Best Email Tools to Boost Your Productivity

Managing a constantly overflowing inbox doesn't have to be a headache; with the right tools, this daily challenge can easily become a manageable task. To help you pick the most effective ones, we've put together this list of the best email tools available in 2024. The best email productivity apps reviewed in this article will not only boost your efficiency but also improve your work-life balance.

The Best Email Cleanup Tools

Our favorite email cleanup tools have to be Clean Email, Mailbird, and Sanebox.

Clean Email is the best email cleaning app there is because it supports virtually every modern mail service, can be used from the web as well as desktop and mobile devices, and offers an assortment of effective inbox-cleaning tools that together address all sources of clutter.

Mailbird is the best free email client (with optional paid subscriptions available) whose features can satisfy even the most demanding power users. For example, you can let it sort messages into common categories, write replies with the help of AI, save time using keyboard shortcuts, and much more.

Finally, Sanebox splits your messages into different folders and allows you to decide later which is important in order to train the Sanebox filter (check out what the best alternative to Sanebox is and why). It's an effective and hands-off solution that helps you stay focused.

1. Clean Email

Price: Freemium (a premium subscription available)

Platforms: Web, Android, iOS, macOS

Clean Email has established itself as the best email tool a long time ago, and it only continues to reinforce its strong position by perfecting its intuitive user experience and improving its robust collection of email cleanup tools.

Clean up email groups with Clean EmailClean up email groups with Clean Email

By intelligently bundling related messages together, it makes it easy to organize them in bulk, instead of having to go through them individually, which can be extremely time-consuming. As a result, it can transform a messy inbox with thousands of unread emails into an organized one with just a few clicks. From there, you can tell Clean Email to automatically apply selected actions in the future using the Auto Clean feature so that you don't have to deep clean your inbox ever again.

Auto Clean feature with Clean EmailAuto Clean feature with Clean Email

Moreover, Clean Email offers smart Cleaning Suggestions, which are provided automatically based on messages that you or other app users have cleaned in the past. It can, for example, suggest marking all messages for a specific sender as read if you never read them anyway.

Other handy inbox management tools present in Clean Email are Screener (allows you to hold messages from new senders outside of your inbox) and Privacy Monitor (can continuously check your mail address against known data breaches), both of which reflect Clean Email's focus on privacy and security in addition to productivity.

๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿผ   Pros:
  • Excels in intelligently bundling related messages
  • Personalized recommendations for inbox management
  • Strong focus on privacy and security
  • Multi-platform support with native iOS and Android apps
  • Compatible with all major mail services
๐Ÿ‘Ž๐Ÿผ   Cons:
  • Requires a premium subscription for unlimited email cleanup

2. Mailbird

Price: Freemium (a premium subscription available from $3.25 per month)

Platforms: Windows

Next on our list of the best email management tools is Mailbird. This app has revolutionized the mail experience for Windows users with its blend of powerful functionality and elegant design. The advanced mail client offers a suite of features aimed at simplifying your email management and boosting productivity. Its redesign in the latest update, Mailbird 3.0, enhances the visual appeal and also optimizes user experience with improved navigation and soothing color palettes.

Mailbird the best email management toolsMailbird the best email management tools

At the heart of Mailbird's functionality is its centralized mail management system, which allows users to handle messages and contacts from various mail accounts seamlessly in one application. You can even integrate popular apps like Instagram, Slack, and Dropbox directly with the client to turn your inbox into a versatile workspace.

Just like any modern mail client should, Mailbird can snooze messages, block senders, and quickly find any attachment. However, it also integrates with OpenAI's technology to provide AI-powered mail authoring, making it easy to smash through any writer's block.

While Mailbird works with all email services, it runs only on Windows, and its developers don't plan to bring it to Mac or Linux. This is undoubtedly its biggest downside, but it matters only if you use a different operating system than Windows. For Windows users, Mailbird is easily the best email app there is.

๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿผ   Pros:
  • Mailbird 3.0 offers a fresh and modern user interface
  • AI-powered email authoring
  • Receives frequent feature updates
  • Centralized management of multiple mail accounts
  • Third-party integrations
๐Ÿ‘Ž๐Ÿผ   Cons:
  • Works only on Windows
  • Offers only basic cleanup features, lacking more advanced options

3. SaneBox

Price: 14-day free trial (a premium subscription available from $7 per month)

Platforms: Web and iOS

SaneBox is a venerable email cleaning tool that has been helping the users of Gmail, iCloud, Outlook and other mail services maintain Inbox Zero since 2010. The core of SaneBox revolves around its advanced AI, which diligently analyzes incoming messages to determine their importance, relegating less critical messages to the SaneLater folder.

Many email productivity features have been implemented by SaneBox developers over the years. One that you don't want to miss is called Deep Clean. As its name suggests, this feature is intended to scrub your mailbox of all unnecessary messages to free up as much storage space as possible.

SaneBox the best email toolSaneBox the best email tool

Other SaneBox features that make its subscription plan worth paying for include Digest (provides a convenient overview of newly received messages), Do Not Disturb (gives you a much-needed break from incoming messages), or Reminders (notify you that it's time to follow up with a certain sender).

While SaneBox, just like many other best inbox cleaners, operates predominantly via a web interface, it does offer an iOS app for on-the-go configuration, though it lacks an Android counterpart.

๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿผ   Pros:
  • Employes AI for effective email sorting
  • Deep Clean feature for optimizing email storage
  • Easy setup and integration with almost any mail address
  • Many extra features for comprehensive inbox management
  • Access to Inbox Zero Academy
๐Ÿ‘Ž๐Ÿผ   Cons:
  • 14-day free trial only
  • Lacks the ability to customize email rules
  • Absence of an Android app limits accessibility for non-iOS users

The Best Email Unsubscribe Tools

We all know how spam and subscriptions can overshadow the important information when it comes to your email. By using an email unsubscribe tool, you can finally get to the messages you want to see. Tools like Clean Email, Leave Me Alone, and Unlistr are all good options.

Clean Email, ranked as the top choice, lets users see all of their subscriptions in one bucket, allowing them to easily click a button to unsubscribe. Leave Me Alone, another leading unsubscribe tool, features a Rollup option to condense preferred subscriptions into a weekly digest. Unlistr is a paid Outlook plugin that can be quickly deployed across an entire organization to stop subscriptions from stealing employeesโ€™ valuable time.

Unsubscribing has never been easier when you utilize these tools. Subscriptions can be easily overlooked and create an overwhelming experience with email overload. This way youโ€™ll be able to keep track of which subscriptions you want and declutter by removing the ones you donโ€™t.

1. Unsubscriber from Clean Email

Price: Offers 25 free unsubscribe actions (service operates on a subscription model)

Platforms: Web, Android, iOS, macOS

Thanks to its Unsubscriber feature, Clean Email stands out as the best email unsubscribe tool available, making it possible to instantly unsubscribe from any unwanted subscription (even if it doesn't contain an unsubscribe link) with a simple click.

Unsubscribe from emails with Clean EmailUnsubscribe from emails with Clean Email

Opting out triggers the app to send an unsubscribe request on your behalf and automatically relocates existing and incoming messages from that sender to the Trash folder. Another distinctive feature is its bulk unsubscribe capability, allowing users to easily unsubscribe from multiple emails at once, a significant advantage over handling each email individually.

If you're not ready to permanently opt out of a subscription, you can temporarily pause it using the Unsubscriber tool by selecting the 'Pause' option. Alternatively, you can keep only the latest email, which is a great way to reduce inbox clutter while remaining informed (the โ€˜Keep Newestโ€™ option).

๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿผ   Pros:
  • One-click email unsubscribe tool
  • Offers a variety of unsubscribe choices
  • Automates the process by sending unsubscribe requests and filling out unsubscribe forms for you
  • Functions globally and adheres to all GDPR standards
๐Ÿ‘Ž๐Ÿผ   Cons:
  • Not entirely free service

2. Leave Me Alone

Price: Offers 5 free unsubscribe actions (a premium subscription starts at $9.00 per month)

Platforms: Web

Leave Me Alone is another email unsubscribe app with an intuitive web-based user interface that's designed to simplify the process of unsubscribing from unwanted messages. To unsubscribe, you just need to create an account, let Leave Me Alone analyze your currently active subscriptions, and then pick those you no longer want to see.

Leave Me Alone is email unsubscribe appLeave Me Alone is email unsubscribe app

You can also consolidate multiple subscriptions you do want to keep into a single weekly digest using the Rollup feature, or set up the Inbox Shield feature to protect yourself against even the most annoying and persistent senders. However, it's important to note that both the Rollup and Shield features are exclusive to paid subscribers and are not available in the free version of Leave Me Alone.

On the contrary to Clean Email, Leave Me Alone requires a more complex sign-in process, including the creation of app-specific passwords. This extra step can be more cumbersome and less user-friendly compared to Clean Email's straightforward login procedure.

๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿผ   Pros:
  • Unsubscribes from emails instead of merely blocking them
  • Prioritizes user privacy
  • Smartly filters emails with customizable Shield Blocklists
๐Ÿ‘Ž๐Ÿผ   Cons:
  • Requires the creation of an app-specific password to sign in
  • Not entirely free service

3. Unlistr

Price: $19.99/year. Offers 5 free unsubscribe actions.

Platforms: Outlook plugin

Unlistr is a dedicated Outlook plugin designed to optimize the process of unsubscribing from unwanted email subscriptions. With its patented technology, it identifies subscription emails by scanning both the header and body of messages. Unlistr looks for key indicators that an email is part of a subscription service, such as specific formatting, language, and other unique characteristics typically found in such emails, and it then provides an option to unsubscribe.

Unlistr is a dedicated Outlook pluginUnlistr is a dedicated Outlook plugin

The plugin can be easily deployed across an entire organization to help employees minimize spam.

Unlike Clean Email and Leave Me Alone, Unlistr focuses solely on unsubscribing from mass mailings and does not offer the wider range of inbox management features that the other two provide.

๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿผ   Pros:
  • Relies on patented technology to identify subscriptions
  • Seamlessly integrates with Outlook
  • Capable of being deployed organization-wide
๐Ÿ‘Ž๐Ÿผ   Cons:
  • Restricted to Outlook
  • Doesnโ€™t do anything else besides unsubscribing

The Best Email Organization Tools

One of the best ways to combat disorganization and increase productivity is to get organized. Email tools like Clean Email, Sortd, and ActiveInbox make it easy.

Clean Email, the inbox organizer we previously recommended for its effectiveness in email cleanup and unsubscribing, enables you to take control by setting rules for sorting your emails. This email productivity tool uses an algorithm to weed out unwanted mail and group emails together for easy browsing. It is a great way for you to filter a wide variety of emails in one mailbox.

Sortd and ActiveInbox are perfect for those who use Gmail accounts because they are both designed to enhance the Gmail experience by adding layers of organization and task management. Sortd transforms Gmail into a visually organized workspace with customizable columns, while ActiveInbox integrates task management directly into the Gmail interface.

There are many email organization tools to choose from, and these should be at the top of your list. Theyโ€™re easy to use, helping you to sort through your messages faster than any human could, and help prevent common email organization mistakes.

1. Smart Folders from Clean Email

Price: Freemium (a premium subscription available)

Platforms: Web, Android, iOS, macOS

We've already mentioned several reasons why Clean Email is one of the best email productivity tools available, but we have yet to explain why it's the best email organizer app. With the application's Smart Folders, you can instantly organize your messages into manageable groups across your entire mailboxโ€”perfect for bulk organization of messages that have something in common.

Smart Folders feature in Clean EmailSmart Folders feature in Clean Email

You can also filter and sort your inbox by criteria such as age, sender, or size so that only the most pertinent messages get your attention. Whenever you find a bunch of unorganized messages, you can clean them with a click and, optimally, configure a rule to automatically handle them in the same exact manner in the future.

๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿผ   Pros:
  • 33 Smart Folders instantly group similar messages
  • Extensive filtering and sorting options for inbox organization
  • Fully compliant with Gmailโ€™s privacy policy requirements
๐Ÿ‘Ž๐Ÿผ   Cons:
  • Lacks a dedicated desktop application for Windows

2. Sortd

Price: Freemium (a premium subscription available from $8 per month)

Platforms: Google Chrome

Sortd is a Google Chrome inbox organizer extension that transforms Gmail into a dynamic workspace where you can organize your tasks and prioritize messages. With it, you can effortlessly drag and drop messages into customizable columns on the right side of your screen.

Sortd is a Google Chrome inbox organizer extensionSortd is a Google Chrome inbox organizer extension

These columns can be tailored to various needs, such as to-dos, ongoing projects, or client communications, making it an excellent tool for visual planning and prioritizing. If this sounds similar to Kanban-style project management apps like Trello, that's because it is!

Just know that Sortd is a one-trick pony that focuses only on Gmail. If you're using a different mail service, then it won't help you at all. It also doesn't do automatic email sorting like Clean Email.

๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿผ   Pros:
  • Transforms Gmail into a dynamic workspace
  • Customizable columns for messages and task organization
  • Ideal for team collaboration with shared boards and message sharing
  • Supports mailbox automation and email tracking in the premium version
๐Ÿ‘Ž๐Ÿผ   Cons:
  • Limited to Gmail users and only accessible through Google Chrome
  • Lacks automatic email sorting capabilities

3. ActiveInbox

Price: Free trial (a premium subscription starts at $5.37 per month)

Platforms: Google Chrome

Just like Sortd, ActiveInbox is another Gmail extension that combines task management with email organization by reimagining Gmail inbox as a more efficient workspace where messages are grouped with tasks and projects they relate to, rather than simply sorting them by date.

ActiveInbox the best email management toolActiveInbox the best email management tool

The core feature of ActiveInbox is its ability to assign due dates to each email, sorting them based on when tasks need completion or responses are due. Beyond due date assignment, ActiveInbox allows for the creation of custom sorting folders and uses the Lists feature for categorizing emails into high-priority, low-priority, or other personalized categories.

๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿผ   Pros:
  • Integrates task management within Gmail
  • Customizable sorting and categorization
  • Additional productivity tools are included
๐Ÿ‘Ž๐Ÿผ   Cons:
  • Limited to Gmail and accessible only via Google Chrome
  • Relies on manual sorting

The Best Email Marketing Tools

According to 51% of marketers, email marketing is still the most effective marketing channel, but it takes the best email marketing tools to take full advantage of it. Platforms like Mailchimp, Campaigner, and HubSpot Marketing Hub have emerged as top solutions, each offering unique features to cater to diverse marketing needs.

Mailchimp is a household name in mail marketing, renowned for its user-friendly interface and all-in-one marketing capabilities. Starting with a free plan that allows up to 1,000 monthly messages, Mailchimp is ideal for businesses of all sizes.

Campaigner, on the other hand, boasts impressively powerful workflow automation capabilities that can be used to save a ton of time by creating complex campaigns in a visual manner. However, the tool may present a learning curve for new users.

There's also HubSpot Marketing Hub, which integrates CRM, social media management, and marketing automation in a single package, offering a holistic approach to email marketing. But just like Campaigner, the platform can be complex and expensive, especially for those new to digital marketing. That's why Mailchimp is the overall winner.

1. Mailchimp

Price: Freemium (Essentials plan starts at $13 per month)

Platforms: Web

Mailchimp is a well-known leader in the email marketing space and is easily one of the best email marketing tools. You can start with its free plan, which allows up to 1,000 monthly messages to be sent. With this plan, you get access to a limited selection of pre-built templates, more than 300 integrations with third-party apps and services, the ability to turn visitors into customers with customizable forms and landing pages, and more.

Mailchimp the leader in the email marketing spaceMailchimp the leader in the email marketing space

But what really sets MailChip apart from its competition is its all-in-one nature that seamlessly integrates audience data, marketing channels, and insights. This holistic approach allows users to efficiently promote their ideas across all kinds of different channels, including email, social media, and so on.

๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿผ   Pros:
  • Free for up to 1,000 monthly messages
  • Integrates with 300+ third-party apps and services
  • Comprehensive marketing tool with many features
  • Has been around since 2001
  • Excellent marketing email efficiency
  • Very high deliverability rates
๐Ÿ‘Ž๐Ÿผ   Cons:
  • Premium plans can be costly for smaller businesses or individual users

2. Campaigner

Price: Free trial (paid plans start from $59 per month)

Platforms: Web

Campaigner is a marketing tool that targets both beginners and pros with three core subscription plans. The plans start from $59 per month for the Starter plan, which covers up to 5,000 contacts and includes essential features like segmentation, A/B testing, and access to over 900 prebuilt mail templates. The more advanced plans expand on this with additional subscriber capacity, e-commerce integrations, and advanced workflow automation, among other things.

Campaigner is a good marketing toolCampaigner is a good marketing tool

The platform's user-friendly interface simplifies the campaign creation process, and the same can be said about its rich selection of customizable templates and layouts, which go a long way in helping anyone design engaging and professional-looking email campaigns. Unfortunately, the same ease of use isn't found in the automation workflow builder tool, so you better be ready to overcome a fairly steep learning curve.

๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿผ   Pros:
  • Includes comprehensive automation tools and analytics
  • Email HTML code editing
  • Localized emails for better customer engagement
  • 24/7 customer support
๐Ÿ‘Ž๐Ÿผ   Cons:
  • Workflow automation can be complex and unintuitive for new users

3. HubSpot Marketing Hub

Price: Freemium (Starter plan begins at $18 per month)

Platforms: Web

HubSpot Marketing Hub integrates CRM, social media management, and marketing automation in a single package, providing everything an aspiring or established marketer might need to reach for the startsโ€”or at last for mail users. The Starter plan begins at $18 per month, providing basic analytics and mail marketing capabilities. For more advanced features, the Professional and Enterprise plans offer extensive tools like A/B testing, marketing automation, and customer journey analytics, albeit with a higher price tag.

The HubSpot Marketing Hub appThe HubSpot Marketing Hub app

One of HubSpot Marketing Hub's most significant advantages is the fact that it's powered by your HubSpot CRM database. If you already have one, then the most difficult part of creating a marketing campaign is already done, and all your customer interactions and data are at your fingertips, so you can create a personalized campaign in no time. Well, almost in no time, because HubSpot Marketing Hub can be quite difficult to learn, and it might take a while for you to become comfortable with it.

๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿผ   Pros:
  • Stellar marketing automation tools
  • Offers a broad range of social media management options
  • Integration with other HubSpot email marketing programs
  • Customizable email templates
  • Comprehensive analytics and reporting capabilities
๐Ÿ‘Ž๐Ÿผ   Cons:
  • Takes a lot of time to learn
  • Can get very expensive

Which Tool Came Out On Top

Among the best email tools, Clean Email distinguishes itself, particularly as an exceptional email cleaning tool. Its standout feature isn't just the breadth of its functionality but its adaptability to a variety of platforms. Whether you're navigating emails on a mobile device or sorting through messages on a desktop, Clean Email's compatibility with web, Android, iOS, and macOS makes it an accessible and practical email tool for a diverse user base.

What really sets Clean Email apart as one of the best email productivity tools is its intelligent approach to organizing and managing your inbox. It doesn't just delete unwanted emails; it sorts and categorizes them in a way that feels almost intuitive. This advanced organization capability transforms a daunting task into something manageable, turning email cleanup from a chore into a swift, satisfying process.

Beyond its organizational features, the app also prioritizes your privacy and security. Integrating features like Screener and Privacy Monitor, it addresses more than just clutter, offering peace of mind by protecting sensitive information. This well-balanced combination of functionality, user-friendliness, and robust security measures makes Clean Email a top contender in email management.


Benefit From Using Clean Email

These are just a few of the many pros Clean Email has to offer to its users. We've already highlighted many of them in this article, but this best email cleaner still has more to give.

For example, the Keep Newest feature lets you keep only the latest message from a sender to automatically and continuously declutter your inbox. This feature is a fantastic way to prevent marketing messages from stealing valuable inbox space without depriving yourself of the opportunity to snag great deals.

Keep Newest feature in Clean EmailKeep Newest feature in Clean Email

Another feature that makes Clean Email a shining example of the best email productivity apps is the ability to reply, forward, and send messages directly from Clean Email itself. Most other email sorters and email organizer apps can't do that, which can lead to a lot of wasted time as you have to switch between applications.

Compose, reply to, and forward emails directly from Clean EmailCompose, reply to, and forward emails directly from Clean Email

Moreover, Clean Email ensures that the safety of your inbox is not compromised and that your private data is never collected or misused. This commitment to security means you can trust Clean Email with your most sensitive correspondence without worries.

And with its mobile-friendly nature, the app makes managing your inbox convenient, regardless of your device or location. That's why it's not only the best email cleaner app out there but also one of the best email productivity apps in general.

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