E-mail apps that support (iDevice/cloud) attachments

[pacorob]

I decided to create this topic for iOS8 users that would like to attach file types (other then photos and videos) such as PDF, DOCX to a new e-mail via an e-mail app. Unfortunately the Apple Mail app currently only supports photos and videos or you should buy the Workflow app and use this workflow (works only with Dropbox).
Below you will find a list of apps that support various attachments with an iDevice that runs iOS8. Some more recent discussion about e-mail apps can be found in this topic.

This is a wiki so please feel free to add your own e-mail app that has support for attachments that are stored in the cloud or on your local iDevice.
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As of iOS9 it is also possible to attach other file types (e.g. PDF, DOCX) from local iDevice (within apps) and cloud storage (iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive, and more as soon as they support the SDK for it - update of app needed). See also this Apple tip page how to find it.
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A few critical notes about security and third party e-mail apps:
1) A critical blog about Readdle's Spark see here.
2) A critical blog about Microsoft Outlook app especially for Business use see here.
3) A critical blog about BlueMail/TypeApp and their use of Amazon AWS see here.
4) A critical forum post about e-mail apps and their privacy/security, see here
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Here is a part of an offline Excel sheet i created to compare almost all apps. To download a copy of the sheet here (I will get a notification if you want to access and will approve ASAP).

E-mail apps (full attachment support):

Email by Easylido (free) - attachments one by one, attachments above message, reminders/snooze, swipe gestures (partly customizable), landscape support, smart/unified inbox, no language support, no Apple Watch support, support badge app icon (inbox zero), has 3D Touch, no calendar support, quick reply via OS not app

Spark (by Readdle) (free) - great review here - add multiple attachments at once!, reminders/snooze, swipe gestures (customizable), landscape support, smart inbox, calendar, Apple Watch support, quick reply, iPad support with Slide Over/Split View, no badge icon support (when background app refresh is turned off otherwise it works fine but with these settings), read receipt (beta only), 3D Touch support (iPhone 6s+), Mac app

Airmail (4,99 dollar) - also for MacOS (9.99 dollar) - great review here - attachments one by one, reminders/snooze, swipe gestures (customizable), landscape support, smart/unified inbox, language support, Apple Watch support, support badge icon (inbox zero), support html signatures, has option for multiple signatures, 3D Touch support (iPhone 6s+), no calendar, no quick reply, iPad support with Slide Over/Split View, TouchID protection, schedule e-mail, read receipt

Astro Mail (free) - attachments one by one, attachments above message, reminders/snooze, swipe gestures (customizable), landscape support, smart/unified inbox, support badge icon (inbox zero), support html signatures, lacks option for multiple signatures, no calendar, no quick reply, TouchID protection, schedule e-mail, read receipt, Mac app

Microsoft Outlook (free) - attachment one by one, attachments above message, reminders/snooze, swipe gestures (customizable), has landscape support, smart inbox, calendar, Apple Watch support, Slide Over/Split View iPad (multitasking), multiple signatures

Polymail (free and subscription version) - reminders/snooze, swipe gestures, read status

Hop (free) - attachments one by one, reminders/snooze, swipe gestures, no Apple Watch support, calendar support

ProtonMail (free/superscription) - info will be added soon

CanaryMail (beta on iOS, already available on MacOS)

Superhuman (not yet on iOS, beta only on MacOS) - reminders/snooze, plan e-mails, read status

SlideMail (free) - attachments one by one, attachments above message, no reminders/snooze, swipe gestures (customizable), no landscape support, smart/unified inbox, no language support, no Apple Watch support, support badge app icon (inbox zero), has 3D Touch, has calendar support, no quick reply, no iPad support

Boxer (- stopped) - limitations: not able to adjust signature, only 1 e-mail account, no pin protection - attachment one by one, reminders/snooze, swipe gestures (customizable), has landscape support, no smart inbox but smart folders, calendar, no Apple Watch support, quick reply

BlueMail (free) / TypeApp (free) - attachment one by one, attachments above message, reminders/snooze, swipe gestures, unified inbox but not smartinbox, passcode lock option/TouchID, tasks view, no calendar, no Apple Watch support, quick reply, does not support html signatures, has option for multiple signatures (same look & feel as TypeApp)

Newton Mail (formely called 'CloudMagic Email') (subscription service) - attachment one by one, reminders/snooze, unified inbox but not smartinbox, passcode lock option, support multiple languages, no landscape, has html signature(s) support, Apple Watch support, 3D Touch support (iPhone 6s+), Apple Watch - also for MacOS (19.99 dollar) - bug: has issues with pressing button links in e-mails

Unibox (free, with in-app update 4,99 dollar (in the pro version you can adjust signature, adjust sync months more then 3 months, multiple e-mail accounts) - also for MacOS (9,99 dollar) - attachment one by one, reminders/snooze, swipe gestures, has landscape feature, smart inbox (chat), no calendar,no Apple Watch support

Mailpilot 2 (9,99 dollar) - also for MacOS (19,99 dollar) - attachment one by one, reminders/snooze, swipe gestures, unknown if it has landscape option, smart inbox, calendar, Apple Watch support, Slide Over/Split View iPad (multitasking)

Inky Mail Pro (free app, but 5 dollar monthly subscription service) - attachment one by one, reminders/snooze?, swipe gestures, unknown if it has landscape option, smart inbox, calendar, no Apple Watch support

AltaMail (4,99 dollar) - attachment one by one, reminders/snooze, swipe gestures, unknown if it has landscape option, smart inbox, no calendar, no Apple Watch support

Timyo (free) - attachments one by one, reminders/snooze, calendar, no Apple Watch support

Nacho Mail (free, after 1 year 1,99 dollar a year) - attachment one by one, reminders/snooze?, swipe gestures?, unknown if it has landscape option, smart inbox, calendar, no Apple Watch support

Mail (by Apple) - attachment one by one, no reminders/snooze feature, has landscape feature, only iOS9 and up support this feature

Nice overview of features of various app can be found in this review.

Note: You can attach files up to 20MB in size limited to 10MB per file (at least with Spark, CloudMagic that is the case with the majority of cloud storage (e.g. Dropbox) of which you grab the files.

E-mail apps (only link to attachment in cloud, no support for 'real' attachment):

Mailbox (by Dropbox) (free) - ended end of February 2016 - attachment one by one, reminders/snooze, swipe gestures, has landscape option, no Apple Watch support
Gmail (by Google) (free) - no Apple Watch support
Inbox by Gmail (free) - Boxy also for MacOS (3,99 dollar) - no Apple Watch support
Yahoo Mail (free) - no Apple Watch support, Slide Over/Split View iPad (multitasking)
myMail (free) - Apple Watch support, Slide Over/Split View iPad (multitasking)
Alto Mail (free) - no Apple Watch support
AOL Mail (free) - Apple Watch support
Mail.com (free) - Apple Watch support
Inboxcube (free) - no Apple Watch support
ClearSlide Mail (free) - no Apple Watch support
Cloze (free, with in-app purchases) - not yet check for features
MailDeck (free, with in-app purchases) - not yet check for features
Mail+ for Outlook (4,99 dollar, with in-app purchase) - not yet check for features
Mail+ Email Client... (9,99 dollar) - not yet check for features
Offline Mail (2,99 dollar) - not yet check for features

Can only attach images:
Dispatch (6,99 dollar) - according to App Store description , attachment one by one (photo only), no reminders/snooze, swipe gestures, no landscape option, Apple Watch support,
quick reply, no push notification

Mailburn - photos only attach
Trove (formerly know as Notion) - photos only attach
Handle - photos only attach
Zero - photos only attach (free, with in-app purchases) - no Apple Watch support

Other alternatives (document viewer, not e-mail app):
Documents 5 (by Readdle) (free)
TinyPDF (free)
FileBrowser (5,99 dollar) | note: The free lite version doesn't offer the feature

MacOS/OSX e-mail apps/software:
Boxy (for Inbox by Gmail) (4.99 dollar)
Airmail 2.5 (9.99 dollar)
Spark (free)
Astro Mail (free)
Polymail (beta only)
Superhuman (beta only, currently on OSX) - reminders/snooze, plan e-mails, read status
CanaryMail (free)
Unibox (15.99 dollar)
CloudMagic Email (19.99 dollar)
Mail Pilot 2 (19.99 dollar)
Nylas N1 (free, also available on Windows and Linux)
WMail (free)
MailMate (free)
Mailbox (free) - will stop end of Feb. 2016
Postbox (16.94 euro)
Mailplane (23.50 euro)
Thunderbird (free) - also available for Windows
Kiwi for Gmail Lite (free) | Kiwi for Gmail (9.99 dollar)
Mia for Gmail (software, free) and app (free, 1,99 in-app purchase)
Mailpile (free) - also available for Windows

I have created a complete Excel sheet overview will all features you can think off.
For requests contact me via @pacorob on Twitter.

Last updated: 14th of April '17

 

[BrianBaughn]

Thanks for the tip on Spark. The IMAP support for Office 365 accounts works great.

 

[simon lefisch]

I decided to create topic for iOS8 users that would like to attach file types (other then photos and videos) such as PDF, DOCX to an e-mail via an e-mail app. Unfortunately the Apple Mail app currently only supports photos and videos.

Apple Mail does support sending PDF/DOCX files.

 

[pacorob]

Apple Mail does support sending PDF/DOCX files.

Not when you start a new e-mail in iOS8 (it will in iOS9) in the Mail app.

You can only attach e.g. PDF when you have an existing e-mail which has that PDF included and forward that e-mail.

If you have a PDF file stored on e.g. Dropbox and open the Dropbox app then there is the possibility to generate a link to the document and add that link to your e-mail via the Mail app from Apple but that is not a nice workaround.

 

[simon lefisch]

Not when you start a new e-mail in iOS8 (it will in iOS9) in the Mail app.

You can only attach e.g. PDF when you have an existing e-mail which has that PDF included and forward that e-mail.

If you have a PDF file stored on e.g. Dropbox and open the Dropbox app then there is the possibility to generate a link to the document and add that link to your e-mail via the Mail app from Apple but that is not a nice workaround.

I have a .docx file on my phone and just email the actual document to one of my other email accounts. Also, I emailed another .pdf from my box account to myself and it also attached the file (not a link).

 

[pacorob]

I have a .docx file on my phone and just email the actual document to one of my other email accounts. Also, I emailed another .pdf from my box account to myself and it also attached the file (not a link).

I would then like to know how you are attaching the .docx file to a new e-mail with the Apple Mail app in iOS8. How did you save the docx file on your iDevice? Screenshot(s) would also be helpfull.

I'm only able to forward an existing e-mail with attachment (e.g docx, pdf) to someone via the Mail app. I can't do it when i create a new e-mail straight out of the Apple Mail app.

I'm not using Box but i do not that when i go to the Dropbox app and open a file (e.g. pdf, docx) then it will give a link to the file when i select the Apple Mail app to send it to someone. When i do the same with the Google Drive app it does include the pdf or docx file and also gives a link to the online drive storage place. This is still not a good way to send file(s) to someone.

I really love the way Spark and CloudMagic can actually attach a file straight from their e-mail apps by using my online storage places (e.g. Dropbox, Google Drive) and actually attaching the file itself to an e-mail. As of later this week this functionality should finally be available for iOS9 users with the Apple Mail app (with a select amount of cloud storages).

 

[Ash Pole]

TinyPDF app makes it super simple and I'll continue to use it after iOS 9. The app is free and highly rated. I don't mess with docx files.

 

[pacorob]

I did discover that Spark and CloudMagic are both unfortunately also lacking some features:

1) save multiple attachments to a cloud storage at once. I also read that this is also the case with the Mail app in iOS9 (i saw it here)

2) option to quickly see and click the attachment(s) in an e-mail (press an attachment button to see them or press the files directly) instead of scrolling to the bottom of the e-mail to see it.

3) other languages (e.g. Dutch)

Spark other missing features:
* No iPad support
* The badge icon for a new e-mail(s) does not show, it needs background refresh turned on (what i don't want, i turned that feature off to save battery). I don't need this for e.g. the Gmail app and Apple's Mail app and get the badge icon for new e-mail so don't understand why Spark needs it

CloudMagic other missing features:
* I also don't like the way CloudMagic currently first asks you to give access to your photos (although i wish to attach a file from GDrive or Dropbox. This only the first time when you press the attachment button when you create a new e-mail

* You also have to select e.g. Dropbox and Google Drive via a separate ... button each time to get your attachment from your cloud storage. I did get a response from CloudMagic already and they are saying that they will make the changes within a few months.

* The search features are not so great. Within Spark i managed to get recent e-mail quickly with e.g. the term 'pdf attachments'

* Cannot attach multiple files at once

 

[simon lefisch]

I would then like to know how you are attaching the .docx file to a new e-mail with the Apple Mail app in iOS8. How did you save the docx file on your iDevice? Screenshot(s) would also be helpfull.

Using Documents app, I have my Box account as DAV. So, I open my Box account and find a document. When I tap on it, it downloads to my device. I then open the doc on my device and click the share button on the top right (looks like a box with an arrow going up). I select send as email and Mail pops up with it attached. No link. Same happens if I send a doc from my iCloud.

 

[BrianBaughn]

Using Documents app, I have my Box account as DAV. So, I open my Box account and find a document. When I tap on it, it downloads to my device. I then open the doc on my device and click the share button on the top right (looks like a box with an arrow going up). I select send as email and Mail pops up with it attached. No link. Same happens if I send a doc from my iCloud.

Right. So the correct point made in the previous posts above is you can't attached a document to a new email, email reply or forwarded email using the stock iOS Mail app. You're starting with a different app.

 

[simon lefisch]

Right. So the correct point made in the previous posts above is you can't attached a document to a new email, email reply or forwarded email using the stock iOS Mail app.

Maybe I'm not properly comprehending what is being said.... If a document is on my device and I attach to an email, how is that a link?

 

[C DM]

Maybe I'm not properly comprehending what is being said.... If a document is on my device and I attach to an email, how is that a link?

Seems like the question is more from the end of things of being able to do that right from the iOS Mail app.

 

[simon lefisch]

Seems like the question is more from the end of things of being able to do that right from the iOS Mail app.

Gotcha. That makes sense now. Seems like if you're going to send an email with attachments, you'd attach the files first before writing the email. Although I understand people write emails differently. Being on a mobile device, I've always attached files first before writing an email, however I could see how nice it would be to attach after you've already started writing a draft. Thanks for clearing that up @C DM

 

[pacorob]

Good to know what you work around is Simon. I know that solutions are there but it isn't as easy as starting with the Mail app itself.

Most people would like to start (as on a desktop/laptop) with an e-mail to someone and only then decide to grab the attachments from e.g. local storage, iCloud, Google Drive or Dropbox.

I hope that Spark will further improve their app (see my previous wishes in this post) and if they add below features it's my favorite Mail app. I do like the GUI more from CloudMagic but it lacks the great search features Spark has and the current way to add attachment isn't as easy as it with Spark.

 

[long way to go]

thank you! it helps a lot!

 

[pacorob]

I just updated the screenshots and description for Spark and Email by Easilydo. I do like e-mail Email by Easilydo a lot but will stick to Spark still because of the search for e-mail older then 3 months + option to attach multiple files in one go from Dropbox.

 

[pacorob]

Recent discussions about e-mail apps can be found in this topic.
I did keep the start post list pretty much up to date here as well though.