Email Protocol: IMAP vs. POP3

You can set up your email accounts via IMAP or POP3 on any of your devices. But what is the difference between IMAP vs Pop3? And which method should you go with?

Both POP3 (Post Office Protocol) and IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) allow people to access their emails from a remote server. However, this is where the similarities end. 

The best way to see the differences between these two email protocols is through their workflow, how to know which one you are using, and the benefits and downsides of each protocol.

POP3 Workflow:

• Connect to server
• Retrieve all email from your account
• Store all the emails locally on your device
• Delete mail from server (not always the case, some POP clients and email host allows you to keep a copy on the server)
• Disconnect from the server

IMAP Workflow:

• Connect to server
• Retrieve user requested content and store it locally
• Process any edits (ex. marking emails as read, delete emails, etc.) that the user makes
• Disconnect from the server

How to know when I'm using POP3 or IMAP: 

Benefits and Downsides of POP3:

Benefits

• Mail is stored locally and is always accessible, even without an internet connection
• Internet connection only needed when sending and receiving emails
• Save server storage space
• Option to leave copy of mail on server
• There is not a maximum size on your mailbox, except as determined by the size of your hard drive.

Downsides

• All messages are stored on your hard drive eating up what is sometimes very valuable space
• Editing emails on one device will not sync over to other devices, like smartphones
• Email folders can become corrupted and lost forever, recovery can be a painful process
• Email attachments can contain viruses and since they are stored on your PC, can be a threat to the entire computer if virus scanning is not done properly

Benefits and Downsides of IMAP:

Benefits

• Mail stored on remote server and is accessible from multiple computers in different locations and mobile devices
• Faster overview as only headers are downloaded until content is explicitly requested
• Mail is automatically backed up if server is managed properly
• Saves local storage space
• Option to store mail locally

Downsides

• Need internet connection to be functional
• Some email hosts will charge to provide IMAP as an option
• Slower at opening attachments since messages are not stored locally and you are relying on internet speed

Which email protocol is best for you?

Use POP3 if:

• You only want to access your email account from a single device
• You need constant access to your emails regardless of internet connection or not
• Your email server's storage space is limited

Use IMAP if:

• You want to access your email accounts from multiple devices and locations
• You want your edits to your email accounts to sync across all devices 
• Your local storage space (ex. computer hard drive or phone storage space) is limited
• You are afraid that your device will crash and need to back up your emails

Since most people work with multiple devices and is constantly mobile, at Paubox we recommend you setup your email as IMAP due to its synchronization capability.