Sortmail vs Gmail’s built-in sorting

Your own categories, on the Gmail you already have. No Google AI plan required.

Gmail gives you five tabs you can’t change. Its AI Inbox needs a paid Google AI plan and only reads your Primary tab. Sortmail files every message into labels you name — on any Gmail account, free ones included — and tells you why.

Sort my inbox free See the comparison

Connect a mailbox and Sortmail sorts your last 30 days (up to 1,000 messages) for free, showing where each one would go and why. Nothing in your mailbox changes until you choose a plan, and you can cancel in one click.

Your inbox: 18 messages instead of 247.

INCOMING

247

new messages

sortmailfiling

In your inbox18

Receipts31

Newsletters64

System134

Arrived247
In your inbox18
Receipts31
Newsletters64
System134

Illustrative example · one day of mail

Why switch

Why switch to Sortmail.

Categories you choose

Five to start, up to 8, renamed however you like. Gmail’s tabs can’t be added to.

Works on free Gmail

No Google AI plan, no US-only beta. Sortmail works on the Gmail account you already have.

Sorted from minute one

Your last 30 days sorted the moment you connect — not a week of warm-up.

Side by side

Sortmail vs Gmail’s built-in sorting.

Every claim about Gmail’s built-in sorting links to their own page.

Sortmail and Gmail’s built-in sorting, feature by feature
What matters	Sortmail	Gmail’s built-in sorting
Categories you can create or rename	YesFive to start; rename, recolour or add up to 8.	NoYou can only choose from the current tabs; you can’t create your own.[1]
Files every arriving message automatically	YesEvery arriving message is filed into its label.	PartlyGemini adds existing labels only when you ask and confirm; it can’t create new ones.[6][7]
AI inbox on a free Gmail account	YesFull sorting, model included, on free Gmail.	NoAI Inbox needs Google AI Plus, Pro or Ultra — US and English only, in beta.[3]
Reads every tab of your mail	YesSorts every message that reaches your inbox.	PartlyAI Inbox only surfaces information from the Primary tab.[4]
Useful from the first day	YesYour last 30 days sorted as soon as you connect.	PartlyAI Inbox can take up to 7 days to show its first to-dos.[5]
Corrections change future sorting	YesMoving a message saves a rule for that sender, listed and removable.	YesMoving an email to another tab helps Gmail learn.[2]

Yes YesPartly Partly, or with a catchNo No

The proof

What you get, and what it looks like.

Your categories

Five to start. Rename them, or add your own.

Every account starts with Actionable, Personal, Receipts, Newsletters and System. Rename any of them, recolour them, choose which stay in the inbox, or add your own — Clients, School, Travel — up to 8. Sortmail sorts into the categories you set, not a fixed list.

With Gmail’s built-in sorting: Gmail’s categories are Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates and Forums, and you can’t create your own.[1]

Your categoriesRename, recolour, add

ActionableStays in inbox
PersonalStays in inbox
ReceiptsFiled
ReadingFiled · renamed
SystemFiled
ClientsStays in inbox · added by you

Illustrative example

You can see why

Every filed message carries its reason.

Open any message and Sortmail shows what decided it — one of your rules, your own correction, sender signals or the model — and, where it weighed evidence, how sure it was. When something lands in the wrong place, you know whether to fix a rule or just move it.

Your order has shippedHarbor Goods · [email protected]

Why this is hereReceipts

Decided bySender signals

Confidence94%

Sender[email protected]

Where it wentSortmail/Receipts, out of the inbox

Illustrative example

Real labels, your mailbox

The sorting lives in your mailbox, not in an app.

On Gmail, each category is an ordinary label — Sortmail/Receipts, Sortmail/Newsletters — and filed mail leaves the inbox. On Outlook, it is a category of the same name, and filed mail moves to Archive. They show up in every mail app you use, and they stay if you stop using Sortmail.

With Gmail’s built-in sorting: Gemini in Gmail adds a label only when you ask and confirm, and only one that already exists.[6][7]

Your mailbox’s labelsAny mail app

Inbox6
Sortmail/Receipts31
Sortmail/Newsletters48
Sortmail/System102
Sortmail/Personal

Illustrative example

The mail you already have

Works on free Gmail and on Outlook.

A free Gmail account works, and so do Google Workspace, Outlook.com and Microsoft 365. Nothing extra to buy from your mail provider. Five categories are ready on day one; rename them or add your own, up to 8.

With Gmail’s built-in sorting: AI Inbox needs Google AI Plus, Pro or Ultra on a personal account, and is available only in the US and in English.[3]

Connect any of theseNothing extra to buy

Free GmailGoogle WorkspaceOutlook.comMicrosoft 365

Illustrative example

Unsure stays in the inbox

When it isn’t sure, it doesn’t hide the message.

If the model answers below its confidence floor, or nothing can place a message, Sortmail labels it with its best guess and leaves it in your inbox, asking where it goes. Your answer becomes a rule. Mail it is unsure about is never filed out of sight.

Needs youStill in your inbox

Priya from Northwind — Quick question about the invoiceSortmail wasn’t sure — where does this go?

Sam Okafor — Can you review this by Thursday?Actionable · The model · 91% sure

Illustrative example

Corrections stick

Move a message once. It becomes a rule.

Put a message in the right category and Sortmail saves a rule for that sender in the same step. The rule outranks the model from then on, and it is listed on the Overrides screen where you can remove it. On Gmail, moving a message between Sortmail labels in any Gmail app counts as the same correction.

You move “Weekly product digest” to NewslettersSystemNewsletters

Rule saved: sender is [email protected] → NewslettersListed on Overrides. Remove it any time.

Next week’s digest files itselfWhy this is here: One of your rules

Illustrative example

Pricing

Every feature. One price.

Sortmail’s prices come straight from our billing code.

Billed	Founding	List
Monthly	$8.99 / month	$12.99 / month
Yearly	$79 / year$6.58 a month	$99 / year$8.25 a month
Every 2 years	$139 / 2 years$5.79 a month	$169 / 2 years$7.04 a month

Founding price for the first 500 subscribers, kept for as long as the subscription runs. Each extra mailbox is $4.49 a month at the founding price ($6.49 at list), or half the plan price on yearly and 2-year plans.

Gmail’s AI Inbox needs a paid Google AI plan — Plus, Pro or Ultra — and is US-only and in beta. Sortmail needs nothing from Google but the Gmail account you already have.[3]

One price, one job, done properly: every message sorted into categories you choose, with the reason on each.

On the 2-year plan, Sortmail works out at $5.79 a month at the founding price — about 19¢ a day for an inbox that only holds what needs you.

Zero risk

Try it on your own mail. Pay only if it earns it.

See it sorted before you pay

Connect a mailbox and Sortmail sorts your last 30 days — up to 1,000 messages — and shows where each one would go and why. Nothing in your mailbox changes until you choose a plan.

Leave in one click

Cancel from Billing — no call, no form. You’re emailed 21 days before every yearly or 2-year renewal and 3 days before a monthly one. Your labels stay if you go.

Founding price, locked in

$5.79 a month on the 2-year plan, $6.58 on yearly, $8.99 monthly. Limited to the first 500 subscribers, and kept for as long as you subscribe.

Sort my inbox free

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Does Sortmail work with a free Gmail account?

Yes. Free Gmail, Google Workspace, Outlook.com and Microsoft 365 all work, with nothing extra to buy from Google or Microsoft.

Can I make my own categories?

Yes — that’s the point. Five to start, up to 8, each an ordinary Gmail label you can rename, recolour and choose to keep in the inbox or file away.

Do Gmail’s tabs still work alongside Sortmail?

Yes. Sortmail adds its own Sortmail/ labels and archives what doesn’t need you; what stays in the inbox shows in your tabs as before.

How much does Sortmail cost?

One plan with every feature: $8.99 a month, $79 a year or $139 for 2 years at the founding price, kept for as long as you subscribe. Once the 500 founding seats are gone, new subscribers pay $12.99, $99 or $169.

Is an AI reading all my mail?

No. Your rules decide first, then header signals such as mailing-list headers. Only when neither settles it does a masked extract — sender, subject and at most 400 characters — go to a model, and you can switch that off per mailbox. The model provider is contractually barred from keeping or training on it.

What happens to my mail if I stop using Sortmail?

Nothing moves back or disappears. The labels (categories, on Outlook) are ordinary ones in your own mailbox, so they stay where they are and keep working in every mail app.

Sources, checked 27 September 2026

Gmail’s inbox categories are Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates and Forums; you can only choose from the current categories and can’t create your own. support.google.com
Moving an email to the correct category helps Gmail learn your preferences over time. support.google.com
AI Inbox is in beta, available only in the US and in English, and needs Google AI Plus, Pro or Ultra on a personal account. support.google.com
AI Inbox only surfaces information from messages in the Primary tab. support.google.com
It may take up to 7 days for the first to-dos and topics to appear in AI Inbox. support.google.com
Gemini in Gmail can add labels when asked, and acts only after you confirm; it requires an eligible Google Workspace or Google AI plan. support.google.com
Gemini can only add labels that already exist; it can’t create new Gmail labels. support.google.com

Competitor details are taken from each company’s own public pages on the date above and can change after it. Sortmail’s own details are read from the code that enforces them. Gmail’s built-in sorting is a trademark of its owner; Sortmail is not affiliated with it. Spotted something out of date? Tell us at [email protected] and we will correct it.