Unified inbox apps, compared
The best unified inbox apps
in 2026.
The best unified inbox app depends on what you need in one place. For several email accounts: Superhuman, Spike or Canary Mail. For a team taking email, social DMs and WhatsApp: Missive, Front, respond.io or Trengo. For Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp only, Meta Business Suite is free. For Gmail, Instagram and Messenger with AI drafts on your own server: the Inbox Machine.
Updated October 4, 2026. We make the Inbox Machine, one of the ten apps here. Every fact about the others is from its maker's own website, checked that day, and each one links to where we read it. They're listed A to Z: we don't rank ourselves first.
The ten apps side by side
What each one puts in one inbox, how its AI replies, whether it can run on your own server, and its lowest paid price.
| App | Instagram DMs | Messenger | AI replies | Self-hosted | Lowest paid price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canary Mail | Yes | No | No | No | Drafts (paid plans) | No | $3/mo, billed yearly |
| Chatwoot | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Drafts, plus a chatbot that answers on its own | Yes, you run it | $19 per agent/mo |
| Front | Yes | Professional plan | Professional plan | Paid add-on | Drafts (add-on), plus an AI agent that acts on its own | No | $25 per seat/mo, billed yearly |
| Inbox Machine | Gmail | Yes | Yes | Not yet | Drafts every reply; a person approves each one | Yes, set up for you | $499 once, with the Base Machine |
| Meta Business Suite | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | An AI agent answers on its own | No | Free |
| Missive | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Drafts (Productive plan and up) | No | $14 per user/mo, billed yearly |
| respond.io | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Drafts, plus AI agents that reply on their own | No | $79/mo billed yearly, 5 users |
| Spike | Yes | No | No | Team plans | Drafts | No | $6 per user/mo, billed yearly |
| Superhuman | Gmail, Outlook | No | No | No | Drafts, and can send for you | No | $25 per member/mo, billed yearly |
| Trengo | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | An AI agent suggests and sends on its own | No | €299/mo billed yearly, 10 users |
Prices are each maker's lowest paid plan as shown on its site on October 4, 2026, before tax. Some channels need a higher plan; each app's notes below say which.
Each app, A to Z
What it is, who it's best for, what to watch out for, and what it costs.
Canary Mail
Best budget pick for one person with several email accounts
A privacy-focused email app that puts Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, Exchange and IMAP accounts in one inbox, with an AI copilot that drafts replies.
- Watch out for
- Email only, and every plan is for one person: there's no shared team inbox.
- Price
- Free plan with a unified inbox. Paid plans start at $3 a month, billed yearly at $36.
Chatwoot
Best open-source pick, if you can run your own server
An open-source customer support inbox for email, live chat, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and SMS. Use their cloud, or deploy it on your own infrastructure.
- Watch out for
- You deploy and run the self-hosted edition yourself, and its free edition has no AI. The free cloud plan is live chat only.
- Price
- Free cloud plan for live chat, and a free self-hosted edition. Paid plans start at $19 per agent a month.
Front
Best for larger support and operations teams
A customer service platform built on shared inboxes, with routing, ticketing and AI for support and operations teams.
- Watch out for
- The Starter plan connects one channel type. Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp need Professional, at $65 per seat a month, and native WhatsApp is a paid add-on.
- Price
- From $25 per seat a month, billed yearly ($35 billed monthly). No free plan.
Inbox Machine
Best for a small business that answers customers by email, Instagram and Messenger, and wants to own the server
Our own, from Ownbox: an add-on machine for an Ownbox, which runs on a server in your name. It puts Gmail, Instagram DMs and Facebook Messenger in one queue and drafts a reply to every message. Nothing sends until a person approves it.
- Watch out for
- Gmail, Instagram and Messenger only today: WhatsApp isn't live yet. The AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan, and it's built for one business, not a large help desk team.
- Price
- Free with the Base Machine for a limited time. The Base Machine is $499 once, plus about $12 a month to your host and your own AI plan. No per-seat fees.
Meta Business Suite
Best free pick if customers only message you on Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp
Meta's free dashboard for Facebook Pages and Instagram business accounts. Its Inbox shows Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp messages in one place.
- Watch out for
- No email or SMS. Its AI agent answers customers on its own, and Meta says the agent is moving to paid subscriptions.
- Price
- Free. Meta's optional paid business bundles start at $14.99 a month.
Visit Meta Business Suite Checked on facebook.com, Oct 4, 2026
Missive
Best for a small team sharing email, SMS and social DMs
A shared team inbox for email that also takes SMS, WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram, with team chat and tasks on every conversation.
- Watch out for
- No free plan, the AI assistant needs the Productive plan or higher, and SMS needs your own Twilio account.
- Price
- From $14 per user a month, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly). A 30-day free trial.
respond.io
Best for businesses that sell over WhatsApp and Instagram, with AI agents
A customer conversation platform that puts WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, email and SMS in one team inbox, with AI agents for sales and support.
- Watch out for
- A higher starting price, and WhatsApp's own messaging fees are charged on top.
- Price
- From $79 a month billed yearly ($99 billed monthly), with 5 users included. A 7-day free trial.
Spike
Best for several email accounts in one chat-style inbox
An email app that turns your email accounts into chat-style conversations, with team chat built in.
- Watch out for
- Email first: no Instagram, Messenger or SMS. The free plan covers one email address; the unified inbox starts on Pro, for up to three.
- Price
- Free for one address. Pro, with the unified inbox, is $6 per user a month, billed yearly.
Superhuman
Best for people who live in Gmail or Outlook all day
A fast email app with AI, on top of your Gmail or Outlook accounts.
- Watch out for
- Email only, Gmail and Outlook: no social DMs, WhatsApp or SMS. No free plan.
- Price
- From $25 per member a month, billed yearly.
Trengo
Best for teams centred on WhatsApp that want one flat team price
An omnichannel customer service inbox for WhatsApp, email, live chat, social and voice, with an AI agent.
- Watch out for
- A high starting price with a yearly conversation cap, and a surcharge on each conversation the AI handles.
- Price
- From €299 a month billed yearly (€349 month to month), for 10 users.
How we compared them
- Channels in one queueWhich of email, Instagram DMs, Messenger and WhatsApp land in the same inbox, and on which plan.
- How the AI repliesWhether it drafts a reply for a person to approve, or answers customers on its own.
- Where it runsOn the maker's servers, or on a server you control.
- How you payPer person every month, a flat team price, or once.
- Who it's built forOne person with several email accounts, a small business, or a support team.
- Only the maker's own wordsEvery fact is from the maker's own site. Where a site didn't say, we left it out.
Questions about unified inbox apps
What is the best unified inbox app?
It depends on what you need in one place. For several email accounts: Superhuman, Spike or Canary Mail. For a team taking email, social DMs and WhatsApp: Missive, Front, respond.io or Trengo. For Gmail, Instagram and Messenger with AI drafts on your own server: the Inbox Machine.
Is there a free unified inbox?
Yes, with limits. Meta Business Suite is free for Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp, but has no email. Canary Mail's free plan puts your email accounts in one inbox, for one person. Chatwoot's self-hosted edition is free if you run it yourself, without its AI.
Which unified inbox apps handle Instagram DMs and email together?
Of the ten here: Chatwoot, Front (on its Professional plan), Missive, respond.io, Trengo and the Inbox Machine. Superhuman, Spike and Canary Mail are email only, and Meta Business Suite has no email.
Can a unified inbox reply with AI?
Most can draft replies. Some also let an AI agent answer customers on its own: Meta Business Suite, Front, respond.io, Trengo and Chatwoot's chatbot. On the Inbox Machine, every reply waits for a person to approve it.
Is there a self-hosted unified inbox?
Two of the ten run on a server you control. Chatwoot is open source: you deploy and run it yourself. The Inbox Machine is set up for you on a server in your name.
Changes
- First published: ten apps, every fact checked on its maker's site that day.
Email, Instagram and Messenger, in one place you own.
Gmail, Instagram and Messenger in one queue. A drafted reply on every message. Nothing sends until you approve it.