A private alternative to POPFile
Klar filters spam on your Mac, inside Apple Mail. No account, no cloud, nothing to hand over.
If you are weighing up POPFile, here is how Klar differs and where each one is the better pick.
| Aspect | Klar | POPFile |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on | Your Mac | Your computer, as a local mail proxy |
| Who can read your mail | No one new during filtering. Classification stays on your device. | No new third party. Classification stays on the computer where you install it. |
| Works with | Apple Mail, with any account: IMAP, Gmail, iCloud, Exchange | POP3 mail clients; old installers exist for Windows and macOS, plus a Perl version |
| Price | Free forever | Free and open source |
Klar fits better when you want a supported Apple Mail extension on a current Mac, with no proxy or Perl setup
The honest picks
- POPFile
- More than a spam filter: it learns any set of categories you define, then tags incoming mail so your client can file it. That remains a useful idea for enthusiasts maintaining an older setup. The official release is from 2011, and its Mac installers stop at macOS 10.12.
- Klar
- Pick Klar if you read mail in Apple Mail and want a modern multilingual model that runs entirely on your Mac. No account, no cloud, nothing to hand over.
Product and price details from the vendors' public pages, July and August 2026: getpopfile.org. Klar is not affiliated with any vendor named here. No vendor endorses Klar. Product names only identify the tools.
Reclaim your inbox
Spam filter for Apple Mail. Free on the App Store.
