Google doesn't make a Gmail app for Mac. Here are four ways to get Gmail in its own window, from a free web app to native Mac apps like Dusk and Mimestream.
Google makes Gmail apps for iPhone and Android, but not for the Mac. On a Mac, Gmail lives in a browser tab, where it's easy to lose among 40 others. Here are four ways to give it a proper home.
1. Turn Gmail into a web app (free)
Both Safari and Chrome can turn a website into an app with its own Dock icon and window.
In Safari: open gmail.com, then choose File, Add to Dock. Gmail gets its own window and Dock icon, separate from your browser tabs.
In Chrome: open gmail.com, open Chrome's menu, and look for the option to install the page as an app (under Cast, save and share in recent versions).
It's still the Gmail website, just in its own window. Free, simple, and every Gmail feature works.
2. Apple Mail (free)
Add your Google account in System Settings, Internet Accounts, and Gmail appears in Apple Mail. It's free and works offline, with Apple Intelligence summaries on supported Macs. The catch: Mail talks to Gmail over IMAP, so labels behave like folders and some Gmail features don't carry over.
3. Mimestream ($49.99 a year)
A native Mac app built only for Gmail, using Gmail's own API. Labels, categories, filters and aliases all work as they do in Gmail. Polished and fast, with no AI.
4. Dusk ($49 once)
Dusk is a native Mac app for Gmail and Google Workspace (and iCloud) that uses the Gmail API, with a different idea of what an inbox should do. Every email is sorted as it arrives into Important, Needs reply, Waiting, Newsletters or Screened, with a one-line summary, using Apple's on-device AI, so your mail never goes to a cloud service. It's built for the keyboard, with Gmail-style keys like J, K, E and R.
Which should you choose?
| If you want | Choose |
|---|
| Free, with every Gmail feature | A Safari or Chrome web app |
| Free, and several accounts together | Apple Mail |
| Gmail exactly as Google designed it, in a native app | Mimestream |
| A sorted, summed-up inbox and keyboard speed | Dusk |
More detail in the best Gmail apps for Mac.
Questions
- Does Google make a Gmail app for Mac?
- No. Google makes Gmail apps for iPhone and Android only. On a Mac you use Gmail in a browser, as a web app, or through a Mac mail app.
- How do I put Gmail in my Mac's Dock?
- In Safari, open gmail.com and choose File, Add to Dock. Gmail gets its own window and Dock icon.
- What's the best Gmail app for Mac?
- For Gmail exactly as Google designed it, Mimestream. For a sorted, summed-up inbox with on-device AI, Dusk. For free, Apple Mail or a Safari web app.
Fast, private email for $49 once
Pre-orders are open at the launch price. One payment covers the Mac app and the AI, and the iPhone app when it arrives.
Pre-order Dusk