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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.

Mail

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

Print

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.

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