Pigeon vs Canary Mail.
Canary is inexpensive and stores mail on your device. Pigeon is more focused, and uses your own Claude for AI.
Canary Mail is good value, with a free tier, a lifetime option and support for every platform. But its Copilot sends the relevant email text to outside AI providers. Pigeon keeps the index on your Mac and lets you decide when Claude sees anything.
Side by side
| Pigeon | Canary Mail | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $69 a year or $8 a month. Free for 14 days first | Free, or $36 a year (Growth) and $100 a year (Pro+). Lifetime options too |
| Runs on | Mac (macOS 26 or later) | Mac, iPhone, Windows and Android |
| Mailboxes it connects | Gmail and Microsoft 365, together in one inbox | Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, Exchange and IMAP |
| Where your mail lives | On your Mac. Mail comes straight from Google or Microsoft, with no Pigeon server in between | Stored on your device, not sent to Canary's servers |
| Search | Keywords and meaning together, with filters for sender, date and attachments. Answers as you type, newest first | Not detailed on their site |
| Search offline | Yes. The whole index is on your Mac | For mail stored on the device |
| Works with Claude | Yes. Ask Claude to find mail or draft a reply, and the draft opens in Pigeon for you to send | Canary Copilot, on Growth and above, using third-party AI providers |
| Blocks tracking pixels | Yes, and remote images are off until you choose to load them for a message | Not stated on their site |
We make Pigeon, so read this with that in mind. Details about Canary Mail were checked in September 2026; they change, so check Canary Mail's own site before you decide.
Where Pigeon pulls ahead
AI you control
Canary's Copilot sends your instructions and relevant email text to providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Cohere and Google. With Pigeon, Claude sees only the messages it looks up for a question.
Search that understands
Pigeon searches every mailbox at once, with filters. Pigeon reads what a message is about as well as the words in it. On our own test set of paraphrased queries it found the right message in the top ten 80% of the time, against 45% for keyword matching alone.
One job, done carefully
Pigeon is a Mac mail app and nothing else, so it can be fast, consistent and native.
No AI tier to buy
Canary gates its Copilot behind paid plans. Every Pigeon feature is in one price.
Fair is fair
What Canary Mail does well
- A much lower entry price, and lifetime purchases.
- Every platform, including Windows and Android.
- PGP on its top plan, and broad account support.
Stay with Canary Mail if
- You need Windows or Android too.
- You want a one-time purchase.
- You use IMAP or iCloud.
Questions
Is Pigeon more private than Canary Mail?
Both keep mail on your device. The difference is AI: Canary's Copilot sends email text to third-party providers, while Pigeon works with your Claude and lets it see only what it looks up.
Does Pigeon have a lifetime option?
Not at the moment. Pigeon is $69 a year or $8 a month.
Try Pigeon next to Canary Mail
$69 a year, every feature, and your money back within 30 days.