thunderbird intends to offer free access to “consistent community contributors,” which essentially rewards people actively involved in Thunderbird development or community support.
However, the reality is that a large user base will require bandwidth, storage, and maintenance—resources that are far from cheap. As a result, the plan is to implement paid tiers for other users who do not actively contribute to the codebase or community, with the revenue supporting server costs and development.
Over time, if usage levels and the project’s financial footing seem secure, Thunderbird aims to introduce free tiers for everyone—albeit with limitations, such as reduced storage capacity.
For anyone eager to get on board early, Thundermail is accepting sign-ups for the beta waitlist at thundermail.com. For more information, see the announcement.
