The 11 best shared inbox software tools in 2026

Shared inbox software lets a team answer one address like support@ or clients@ together. Each message gets an owner, teammates leave notes the sender never sees, and the app warns when two people reply at once. The twelve tools below come in three shapes: extensions that render inside Gmail, separate workspaces that sync with Gmail and Outlook, and help desks that turn mail into tickets.

How we evaluated shared inbox software

We build Sektra, so read our entry with that in mind. Every other tool was checked on its own site in October 2026 against the same eight points.

• Channels, and whether Outlook is supported alongside Gmail.
• Assignment: one owner per message, with a view of what is unassigned.
• Internal notes the sender never sees.
• Collision detection: a warning when a teammate is already replying.
• Analytics, and the plan they unlock on.
• AI: in the seat price, a per-seat add-on, or billed per resolution.
• Where mail lives: inside Gmail, in a separate workspace that syncs, or in a ticket system.
• Price as a range per seat, verified October 2026. Ours is on the pricing page.

The 11 best shared inbox tools compared

Prices are per user per month on annual billing where shown, verified October 2026. Zoho TeamInbox renders its prices in the browser, so confirm them there.

What is the best shared inbox software?

It depends on where you want the team to read mail, and on whether you work a queue or a list of named clients. The tools run in four groups: separate workspaces, Gmail extensions, help desks, then the free option.

1. Front: for several departments sharing routing rules

Front is a separate app that routes email, chat, SMS and social accounts with rules, macros and SLA policies. Starter is $25 per seat per month, capped at 10 seats and one channel type; Professional is $65; Enterprise $105. Annual billing, verified October 2026.

Copilot is a $20 per seat add-on below Enterprise and Autopilot starts at $0.05 per conversation. Front sorts today's mail; it keeps no record of what a client was promised in March.

• Pros: routing for several teams; a 14-day Professional trial.
• Cons: a new app for everyone; routing from $65; AI extra.

Fits operations teams routing across departments. Sektra vs Front has the side by side.

2. Missive: for email, team chat and tasks in one app

Missive gives each team a shared inbox, shared tasks and a shared space to discuss work, connecting Gmail, Outlook, IMAP, SMS, WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram. Starter is $14 per user per month for up to 5 users, Productive $24, Business $36, billed yearly, verified October 2026.

The 30-day trial needs no card. AI runs on Missive credits or your own API key. The shared view holds only once everyone works in Missive, and nothing records a client's open commitments.

• Pros: Gmail, Outlook and IMAP in one app; SMS and WhatsApp.
• Cons: full-team adoption; AI billed separately; advanced analytics only on Business.

Fits a team that wants chat next to email. Sektra vs Missive covers where mail lives.

3. Zoho TeamInbox: for teams already on Zoho

Zoho TeamInbox connects any group email address regardless of host, plus WhatsApp Business, Instagram, Facebook DM and Telegram. Starter has 3 shared incoming channels and 25 rules; Professional has 5 channels, unlimited rules and analytics. The 14-day trial covers five users.

Threads can be delegated, commented on, followed and snoozed. Prices render in the browser, so confirm them on the pricing page. Collision detection is not among the listed features.

• Pros: messaging channels alongside group email; rules and an activity log.
• Cons: channel caps per plan; analytics only on Professional; no listed collision warning.

Fits a team on Zoho Mail or Zoho CRM that wants the inbox in the same suite.

4. Sektra: for client-facing teams that need a record of promises

Sektra is a separate workspace that syncs two-way with Gmail, Outlook (including Microsoft 365 shared mailboxes), IMAP mailboxes and WhatsApp Business. Mail stays where it is, so a teammate who has not moved yet keeps answering from Outlook or Gmail. Gmail and Outlook connect through Google or Microsoft sign-in, IMAP with a password stored encrypted, WhatsApp through the provider.

The basics are there: assignment, mentions, internal notes, and collision detection shown as "A teammate is typing a reply". Triage orders threads by what it costs to ignore them. Analytics report response times as percentiles per client, so one slow account cannot hide behind a team average.

The memory layer is a record per client of what each side promised, with the dates, and the questions still open. A watch with a day count you set tells you the day a client goes quiet, and the morning digest lists who owes you a reply. The assistant answers questions about any client with links to the threads, drafts replies, sets reminders and creates watches.

• Pros: Gmail, Outlook, IMAP and WhatsApp with mail left in place; every AI feature in the plan; a per-client record of commitments.
• Cons: no phone channel, and the CRM integrations show the record beside the thread rather than syncing every field back.

Fits agencies, consultancies, recruiters and account teams whose inbound is the same clients every week. See how agencies run it, the product page and pricing. Every workspace starts with 7 days of Pro and no card.

5. Hiver: for support queues run from Gmail

Hiver comes two ways: Hiver in Gmail renders a shared inbox, SLA alerts and analytics inside the Gmail interface, and Hiver Omni is a dedicated omnichannel platform. In Gmail, Growth is $25 per user per month on annual billing, Pro $55, Elite $85. Verified October 2026.

AI Copilot and AI Agents come with Growth; AI QA sits on Elite. Conversations open, get worked and close, which suits a queue. Nothing holds a client's promises across closed conversations.

• Pros: no new app for a Gmail team; SLAs and CSAT on Pro.
• Cons: SLAs from $55; AI QA needs $85; built for queues.

Fits a support team on Google Workspace that wants tickets in Gmail. Sektra vs Hiver covers the split.

6. Gmelius: for Gmail teams that want AI triage

Gmelius adds shared inboxes, shared labels, shared drafts, notes and mentions to Gmail, with Meli, its AI agent, triaging the inbox. Meli is $19 per user per month on annual billing for up to 5 users, Growth $25 for up to 50, Pro $40 uncapped. Verified October 2026.

AI is in the seat price, capped at 5,000 email conversations a month on Meli and 10,000 on Growth. It is Google Workspace only. There is no view of who owes the next reply.

• Pros: AI in the plan price; shared labels and drafts in Gmail; a 7-day trial.
• Cons: Gmail only; conversation and rule caps per plan.

Fits a Gmail team that wants AI triage on top of mail. Sektra vs Gmelius is the direct comparison.

7. Drag: for Kanban boards in a small Gmail team

Drag turns Gmail into shared boards where each email is a card, with assignments, internal notes, shared drafts and tasks. Starter is $12 per user per month billed yearly with 10 rules, Plus $18 with unlimited rules and AI assists, Pro $24 with WhatsApp and SLA rules. Verified October 2026.

Users are unlimited with no minimum. The AI, called Varley, needs add-on credits on Starter. Reporting windows run 3, 6 and 12 months by tier. Outlook is not mentioned.

• Pros: a $12 entry price; unlimited users; a 7-day trial.
• Cons: Gmail only; WhatsApp and SLAs only on Pro; AI credits extra on Starter.

Fits three to eight people who want to see who is handling what. Sektra vs Drag covers client history.

8. Keeping: for Gmail support with a HIPAA option

Keeping turns emails into tickets inside Gmail, with assignment, status, notes, a warning when a teammate has started responding, and analytics. Essentials is $14 per user per month on annual billing, Advanced $24, HIPAA $49 with a signed BAA. Each plan has a 2-user minimum. Verified October 2026.

It works only with Gmail and Google Workspace. The single AI feature is "Thank You" detection on Advanced and above. No WhatsApp, no Outlook, no record beyond the ticket.

• Pros: a signed BAA on the HIPAA plan; a 14-day trial.
• Cons: Gmail only; a 2-user minimum; no AI assists or messaging channels.

Fits a small Gmail support team, including ones that need HIPAA.

9. Help Scout: for ticket desks that want a knowledge base

Help Scout is a help desk with a shared inbox, live chat, SMS and a Docs knowledge base. The Free plan covers 5 users, 1 inbox and 100 contacts a month. Standard is $25 per user per month, Plus $45, Pro $75 with a 10-user minimum. Verified October 2026.

AI Answers, the agent that resolves conversations alone, is $0.75 per resolution with a spending cap. Conversations are built to close; an account that writes every week for two years never does.

• Pros: a free plan for 5 users; knowledge base included; a 15-day trial.
• Cons: 100 contacts a month on Free; per-resolution AI; a ticket model for ongoing clients.

Fits a support team that helps each customer once. Sektra vs Help Scout covers account work.

10. Helply: for support teams that want an AI agent answering first

Helply is the successor to Groove: an AI-agent platform with a help desk included, covering shared inbox, ticketing, knowledge base and workflows. Pricing is by credits with no per-user fee; $49 a month buys 500 credits and blocks scale to 32,000. Verified October 2026.

AI actions cost 1, 4 or 12 credits by complexity, with overage up to a cap you set. Channels include email, chat widget, WhatsApp, Slack, Teams and phone. The agent resolves tickets; it keeps no record of what your team committed to.

• Pros: unlimited users; WhatsApp and chat alongside email; a 14-day trial with 1,000 credits.
• Cons: a credit block to watch; built to deflect repeat questions.

Fits a support team that wants an AI agent to answer first. Sektra vs Groove keeps the comparison under the old name.

11. Google Groups Collaborative Inbox: a free first step

Collaborative Inbox is a setting in Google Groups that an owner or manager turns on. Members assign a conversation to a teammate with a note, mark it complete, no action needed or duplicate, and filter by "Assigned to me". It needs Groups for Business and costs nothing extra.

Google's feature list stops there: no notes beyond the assignment note, no warning when two people reply, no reporting. Deleting a resolved conversation is permanent.

• Pros: free; assignment and resolution states; nothing to install.
• Cons: no collision warning, no analytics; no Outlook equivalent.

Fits two or three people testing shared ownership before paying. A Microsoft 365 shared mailbox gives access without assignment; see Outlook shared mailbox vs a shared inbox tool.

Which shared inbox should you pick?

• A support queue in Gmail with few named clients: Hiver, Gmelius, Drag or Keeping, by budget.
• Named clients who write every week, on Gmail or Outlook: Sektra, for the record of what each side promised and the watch that flags the day one goes quiet.
• Several departments and routing rules: Front, or Missive if the whole team will move into one app.
• A ticket desk with a knowledge base: Help Scout. An AI agent answering first: Helply.
• WhatsApp next to email: Sektra, for WhatsApp Business with one client record across channels.
• No budget yet: Google Groups Collaborative Inbox, then move once assignment alone stops being enough.

Run the pick beside the current setup for two weeks on the same mailboxes. Switching without a migration walks through the sequence. The pricing comparison has the per-seat numbers side by side.