NuncioHow to get a Gmail app for desktop (Mac or PC)
Google has never made a desktop version of Gmail. Here are the four ways to get it onto your Mac or PC anyway, what each of them costs you, and which one to choose if you juggle more than one account.
- There is no official Gmail app for macOS or Windows. Every option is a browser tab, a pinned web app, a mail client connected through IMAP, or a dedicated wrapper app.
- Several accounts is where most setups break down: browser tabs mix up sessions, and IMAP clients lose Gmail’s labels, search and snooze.
- On the Mac, Nuncio shows the real Gmail interface for every account side by side, with native notifications. On Windows, the pinned web app in Chrome or Edge comes closest.
Is there an official Gmail desktop app?
No. Google makes Gmail apps for iPhone and Android, but on a computer Gmail lives at mail.google.com, in a browser. That is a deliberate choice: the web version gets every new feature first, and Google would rather not maintain a third client.
When people say they want a “Gmail app”, they usually mean four things: an icon in the Dock or taskbar, a window of its own instead of a tab, notifications and an unread count that work like the rest of the system, and an easy way to keep several accounts apart. Which of the routes below gets you there depends on how many of those four matter to you.
The four ways to run Gmail on a desktop
Each route trades convenience for something else. Read the second line of every card before you decide.
1. A browser tab
Free, nothing to install, and always up to date. Fine if you check one account a few times a day.
The tab gets lost among twenty others, switching accounts goes through Google’s account picker, and notifications only work while the browser is open.
2. A pinned web app
Chrome and Edge can install Gmail as an app: its own window, its own icon, no address bar. Free and quick.
One account per browser profile, notifications still depend on the browser, and it remains a browser under the hood: no unread badge on the icon, no menu bar of its own.
3. A mail client over IMAP
Apple Mail, Outlook or Thunderbird can read Gmail through IMAP. You get offline mail and one inbox for every account.
Labels turn into folders, Gmail’s search, filters, snooze and scheduled send are gone, and the Workspace tools (Calendar, Drive, Meet) live somewhere else.
4. A dedicated Gmail app
The real Gmail interface in a native window, one isolated session per account, and notifications and badges that belong to the system. Everything you know from the web still works.
Usually a paid app, and tied to one platform: Nuncio is for the Mac only.
How to get Gmail on your Mac
The fastest route on macOS is Nuncio: a light, native app that opens each Gmail account in its own isolated session, side by side, with Calendar, Drive and Meet as tabs. Setting it up takes a few minutes.
- Install Nuncio from the Mac App Store (macOS 14 or later, Apple Silicon). The first seven days are free.
- Click + in the account bar, give the account a name and a color, and sign in on Google’s own sign-in page. Nuncio never sees your password.
- Repeat for every account: work, personal, a client. Each one gets its own circle with an unread badge; switch with a click or ⌘1 to ⌘9.
- Allow notifications when macOS asks. From then on new mail arrives as a native notification, and the Dock icon shows the total unread count.
- Optional: turn on the floating panel (your accounts always visible above other apps) and make Nuncio your default mail app so links in other apps open a compose window.
Prefer Apple Mail? It works with Gmail over IMAP, but you lose labels, Gmail search and snooze. Nuncio keeps the real Gmail and adds what a desktop app should add.
How to get Gmail on a Windows PC
Nuncio is a Mac app, so on Windows the closest thing to a Gmail app is the pinned web app that Chrome and Edge can create. It is free and takes a minute:
- Open mail.google.com in Chrome or Edge and sign in.
- In Chrome, open the menu (⋮) ▸ Cast, save and share ▸ Install page as app. In Edge: menu (…) ▸ Apps ▸ Install this site as an app.
- Confirm the name. Gmail now opens in its own window with its own icon; pin it to the taskbar.
- Several accounts: create one browser profile per account (profile icon ▸ Add), sign in there, and install the app again from that profile. Each profile keeps its own session.
- In Gmail’s settings, switch on Desktop notifications so new mail shows up as a Windows notification while the app is open.
Third-party Gmail apps for Windows exist too; check that they sign you in on Google’s own page and do not store or relay your mail before you trust one with your inbox.
Which setup should you choose?
A quick comparison of the four routes, on the points that matter day to day.
| Browser tab | Pinned web app | IMAP client | Nuncio (Mac) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Own window and icon | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Several accounts side by side | Partly | One per profile | Yes, merged | Yes, isolated |
| Native notifications and unread badge | Browser only | Browser only | Yes | Yes |
| Full Gmail: labels, search, snooze, scheduled send | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Calendar, Drive and Meet alongside mail | Other tabs | Other windows | No | Tabs per account |
| Works offline | Limited | Limited | Yes | No |
| Price | Free | Free | Free | Yearly subscription, 7-day trial |
Frequently asked questions
Does a Gmail desktop app work with Google Workspace accounts?
Yes. Nuncio signs in through Google’s own page, so personal @gmail.com addresses and Workspace accounts from your company or school work the same way, each in its own session.
Can I use Gmail offline in a desktop app?
Wrapper apps like Nuncio show the web version of Gmail, so they need a connection, just like the browser. If offline access matters more to you than labels and Gmail search, an IMAP client is the better fit.
Is a third-party Gmail app safe?
It depends on the app. The questions to ask: do you sign in on Google’s own page, does the app store or relay your mail, and can you see what it sends elsewhere? Nuncio does the sign-in on Google’s page, keeps every account in isolated storage on your Mac and never reads, stores or forwards mail.
Get Gmail on your Mac, the way it should have been
All your Gmail accounts side by side, the real Gmail interface, native notifications. Seven days free, then a yearly subscription.
