HEY vs Mailbrew (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, HEY grades higher than Mailbrew: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 4, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
HEY grades higher on ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
HEY
Email service and calendar with sender screening, from 37signals
Mailbrew
Daily email digest of feeds, newsletters and saved links
Which one is for you
Pick HEY if
- Fits if you want to approve every new sender before they can reach your inbox
- Works for people ready to move to a new address and leave the old inbox behind
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to keep your Gmail or Outlook address, as HEY is its own provider
- Not for you if you read mail in Apple Mail or Outlook, because there's no IMAP or POP
- Not for you if you want a free plan, since after the 30-day trial it's $99 a year, billed yearly only
- Watch out: your old mail isn't imported, only forwarded from now on
- Tight if you want your own domain, as HEY for Domains is $12 a user a month, billed monthly, with no trial
Pick Mailbrew if
- Fits if you'd like one email with your feeds and newsletters instead of ten
- Works for people who save links and want them back in a digest
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: one digest, 26 sources and ads
- Skip it if you want a mailbox, as it doesn't host addresses
- Skip it if you want phone or desktop apps, as none are listed
- Watch out: the pricing page we read does not show a monthly-billed price
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAHEYFair | 2.0GPAMailbrewFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CHEY for You is $99 a year, billed annually only, which works out at $8.25 a month, the middle for this category. It buys the address, the calendar and 100GB. Your own domain means HEY for Domains at $12 a user a month, and Families is $179 a year for five people. | CPro is $4.92 a month, billed yearly, between the cheaper quarter and the middle of what email tools charge. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan. HEY for You has a 30-day trial with no credit card required. HEY for Domains has no free trial at all. | COne digest, 26 sources and ads. You will want a second digest quickly. |
| Features | CThe inbox ideas: a Screener on the door, a feed for newsletters, a Paper Trail for receipts, a Reply Later pile, a spy pixel blocker and a calendar. The holes are its own: no IMAP or POP, no integrations listed at all, and your old mail is never imported, only forwarded from now on. | CDigests by email or browser, RSS to email, a newsletter reader and saved links. It's a reading tool, not a mailbox, and apps beyond the web aren't listed. |
| Ease of use | B4.65 from about 4,300 App Store ratings, under the 4.7 an A needs. Moving in is real work: a new address, a different routine, and none of your old mail comes along. | CNo store rating on record. You pick sources and build each digest yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, so every device is covered. That's the whole list, though: no IMAP or POP, no API and no integrations, so it only works in HEY's own apps. | CWeb only, with Hacker News and YouTube as sources. No phone or desktop apps listed. |
| Best for | a fresh email address with a bouncer on the door | a daily digest of feeds and newsletters |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: HEY and Mailbrew. How we grade
Price against what you get
HEY starts at $8.25 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Mailbrew starts at $4.92 a month and scores 2.0.
HEY scores higher, and starts $3.33 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other email apps on the chart, 7 score higher than HEY for less, and 40 score higher than Mailbrew for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- HEY also covers templates, calendar and email client.
- Mailbrew also covers read later and rSS reader.
At a glance
| HEY | Mailbrew | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $99 per year (HEY for You, annual billing only) | $4.92 per month, billed yearly ($59) |
| Free plan | None | 1 email digest, access to 26 sources and the newsletter reader, with ads included. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of HEY for You, no credit card required. HEY for Domains has no free trial. | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | 37signals LLC | Evernomic |
| Price read from | hey.com | app.mailbrew.com |
| Checked | Oct 4, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
HEY
- HEY is its own email provider, not a client for Gmail or Outlook; existing mail history is not imported, only forwarded going forward.
- IMAP and POP are not supported, so HEY works only in its own apps.
- HEY for You is billed annually only, and HEY for Domains is billed monthly with no free trial.
- There is no free plan.
Mailbrew
- The free plan allows one email digest, 26 sources and shows ads.
- Pro is shown as billed yearly; the pricing page read does not display a monthly-billed price.
- Mailbrew is a reading and digest service, not a mailbox: it does not host email addresses.
- Apps beyond the web app are not listed on the pages read.
Key features
HEY
- The Screener
- First-time senders land in the Screener, where you approve or block them before any of their email can reach your Imbox.
- Imbox, The Feed and Paper Trail
- Mail from approved senders goes to the Imbox, newsletters are shown in a feed-style reader, and receipts and confirmations are filed in the Paper Trail.
- Reply Later and Set Aside
- Move emails that need an answer into a Reply Later pile and work through them in Focus & Reply. Set Aside keeps messages on hand for reference.
- HEY Calendar
- A calendar is included with HEY for You and HEY for Domains and lives in the same apps as email.
- Spy pixel blocker
- Blocks tracking pixels in incoming email and identifies the companies trying to track whether you opened a message.
- Workflows and Collections
- Workflows track an email through stages you define, and Collections bring several related threads together on one page.
Mailbrew
- Digests by email or in the browser
- Each brew can arrive as an email or be read in the web app.
- RSS to email
- Any feed can be added to a digest, alongside sample sources such as news sites and YouTube channels.
- Newsletter reader
- Newsletters collect in a single place instead of the main inbox.
- Saved links
- A Saved tab keeps links to read later, and they can appear in digests.
- Public digests
- Pro lets you share a digest publicly.
Plans
HEY
HEY for You$99
per year
A personal @hey.com address with HEY Calendar, 100GB of storage, apps on every platform and a HEY World blog.
HEY for Domains$12
per user / month, billed monthly ($10 for the first user)
Email on your own domain for multiple users, with thread sharing, private team comments and email aliases.
HEY for Families$179
per year, in total
Adds up to 4 additional people, each with their own @hey.com address, calendar and account.
Mailbrew
Free$0
1 email digest, the newsletter reader, 26 sources and private digests, with ads included.
Pro$4.92
per month, billed yearly ($59)
Unlimited email digests, all sources, public sharing of digests and no ads.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, HEY or Mailbrew?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Mailbrew is cheaper to start with: $4.92 a month, against $8.25 a month when paid by the year for HEY. HEY starts at $99 per year (HEY for You, annual billing only), and Mailbrew starts at $4.92 per month, billed yearly ($59).
Which has a free plan, HEY or Mailbrew?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Mailbrew has a free plan. HEY does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do HEY and Mailbrew run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only HEY lists macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.