Alternatives / Superhuman Mail
Looking for an open source Superhuman Mail alternative? We compared 4 open source email clients and AI email tools by license, self-hosting, AI features, and encryption. They range from an AI workspace with email to a layer on top of Gmail and Outlook, an encrypted service, and a JMAP platform.
Written by Maxime DERAME
Last updated:
| Alternative | Best for | License |
|---|---|---|
| Macro | Keyboard-driven email inside an AI workspace | AGPL-3.0 |
| Inbox Zero | AI assistant on top of Gmail or Outlook | AGPL-3.0 |
| Tuta | Encrypted email (hosted, only the clients are open) | GPL-3.0 client |
| Twake Mail | Professional JMAP email you can host yourself | AGPL-3.0 |
We looked for open-source tools that overlap with Superhuman's core: a fast inbox with keyboard shortcuts, AI drafting, and productivity features on top of your email. We verified each project's license, recent activity, stars, and self-hosting in its repository. Superhuman is a premium client for your existing accounts, so we note which alternatives are clients, services, or layers on top of Gmail. See our methodology for the full criteria.
Macro is an AI workspace that includes an email client, Inbox Zero is an AI layer that works alongside Gmail or Outlook rather than replacing your client, Tuta is an encrypted email service with its own accounts, and Twake Mail is a JMAP email platform with a client and a backend. Choose by whether you want a client, a layer, or a whole mail service.
Macro is the closest to a fast, keyboard-driven client, with a multi-account unified inbox, keyboard shortcuts, shared inboxes, and AI agents. Inbox Zero adds AI-drafted replies, bulk unsubscribe, cold email blocking, attachment filing, and analytics on top of Gmail or Outlook, with paid plans from $18 per user per month and self-hosting available.
Tuta's client applications are open source under GPL-3.0, but the complete mail service infrastructure is not offered as a public self-hostable stack. It is a hosted service, and it has no AI productivity features comparable to Superhuman's.
Macro, Inbox Zero, and Twake Mail are AGPL-3.0, and Tuta's clients are GPL-3.0.
Macro, Inbox Zero, Tuta, and Twake Mail all had commits within days of this update. Twake Mail has a small community, with about 650 stars on its client repository.
Superhuman Mail is a proprietary, subscription-based email client that processes your mail through its servers and has no self-hosted option. Open-source alternatives let you inspect the code, run AI features on your own infrastructure or with your own keys, and avoid a premium subscription, at the cost of less polish and, for some, a change of mail provider.
Inbox Zero is an AGPL-3.0 open-source AI email assistant that works on top of Gmail or Outlook, adding AI-drafted replies, bulk unsubscribe, cold email blocking, attachment filing, and email analytics. It is not a standalone replacement for your email client. Paid plans start at $18 per user per month with a 7-day free trial, and self-hosting is available.
Pricing: Free to self-host; hosted plans start at $18 per user per month.
Hosted email service with end-to-end encrypted email, calendars, and contacts, no advertising or tracking, custom domains, and web, Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux clients. Public client source is GPL-3.0; the complete mail service backend is not available as a public self-hostable stack.
Pricing: Hosted service with free and paid plans; full server stack is not publicly self-hostable.
Macro is an AGPL-3.0 all-in-one workspace that unifies email, messages, docs, tasks, AI agents, and a CRM in one fast interface. Its email client offers a multi-account unified inbox, keyboard shortcuts, and shared inboxes, and it can be self-hosted. Email is one part of a larger product, so it is heavier than a plain mail app.
Pricing: Open source under AGPL-3.0 with self-hosting available; hosted and commercial services may be offered separately.
AGPL-3.0 professional email platform developed by LINAGORA, with a Flutter client and backend derived from and extending Apache James. It supports JMAP, IMAP compatibility, SMTP, filtering, labels, delegated mailboxes, encryption, anti-spam, self-hosting, and Twake collaboration integrations.
Pricing: Open-source self-hostable platform; mail infrastructure and operations require expertise.
| Alternative | Type | License | Self-hosted | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macro | Workspace with email | AGPL-3.0 | Yes | Teams and power users |
| Inbox Zero | AI layer for Gmail and Outlook | AGPL-3.0 | Yes | AI inbox cleanup |
| Tuta | Encrypted mail service | GPL-3.0 (clients only) | No, hosted service | Privacy |
| Twake Mail | Email client and server | AGPL-3.0 | Yes | Professional JMAP email |
Want a fast, keyboard-driven inbox with AI
Macro unifies email with docs, tasks, and agents in one AGPL-3.0 workspace, but it is larger than a plain mail app.
Want AI tools on top of Gmail or Outlook
Inbox Zero adds AI replies, bulk unsubscribe, and cold email blocking without replacing your client, with paid plans and self-hosting.
Want end-to-end encrypted email
Tuta encrypts mail, calendar, and contacts end to end with audited clients, but the service itself is hosted.
Want to host professional email yourself
Twake Mail provides a JMAP client and a backend based on Apache James under AGPL-3.0, with on-premise deployment.