It was never more than a rumor that the Mozilla based email client would go commercial eventually. Now, with the announcement of beta 14 of Postbox came the confirmation that it will indeed be a commercial email client with no free version planned at this stage in time.

A single-user license for Postbox 1.0 will be sold at a regular price of $39.95 giving the user the option to install the email client on any computer that is personally used. Two add-on purchases are available. The first is a family pack for $19.95 which allows up to five family members in the same household to install Postbox with the same license on their computers. The second a lifetime upgrade option for $24.95 which guarantees that all Postbox upgrades will be free forever.

Prices are currently discounted by $10 with the exception of the lifetime upgrade option which can be purchased at a $5 discount. The most interesting question will obviously be how Postbox users and potential users react on the pricing announcement. Will they start looking for free alternatives or purchase a license for the desktop email client? What’s your opinion on the matter?