If you need deep integration with eCommerce tools like Shopify and want your help desk to show customer order history right inside support tickets, Gorgias is built for that. It also brings automation to handle high volumes of support tickets, which is a huge time saver for eCommerce teams.

Gmail, on the other hand, is a solid email foundation with broad third-party integrations and strong Google Workspace ties, but it's not designed for focused business support. Its interface is cluttered, it slows down when you get a lot of messages, and it's built for the average user, not teams who live in their inbox or deal with large-scale customer support.

If you run an eCommerce business and care about fast, integrated customer support, Gorgias is the clear pick. Gmail is fine as your general email backbone, but it can't touch Gorgias when it comes to handling eCommerce support efficiently.

Gorgias Editor's Verdict

What is Gorgias?

We recommend using a more eCommerce focused help desk like Gorgias that will integrate with your Shopify store.

This is helpful because you can see your customer order history as a part of your help desk. And because eCommerce stores tend to get a ton of volume in support tickets, Gorgias also offers automation tools to auto-respond to common inquiries, improving response times and saving time for your team.

Popular eCommerce brands like Olipop, Steve Madden, and Marine Layer use Gorgias.

For that reason, we rank Gorgias as the best help desk for eCommerce companies due to its deep integration with the best eCommerce software & tools like Shopify.

Gmail Editor's Verdict

What is Gmail?

Gmail is one of the most widely used email providers in the world and the default choice for most individuals and businesses. We've used it for over a decade. In fact, we solely recommend teams use Google Workspace as the core foundation for their entire business software stack.

There is a fundamental issue with Gmail though. The actual email client that businesses use is the exact same one that was built for personal accounts (I'm sure you have one). So Gmail optimizes for the average user out of billions, not for focused teams who are running businesses.

So why use Gmail? Because it connects to almost everything (how often do you see "login with Google"?), and has one of the largest ecosystems of third-party tools available. That combination actually makes it the best email and calendar foundation for your business.

And note the word "foundation", because from there you can layer a better email client on top, like Superhuman email. That's what we do, because Gmail alone will never be what someone who gets more than 30 emails per week actually needs.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Incredible email and calendar foundation
Extensive third-party integrations
Reliable and widely supported
Strong mobile app experience

Cons

Visually cluttered interface (chat, meet, sidebars, colors, pop-ups)
Slower load times compared to modern email clients
Built for the masses, not optimized for deep work
Labels and triage system clutter the sidebar

Key Features

Google Workspace Integration

Since Gmail is a part of Google, it works seamlessly with their entire ecosystem. You can jump from an email into a Google Doc, attach files from Drive instantly, launch a Meet call, or collaborate in Sheets without leaving the platform.

For teams already using Google Workspace, this integration is extremely powerful.

Gemini AI Responses & Search

Gmail now has Gemini fully embedded into helping you write emails. You can now use their "Help Me Write" feature, and it will analyze previous emails to draft a reply in your tone.

Gmail also uses Gemini to help you search your inbox. Instead of typing keywords and hoping you remember the exact phrase from an email, you can ask it a normal question like, "When did I last speak to Sarah about the proposal?" or "Did the client ever approve the contract?" It will scan your inbox, give you a direct answer, and show you the emails it pulled that information from. That part is genuinely helpful, especially if you handle a lot of conversations and forget details.

Mobile App

The 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. They let you set swipe actions (Archive/Snooze/Delete) and get quite granular on the notification settings as well.

Although you'll run into some limitations using the Gmail app that will slow down your workflow. For instance, you cannot create hyperlink when composing an email within the app.

Pricing

Google 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