Cora vs Inbox Zero

Cora

• Gmail and Google Workspace users buried in newsletters and notifications
• People who want replies drafted for them but prefer to press send themselves
• Developers who want to give an AI agent access to their inbox through a CLI

Inbox Zero

• Gmail and Outlook users who want mail sorted and replies drafted for them
• Teams that prefer open source software they can inspect or self-host
• Clearing newsletters and cold outreach out of a crowded inbox

Cora

• Gmail and Google Workspace only: the site says Outlook and other email providers are not supported yet.
• There is no free plan. The pricing FAQ gives a 7-day free trial, while the help center's plans article says 14 days.
• Professional covers 2 email accounts; adding more needs Unlimited at $39 a month billed annually.
• Cora only handles mail that arrives after it is turned on, so it does not clear an existing backlog.

Inbox Zero

• There is no free plan for the hosted service: every plan starts with a 7-day trial that needs a credit card.
• It supports Gmail, Google Workspace and Microsoft Outlook accounts only.
• The AI meeting notetaker, Slack and app integrations, email digests and auto-filed attachments start at Plus.
• The free Inbox Zero Tabs browser extension works with Gmail only, and the mobile apps leave some settings to the web app.

Cora

Inbox screening

Cora checks for new mail every 10 minutes and sorts each message by your rules first, then by AI. Mail that needs a prompt reply stays in the Gmail inbox and the rest is archived for the next Brief.

Twice-daily Briefs

A Brief summarizes newsletters, promotions, notifications and FYI messages by category, by default each morning and afternoon. It arrives as an email and can also be read on the web.

Draft replies in your voice

When Cora has enough context from your email history, it writes a reply and leaves it in your drafts folder for you to review, edit and send.

Cora Assistant

A chat on the web, also reachable by email, that searches your mail, creates categories and sender rules, and remembers facts and preferences you tell it.

To-do list

A built-in to-do list with priorities and due dates. Emails you send to yourself become to-dos automatically, and any email can be turned into one from its action menu.

CLI and agent access

A command-line tool, in beta for macOS and Linux, exposes the inbox, briefs, rules and to-dos as commands so that AI agents such as Claude Code can read and act on your email.

Inbox Zero

AI labels and plain-English rules

Incoming mail is sorted into categories such as To Reply, Newsletter, Marketing and Cold Email. You can add categories of your own and describe in plain English how the assistant should handle mail.

Pre-drafted replies

Emails that need a response get a draft written in your tone, based on your email history and calendar, waiting in the inbox for you to review and send.

Bulk unsubscribe and archive

Shows which senders you never read so you can unsubscribe from and archive them in one click. A cold email blocker and email analytics are part of every plan.

Optional email client

A keyboard-first client for Gmail and Outlook on web, desktop and iPhone, with a split inbox, a command palette, several accounts in one inbox and team comments that are never sent as email.

Chat from Slack and Telegram

The assistant can be reached from Slack or Telegram to read mail, draft replies and manage the inbox. The pricing page lists the Slack integration from the Plus plan.

Open source and self-hosting

The code is public on GitHub, with the web and desktop email client under the AGPL license. The docs cover self-hosting with Docker, on Vercel, AWS or Kubernetes.

Cora

• Professional$20

  per month, billed annually ($240); $25 billed monthly

  2 email accounts, AI inbox organization, pre-drafted responses, daily Brief summaries and technical support.

• Unlimited$39

  per month, billed annually ($470); $49 billed monthly

  Everything in Professional with unlimited email accounts. The help center also lists priority support.

Inbox Zero

• Starter$18

  per user / month, billed annually; $20 billed monthly

  Sorts and labels every email, drafts replies in your voice, blocks cold emails, bulk unsubscribe and archive, email analytics and pre-meeting briefings.

• Plus$28

  per user / month, billed annually; $35 billed monthly

  Adds 2 email accounts per user, the AI meeting notetaker, Slack and app integrations, email digests, auto-filed attachments and an unlimited knowledge base.

• Professional$42

  per user / month, billed annually; $50 billed monthly

  Everything in Plus, plus team-wide analytics, priority support and a dedicated onboarding manager.

• EnterpriseCustom

  SSO, SCIM, on-premise deployment and a dedicated account manager, arranged with the sales team.

Cora

• Annual discount

  Save 20% with yearly billing

  The pricing toggle states a 20% saving on yearly billing: Professional is $240 a year against $25 a month, and Unlimited is $470 a year against $49 a month.

• Other savings

  Cora Professional comes with an Every subscription

  Cora's help center says Professional is included at no extra cost with an Every subscription, which Every's plans page lists at $24 a month billed annually ($288) or $30 monthly.

Inbox Zero

• Annual discount

  Save up to 20% with annual billing

  Annual billing lowers Starter from $20 to $18, Plus from $35 to $28 and Professional from $50 to $42 per user a month. The pricing FAQ puts the saving at up to 20%.

• Education

  Student discount on request

  The pricing FAQ says students can email the company to have a discounted plan set up. The size of the discount is not published.

• Nonprofit

  Nonprofit and open-source project discounts

  The same FAQ answer covers nonprofits and open-source projects, which can email for a discounted plan. No rate is published.