Notion Mail is Now Available

Notion Mail is now available, but in limited form: It’s just a front-end for Gmail and the only available apps are for the web and Mac. There’s nothing for Windows, Android, or iOS, yet, though Notion says an iOS client is “coming soon.”

“Notion Mail is the inbox designed to think like you,” Notion’s Andrew Milich and Jason Ginsberg write in the announcement post. “A more personalized, powerful, modern way to communicate. And with Notion AI built in, all of those tedious tasks are handled for you.”

About that.

Notion AI is “built-in,” yes, but only if you pay for it. The free version of this service doesn’t offer any of those features, which include AI labels and AI Writer, plus whatever AI capabilities you get in the main Notion app. To get Notion AI, you have to pay for Notion Plus, which is $10 per user per month, Notion Business ($15 per user per month), or Notion Enterprise($25 per user per month), with discounts for those who pay annually. I guess that answers my recent question about when Notion would try to bill me for its services.

Whatever its limitations, Notion Mail is a pleasant-looking app on the web, one you can install as a PWA, and it should please Notion fans with its distraction-free, minimalist look. As to why anyone would pay for a front-end to Gmail, Notion says that automation (a paid feature), custom views, integrated scheduling capabilities, and familiar /-based Notion commands are key differentiators.

Notion Mail joins Notion Calendar and the main Notion app in what is emerging as a key Little Tech alternative to more mainstream Big Tech options like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. That’s something I’m open to, and Notion (the app) is incredible, and increasingly indispensable. But I’m struggling to see the value here.

You can learn about Notion Mail on the Notion website.