NuncioHow to get a Gmail desktop app on your Mac
Google has never made a Mac version of Gmail. Here are the four ways to get it onto your Mac 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 the Mac. Every option is a browser tab, a web app in the Dock, a mail client connected through IMAP, or a dedicated Gmail app.
- Several accounts is where most setups break down: browser tabs mix up sessions, and IMAP clients lose Gmail’s labels, search and snooze.
- Nuncio shows the real Gmail interface for every account side by side, with native macOS notifications and the unread count on its Dock icon.
Is there an official Gmail app for the Mac?
No. Google makes Gmail apps for iPhone and Android, but on the Mac 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, a window of its own instead of a tab, notifications and an unread count that work like the rest of macOS, 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 Mac
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 web app in the Dock
Safari and Chrome can turn Gmail into a web app: its own window, its own Dock icon, no address bar. Free and quick.
Several accounts side by side means one web app or browser profile per account, notifications only arrive while it is open, and nothing shows the unread mail of all your accounts at a glance.
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 it asks for a recent Mac: Nuncio needs Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later.
Step by step: Gmail as a Mac app with Nuncio
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.
Which setup should you choose?
A quick comparison of the four routes, on the points that matter day to day.
| Browser tab | Web app in the Dock | IMAP client | Nuncio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Own window and icon | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Several accounts side by side | Partly | One per web app | Yes, merged | Yes, isolated |
| Native notifications and unread badge | Browser only | While open | 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 app for the Mac 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 Mac 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.
