Your inbox is full. Every time you open Gmail, you feel the stress coming on again. Superhuman promises to put an end to that with the fastest email client in the world. It combines AI with keyboard shortcuts to empty your inbox in minutes.
But is that promise true? And is it worth the $ 40 per month?
Who is behind Superhuman?
Superhuman was founded in 2015 by Rahul Vohra, Conrad Irwin, and Vivek Sodera in San Francisco. The original idea was simple but ambitious: build the fastest email experience ever. Gmail was getting slower and more cluttered for power users, so they came up with the ‘100ms rule’ – every action had to happen within 100 milliseconds.
The team raised a total of $ 108 million from investors like Andreessen Horowitz, IVP, and Tiger Global. They grew to 70,000+ paying customers, which is impressive for a tool without a free version. Superhuman became known for their ‘Game Design’ philosophy – email shouldn’t just be fast, but should also feel like a game.
In 2025, something remarkable happened: Grammarly acquired Superhuman and then changed their own company name to Superhuman. Now both the email client, Grammarly’s writing tools, and Coda fall under the same holding company. A special detail: you can operate Superhuman completely without a mouse, only with the keyboard.
Who is Superhuman for?
Superhuman is built for people who process dozens to hundreds of emails daily. Think of founders who are constantly closing deals, sales professionals who manage their pipeline via email, and executives who use their inbox as a workplace. If you’re a power user who values speed and efficiency, this is your tool.
But not everyone needs Superhuman. If you only get a few emails per day, the investment won’t pay off. The same applies if you’re looking for a free email solution. Superhuman deliberately has no free version – it’s premium software for people who want to reclaim their time.
What can Superhuman do?
Superhuman is all about speed and focus. The interface feels blazing fast due to the 100ms rule they maintain. Every screen, every action, everything responds immediately. That may sound like a small detail, but it makes a huge difference in how you experience email.
- Superhuman AI: The AI automatically writes drafts for you and summarizes long email threads into a few sentences. You provide a few keywords and the AI turns them into a complete email.
- Split Inbox: Your inbox is automatically split into categories like VIP, newsletters, and other messages. This way you can see at a glance what’s important and what can wait.
- Keyboard Shortcuts: Everything can be controlled without a mouse. Archiving, labeling, replying to emails – it all happens with keyboard shortcuts. You don’t have to take your hands off the keyboard.
- Read Statuses: You can see when someone opens your email. Useful for sales or when you’re waiting for a response and want to know if your message was even read.
- Team Comments: You can chat with colleagues about specific emails without endless back-and-forth forwarding. The conversation stays linked to the original email.
- Remind Me & Snooze: Set reminders using natural language like “remind me tomorrow morning at 9 am” or “snooze until next Monday”. The email disappears from your inbox and comes back at exactly the right time.
Superhuman works on all platforms: web, iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS. Linux is not supported. You can add both Gmail and Outlook accounts, which is convenient if you have multiple work accounts.
What does Superhuman cost?
Superhuman has no free version and no trial period either. You pay from day one. There are two subscription plans available.
The Business plan costs $ 40 per month or $ 33 per month with annual payment (total $ 396). This plan adds team features like shared comments and better collaboration. If you’re working with a team on the same emails, this is the better choice.
The price is high compared to free alternatives like Gmail or Outlook. But Superhuman deliberately targets people for whom time is money. If you save an hour a day on email, you’ll easily earn back that $ 40.
What should you watch out for?
The monthly cost is a dealbreaker for many people. $ 40 per month for an email client feels expensive, especially if you’re used to free Gmail. You really need to process a lot of emails to earn back that investment.
Superhuman doesn’t have shared team inbox functionality. If you’re working with multiple people on one support mailbox, this isn’t the right tool. It’s really built for individual inboxes, not for shared ticket systems.
The integrations are limited. You can’t directly connect with tools like Asana, Todoist, or other task management apps. If you’re used to creating tasks directly from your email in your project management tool, you’ll need to figure out a different workflow for that.
The search function is less powerful than Gmail’s. If you regularly need to look up old emails with complex search queries, that can be frustrating. Gmail’s search has been refined for years and Superhuman can’t compete with that yet.
On mobile, you miss the keyboard shortcut flow that makes Superhuman so powerful on desktop. The app works fine, but it feels more like a standard email app. The keyboard-first concept doesn’t translate well to a touchscreen.
There are privacy concerns around the read status feature. Superhuman uses pixel-tracking to see when someone opens your email. Not everyone likes having their reading behavior tracked, and your recipients don’t know this is happening.
Superhuman reviews
I’ve looked at a number of Superhuman reviews to see what users experience in practice. Here are the key insights.
1. Efficient App
Efficient App gives a comprehensive review of Superhuman and clearly explains when it’s worth switching. The reviewer starts with an honest confession – she didn’t want to pay for email at first, but after trying it for one month, she was completely convinced. She’s now been using Superhuman for four years and can’t go back to Gmail.
The review covers five concrete signs that you’re ready for Superhuman, from hating your inbox to appreciating beautifully designed software. Particularly helpful is that they also discuss three scenarios where Superhuman isn’t the solution, such as team collaboration on emails or when you depend on CRM extensions. The explanation of inbox splits and keyboard shortcuts is practical and easy to follow.
Pros
- Very comprehensive explanation of all important features like split inboxes and keyboard shortcuts
- Honest about when Superhuman isn’t suitable, including alternative solutions
- Practical examples of how they use inbox splits themselves for different types of emails
- Good tips about snooze functionality and natural language input for time zones
Cons
- Contains affiliate link promotion, which can somewhat affect objectivity
- Limited attention to costs – only that it’s “worth it” without concrete price comparison
2. Tiago Forte
Tiago Forte focuses entirely on Superhuman’s AI features and shows how artificial intelligence takes your email management to the next level. He mainly covers the newer features that take a lot of manual work off your hands. His enthusiasm about how AI can understand context and make decisions is clearly noticeable.
The review focuses on three main features: automatic follow-up drafts, smart reminders, and intelligent labeling of emails. Especially the auto-archive function for cold pitches seems to be a game changer for Tiago. He gives concrete examples of how he creates custom labels for specific events like his mastermind retreat, and shows how AI automatically applies these to new emails.
Pros
- In-depth focus on AI features that save a lot of time on routine email tasks
- Practical demonstration of custom auto labels for specific projects
- Good explanation of auto-archive function to automatically filter out spam and pitches
Cons
- Limited to AI features only, no complete picture of Superhuman as a whole
- Few critical notes – almost everything is presented positively
- No attention to possible errors or limitations of the AI features
Superhuman alternatives
If Superhuman doesn’t quite fit what you’re looking for, there are other options that might better match your needs and budget.
- Spark Mail: Choose this if you want a modern email program without high monthly costs. Spark has a free version and focuses less on pure speed, but does offer many useful features for a fraction of the price.
- Shortwave: Choose this if you find AI features more important than pure speed and shortcuts. Shortwave puts more emphasis on AI chat with your inbox and is cheaper than Superhuman.
- Hey: Choose this if you want to try a completely new way of emailing with privacy as the priority. Hey has a different philosophy with a screener system and no traditional inbox, which feels fresh but does take some getting used to.
Frequently asked questions
Here I answer the questions that are asked most frequently about Superhuman.
Does Superhuman work with Outlook?
Yes, Superhuman supports both Gmail and Google Workspace as well as Microsoft Outlook accounts. You can add multiple accounts from both services and manage them all from one interface.
Is there a free version?
No, Superhuman doesn’t have a free version. It’s a premium tool that costs $ 40 per month. There’s also no trial period, you pay from the moment you start.
What is the relationship with Grammarly and Coda?
Since 2025, Superhuman has been the parent company managing Superhuman Mail, Coda, and the Grammarly writing tools. Grammarly acquired Superhuman and then changed the entire company name to Superhuman.
Conclusion
Superhuman is the fastest email client you can get, but it comes at a price. For $ 40 per month, you get a lightning-fast interface, powerful AI, and a completely keyboard-first workflow. If you process hundreds of emails daily and value speed above all else, Superhuman can pay back that investment.
But for the average user with a few dozen emails per day, it’s probably overkill. The limited integrations and lack of a free version make it a difficult choice if you want to try it out first. Look at alternatives like Spark or Shortwave if you’re not sure whether you want to invest that $ 30 per month.
