Email Client Setup: Comparing POP vs. IMAP
We no longer offer Microsoft Office 365 products at this time. If you have already purchased Microsoft Office 365, you may continue to manage your subscription through the Customer Portal. If you are looking for a professional email solution, Google Workspace is an excellent alternative for a professional email and provides a full suite of productivity and communication tools.
What are POP and IMAP?
POP (Post Office Protocol). This is a method that your email client can use to connect to our email server for retrieving messages. This connection type allows you to download messages from our email server onto your computer. When looking at your email via your email client, you're looking at your downloaded copies of those messages, not your original messages that still exist in your mailbox.
IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol). This is a method that users most commonly prefer as it syncs messages across all devices and it connects to our email server for retrieving messages. This connection type allows you to read messages from our email server without downloading the messages onto your computer. When looking at your email in your email client, you're looking at the original messages inside your mailbox.
When do I choose POP? When do I choose IMAP?
While it's possible to connect using either method from any email client or mobile device, we have a few recommendations for you to consider. Ultimately you get to decide which connection type you want to use.
| POP | IMAP | |
| I want to store a backup of my email on my personal computer. | X | |
| I want to be able to check my email on multiple devices. | X | |
| I want to store email in my mailbox (note our Email Management: Email Storage and Sending Limits). | X | |
| I do not want my mailbox to get so full that it can't receive messages anymore. | X | |
| I want to use my phone to check my email. | X | |
| I want to be able to read my email even if I'm not connected to the internet. | X | |
| I expect to get a lot of incoming emails. | X | |
| I only want to worry about deleting my email once. Why does this matter? |
X |
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