Email productivity apps and tools can be game changers to your workflow. If you’re looking for features to try, apps to download, and Gmail automation ideas to boost your productivity, this post is for you.
Here are the top email productivity tools for 2024:
What are email productivity tools?
Email productivity tools are software applications designed to enhance your email experience. They automate tasks, prioritize messages, and integrate with other productivity and communication tools.
These tools help you manage your inbox more efficiently, reduce clutter, and save time. They might offer features like:
- Automation
- Email scheduling
- Integrations with calendars, task managers, messaging apps, and other tools
- Templates
This creates a seamless workflow that streamlines daily tasks and helps focus on important matters, making email a powerful tool for task management, scheduling, and collaboration.
Top Email Productivity Apps for 2024
1. Missive
Ideal for team collaboration on email, Missive offers great customization, integration with various apps, and is user-friendly. It’s especially beneficial for expanding teams due to its collaborative features like task assignments and comments within emails. Its pricing starts at $14 per month per user, with some email history and sharing limitations.
Missive key features
The key features of Missive, an email productivity and collaboration tool, include:
- Fast and functional inbox: Designed for quick access and management of emails.
- Customization options: Extensive settings for personalizing the appearance and functionality.
- Team collaboration: Features for team interactions such as comments, tasks, and assignments within emails.
- App integrations: Supports integration with a variety of other applications.
- Flexible use: Suitable for both teams and individual users, with functionalities that scale according to team size.
- Email management: Efficient handling of customer support tickets and internal team communications.
- Shared Accounts: Option for shared email accounts with additional costs.
Missive is particularly noted for its adaptability in managing email workflows in team environments, making it a versatile tool for businesses and organizations.
2. Spike
Spike integrates email, notes, team documents, chats, and tasks into one platform. It uses a conversational approach to emails, resembling chat apps, and includes group, email, video meetings, and document collaboration features. This all-in-one approach reduces the need for multiple applications, though it might be overwhelming for solo users.
Spike key features
- Conversational Email Interface: Transforms traditional email layout into a chat-like format for easier navigation and faster communication.
- Group Chat and Video Conferencing: Facilitates team collaboration with features like group chats and video calls.
- Task Management: Includes built-in to-do lists and task management tools for organizing work.
- Note-taking Functionality: Allows for easy note-taking and sharing within the app.
- Calendar Integration: Syncs with various calendar apps for streamlined scheduling and organization.
3. Hey
Focused on productivity, Hey offers a unique approach to managing emails with systems like first-time sender screening and an ‘Imbox’ for important emails. Priced at $99 per year, Hey Email provides a @hey domain email address and features geared toward managing personal email inboxes more effectively.
Hey key features
- Screening of first-time senders: Initial emails from new contacts require approval before reaching the inbox.
- Imbox for important emails: A focused inbox that highlights emails from approved senders.
- Email categorization: Sorts emails into distinct feeds based on type, like newsletters or file attachments.
- @hey.com email address: Provides a unique email domain for a fresh start, with rerouting capabilities even after leaving Hey.
- Focus on productivity: Designed to reduce email overload and enhance inbox management.
4. TextExpander
TextExpander streamlines email productivity by allowing users to create shortcuts for lengthy or frequently used text. It’s particularly useful in professional email communication for quick insertion of standard responses, saving time, and ensuring consistency across team communications. This makes it an essential tool for anyone regularly handling extensive email correspondence.
TextExpander key features
- Text expansion: Create shortcuts to expand longer Snippets of text.
- Snippets storage: Organize and store frequently used text for easy access.
- Form filling: Automate the filling of forms with common information.
- Customization: Personalize Snippets for different uses.
- Integration: Works with various applications, including email clients and office tools.
- Team sharing: Share snippets among team members for consistent communication.
- Cross-platform compatibility: Available on Chrome, macOS, and Windows, with betas for Android and iOS.
5. Skiff
Skiff emphasizes security with end-to-end email encryption. It combines email services with calendar, drive storage, and a document creator, all focused on privacy and security. The platform is well-designed, functional, and starts free with a $3 per month option for additional features.
Skiff key features
- End-to-end encryption: Ensures secure, private email communications.
- @skiff email address: Offers a unique domain for a fresh start in email management.
- Integration with calendar and drive: Combines email, calendar, and storage for streamlined workflow.
- Document creator (“Pages“): Allows for creating and managing documents within the platform.
- User-friendly design: Focuses on functionality and ease of use for basic email handling and security.
6. Canary Mail
Canary Mail is an app that uses AI to help manage emails, offering features like summarizing long emails, assisting in writing emails, and organizing a unified inbox. Priced at $20 per year for premium features, Canary Mail aims to be an AI assistant for smarter email handling.
Canary Mail key features
- AI assistance: Uses AI to summarize long emails and assist in writing.
- Unified inbox: Manages multiple email accounts in one place.
- Smart email management: Features for sorting and prioritizing emails.
7. SaneBox
SaneBox helps organize your email inbox by sorting emails into folders and reducing clutter. It’s ideal for users with high email volume who need assistance prioritizing their inboxes.
SaneBox key features
- Inbox management: Automatically organizes emails into various folders based on importance.
- Do Not Disturb mode: Temporarily blocks incoming emails for distraction-free periods.
- SaneForward: Automatically forwards certain types of emails to another address or service.
- SaneBlackHole: One-click unsubscribe from unwanted emails.
- SaneAttachments: Manages email attachments by uploading them to cloud storage services.
8. Newton
Known for its clean design and reliability, Newton is suitable for business communications, offering features like ‘send later’ and read receipts. It requires a subscription after a trial period, priced at $49.99 per year.
Newton key features
- Read receipts: Notifies when emails are read.
- Snooze function: Temporarily hides emails from the inbox.
- Send later: Schedule emails to be sent at a later time.
- Undo send: Allows recalling of sent emails within a short window.
- Connected apps: Integrates with various productivity tools.
9. Boomerang for Gmail
Boomerang integrates with Gmail to allow you to schedule emails, pause incoming emails, and set follow-up reminders. It’s particularly useful for managing email clutter and ensuring timely responses.
Boomerang for Gmail key features
- Email Scheduling: Allows users to schedule emails to be sent later.
- Inbox Pause: Temporarily halts incoming emails to minimize distractions.
- Follow-Up Reminders: Reminds users to follow up on important emails that haven’t received responses.
- Inbox Cleaning: Helps organize and clean the inbox by archiving non-essential emails.
- Read Receipts: Provides notifications when emails are read.
10. Hunter
Hunter is a tool designed for finding professional email addresses. It’s especially useful for businesses and individuals who need to connect with new contacts or verify the accuracy of email addresses.
Hunter key features
- Email finder: Locates professional email addresses for individuals or companies.
- Email verification: Ensures the accuracy and deliverability of email addresses.
- Domain search: Finds all email addresses associated with a specific domain.
- Integration capabilities: Compatible with CRM tools like Salesforce and HubSpot for streamlined workflows.
11. EasyDMARC
EasyDMARC is a robust platform designed to enhance email security by simplifying the implementation and management of DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) policies. It is particularly beneficial for organizations seeking to protect their domains from phishing and email spoofing attacks. By providing comprehensive tools for monitoring, analyzing, and enforcing email authentication protocols, EasyDMARC ensures the integrity of email communications and helps maintain the organization’s reputation.
EasyDMARC Key Features
- DMARC record creation: Simplify the process to create DMARC record, ensuring correct implementation and effective email authentication.
- Real-time monitoring: Track real-time DMARC reports to identify and promptly respond to threats.
- Detailed reporting: Access comprehensive reports that provide insights into email traffic and potential security issues.
- Policy enforcement: Automatically enforce DMARC policies to ensure compliance and enhance email security.
- User-friendly dashboard: Manage DMARC records and view reports through an intuitive and easy-to-navigate dashboard.
By leveraging EasyDMARC, organizations can ensure their email communication is secure and trustworthy, significantly reducing the risk of phishing and email spoofing attacks.
Methodology
The selection of the top email productivity apps for 2024 was based on a combination of factors, primarily sourced from reviews and analysis provided by reputable tech websites and user feedback platforms.
We considered:
- Features: Evaluating the range and effectiveness of features offered by each app, such as collaboration tools, AI integrations, security measures, and customization options.
- User reviews and ratings: Considering the ratings and reviews from users on platforms like the App Store, Capterra, and G2. These reviews provide insights into user satisfaction, app performance, and real-world usability.
- Pricing and accessibility: Assessing the cost-effectiveness of each app, including the availability of free versions or trial periods and the overall value for money in terms of features offered.
- Ease of use and interface: Looking at how user-friendly and intuitive the app interfaces are is crucial for productivity software.
- Integration capabilities: Examining how well each app integrates with other commonly used tools and platforms, as seamless integration is key for efficient workflow management.
- Innovation and uniqueness: Considering the unique selling points of each app, such as specialized AI features or unique approaches to email management and collaboration.
- Industry reputation: Taking into account the reputation of the app developers and the historical performance of their products.
Tips for maximizing email productivity
Here are some additional tips for speeding up your email workflows.
Master keyboard shortcuts
We cover plenty of email productivity apps you can try in this article, but we want to check that you’re using your mail app to its full potential. For example, did you know that:
- “Control-Command-U” will mark the selected emails as read in Apple Mail?
- Hitting “Alt+H, R, A” will select the Reply All option in Outlook?
- “⌘/Ctrl + Shift + C” will add cc recipients in Gmail?
If you said yes to all three, you can feel both proud of your efforts and overwhelmed by using three different email apps. If not, it’s time to brush up on your go-to email app’s shortcuts. You can see Gmail’s list of keyboard shortcuts here, Outlook’s here, and Apple Mail’s here.
Use a tracker to monitor your email replies
An email tracker is an app that lets you see when someone has opened an email you’ve sent them. A super popular one is Mailtrack for Gmail, which displays two ticks next to your emails, just like many messaging apps. Hover over the ticks, and it’ll show you the open history of that email. You can also receive desktop notifications whenever someone opens an email you sent, which can be a great reminder of forgotten conversations. It also displays the word “Active” next to emails the recipient has opened.
Make the most out of your footer and Out Of Office responder
If you don’t have the dates of your next annual leave in your footer, now is the time to add them. It’s a subtle heads-up to anyone you’re speaking with that can help them realize they need to respond to you this week because you’re away the next.
Equally, your Out Of Office responder might be your new best friend. We’ve seen some folks have theirs switched on permanently to explain their weekly hours, helping recipients understand when to expect a reply.
One last tip: Send emails faster with TextExpander
Our users tell us regularly that they love how TextExpander helps them speed up sending repetitive emails. By creating Snippets containing the copy you type most, you just enter an abbreviation to add that copy to your email app.
Create a library of personal Snippets based on what you send most often, and join our Public Groups to access thousands of pre-made Snippets ready to go.
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