Email management software

Rather than displacing email, new technological developments—such as expanding service channels, automation, and AI—only serve to reinforce its fundamental role in customer support. But without the right management tools, a disorganized inbox can easily create more issues for you and your customers than it solves, and some emails may even slip through the cracks.

Given email management software’s critical role in customer service, it’s important to carefully research your options to find the best email management solution. To that end, this article will review the top tools on the market, the features you should look for, trends to know, and more.

• What is email management software?

• 13 best email management software

• Email management system features

• Benefits of email management tools

• How to choose the right email management solution

• Email software FAQ

• Try the best email management software for free

Email management software is a tool that helps you manage, prioritize, send, track, and organize emails en masse. This software encompasses a variety of solutions that can cater to individuals, small teams, and large organizations.

Email management systems can specialize in certain use cases, including:

• Customer support

• Employee support

• Sales

• Marketing

Customer service teams need email management software that can track inquiries, enable collaboration with other agents, and automate email routing. On the other hand, email marketers need software that can sequence and automate email nurture campaigns, track open and click-through rates, and send mass emails. You can integrate many email management systems to streamline data for more personalized customer experiences.

Here’s a roundup of some of the best email management software businesses use to tame their inboxes. The list includes software providers that cater to different needs, like customer service, marketing, and employee support.

1. Zendesk

Best email management software for improving customer and employee experiences

Zendesk email management software has intuitive yet powerful out-of-the-box functionality. It serves customers and enhances the customer service agent experience. Dynamic request forms give employees the proper customer context without delay, so agents receive all the information they need to provide truly personalized support.

With Zendesk, ticket management systems, collaboration tools, self-service content, and customer information are native to the agent workspace. Instead of scrambling between different tabs, agents have everything they need at their fingertips. Prewritten responses automatically solve common problems faster than traditional methods by issuing a pre-approved response, saving agents time.

Trust builds when customers feel heard and valued, and we built the Zendesk email management software for just that purpose. The software helps you deliver conversational experiences connected across email, web, mobile, and social channels. That way, every interaction feels like part of a cohesive conversation because agents never lose context, and customers never have to repeat themselves.

Zendesk AI tools further reduce the need for manual effort by automating essential tasks for agents. AI can effectively triage emails, suggest agent responses, and even solve requests independently.

Features:

• Omnichannel support

• Branding and workflow customization

• AI and automated workflows

• Seamless collaboration tools

• Native redaction capabilities and spam prevention

• Tracking and reporting

• 1,000+ apps and integrations

• Macros

• Generative AI

Pricing:

• Support Team: $19 per agent/month

• Support Professional: $55 per agent/month

• Support Enterprise: $115 per agent/month

  *Plans are billed annually.

Free trial:

14 days

• Start a free trial

• View pricing

• Request a demo

• Take a product tour

• Evaluate the ROI of Zendesk

2. Hiver

Best email management software for integrating with Gmail

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Hiver is an email management app within the Gmail dashboard that lets businesses use their Google Workspace like they would an email ticketing system. Businesses can choose from four product packages depending on their needs: customer service, finance operations, people operations, and ITSM.

All Hiver plans enable collaboration between coworkers—even if they don’t have access to the shared inbox—by sending them an invite link to the conversation. The Pro plan includes software automations, allowing users to assign emails based on specified conditions. Businesses that require advanced controls can use the Elite plan to customize email access and analytics reports.

Features:

• Workflow customization

• AI and automated workflows

• Seamless collaboration tools

• Tracking and reporting

Pricing:

• Lite: $15 per user/month

• Pro: $39 per user/month

• Elite: $59 per user/month

• Organizations with over 50 users can contact sales for custom quotes.

  *Plans are billed annually.

Free trial:

7 days

3. Brevo

Best email management software for broad messaging

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Brevo, formerly Sendinblue, began 10 years ago as a newsletter service but has since expanded its offerings to include sales and customer service features. Brevo offers two free packages with email management tools: Transactional Email and Sales Platform. The Transactional Email package lets users track and analyze email performance. The Sales Platform gives sales teams a shared inbox and assignment notifications.

The Brevo Marketing Platform package has a free plan that lets users send up to 300 emails daily and run SMS campaigns, but businesses must buy the Starter plan to remove the Brevo logo and access basic reports. The Business plan allows users to automate their marketing campaigns and use A/B testing. BrevoPlus is the service’s enterprise-grade plan that adds more security and integrations.

Features:

• Omnichannel support

• Branding and workflow customization

• Automated workflows

• Seamless collaboration tools

• Tracking and reporting

Pricing:

• Free plan available

• Starter: $25 per month

• Business: $65 per month

• Brevo Plus: Contact sales

• Custom plans available

Free trial:

Unavailable

4. SaneBox

Best email management tool for personal inbox management

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SaneBox operates based on a simple folder structure designed to help users prioritize their correspondence. The software uses AI to sort your inbox and organize emails into folders. SaneBox places your non-actionable emails into separate folders for later use so you can focus on only your most pressing emails.

For instance, the SaneBox AI can identify your newsletter emails and sort them into a newsletter folder. It can also find all emails you’re CC’d on and sort those emails into an FYI folder. Additionally, users can train the SaneBox email software to improve its performance. For example, if you move a newsletter into your primary inbox, SaneBox automatically starts sorting all future versions of that newsletter into your inbox.

Features:

• Workflow customization

• AI and automated workflows

• Spam prevention

Pricing:

• Snack: $59 per year (1 email account)

• Lunch: $99 per year (2 email accounts)

• Dinner: $299 per year (4 email accounts)

  *Plans are billed annually.

Free trial:

14 days

5. Front

Best email management software for segmenting customer emails

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Front is a customer operations platform that provides inbox management tools to assist customer support teams. Front allows users to work from a shared inbox and their personal email addresses so teams can collaborate on customer messages. Businesses can build custom workflows—without coding—to assign and escalate tickets.

Front uses an omnichannel approach to communication so users can manage all customer channels from a single interface. Customer profiles are shared alongside customer messages, giving agents access to past interactions and account information. Managers can use analytics to track team performance and ensure service level agreements (SLAs) are honored.

Features:

• Omnichannel support

• Workflow customization

• Automated workflows

• Seamless collaboration tools

• Tracking and reporting

Pricing:

• Starter: $19 per seat/month

• Growth: $59 per seat/month

• Scale: $99 per seat/month

• Premier: $229 per seat/month

  *Plans are billed annually.

Free trial:

Unavailable

6. LiveAgent

Best email management software for free email ticketing tools

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LiveAgent is a help desk solution that includes customer service email management software as one component of its platform. The LiveAgent tools combine and organize emails, calls, social media messages, and live chats—all in a universal inbox. Admins and agents can set up automation workflows and configure integrations to create a customized email management system.

Businesses can create a free LiveAgent account and access incoming and outgoing email ticketing tools, among other limited features. Since LiveAgent is primarily used as a help desk, users get non-email features like a knowledge base, live chat, and a customer portal.

Features:

• Omnichannel support

• Branding and workflow customization

• Automated workflows

• Seamless collaboration tools

• Spam prevention

• Tracking and reporting

Pricing:

• Small: $9 per agent/month

• Medium: $29 per agent/month

• Large: $49 per agent/month

• Enterprise: $69 per agent/month

  *Plans are billed annually.

Free trial:

7 or 30 days

7. Help Scout

Best email management software for small and medium-sized businesses

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Help Scout is another help desk with email management tools. Multiple users can collaborate on customer messages from a shared inbox. Managers can assign emails to individuals and teams, while teammates contribute private notes to find resolutions. Teams can also save replies in a searchable library to reuse for other conversations.

Additionally, customer service teams can reference customer bios in the inbox sidebar to learn about the customer’s past activity. On top of its basic email management functionality, Help Scout provides analytics tools, self-service options, and support for multiple channels. Conversations also get funneled into a single inbox, so users can jump between emails and live chats in the same interface.

Features:

• Omnichannel support

• Workflow customization

• AI and automated workflows

• Seamless collaboration tools

• Spam prevention

• Tracking and reporting

Pricing:

• Standard: $20 per user/month

• Plus: $40 per user/month

• Pro: $65 per user/month

  *Plans are billed annually

Free trial:

15 days

8. Microsoft Outlook

Best email management software for businesses that use Microsoft 365

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Microsoft Outlook is a standard email management system. The product can be purchased independently or as a part of the Microsoft 365 suite. Outlook provides email hosting with 50 GB of mailbox storage, calendar management tools, spam and malware protection, and custom scripts. Users that purchase Microsoft 365 can also use the Copilot AI tool to help prioritize emails, summarize lengthy messages, and draft responses.

With a Microsoft 365 subscription, users can chat, call, or meet with up to 300 attendees simultaneously. The subscription includes access to other Microsoft applications, including Excel, Word, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Exchange.

Features:

• Omnichannel support

• AI

• Seamless collaboration tools

• Spam prevention

Pricing:

• Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $6 per user/month

• Microsoft 365 Business Standard: $12.50 per user/month

• Microsoft 365 Business Premium: $22.00 per user/month

• Microsoft 365 Apps for business: $8.25 per user/month

  *Business plans are billed annually.

Free trial:

30 days

Learn more about the Outlook app for Zendesk.

9. Gmail

Best email management tool for businesses that use Google Workspace

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Gmail is the email management system from Google. Like Outlook, users can use Gmail on its own or as part of Google Workspace. Individuals can create a Gmail account for free and access the calendar, chat, and video apps. Companies can purchase Google Workspace to unlock premium features.

Google Workspace has business-focused features such as 99.9 percent guaranteed uptime (the time the service is operational), larger storage capacity in Google Drive, add-on support, and custom domain names. Gmail can also suggest actions within an email using Smart Reply and Smart Compose. Video meetings can host 100 participants in the Business Starter plan and up to 1,000 participants in the Enterprise plan.

Features:

• Omnichannel support

• Branding customization

• AI

• Seamless collaboration tools

• Spam prevention

Pricing:

• Business Starter: $6 per user/month

• Business Standard: $12 per user/month

• Business Plus: $18 per user/month

• Enterprise: Contact sales

  *Plans are billed annually.

Free trial:

14 days

10. Klaviyo

Best email management tool for marketers who send limited emails

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Klaviyo is an email management tool designed for sales and marketing teams who need to send personalized email campaigns. Klaviyo email plans include segmentation, pre-built automations, data analytics, unlimited A/B testing, one-click integrations, and more. Also, if text messaging is a core part of your marketing efforts, you can add SMS to your email plan for $15 per month.

Klaviyo’s real-time customer profiles provide data about customer messages, interactions, and known preferences. Klaviyo offers a free plan that lets users send up to 500 emails and 150 SMS/MMS messages monthly, but features are limited. Pricing for Klaviyo depends on the number of emails you send and the number of contacts you send the emails to, increasing between $10 and $15 per month at each tier.

Features:

• Omnichannel support

• Automated workflows

• Tracking and reporting

Pricing:

• Free plan available

• Email: $20 per month

• Email and SMS: $35 per month

Free trial:

Unavailable

Learn more about the Klaviyo app for Zendesk.

11. MailerLite

Best email management software for bundling website and marketing campaign creation

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MailerLite is another email management tool for marketers. The service enables businesses to create and manage outbound email campaigns, create custom landing pages and sign-up forms, and build websites and blogs. MailerLite has a free plan for individuals that includes 12,000 monthly emails and access to limited features.

MailerLite’s email management capabilities include an intuitive email automation builder, automated newsletter campaigns, A/B testing, surveys, dynamic email content, and analytics. Businesses can automate their marketing workflows by setting up single or multi-trigger controls.

Features:

• Branding customization

• AI and automated workflows

• Tracking and reporting

Pricing:

• Free plan available

• Growing Business: $9 per month

• Advanced: $18 per month

• Enterprise: Contact sales

  *Plans are billed annually.

Free trial:

30 days

12. Mailchimp

Best email management tool for managing email marketing campaigns

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Mailchimp is an email management service specializing in marketing campaigns. Businesses can create targeted emails using segmentation tools and schedule automatic follow-up messages. The Mailchimp analytics tools provide data on campaign performance and suggest ways you can improve.

Businesses can use A/B testing to determine the types of emails that get the best results and the optimal time to send emails to customers. Email templates are ready to use, and teams can tailor them to match their company’s branding. The Mailchimp Creative Assistant can learn the details of your brand and create new designs using your colors, logos, and images. Businesses can get started using the free plan, which has limited features but includes pre-built templates and analytics.

Features:

• Branding customization

• AI and automated workflows

• Tracking and reporting

Pricing:

• Free plan available

• Essentials: $13 per month (includes 3 seats)

• Standard: $20 per month (includes 5 seats)

• Premium: $350 per month

Free trial:

Unavailable

Learn more about the Mailchimp app for Zendesk.

13. ActiveCampaign

Best email management software for automating email marketing campaigns

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Like Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign helps businesses create and manage email marketing campaigns. Users can send broad newsletters and targeted emails to reach their desired audience. ActiveCampaign also helps businesses automate their workflows with email triggers and autoresponders.

Customer segmentation lets users send messages to different audiences with customized content for those customers. ActiveCampaign reports reveal conversion and revenue results from split email campaigns to compare performance. The email software also has a library of design templates that users can customize.

Features

• Omnichannel support

• Branding customization

• AI and automated workflows

• Tracking and reporting

Pricing

• Marketing Lite: $29 per month (includes 1 user)

• Marketing Plus: $49 per month (includes 3 users)

• Marketing Professional: $149 per month (includes 5 users)

• Marketing Enterprise: Contact sales for pricing (includes 10 users)

  *Plans are billed annually.

Free trial:

14 days

Learn more about the ActiveCampaign app for Zendesk.

Every business has unique needs, and getting the right tools to do the job is a necessity. Here’s a rundown of the top features to look for in email software.

After you’ve found a customer service email management software that provides the features you need, you will begin to realize its full benefits. Here are some of the top benefits your business stands to gain.

Your team will use your email management system daily, so choosing the right software has far-reaching effects. To ensure you focus on the most critical aspects of email management applications, ask yourself—and your team—these key questions:

What is your use case?

As discussed earlier in this article, email management tools specialize in different use cases. If your primary goal is to use inbox management tools to improve customer service, then you’ll need software that integrates with your business’s other platforms and can improve agent efficiency.

Meanwhile, marketers require tools to manage email campaigns and track engagement. These are niche needs, so whichever software you choose should have the necessary features to assist you in achieving your goals.

Is it more than a shared inbox?

A shared inbox improves access to customer emails, but that factor alone isn’t enough to improve your operations. You also need the option to assign emails to agents, set up automations that improve workflows, and enable collaboration between team members. Without these essential tools, agents will be slower to act on emails and have greater difficulty managing their workloads.

How difficult is it to implement and use?

One of the most common mistakes businesses make when buying email management solutions is overemphasizing licensing costs versus implementation and maintenance costs. If the software is difficult to implement and use, deploying and maintaining the system will outweigh any difference in licensing costs.

If possible, test the software before you commit to a long-term contract. Also, speak with whoever is responsible for deployment and see if you can project costs. That way, you’ll have a better reference point when comparing different software packages.

Does it integrate with your other tools and track the right metrics?

Email has been around since before the internet. And much of its staying power is due to its ability to extend into a more powerful solution using integrations and APIs (application programming interfaces). Generally, any time you’re considering an email software application, be sure it integrates with the tools you need it to.

Another thing to keep in mind: Just because an email tool can integrate doesn’t mean the integration is good. Many tools are technically able to integrate, but the integration may not work well or be hard to implement.

What is the total cost of ownership?

The licensing cost of your email tool may only be a fraction of its true cost. Pricing for email tools can vary quite a bit. For example, while Zendesk charges a monthly or annual fee based on the plan you choose, other tools charge based on how many emails you send and how many contacts you send them to.

One pricing approach isn’t inherently better than another, but it is important to determine how your email tool’s pricing model affects your bottom line based on how you plan to use it.

Here is some additional information to help you find the right email management software for your business.