inboxes.

Honest comparison

Kiwi for Gmail Alternative for Every Mailbox, Not Only Gmail

Connect every mailbox you own to one board, in the browser, and let AI read each message to categorize it and flag spam before you open it.

Any IMAP provider · AI category + spam per message · Archiving synced back

In short

Kiwi for Gmail is a paid desktop app for Mac and Windows that takes Gmail, Google Calendar, Docs, Sheets and Slides out of the browser and runs them as windowed apps. It costs $4, $6 or $8 a month billed yearly ($4.99, $8.99 or $12.99 billed monthly) for 1, 3 or 9 Gmail accounts, and its own FAQ says it does not support other email providers. That last line is why people look for a Kiwi for Gmail alternative. Inboxes is a browser unified inbox for any IMAP mailbox, Gmail included, that sorts every incoming message by AI. If all your mail is Google, Kiwi is the cheaper fit.

The difference

Where Inboxes and Kiwi for Gmail actually diverge

Kiwi solves a real problem and solves it well. Gmail has never had a desktop app from Google, so anyone who lives in Google Workspace ends up with a browser full of tabs: three Gmail accounts, a calendar, a dozen Docs, and a Meet call buried somewhere in the middle. Kiwi gives each of those its own window, remembers which document you opened in which account, and lets you switch a whole workspace to Do Not Disturb while critical mail still gets through. On the Power Pro plan it holds up to nine Gmail or Workspace accounts side by side without the sign-in conflicts the browser throws at you. The catch is the word Gmail in the name. Kiwi is built around Google, so the moment your working day includes a mailbox that is not Google, it has nothing to offer for that mailbox. That is common in practice. A contractor keeps the comcast.net address customers have used for fifteen years. A bookkeeper runs Gmail for the firm and an iCloud address for personal mail. A small agency has client mail on a cPanel host and its own team on Workspace. For those people Kiwi fixes the Gmail half and leaves the rest in another app. Inboxes starts from the other end. It connects any mailbox that speaks IMAP, which covers Gmail through an app password, plus Yahoo, AOL, iCloud, your own domain and most US internet provider addresses, and shows them on one board. An AI model reads each new message as it arrives, gives it a category and a spam verdict, and archiving is synced back to the real mailbox so your phone stays in step. It runs in a browser, so the same board opens on a Windows PC at the office, a Mac at home and a Chromebook on the road with nothing to install. The trade you make is the one Kiwi exists to avoid: you are in a browser tab, and you lose the Google-native extras Kiwi wraps around Gmail, such as Docs windows, Meet and Gmail labels behaving exactly as they do on the web.

A small business owner reading email on a laptop at her kitchen table

Side by side

Inboxes vs Kiwi for Gmail

Capability Inboxes Kiwi for Gmail
Unified inbox across multiple accounts Yes Separate Gmail window per account, unread widget across all
Connects non-Gmail mailboxes (Yahoo, iCloud, own domain, ISP mail) Yes No
Accounts on the entry plan 5 mailboxes, any provider 1 Gmail account (3 on Pro, 9 on Power Pro)
Runs on Windows and Mac Yes Yes
Runs on Linux and ChromeOS Yes No
Works in any browser, nothing to install Yes Desktop app to download
Docs, Sheets, Slides and Meet in their own windows No Yes
Gmail-native labels, filters and categories Folders over IMAP Yes
AI categorizes every message automatically Yes Filters on Gmail Important marker
AI spam verdict on top of the provider filter Yes No
Entry price $24.50/mo yearly or $49 monthly, 5 mailboxes $4/mo yearly or $4.99 monthly, 1 account

Pricing and features verified from each vendor's public pricing page and quoted in the currency the vendor publishes. Both products change, so check the current page before you buy.

Where Kiwi for Gmail wins

If every account you own is Gmail or Google Workspace, Kiwi is the better purchase and we would rather say so. It costs $4 to $8 a month billed yearly against our $24.50, it gives Docs, Sheets, Slides and Meet their own desktop windows, which we do not do at all, and because it shows Gmail itself, labels, filters and categories behave exactly as they do in the browser. Over IMAP, Gmail labels arrive in Inboxes as folders. Kiwi is the right tool for a Google-only desk, and Inboxes is for the desk where Google is only part of the mail.

FAQ

Questions people ask before switching

What is the best Kiwi for Gmail alternative?

It depends on why you are leaving. If you have mail that is not Gmail, Inboxes is the closest fit, because it puts every IMAP mailbox on one board in the browser and sorts each message by AI. If you want another Gmail-only desktop app on a Mac, Mimestream is the strongest. If you want a cheap desktop client for any provider on Windows, look at eM Client or Mailbird.

How much does Kiwi for Gmail cost?

Kiwi for Gmail costs $4 a month for Starter, $6 for Pro and $8 for Power Pro when billed yearly, or $4.99, $8.99 and $12.99 billed month to month, on its US pricing table. Starter covers 1 Gmail account, Pro 3 and Power Pro 9. Yearly plans come with a 7-day trial, and Kiwi for Teams is priced on request.

Does Kiwi for Gmail work with Outlook or Yahoo accounts?

No. Kiwi says plainly in its FAQ that you need Gmail to use it and that it does not support other email providers. Google Workspace accounts on a custom domain do work, because they are Gmail underneath. An Outlook.com, Yahoo, iCloud or internet provider address has to be read somewhere else.

Does Gmail have a desktop app?

No. Google makes Gmail apps for iPhone and Android only. On a Windows PC or a Mac you either use Gmail in a browser, install it as a web app from Chrome or Edge, or use a third-party client such as Kiwi, Mimestream, Mailbird or eM Client. Inboxes is a browser option that adds every other mailbox you own to the same view.

Is there a Kiwi for Gmail for Linux or Chromebook?

No. Kiwi ships downloads for Mac and Windows only. On Linux or a Chromebook the usual choices are Gmail in the browser, Thunderbird on Linux, or a browser-based unified inbox. Because Inboxes runs in a browser tab, the same sorted board opens on Linux, ChromeOS, Windows and macOS with the same login.

How many Gmail accounts can Kiwi for Gmail manage?

Up to nine. Starter allows 1 account, Pro allows up to 3 and Power Pro allows up to 9 Gmail or Google Workspace accounts in one application. Inboxes counts mailboxes rather than Gmail accounts: Solo covers 5 mailboxes from any provider, Growth 15 and Scale 40, and a Gmail account is one mailbox.

Is Kiwi for Gmail worth it?

Yes, for a Google-only desk. At $48 to $96 a year it is a fair price for getting Gmail, Calendar, Docs and Meet out of browser tabs on a Mac or Windows PC. It is not worth it if half your mail lives outside Google, because Kiwi cannot open those mailboxes and you end up running a second email app anyway.

Can I see Gmail and a non-Gmail account in one inbox?

Yes, but not in Kiwi. Inboxes connects Gmail with an app password over IMAP and connects Yahoo, AOL, iCloud, your own domain or a provider address the same way, then shows them all on one board. Desktop clients such as Thunderbird and eM Client can do it too, tied to the one machine they are installed on.

Put every mailbox on one sorted board

Connect your accounts over IMAP and let the AI categorize and de-spam your mail from the first message.

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