Ellie vs Inbox Zero (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Ellie if

• Fits if you spend your day answering inbound email in Gmail or Outlook
• Makes sense if a small team wants shared roles and one knowledge base for replies

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you write cold or outbound email, because the FAQ says it only replies
• Tight if you stay on Casual: 25 replies a day, extension only, no auto-drafts
• Pricey if you add people, as extra team members start at $5 each on top of the plan
• Skip it if you want a free plan, since there is only a 7-day trial
• Watch out: the pricing page shows a time-limited first-year discount that we haven't recorded

Pick Inbox Zero if

• Fits if you want your Gmail or Outlook sorted into categories and replies drafted for you
• Works for people who want open-source code they can read through or host themselves

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you won't hand over a card to try something, because the 7-day trial needs one
• Skip it if your email isn't Gmail or Outlook, as those are the only accounts it supports
• Pricey if you want a second account, the meeting notetaker or Slack, which start on Plus at $28 a user
• Watch out: the free Tabs extension works with Gmail only, and the phone apps send you to the web for some settings
• Tight if you self-host to avoid paying, as that means running it on Docker, Vercel, AWS or Kubernetes yourself

Ellie

• Writes replies only; the pricing FAQ says it will not write cold emails.
• Casual has no auto-drafts and works only through the browser extension.
• Extra team members are priced starting at $5 per user, according to the pricing FAQ.
• The pricing page also shows a time-limited first-year discount that is not recorded here.

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.

Ellie

Auto-drafted replies

On Business and Professional, Ellie connects to a Gmail, Google Workspace, Outlook or Microsoft 365 mailbox and saves drafts to the Drafts folder.

On-demand replies

A browser extension adds a reply button in Gmail and Outlook on the web; Casual also lists Fastmail. An Outlook add-in covers the desktop apps.

Writing in your style

Ellie learns from previous sent emails, up to 200 on Casual and 1,000 on Business, and replies in your tone and language.

Roles and knowledge base

Roles give each kind of email its own tone and material, such as help documentation for a support role. Business and Professional accept files and website URLs.

Auto-categorize

Business and Professional also sort incoming mail into categories. The vendor says Ellie never sends an email without you checking it first.

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.

Ellie

• Casual$19

  per month, billed monthly

  One person; 25 replies a day through the browser extension only, with no auto-drafts.

• Business$39

  per month for up to 3 seats

  100 replies a day, auto-draft and auto-categorize, shared roles and training, 1 connected account per user.

• Professional$79

  per month for up to 5 seats

  Unlimited replies a day, 3 connected accounts per user, priority support and extra seats.

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.

Ellie

No public discounts listed.

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.