Editorial team
About AI Native Email Tools
If you want one low-cost place to start with AI-assisted email, Brevo's free plan is the lowest-cost entry point covered here: 300 email sends per day and storage for up to 100,000 contacts, with its Starter plan from $9 a month for 5,000 emails. This site covers AI-native inbox clients and AI-first sending and automation tools, and it states the plan, billing view and list size behind every price.
What this site covers
The site has two groups of tools. The first is AI-native inbox clients that work on the mailbox you already have: Superhuman, Shortwave, Spark and HEY. They help you read, triage and reply to mail. They do not send campaigns to a subscriber list, so they are not compared on list-size pricing here. The second group is sending and automation platforms that add AI steps to lifecycle email: Make, Customer.io, Brevo and Loops.
Each guide explains what a tool does well for a specific job, where it falls short, what it costs and what it takes to set it up. Guides do not claim that a tool is the best for everyone.
| Tool | Category | Best for | Starting price (plan and billing) | Key limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Superhuman | AI-native email client | Individuals who work from one inbox all day | Pricing on request | Manages your inbox; does not send lifecycle campaigns |
| Shortwave | AI inbox client | Users who want search and summaries across mail | Pricing on request | Personal inbox tool, not a sending platform |
| Spark | AI-assisted mail client | Small teams sharing threads and replies | Pricing on request | Focused on mailbox work, not list campaigns |
| HEY | Email service with its own inbox | People who want screening and a separate mailbox | Pricing on request | Requires its own address workflow |
| Make | Workflow automation | Teams connecting AI steps and email actions across apps | Free: 1,000 credits a month; Core $9 a month billed annually ($10.59 monthly), for 10k credits | Free plan allows 2 active scenarios and 15-minute scheduling |
| Customer.io | Behaviour-based lifecycle messaging | Product teams sending messages triggered by user actions | Essentials $100 a month, billed monthly | Price rises with profile count; Premium pricing is custom |
| Brevo | Email and marketing platform | Small teams that want a free starting plan | Free: 300 daily sends; Starter $9 a month for 5,000 emails | Free plan is capped at 300 sends per day |
| Loops | Email for SaaS lifecycle | Early-stage SaaS teams sending product and billing email | Early Stage free for up to 4,000 sends in any rolling 30 days | Free plan shows a Loops footer and sends 10 emails per second at most |
How we read prices
Prices come from each vendor's pricing page and, where a page is unclear, its published help documentation. The last full read was on 7 October 2026. Every price on this site names the plan, whether it is billed monthly or annually, and the volume or list size it applies to.
Where a vendor does not publish a usable price, we write "pricing on request" and do not estimate. Arithmetic is shown on the page so you can check it, for example 12 × $9 = $108 a year.
Prices change. Each guide shows its checked date, and we update a figure when the vendor's page changes.
What this site does not claim
This site does not publish test results, scores or star ratings. Descriptions come from vendor pricing pages and documentation, not from hands-on trials.
Rankings are not based on reader votes, and we do not guarantee inbox placement, open rates or revenue. Those depend on your list, your domain setup and your content.
Cost at realistic list sizes
The table below uses only the plans and volume levels stated on each vendor's pricing page. Where a vendor prices by volume, the list size is given so you can match it to your own.
| Scenario | Tool and plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early product, about 10,000 profiles | Customer.io, Essentials 10k profiles | $145 a month, billed monthly | Price for 10,000 profiles |
| Growing product, about 20,000 profiles | Customer.io, Essentials 20k profiles | $235 a month, billed monthly | Price for 20,000 profiles |
| Larger base, 50,000 profiles or more | Customer.io, Essentials 50k+ profiles | From $505 a month, billed monthly | Shown as $505+ on the pricing page |
| Small list, 5,000 emails a month | Brevo, Starter | $9 a month | No daily sending limit on this plan |
| Testing with a few hundred contacts | Brevo, Free | $0 | 300 sends per day, up to 100,000 contacts |
| Early SaaS, up to 4,000 sends in 30 days | Loops, Early Stage | $0 | Includes all features on the stated limit |
| Paid SaaS lifecycle and transactional email | Loops, Growing Audience | $99 a month | Transactional sends to users outside your audience are included |
| Automation with AI steps, 10,000 credits | Make, Core | $10.59 a month, or $9 a month billed annually | Each module action uses one credit |
How to choose
Start from the job, not the brand. An inbox client and a sending platform solve different problems, and many teams need one of each.
| If you need | Start with | Because |
|---|---|---|
| AI help inside your own mailbox | Superhuman, Shortwave, Spark or HEY | They work on mail you already receive; compare pricing on each vendor's page |
| Emails triggered by what users do in your product | Customer.io | Profile-based pricing and a visual workflow builder on Essentials |
| A free starting plan for a small list | Brevo, Free | 300 daily sends for up to 100,000 contacts at no cost |
| SaaS onboarding and billing email on a low budget | Loops | Free plan up to 4,000 sends per rolling 30 days; transactional sends included on paid plans |
| AI steps wired between your apps and mail actions | Make | A free plan with 1,000 credits a month to test scenarios before paying |
Setup and migration checklist
| Step | What to check |
|---|---|
| 1. Domain authentication | SPF, DKIM and DMARC are set for the sending domain before any new platform sends mail |
| 2. Suppression list | Export unsubscribes and bounces from the old tool and import them before the first send |
| 3. Pricing check | Confirm the plan, billing view and list size against the vendor's pricing page on the day you buy |
| 4. Parallel sending | Run a small segment on the new tool and compare results before moving the full list |
| 5. Revenue tracking | Keep one attribution method across both tools so the comparison stays fair |
Who writes this site
Articles are published under the byline "Editorial Team". That name is a pen name for the site's editorial team. No individual is named as the author of a ranking or price.
Edits to a guide are dated on the page. A page is updated only when its prices, plans or capabilities change, or when a correction is needed.
Corrections
If a price, plan name or product claim here is wrong, tell us which page and which sentence. Corrections are made on the affected page and the change is dated.
Read the current options on the homepage or check the full pricing overview before you buy.
Frequently asked questions
Do you test these tools?
No test results are published on this site. Descriptions come from vendor pricing pages and documentation, read on 7 October 2026.
Why does Superhuman have no price in the table?
The vendor's price is not stated in a form this site can use, so the table says "pricing on request". Check the vendor's own pricing page for current options.
Are the rankings based on reader votes?
No. Rankings are not based on votes, popularity or reader polls.
How often are prices updated?
When a vendor changes a price, plan or limit that we have published. Each guide shows the date it was last checked.
Which price should I use to budget?
Use the plan that matches your list size or volume in the cost table, then check that plan on the vendor's pricing page before you buy. Annual billing can change the monthly figure, as it does for Make.
Do you cover free plans only?
No. Free plans are listed where they exist, but most guides also cover paid plans and what they add.
Who is the author of the guides?
The byline is "Editorial Team", a pen name for the site's editorial team. No individual is credited as the author of a ranking.