You might wonder which Outlook app to use for your daily tasks, such as sending email, scheduling, and managing your tasks and contacts. Each app offers a consistent user experience to help you be productive, but they serve different purposes. This article helps you decide when to use Outlook, Outlook on the web, or the Mail and Calendar apps on a mobile device.
| Outlook | Outlook on the web | Mail and Calendar |
|---|---|---|
| Available for purchase as part of Microsoft 365 or Microsoft 365. | Accessible from most browsers at Microsoft 365 portal. | Available for iOS and Android devices. |
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| Outlook is our most full-featured email and calendar app, optimized for PCs and laptops. If you're a heavy email and calendar user, and you want all the advanced features and capabilities of email, such as scheduling and task management, rich formatting, or mailbox rules, Outlook is the best choice for you. You can use Outlook with your Microsoft 365 account for business or with other accounts, such as Outlook.com. |
For quick access to your email, calendar, and contacts on any computer with an Internet connection, sign in to your organization's Microsoft 365 mailbox. For example, if you're on a business trip and only have access to a shared computer in a conference center, you can use Outlook on the web to securely access your emails. |
Mail and Calendar apps provide basic email and calendaring features at home or work, best suited for your mobile devices. These apps are touch-friendly and mobile optimized for simplified user experience, so no need for a keyboard or mouse. You can use and customize the swipe gestures to take actions like delete, flag, move, and so on. The Mail and Calendar apps can be set up with your Microsoft 365 account, Outlook.com (including Hotmail, Live, and MSN), Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo!, and other IMAP and POP accounts. |
Folder pane
| Feature | Outlook for PC | Outlook on the web | Outlook for iOS | Outlook for Android |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Folders list | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Favorite folders list | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| View PSTs | Yes | No | No | No |
| Create new folder | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rename folder | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Clutter folder | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| View/Send mail from Shared Mailboxes |
Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Access to Public Folders | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Microsoft 365 Groups | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Message list actions
| Feature | Outlook for PC | Outlook on the web | Outlook for iOS | Outlook for Android |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conversation view | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Toggle conversation view with classic |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Flag/Follow up | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Categorize | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Ignore conversation | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Clean up thread | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Report as junk | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Assign Policy archive or retention policy |
Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Mark as Clutter | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Focused Inbox | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Move to Spam folder | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Empty Spam folder | NA | NA | No | No |
| Schedule/Snooze | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Swipe Gestures (swipe left/right to take action on mail) |
No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Ability to customize Swipe Gestures |
No | No | Yes | Yes |
Compose New Message/Reply
| Feature | Outlook for PC | Outlook on the web | Outlook for iOS | Outlook for Android |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MailTips - recipient is OOF or outside of organization |
Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Insert/change signatures | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Follow Up/Flag when creating email |
Yes | No | No | No |
| Set High/Low importance | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Add Voting buttons | Yes | No | No | No |
| Spell check | Yes | Yes | NA * | NA * |
| Attach files | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Attach links to files from OneDrive for Business |
Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Alias support Outlook.com |
Yes | No | No | No |
| Alias support Gmail.com |
No | No | Yes | Yes |
* Outlook app for iOS and Android uses autocorrect check.
Mailbox controls
| Feature | Outlook for PC | Outlook on the web | Outlook for iOS | Outlook for Android |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Work Offline mode | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Create inbox rules | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Set automatic replies, (OOF) |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| App Themes | Yes | Yes | NA | NA |
Contacts
| Feature | Outlook for PC | Outlook on the web | Outlook for iOS | Outlook for Android |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connect to multiple accounts |
Yes | No * | Yes | Yes |
| Exchange Server | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Microsoft 365 Exchange Online |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Outlook.com | Yes | No * | Yes | Yes |
| Gmail.com | Yes | No * | Yes | Yes |
| Yahoo! | Yes | No * | Yes | Yes |
| IMAP accounts | Yes | No * | Yes | Yes |
* The Mail and Calendar apps contain your contacts in the system directory. When you write or reply to an email, you can find all the people that you've exchanged emails with in the To line. Simply start typing a name to see the suggestions, or select Search directory at the bottom of the suggested names.
Search
| Feature | Outlook for PC | Outlook on the web | Outlook for iOS | Outlook for Android |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local search | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Server search | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| People View (based on importance) |
No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Connect to other accounts
| Feature | Outlook for PC | Outlook on the web | Outlook for iOS | Outlook for Android |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connect to multiple accounts |
Yes | No * | Yes | Yes |
| Exchange Server | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Microsoft 365 Exchange Online |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Outlook.com | Yes | No * | Yes | Yes |
| Gmail.com | Yes | No * | Yes | Yes |
| Yahoo! | Yes | No * | Yes | Yes |
| IMAP accounts | Yes | No * | Yes | Yes |
* Outlook Web App provides an option to for Connected Accounts, which syncs mail once per hour.
Calendar
| Feature | Outlook for PC | Outlook on the web | Outlook for iOS | Outlook for Android |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accept/Tentative/ Decline meeting |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Edit response | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Remove from calendar button |
Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Weather Bar | Yes | No | No | No |
| Share Calendar * | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open colleagues' calendars |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Send Availability (share available time) |
NA | NA | Yes | Yes |
| Forward a meeting | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Create a new meeting | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| See attendee free/busy information |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Meeting room finder | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Meeting attendee response status |
Yes | Yes | Yes ** | Yes ** |
| Add Skype for Business Online Meetings details |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Access calendar attachments | Yes | Yes | Yes | Coming Soon |
| View Free/Busy/Private/Tentative meetings | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
* Share Calendar (set permission level and share entire calendar)
** Accept only. Shows all others as "invitees."
Device Management
| Feature | Outlook for PC | Outlook on the web | Outlook for iOS | Outlook for Android |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EAS Policy Pin lock (device level) |
NA | NA | Yes | Yes |
| EAS Policy Execute Remote Wipe |
NA | NA | Yes | Yes |
| EAS Policy Wipe after N incorrect password attempts |
NA | NA | No * | Yes |
| EAS Policy Maximum inactivity time lock |
NA | NA | No * | Yes |
| EAS Policy Force Encryption |
NA | NA | Yes ** | Yes |
* Set by user.
** iOS devices are encrypted when a device PIN is configured.