I have used Mailbird for years and have generally liked the software. The interface is clean, the unified inbox is useful, and it works well for managing multiple accounts. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
My concern is the licensing.
I bought a Pay Once licence in 2020. Mailbird later described that licence as “valid forever.” I then paid again to upgrade to Mailbird 3, and Mailbird continued to describe the licence as “Mailbird Premium Pay Once license, valid forever.”
When I asked where the original terms stated that future major versions were excluded, Mailbird’s Head of Customer Happiness confirmed to me that:
“Our terms do not contain an explicit statement specifying the inclusion or exclusion of particular future major versions.”
Mailbird now says “Pay Once” only refers to the payment method and “valid forever” only refers to the duration of the particular version.
From a customer’s point of view, it feels like the original offer created one expectation and the meaning was narrowed later when the licensing model changed.
Mailbird also points to its Lifetime Updates option for future major versions. The problem is that if I already believed I had a Pay Once licence that was valid forever, I had little reason to think I needed to buy another lifetime-related option.
Mailbird has also confirmed that I will eventually receive Mailbird Next for free when Mailbird 3 is wound down, but I must pay if I want access to it earlier.
Had Mailbird simply said from the start, “Pay Once for this major version only; future major versions cost extra,” there would have been no misunderstanding.
I still think the software is good. What I no longer have confidence in is the way the licensing has been governed and interpreted and seemingly changed when they needed a new licensing model because of AI integrations Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
