Review Summary
Review SummaryGmail is a great backbone for your email, but the actual mail client is cluttered, slow, and built for the average user, not someone who lives in their inbox.
Use it as the foundation that comes with your Google Workspace subscription, then layer something like Superhuman Mail on top if you're getting 30+ emails per week.
Best Email Client: $0 vs $400 Email
Best Email Client: $0 vs $400 EmailGmail Alternatives
Gmail AlternativesNot sure if Gmail is the right fit for you? Check out these alternatives:
Superhuman MailBestBest overall email client
Best overall email client
What is Gmail?
What is Gmail?Gmail is the best email provider out there, and is infinitely better than Outlook (Microsoft 365). We've used it for many years, and in fact solely recommend teams use Google Workspace as the foundation for their business tech stack 🥞 I’ve used Gmail at every company I’ve worked at for the past 15 years.
For personal use, Gmail is free so of course, there's the clear benefit there.
For professional use, Gmail integrates seamlessly into the entire Google Workspace ecosystem, making it unbeatable. You have access to many of the apps you use daily alongside Gmail like Google Sheets, Google Docs, Google Meet, etc. Gmail is still what we use for the foundation of our emails, however 6 years ago I started using Superhuman Mail as an email client because it's much better built for professionals who want to get through email fast.
But the reason we love Gmail most is because it has some of the most extensive integration capabilities and natively integrated apps of any email software on the market.
Who is Gmail For?
Who is Gmail For?Gmail being as large as it is, has to take into account billions of users. So who is Gmail for? Everyone.
Just imagine, changing the color of a button can impact so many people (think of when an app you use daily changes their logo and you can no longer "find it" among your apps on your phone even though it's in the exact same place). Because of this, Gmail is not able to innovate much.
Gmail is also focused on building features for the masses that you might not need. For instance, the masses want a chat that easily allows you to talk to others, while you might already use Slack for this purpose and not need the feature at all. This leaves you with a widget that is not particularly helpful in anyway.
This leads to the final problem with Gmail. Because of the bloated features, Gmail has become so slow. It takes a few seconds to load, and with a simple distraction you can forget why you were going into your inbox in the first place 😅
Key Features
Key FeaturesGoogle Workspace Integration
Google Workspace IntegrationGmail connects seamlessly with Google Docs, Sheets, Drive, Meet, and Calendar. You can attach Drive files instantly, schedule meetings directly from email, and collaborate in real time without leaving the Google ecosystem.
Gemini AI Assistance
Gemini AI AssistanceGmail includes AI writing and summarization through Gemini. Features like “Help Me Write” help with drafting emails, and AI search helps you more quickly find what you're looking for.
While Gemini is helpful, the best AI email assistants will automatically draft emails for you as they come into your inbox, and all you need to is review them and hit send.
Labels & Filters
Labels & FiltersGmail’s labeling and filtering system exists, although heads up, they're not that great. Sure, you can automatically label emails, but you can't get mini "inboxes" based on your labels that help you more quickly triage emails.
Labels also appear in the sidebar by default, which can make the interface feel cluttered and overwhelming; over time, it only starts to look messier.
Mobile App
Mobile AppThe Gmail mobile app has a significantly better experience than even the web app in many ways. It's easy to navigate, loads relatively quickly, and is an overall good experience.
It also works great cross-platform and is quite stable overall. They let you also set swipe actions (Archive/Snooze/Delete) and get quite granular on the notification settings as well.
Although it has limitations around creating hyperlinks and other functionality when composing emails, which is where the mobile app features missing are another area where we feel like there could be some improvement, especially when comparing Gmail vs Superhuman.
Pricing
PricingGoogle Workspace includes Gmail and the full suite of collaboration tools, and pricing varies by plan and billing cycle. Most business plans start around:
- Business Starter: ~$7/user/month
- Business Standard: ~$14/user/month
- Business Plus: ~$22/user/month
Final Verdict
Final VerdictOverall, Gmail is a great email client and will work wonderfully as a part of the Google Workspace suite. But if you want supercharge email and have a faster email experience that is build more for professionals who enjoy beautiful UI/UX, then check out our Superhuman Mail Review.
Screenshots
Screenshots
Gmail
Gmail Interface is cluttered
Categories
CategoriesGmail fits into multiple categories based on what it actually helps you do. Each category highlights a different strength and the efficiency points it earned, helping you compare tools not just by features, but by how well they actually perform.
Keep exploring the best software across categories, or explore Gmail alternatives
