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Even though they share similar names and do similar things, Outlook and Outlook Express are actually not related to each other at all.
I see I have Outlook Express on my machine for email. But I also see references here and elsewhere to just "Outlook". Is that just another name for the same thing? If not, how do "Outlook" and "Outlook Express" relate to each other?
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The short answer: they don't. They essentially have only two things in common. They're both primarily mail programs, and they both have the word "Outlook" in their names.
And that's where the similiarity ends.
It's unfortunate too, because lots of people infer from the names that Outlook Express is some kind of "Outlook Lite" and that's not the case at all. It's a completely separate program.
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Outlook Express is:
free - it's included on most Windows installations prior to Windows Vista, and
comes with the free Internet Explorer download.an Internet Mail Reader - POP3, IMAP or Hotmail accounts.
an Internet News Reader - NNTP, as used on Usenet and other internet news servers.
a contact list manager - though aimed primarily as a way of managing contacts for mail and news.
DISCONTINUED - Outlook Express has been formally discontinued by Microsoft, removed from Windows versions Vista and later, and in fact will not run in Windows 7.
Outlook, on the other hand, is:
not free - it's included in the Microsoft Office product.
an Internet Mail Reader - POP3, IMAP or Hotmail accounts.
an Exchange Server Mail Reader and support all Exchange Server features.
a full-featured Personal Information Manager (PIM) with address book, calendar, todo-list and more.
extensible - Outlook can be extended via add-ins and macros.
There are many more differences of course, but those are the major ones that are visible. Under the hood, the most major difference is that they share almost no code. They've come from completely different backgrounds to evolve into what they are today.
In general, Outlook Express is targetted at the home user, and many people feel that it is both simple and meets their needs quite nicely. Outlook, on the other hand, is targetted more at the business environment or those simply needing the additional features it brings.
For what it's worth, I use Outlook extensively to manage not only my email, but my address book, my calendar, and my to-do list. I no longer use Outlook Express, but long ago used it only to read Internet newsgroups.
You can read more about Outlook versus Outlook Express in the Microsoft support article: Differences Between Outlook and Outlook Express.
(This article was updated November 15th, 2011.)
Article C1832 - August 17, 2003
Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he
was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed.
After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers
to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.
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My current OS is Windows XP SP3. I intend to upgrade my PC to Windows 7 and move my mail from Outlook to Windows Live Mail.
I understand that I must first convert my mail from Outlook to Outlook Express.
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Posted by: Geoff Laughton at February 5, 2011 1:13 PM
How do I transfer contacts from Outlook 2002 to Outlook Express?
Posted by: Geoff Laughton at February 5, 2011 1:14 PMMy current OS is Windows XP SP3. I intend to upgrade my PC to Windows 7 and move my mail from Outlook to Windows Live Mail.
I understand that I must first convert my mail from Outlook to Outlook Express.